The Camera Loves You! ...No, I'm Sorry, The Camera Just Wants To Be Friends With You.

Engagement Photos! Wait, engagement photos? Aren't you supposed to do that right after you get engaged, not three years later? Actually, when are you supposed to get engagement photos done? I've never been one to sit around and think about my future wedding, and I've never been intimately involved in helping anyone else plan their wedding, so I'm a little shaky on all of the "supposed to" dates. Additionally, our wedding will probably violate numerous "supposed to" rules, so yeah, not too concerned about that kind of stuff. Essentially, we're doing the photos for two reasons:

1. It's part of the photo package.
2. Neither of us like having our picture taken, so we figured this would be good practice. 

So, after some e-mail tag with our photographer, Sharon Simpson, we settled on a date (and a rain date), some locations (yes, she actually scouted out locations), and then tried not to think too much about it until the few days leading up to the session, at which point we occupied ourselves with cleaning our kitchen, and planning a dish to prepare. The first portion of the session would be in our own kitchen.

How's that for stretching the comfort zone? Not only would we be posing for the camera, but we'd be doing it in our own kitchen. Seems like it should be safe, but it's just another variable. Are the counters clean enough? Will they see inside our cabinets and see how messy they are? Will they see the various bottles of bourbon and think we're lushes? Will I shave and forget to finish cleaning, leaving the hairs all over the sink that the photographer's assistant will use later?* Yeah, so, lots of extra things to worry about. A quick sample of bourbon (ok, really, we're not lushes), and a couple of silly moments was really all it took to relax us, and we were rolling. Or snapping, I guess.

Either way, the kitchen session went well. We started a favorite recipe of ours, rolled out some pasta, made a floury mess, shared some kisses (only one was a 'peck' and that was not representative of my kissing, no matter what the assistant said the rest of the day!) and hopefully made for some cute photos.

The next worry, as we changed and scurried off to the Currier was the rain. We'd been hearing thunderstorm warnings all day, and heard what might have been thunder (or a Harley) as we changed. The skies darkened, and a column of rain and thundercloud hovered not far off. As we drove into the city, the rain and clouds intensified, and we really thought the rest of the shoot would be called off. No big deal, we had a rain date for this very reason, but we'd gotten into a groove, and just wanted to get it all out of the way.

By the time we got to the Currier, the rain had lessened. By the time Sharon arrived, a couple minutes after us, it was letting up even more. Then it stopped completely, and the sky cleared above us. It turned out to be perfect weather for our outdoor photos at the Currier, and then down by the river. All in all it was a good session. We learned that neither of us really mind having our pictures taken (though Sarah minds it a little more than I do), what bothers us is seeing the photos afterwards. That said, we are both cautiously excited to see how these came out.

*To answer these questions: No, but we fixed them. I don't think so. Probably not. Yes, and we wouldn't even realize it until well after the session was over (I am only slightly extremely embarrassed by this).

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Blue...

And blue in through the blueness, and the blackness, the winds swirling through the air...

Van Gogh describing the night sky, or my new vest? W-Day is fast approaching, and there's so much left on the checklist to be done! Right now, clothes are being picked out, dear readers, selected and mixed and matched. Sarah thinks it's a little overwhelming. I can't blame her - she just went through something similar with her wedding dress, and then the dresses for her bridesmaids - *ahem* her "Ladies of Awesome". However, I find it kind of fun. Maybe because it's for me, and most of the clothes shopping I do for myself is very utilitarian - cargo shorts/pants in a non-offensive color that fit? Boom. Done.

Shopping for the wedding is a little different. Much fancier. So many options, all of which would look awesome all together (well, most would, anyway). We have an idea of what we're looking for, and though we'd like to buy everything through George's Apparel, I also know there are other places we can shop. Sarah is looking for a light grey suit, with a navy blue vest, which we find, and...I don't like it. I suggest charcoal grey, with a more vivid vest.

