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intimate
And so the Madness Begins…
What an exciting year 2010 will be! Not only will I be marrying the greatest man I’ve ever known but I will also be buying my first home and making a career change—all this while somehow managing to raise two fantastic boys.
Bojan and I started dating in our final year of high school after meeting through mutual friends. He is incredible in every sense of the word: generous, witty, intelligent, kind—everything I could possibly ask for in a best friend and husband. I always knew he would be a great father and he’s shown me that he can be that and much more. Watching him interact with Ivan and Nicolas is absolutely beautiful.
We’ve wanted to get married a few times in recent years but the timing was never right (I was pregnant twice and needed at least nine months per pregnancy to get back into shape!). We’re not even officially engaged (I don’t have an engagement ring…GASP!). There’s been some pressure from our families to have a wedding for the sake of the kids but we wanted things done under our terms. For us, the year 2010 is the perfect time to finally make things official, as we will be approaching our 10-year anniversary of dating.
In my mind, weddings have always been fun. Great food, free booze, good company. As I start my own wedding planning, I find myself asking “What have I gotten into?” like if I say it enough times all the madness will go away! Seriously, do I have any takers to plan my wedding?
We want our wedding to be intimate and classy yet have a distinctly homegrown feel to it. We are meshing two very different cultures (Croatian and Vietnamese) meaning concessions need to be made from both sides. Upon consultation with friends who’ve recently wed, one piece of advice is common to all: Enjoy your wedding day and don’t stress over tiny details. I don’t think I could’ve said it any better myself!
Shopping for the following items will be most important:
- Wedding bands
- Photographer
- Dress
The venue has not officially been decided on (more details to follow in a future blog) and I have not ruled out the possibility of having the ceremony and reception in our own backyard. Bojan is not totally for this, but who are we kidding? The final decision is always left to the bride as it is HER day and her future husband must do everything in his power to make sure she is happy or he’ll hear it for the rest of his life!
A few things are certainties: 1) Ivan and Nicolas will be part of the ceremony (probably running around smashing the decor, but hey, I wouldn’t have it any other way!). 2) I’m quite possibly way over my head trying to plan this wedding, as decision-making is not my forte, and 3) In the end, will it all even matter? What’s most important is the life we build together after the wedding. The reception’s just a reason to get together with your loved ones and party!
What are you most looking forward to after the wedding?
A. Moving in together
B. Starting a family
C. Tax benefits
More to come. Stay tuned…
Tags: blogger search, children, intimate wedding
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9 Responses to “And so the Madness Begins…”
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Congratulations Mai!
To answer the question, Joseph and I are definitely looking forward to A – we purchased our first home, and we are really excited for that, starting our life together. Should be fun!
I am not sure why someone who is so intimidated by wedding planning (and asking for takers!) made it through to the finals of a contest about wedding planning. Also the ‘bridezilla’-ish comments about the tax benefits and having everything her own way aren’t really warming or inviting to other brides looking for tips and advice on how to plan their own weddings, people who are getting married and are excited to celebrate their love, not just doing something for the sake of everything else already being done (having a family) – this girl says she wants to “enjoy the wedding day and not stress over details” yet also says everything has to be her way or hubby’s in for it. I don’t think this is the best representative to win this competition – but it sounds like you already have built a wonderful family and I wish you the best with that.
Thank you Judith, Heather and Lara for your positive comments!
Good luck with all your planning as well! Despite the negative remarks, I think this contest has been extremely fun and I enjoy reading about everyone’s experiences!
Congrats, Mai! You have a beautiful family=) You are obviously very, very blessed=)
I just wanted to say I hope you don’t let people’s comments get to you. I’m not sure why people are getting angry about your post – I can tell you were being facetious with the “he’ll hear it for the rest of his life!” comment and the tax benefit part. Come on, people. Lighten up!
Anyway, just wanted to say congrats and I look forward to reading the rest of your blog! Oh, and for Karlo and myself, definitely B. We can’t wait to start our family=)
Cheers,
Lara (Destination category)
I must say I have to agree a little. I think the wedding should be about a beautiful celebration of what you two share as a couple and the day should be full of far more… meaningful things to look forward to than “tax benefits”. And the comment about getting your own way did remind me a bit of that shoe entry too. Sorry. Good luck though girl, it’ll be interesting to see how you combine your two very distinct cultures!
Oh wow – this reminds me of that entry in the first round where all the girl talked about was the shoes – “the decision making is left to the bride and the future husband must do everything in his power to make sure she’s happy or he’ll hear about it for the rest of his life?”
I sense a little Bridezilla here…. and as if “tax benefits” was one of the three most important things you’re looking forward to getting married for.
Sorry but i’m kinda glad this was your first entry as it gives a sense of the kind of wedding planner and bride you are going to be – “my way or the highway”.
WB’s please don’t delete this comment, i’m not trying to be mean – just expressing an opinion. I do wish you guys the best of luck with your wedding but I think there are other people who deserve to win a little bit more.
OH and I guess B. We already live together and I didn’t even know there were tax benefits of being married…. Hmmm.
Hi Mai,
I feel you on the decision making thing! I come up with all these ideas and then can’t decide which one I like the best.
We also debated having a back yard wedding, but then we decided to go for a circus theme wedding. I think a back yard wedding would be nice… as long as you have a back up plan in case it rains. I guess you could rent a tent!
Good luck with the planning!
Congratulations Mai!
Your story hits home to me as Mark and I have been together for 9 years as of next month and will finally be getting married this year and he loves my daughter as if she were his. I would love to hear how you are planning to incorporate your boys in the wedding.. unless that’s in the works for future posts. :).
I am most looking forward to everything: it’s true! Not only will we be newly weds getting to live together, but it’ll a first living on our own for us both. I’m REALLY looking forward to adding more children to our family as well – in general, everything!!!
Best of luck to you and I’m quite looking forward to following your journey, and everyone else as well.
Cheers!
-Judith