Staying Organized

I can't speak for everyone and I'm definitely not some organization queen. In fact, if you were to see my work office, it's what I like to call an "organized mess", but I do know where everything is located. Okay, I know where things should be located. BUT I did manage to stay pretty organized during my wedding planning. I kept everything in one binder. Everything.

I know some gals buy those nice, fancy, overpriced wedding planners, but with planning a destination wedding, a lot of what they had in those thorough binders didn't pertain to me and my minimalist destination wedding. And I'm cheap; I used a plain, 1 inch, white binder. Now don't get me wrong, I did spruce it up in my own way.

I had dividers separating different sections, ex. Ceremony, Reception, Travel, Receipts, etc.. In each section, I had not only the agreements and contracts of each vendor (I had all my vendors that had to do with the ceremony in one section and all the vendors that had to do with the reception in another section, my hotel reservations, car rental info and travel itinerary in the travel section, etc.)

but I also kept all printed email conversations (if I dealt with them via email) and receipts of payment. I also made sure that I had every vendor's contact information, just in case.

I had ALL papers for each vendor placed in a page protector. So, if I had a 1 page contract with my photographer, plus 2 pages of emails and 1 page invoice, they all went in one page protector. That way if I needed to find my invoice from my photographer, I knew it would be within that page protector. I also used a single page protector to keep my one-time purchases (ie. ribbon from the art store, shoes from zappos, etc.), so that I could keep track of all my purchases (great for figuring out your final cost of your wedding later).

When traveling, I kept this in my carry-on, that way I had all my information and I didn't have to worry about me losing proof of payment or vendor contact information in any possible lost luggage.

It was real convenient to refer to my binder for our plane itinerary, then double check it for our car rental, and check again for our hotel address and reservation information...all in one swoop.

How did you stay organized?

Bring on the cameras and aloha shirts...I'm a tourist!

I'm in limbo with our planning right now while waiting for our RSVPs to make it back to us (that's a hint for our family and friends!!). And since a few of our guests have called with some inquiries, I thought I would list a few of my favorite "touristy" things to do on Oahu.

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1. Spend a FULL day in Waikiki. Some suggestions of what to do in Waikiki are:

• Take a surfing lesson on Waikiki Beach.
• Visit the International Marketplace. There are tons of little shops that sell jewelry and souvenirs.
• Learn to play the ukulele with free lessons at The Ukulele Hut!
• Later that evening head to Dukes or Mai Tai (at Ala Moana Mall) for some chill music and drinks or enjoy some of Waikiki's nightlife.

2. See Hawaii's state fish, the humuhumunukunukuapuaa, up close at the Waikiki Aquarium.

3. Hit up Kailua Beach. Rent kayaks and paddle out to the popular Moku Lua Islands. Bring your lunch and a cooler of drinks! You can spend the day on the small island, snorkeling, swimming, jumping off cliffs, and relaxing.

4. Take the scenic route to the North Shore. Settle in for a nice hour-long drive with some beautiful scenery and great places to stop; Macadamia Nut farms, Kualoa Beach Park, and don't forget the infamous Giovanni's Original White Shrimp Truck. This fabled coast is legendary for its perfect winter waves and professional surf competitions. When the waves are tamer during the summer, the beaches offer peaceful places to swim and sunbathe. Some nice beaches to stop at: Sunset Beach, Waimea Bay (There is a huge rock you can jump off of - if you are brave enough!), Shark's Cove (Bring your snorkeling gear for some fun!), Lani's (It's a turtle preserve! You can get up close to giant turtles on the beach or swim with them!).

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5. Spend a day exploring Pearl Harbor. View the moving exhibits at the USS Arizona Memorial and explore the Battleship Missouri Memorial, the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park, and the new Pacific Aviation Museum. Admission is free for the USS Arizona Memorial, but get there early and expect long lines.

6. Stop by the Aloha Stadium to pick up all your Hawaii souvenirs at the swap meet; every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday morning.