Eventually, Bobbie gets free and helps us out. I try on the light grey coat. I try on the charcoal grey coat. Which looks better? Let's put it this way - I may not get dressed up often, and I may not be a guy who obsesses over his appearance, but I generally know what is going to look good on me.

And I wasn't wrong this time.

Aw yeah, dark grey suits, all around! Well, at least just for me and my Groomsvengers.
Once that was settled, we started flipping through the books. Oh those dreaded books! Once again, though, fun for me, if for no other reason than to look at the stupid poses of the models. Seriously, can't they just stand there like a normal human being? I'm pretty sure you could remove the fabric swatches and these books could be mail-order gigolo catalogs.

Anyway, Debbie showed us a royal blue, and one of the patterns caught my eye. I hesitated a moment before pointing it out, as I'm not really a fan of paisley. Fortunately, what I picked out wasn't paisley, it was tapestry. It looks like paisley, but it is not. There is a difference. And, if you call it paisley, Sarah will bop you lightly on the nose and say, "No. It is tapestry." At any rate, they didn't actually have the vest in stock, so they ordered one for us. I'm anxious for it to come in, so that we can see it in person. Fast forward a few weeks, and bam, sexyvest.

We started The Folder, and began the process of ordering up a crop of suits (The Groomsvengers will be wearing simpler vest, but they'll still look awesome). One more item to check off the list! Just 12,314 more! (Rough estimate.)




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Things I Never Thought I'd Say on Valentine's Day

For those of you who know me well, the following statement may seem like old hat, but for those who don't: I DON'T LIKE VALENTINE'S DAY. I think the media and big business have convinced the public that your self-worth is tied to being in a relationship and if you aren't in one, you should feel like less of a person on this day. Nevermind that there are many happily single people out there (of both genders) who have great personal and professional accomplishments that have nothing to do with their relationship status. Nevermind people who, for whatever reason - personal, social, political - are forced to live a single life. Valentine's Day is crap. Its saccharine cards, candy boxes, and atmosphere are fake and meaningless if it is the only day out of the year you show affection for others.

Anyway...on this Valentine's Day - Valentine's Day, 2014, I bought my wedding dress. There we have it. One of the last big purchases prior to the wedding. It's crimson. It's gorgeous. I'm excited! (grinning like a fool and giggling levels of excited).

For the record, I was supposed to buy it yesterday, but my appointment was cancelled due to the snow storm.


p.s. I updated the page entitled "Wedding Info" with attire information if you're interested in what you should wear.

It's Going to be Cold, and Grey, and it is Going to Last...A Couple of Months

So, it's winter. It's really, and truly, winter in New England. At least for this week. The term "Polar Vortex" has been thrown about lately, and maybe I watch too much Doctor Who, but frankly, I'm a little underwhelmed. Or, maybe I'm just cold. I suppose that if the Time Vortex allows one to travel to different places in time, a Polar Vortex allows one to travel to different places in cold. Given the various shades of cold (brisk, nippy, icy, frigid, *ing COLD) we've experienced over the past few days, I'd say that's pretty accurate.

The point of this is that this past weekend, Sarah and I traveled the Polar Vortex to a frigid Durham for back-to-back UNH hockey games, while spending the night at The Three Chimneys. Now, we've had lunch there (Sarah's had two), I've hung out in a guest room, and we've toured the grounds a couple of times, but we'd not actually stayed there. We finally did, and here are some impressions:

