Obtaining the wedding license

I think most people would agree that in the city, dealing with government offices can be an unpleasant experience. The lines are long, the wait is long and people are unabashedly cranky. Sometimes you get the feeling that the city worker is so miserable that they are nasty to you to make you miserable too. I always try to be pleasant, but sometimes that just seems to make them more nasty.

So I was surprised to see that going to the Marriage Bureau in the City Clerk's office was actually a pretty pleasant experience! We wanted to get there early to avoid any lines, so we arrived about 10 minutes before the office opened. There were already about 3 or 4 couples waiting in front of us. As we waited in line, more couples arrived and some arrived with a few family members. Once we were let in, a huge hallway opened up in front of us, with big, bright windows on the right and large, towering columns on the left. We were asked to have our IDs out, which were checked as we came in. The man at the desk asked us what we were here for and then directed us to the back with a number. We sat on a couch as we waited for our number to be called. We didn't wait very long and the lady at the window that handled our case was very nice and sweet. She greeted us with a happy "good morning" and sent us off with a cheery "congratulations." Certainly not the experience I would get at the DMV! The actual process was very fast, aided by the fact that we had already started the application online. So basically all we had to do was give the lady our SSNs, confirm the information they have is correct, sign a form, pay the fee and voila! A marriage license was printed out for us to take home! So from arrival to departure, the whole thing took about 30 minutes.

Some of the things we saw there was really cool, fun and amusing. There is a Chapel Clerk there that can marry you that day if you wanted. The city store had fresh flowers already bundled into little wedding bouquets and boutonnieres. They also had folders, cases and frames for your marriage certificate if you were marrying that day, as well as silver and gold wedding rings, and even fake diamond ones! I thought about buying the flowers because I kind of wanted to mark the occasion with something pretty, but we ended up buying a bride and groom set of rubber duckies that we will use on our wedding cake. It's silly, I know, but they are really cute! The marriage bureau is definitely a business, with everything you need for a makeshift wedding. Lol! They even have this little photo nook that has a backdrop of city hall! Hahaha!

So I have to say that it was actually kind of fun! Of course, we went really early so I can't attest to a good experience later in the day. Still, I'm sure it is a better experience, even when it's busier, than trying to obtain a passport or driver's license. :-)

Our cardbox

While I was wandering around the Michael's wedding section, I noticed they had a card box for 35 bux. I decided then that I didn't want to spend that much money on a receptacle of cards that I'm most likely  going to use once. So I went home, searched for cheap card boxes and found one on Amazon.com for 15 bux! It's not as sturdy as the $35 one, but I think it's prettier and it suits my purposes quite nicely.

Last night, I finally assembled the thing. I had to use tape in some places to reinforce certain parts, but I didn't need any extra cardboard to make it stiffer. Granted, it does seem flimsy without extra cardboard supports, but I think it will be just fine. I'm not planning on doing anything with it except put it on a table and leave it there. I doubt dropping cards into the box's slot is going to threaten its integrity much. Lol!

Anyways, below is a picture of our card box. Our raccoon, Rocky, was hanging out in the background. He'll be at the wedding next to our guest book tree. It's funny when I tell people we're having a raccoon at the wedding. They give me this look and then hesitantly ask if he will be leashed. LOL! Rocky is a well-behaved stuffed animal. He has promised to be on his bestest behavior so no need for a leash! :-)

My first manicure, pedicure and facial

I've only recently decided that I like getting massages and I've only had 3 or 4 massages so far. I guess you can probably say that I'm not much of a spa goer. A few months ago, my friend convince me to buy a groupon to La Peau Day Spa for their Diamond Facial treatment with mani pedi combo. It was a pretty good deal since the treatments without discounts are $205, but the groupon was only like 65. Since we were still expected to pay tax and 20 percent gratuity on the full amount rather than the discounted price, that brought the total cost up to about $106. So in the end, it wasn't cheap, but it didn't hurt that much because we paid the 65 up front for the groupon and then the rest when we got the treatment.

The staff was pretty friendly and nice though I'm not sure I appreciate all the Chinese being spoken around me. It's not that I don't understand it, I just think it's rude. I've always thought it was rude to be speaking another language around someone who doesn't understand it. Even if you're not talking about the person who doesn't understand, it's not okay because it makes the person left out feel awkward and uncomfortable. As hosts, meaning the staff, you should not be doing that to your guests, meaning the clients. This is something I think a LOT of asians don't get. Anyways, back to the spa.

So we do the facial first. The lady tells me that I will notice a visible difference in my skin after the facial is done. She preps my face with some creams and rubs and then wipes it off before starting on the diamond facial. So I'm guessing it's the "diamond" is machine that she used to scrape a few layers of skin off my face. It didn't hurt and it wasn't uncomfortable. After that, some more creams were slathered on my face and some more massaging. Then she puts on a mask and leaves me in the room for about 25 minutes. This is the part that I really didn't enjoy. I was so incredibly BORED! I wasn't tired enough to fall asleep and there was nothing to do but lie there with the mask on and a wet towel over my eyes. I tried to do some meditating, but I kept feeling the urge to sit up to do it. For some reason, I felt it really difficult to meditate in that room in the position I was in. Anyways, eventually, I took off  the wet towel over my eyes and looked around. I started to suspect that every time they wipe my face, they've used a plain, wet paper towel. Anyways, so at the end, she came back and wiped the mask off, put some lotion on and sent me to the mani pedi room.