7. Sample a fresh cut, sweet pineapple and get lost in Dole Plantation’s 1.7 mile garden maze.

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8. Take a guided tour of Iolani Palace, the only Royal Palace on U.S. soil, it was the official residence of the Hawaiian last two monarchs: King Kalakaua and Queen Lili'uokalani, then cross the street to view the King Kamehameha I statue.

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9. Watch acrobatic dolphins and clever penguins (yes, penguins) at Sea Life Park. You can feed dolphins, turtles and get up close to so many different kinds of animals.

10. See seven authentically recreated South Pacific islands at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Note that if you take the scenic drive to the North Shore, this is on the way. Some packages end with a luau!

11. Check out one of the most peaceful locations on Oahu, the Valley of the Temples. The beautiful Byodo-in Buddhist Temple (and where our ceremony will take place!), which located within the Valley of the Temples, is a replica of the 900-year-old Byodo-In located in Uji, Japan.

12. Snorkel at Hanauma Bay Natural Preserve.

13. Attend a Luau! We recommend either Paradise Cove or Germaine's Luau.

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14. Hike to the top of Diamond Head (Leahi) Crater for a postcard view of Waikiki Beach.

15. Go swimming with the sharks! (I soooo wanna do this!)

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16. Surf the wave pool at the 29 acre Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park. This is a really fun place for kids.

17. Stop at Nuuanu Pali Lookout to see the breathtaking view of the lush green Koolau mountains.

18. Marvel at the world’s finest collection of arts in the Pacific at the Bishop Museum.

19. Check out local art near Chinatown on “First Friday ” art walk event held every first Friday of the month.

20. Go Hiking! The island if filled with good hiking trails. Check out Moana Falls, Kapena Falls and Pali Trail, there are also a few good "hidden" trails.

If you're trying to do as much as you can in Hawaii in the shortest amount of time, I would combine some of the attractions. Some suggestions:

Day One: Hike Diamond Head, afterwards cool off by snorkeling at Hanauma Bay.

Day Two: Hit up the swap meet first thing in the morning and follow it by spending the rest of the day at Pearl Harbor.

Day Three: Head to North Shore to check out the beaches. On the way home stop by the Dole Plantation for a sample of pineapple.

Day Four: Spend the day experiencing native villages at the Polynesian Culture Center. Make sure you feast on their authentic luau dinner!

Day Five: Spend the day in Waikiki; see at top of post for suggestions.

Welcome...

With having a destination wedding that is pretty costly to get to, Mr. Mek and I wanted to have more than just the wedding for the guests to look forward to. Unfortunately we are on a tight budget and can't afford a great adventurous event for all the guests. Our first (and best) idea....a welcome BBQ!

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What a great, casual way to hang out, introduce and bond with family and friends.

Our next task was to find a location to have said BBQ. I was thinking something by the beach, that (of course) had easy access to some sort of grill. Knowing a lil' of Hawaii (being that I had lived there in my younger years), my first thought was Barber's Point; it's a military beach of sorts, they have cabins and camping. Which got me thinking of other military facilities. Bellows, another military beach....and a much nicer one at that (it's Air Force "owned", no offence to my brother branches). A cabin at Bellow's would be perfect! We'd have access to a grill, a kitchen, the beach (and showers for after the beach). Perfect, perfect.

In June (about 9 months before needed date) I called Bellows to find out their availability. They were booked. Till May of 2009. No joke. I was bummed, but no biggie. What were our alternatives? Well, I thought about just trying my luck on getting a picnic table on welcome BBQ day, but what if there weren't any tables available. Or what if I can't get access to some sort of cooking device? What's a BBQ without the cooked food? I also was looking forward to the option of cold beverages, the alcoholic kind, and I knew no beach in Hawaii was going to allow that. Our last resort was to have it at our rented condo, but a BBQ inside didn't sound appealing. I did ponder the thought of having an ice cream social instead and having that held at our condo...that was my last resort option.