1. The insulation is about as good as one would expect for a house built in the 1600's. Well, that's not entirely fair. There was SOME insulation, I'm sure, just not much. Thankfully, we got a room with a fireplace. Hopefully this won't be an issue for our guests in August, but that pesky Polar Vortex...
2. Speaking of the Polar Vortex, if some Frost Giants should happen to slide their way through, and need a place to stay, I would recommend The Three Chimneys, as it was apparently built at a time when humans were at least a foot taller than we are today (crazy lumberjacks!). Fortunately, they provide little step stools on each side of the bed so that you can climb in. That's not even a joke. The beds are HIGH. Even more importantly, be sure to use the stool when getting OUT of bed. Not that I'm speaking from personal experience or anything, but it's a long way down if you forget.
3. We decided to have dinner there before the game on Friday night, and it was our first time eating at the ffrost-Sawyer Tavern, and let me tell you, the extra 'f' is for FLAVOR (it's lowercase because they're New Englanders, and are naturally humble). Sarah had a lobster scampi, while I went with the salmon poached in a lobster coconut curry broth. If either of those sound delicious, it's because they were. We know it's not necessarily indicative of the quality of food they'll prepare for the wedding, but if that's only half as good as what we ate on Friday night, we'll be in good shape.
4. The beds are comfy, though the pillows are inconsistent. If you are a pillow snob, you may want to bring the one on which you're most used to sleeping. Don't feel embarrassed - I will be bringing my own. Noise in the carriage house might be a factor, as with the lack of insulation, there isn't much soundproofing between rooms. A noise machine, fan, or earplugs may be in order. Pretty sure the people in the room above us let their kids jump on their bed Saturday morning. For a few minutes, anyway. Just something to keep in mind.

All in all, it's about what we expected. Quaint, lovely, and delicious. We're looking forward to going back.

Oh, and most importantly, UNH swpet the weekend series. Stay warm and safe, everyone!

Sometimes, it's ok to be a follower!

So, we've been hearing from people that they've been getting their Save The Date cards already, which is awesome. While you're busy saving the date, you can also now stay up-to-date on all of our brilliant missives as we plan and execute what is sure to be the most wedding-of-Sarah-and-Matt-y wedding of Sarah and Matt ever. Over on the right hand side of the page, you can enter your e-mail to receive a little reminder every time we share something on here. For the more rss-reader-savvy, you can subscribe to posts.

Also, if you need to get in touch with us about the wedding, or the hotel, or just want to ask us some random bit of trivia that you were too lazy to research on Wikipedia, there is now a contact form in the sidebar, for all of your burning questions, as well as comments you didn't feel were appropriate for the public comments section (just remember that both Sarah and I get copies of whatever is sent).

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While I have yet to write about the trials and tribulations of the Save the Dates - and there were a few - I wanted to post here that we have updated the Hotel Info page with information on both The Three Chimneys (where Matt and I will be lodging and the BIG EVENT is happening on Saturday...umm...you should be somewhat aware of this event if you're on this page) as well as the Holiday Inn Express, which has graciously also offered us a room block. Please click on the "Hotel Info" tab above to check out information on sleeping spots!

I am a leaf on the wind...

Well, I am not a leaf, but the Save the Date cards are. Ok, this sounds like I tossed them off our balcony and let the wind carry them, and...well, what if I did? What if I put my trust in the forces of nature, asking the spirit of the wind to carry the envelopes to their appropriate recipients, speedily and accurately? Isn't that just a little romantic? I think it could work. Provided you all live in our backyard. And in the apartment below us. Ok, so it was a bad plan. Hang on a minute.

Let me just clean these off.

Right, so after a great experience getting them printed (Colonial Printing - ask for Danielle), then a few arduous days of getting the addresses formatted and then the envelopes printed (in our apartment - ask for Sarah), they are out there, in the world, journeying to their destinations, carried by those brave men and women in blue (of the US Postal Service - ask for...stamps?) to the remote castles, dungeons, and jungle lairs of our friends and family. Also, to their apartments, condos, and houses. Mostly those last three.

If you're reading this, you've probably received yours. If you haven't received a Save the Date and managed to get here by some sort of black magic or lucky guess that we have a wedding website and what the name would be, nice job! If you're here because you just stumbled in here because you thought this was a blog about the wedding of Sarah Michelle Gellar to Matt Smith, I'm sorry, but that's not happening, except in some Buffy, The Vampire Slayer/Doctor Who crossover fanfic (which would probably be awesome, but I digress).

In any case, welcome to the site! More hotel info should be coming soon!

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