I went to the bathroom before going to the next treatment and checked out my face. Did it look noticeably better than before? Not really. Looking closer, I don't think the texture got any smoother and I didn't think my scars and other discolorations got any lighter. However, I thought I'd take another look when I get home and see how I feel then.

So on to the mani pedi! First, let me say I am not impressed with their idea of sanitary conditions. The foot bath has rust on the metal parts and I know for sure they don't clean the bath between clients. On top of that the service I got, though friendly, was not the most professional. Part of that is because of all the talking in another language, know there were people who didn't understand, and part of that was feeling like they were paying more attention to chitchatting than actually making sure they didn't get nail polish on my skin. It's not terrible, but I just feel like they could have done a better job. I really didn't feel more relaxed or pampered after the mani-pedi.

So in conclusion, I'd say the experience was not an impressive one. Lol! I might get another facial some day because I think it feels nice when my face is massaged, but I can't say I see any reason to get a manicure or pedicure. Of course, maybe it just wasn't a great experience at this facility. There might be other places that do a better job. I suppose I can give it another shot some other time and see how I feel then. At least, now I can say I've done it!

Memorials at the wedding

Sadly, my fiance lost his grandmother and I lost my grandfather very soon after we found each other and decided to spend the rest of our lives together. Also, the passing of my fiance's father weighs upon my sweetie as we move forward with this happy occasion. They will be missed at the wedding.

So in honor of their place in our hearts, we've decided to reserve a seat in the first couple of rows for my fiance's father and place a single rose upon it. In the reception area, we're planning to have some memorial "candles." I don't like unattended fires, so instead of real candles, we're using battery-operated ones. I downloaded a lace pattern from Martha Stewart Weddings website and printed the pattern on vellum paper. Then the paper ends were taped together to make a cylinder. I trimmed some of the white space off from the top and bottom and attached them together to make a smaller cylinder. The smaller cylinder is a base or platform for the battery-operated tealight. Then the larger cylinder is placed over the tealight.

Here's what it looks like:

Veil photos

Here are the pictures of the veil I made.

Crocheting a yarmulke

My fiance has a bag of yarmulkes he has collected over the years, some of which he inherited from his father's collection. Certainly, he could just wear one of those for the wedding ceremony, but we thought it would be cooler if I crocheted one. It's a fast project and very simple to do.

On the way to starting the project, we hit a few snags. I don't know what my fiance imagined a crocheted yarmulke would look like, but the pictures I showed him of crocheted yarmulkes made his facial expression say something like, "Ugh!" I was a little taken aback by this since I had already bought the yarn and was ready to start the project. I didn't want to start it after his reaction because I felt like what was the point if he didn't like it? I mean, what did he think it was going to look like? That's just the texture of crocheted items. His sister crochets. Doesn't he know what it will probably look like when I offered to crochet one? I can always just sew a fabric one, which is probably a much faster project, but I hate it when things are sprung upon me unexpectedly.

Anyways, when I saw him balk at crocheted yarmulkes, I unhappily offered to sew him one instead and at the time, he insisted that I stick to my plan of crocheting one and he promises to wear it. This didn't make me feel better about the project. Now I know how he really feels about it and it doesn't make me feel like this is going to be a much loved item. However, his not-so-soothing words means that I can continue with my original plans, which I suppose was some comfort.

Still, as I started on the project, I wasn't happy about it. I just didn't feel like he would appreciate the finished product. So finally, I confronted him about it and he said to send him pictures of the crocheted yarmulkes again. Since I already started on the yarmulke, I told him if he didn't like it, he can wear one from his collection and I'll just finish off what I have and have our raccoon, Rocky, wear it at the wedding. (Rocky is not a real raccoon. He is a stuffed animal and will participate in the wedding because raccoons have special significance in our relationship.) In the end, he again reiterated that it's fine and that he'll wear it if I make it.

In any case, crocheted yarmulkes are really easy to make. I chose a navy blue yarn to keep it in line with our wedding palette of navy blue and lavender. Most tutorials will tell you to chain 4 and the slip stitch the chain closed to make a circle. This will result in a tiny hole at the top, which reminds me of an oculus. Instead, I opted to use the magic circle (at least that's what I think it's called). It's basically a slip knot where the thread you pull to tighten the circle is the tail and you work with the other piece of yarn.

Pattern:

To begin: Make a magic circle.
Row 1: 1 sc into the circle,  then tighten the circle by pulling on the tail.
Row 2: 2 sc into each stitch
Row 3: *1 sc crochet into stitch, then 2 sc into next stitch.* Repeat from * to * till end
Row 4: *1 sc crochet into the next 2 stitches, then 2 sc into the next stitch.* Repeat from * to * till end
Row 5: *1 sc crochet into the next 3 stitches, then 2 sc into the next stitch.* Repeat from * to * till end
Row 6: *1 sc crochet into the next 4 stitches, then 2 sc into the next stitch.* Repeat from * to * till end
Keep going with this pattern until you reach the desired size and finish off. Do not chain and turn. Crochet in the round. You may use a stitch marker if you like to mark the first stitch in each round.

Remember to block the yarmulke. You can block it on the back of a bowl or other domed surface. It won't look like a yarmulke until you block it.