Months later and still no plan. I was aimlessly looking at the Bellows website again and came across a link for "facility rentals"....they have rental pavilions! I called Bellows again, and wouldn't you know it, by this time their cabins were booked till September 2009, but for welcome BBQ day all 3 pavilions were free. So for $75 I booked it.

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Yes, it might be a lil' pricey for a BBQ venue, but I can relax and be stress free about having to find a place, it's by the beach, there's a grill, you can drink at the pavilion (no drinks on the beach), and for a $2 volleyball rental there are volleyball nets nearby. Sold.

Planes, Dates and missing my baby.

Well Lots has happened since I last blogged.
1. Our wedding date has been confirmed. March 05, 2009.
2. I booked our plane tickets to Hawaii!
3. Mr Mek will be away for 3 months. He's been gone for 24hrs and I miss him immensely already!

I also contacted my dream photographer about shooting our wedding and I might be getting my wedding dress for $400 less than the store price. More about that in a later post.

Mr. Mek has business to take care of and though he will be busy and away for 3 months it also confirmed that we are able to have our ceremony on our projected date. Which I'm real excited about. So yesterday I was checking flight costs on the internet (which I tend to do every other day), just to see what the prices are at. With gas and oil costs being out the kazoo, I was worried about plane tickets from the east coast to Hawaii being outrageous. I flew to Hawaii in 2005 by myself and paid $605 (after taxes!). In 2006, Mr. Mek and I went to Hawaii for a friend's wedding and I believe we paid $645 each (about $1300 for both of us). Yesterday American Airlines had tickets round trip to Hawaii for $770 (after taxes). They were by far the cheapest. Most flights I saw were $900+ and I know they're only going to go up from there. I was a lil' hesitant to book right now because our trip is 10 months away and because of so many airlines claiming bankruptcy. That would be my luck...to book our tickets then have to rebook and pay extra hundreds of dollars because the airline we book with is bankrupt. Well, I did it. I bought the tickets. $1542 for both of us to fly to Hawaii. So whether we get married or not, we're going to Hawaii.

Wedding poop and all things "poopie"

While our wedding date is still tentative (we have some personal life situations at the moment that prevents us from knowing when we can get married next year), I have been trying to do as much research and pre-planning as I can, so once we do have an official date I can just call and *hopefully* book all my favorite vendors. This is, of course, hoping that they are still available for our tentative date.

That being said, the reasoning to our hopeful wedding date and location...
Location. We've decided to get married in Hawaii. There are many reasons for this choice.
1. We are planning on paying for the wedding ourselves and it seemed more affordable (believe it or not) to fly to Hawaii and have a small ceremony and dinner than it was to have a wedding in Pennsylvania with 125+ guests.
2. We want a small wedding with family and close friends. Having a destination wedding eliminates the task of explaining why so and so wasn't invited. Most probably won't be able to afford a trip to Hawaii. Although those people will be missed, we know they are there in spirit.
3. I grew up a military brat. Right before my dad retired from the military and moved the whole family to his home town in PA we lived in Hawaii. I've always considered Hawaii home to me and visit friends there every few years. In 2006, Mr. Mek traveled with me to Hawaii for my bestest's wedding and he absolutely loved the islands. When time came to plan for our wedding our choices were Pennsylvania, Hawaii or Vegas. Hawaii won, hands down.

Wedding Date. We hope to be wed March 05, 2009. There is no significance for this date other than my brother will be in his first year of college and March 5th is during his spring break. hehe. Doesn't late February, early March seem early for spring break?! I thought so. Anyways, it is either get married that week or in the summer. Since it's cooler in March in Hawaii we're aiming for that. I'd hate to have my guests bake in the sun during the hottest season of the island.

So that's it. Oahu, Hawaii. March 05, 2009 (tentatively!). Hope to see you there!