32 more days!!

I'm always surprised each time I look at the countdown app on my phone. I keep forgetting that the wedding is coming up so soon! Every time I come to this realization, I have a quick panic attack, but then I can't help but smile in relief that Pete and I will finally be married. The wedding scares the hell out of me, but the marriage itself is something I've been waiting so long for, and I could not be more excited for the day we can be introduced as Mr. & Mrs. Stephanie Nguyen. Wait... what?

ANYWAY, I wanted to let everyone who hasn't booked a hotel room know that The Benson Hotel is featured on Jetsetter.com right now with rooms for $95/night. Please, please, please reach out to others and share rooms- you'll save so much money if you do. Pete started the Facebook event page for this reason, so please take advantage of it if you're still looking for a room. The Benson Hotel is stunning, and allegedly every president since Taft has stayed there. Pete and I actually had dinner at their restaurant for my senior prom!

To book a room at The Benson Hotel off Jetsetter, just go to their site. If you don't have a jetsetter account, you can sign up with this link here and follow the steps. Jetsetter is a "members only" site which just means you need to get an invite from someone you know, but the membership is 100% free. You have to pay for your trips of course, but there's no annual fee to be a member, and you get access to some really extraordinary deals on hotels and international excursions.

Have you heard of The Head and the Heart? Well, they're a Seattle based band with music who's like a more youthful and energetic Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. Remember them? Anyhow, Jessica introduced them to me, and I can't get enough. She described them as "folksy rock" and I couldn't agree with her more. They're playing at the Wonder Ballroom the day after our wedding so for anyone who will still be here, please come to the show! It's an all ages show and $15 per ticket. You can buy your ticket at ticketmaster.com OR you can buy your tickets for $15 at the door the day of as well. If you don't have anything planned for the day after our wedding, we'd love to hang out with you at the show!

p.s. :):)

Something blue...

This post is dedicated to Chi Rosie. In lieu of the blue bird in my hair, what's your opinion on this concoction?

photo via OMG I'm Getting Married!

Peter didn't approve of the blue bird like in Sex & the City, but I'm sure this would be okay. :)


p.s. :):)

Spring is here!!

photo via Twig and Thistle

I'm so sorry for the lack of posts the past couple days. There's only 38 days left until the wedding tough! Eek! I remember freaking out a little bit when the countdown went into double digits, now there's barely a month left! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. Good thing everything is mostly done, so there's not a lot to stress out about.

Thank you for everyone's well-wishes for my uncle. I don't know how you all found out, but I appreciate the thoughts and prayers as I know his wife and girls do as well. You'll be happy to know he's recovering very well and is now cancer free. YIPPEE!

A quick update on the wedding planning: We've hashed out a first draft of the schedule of the day-of and our florists/coordinators at Punch have been so amazing with the design. They are truly so creative. One of these days, we'll just have to post about all of our vendors. We've been so lucky to get to work with such creative minds.

Thanks to everyone who kept an eye out for the bow ties for our groomsmen. My lovely cousin in San Francisco, Chi Linh, has graciously offered to MAKE all the bow ties and Pete's tie for us. I wish I could show you guys her mock up, but it'll be more fun as a surprise. For those who can't make it to the wedding, we'll be sure to post lots of pictures, don't worry!

The only other update is that we finally have a wedding singer and organist for our ceremony! Yay! She's actually the regular singer during mass at St. Patrick's so we didn't have to look that hard. It was just a matter of contacting her and making sure she was available. We haven't met our organist, but her last name is Goodenough (true story), so I'm sure she'll be wonderful.

This past weekend, my darling bridesmaids, Charlie, Mayuko, and Danielle planned an amazing bridal shower. Danielle moved down to California a couple days before the shower, and if I was good with technology, I'd crop her into this picture, but I'm not and therefore I posted a picture of us from when she visited me in California instead.

And because no one was in charge of picture-taking, we all forgot about taking a group picture. I'm so sorry we missed like half of the people who came! I wish I could photoshop you in, but I don't know how!! Nonetheless, I so appreciate you gals coming from all sorts of different directions to help me celebrate my soon-to-be marriage to Pete. Like I posted on my facebook wall, I seriously felt like a hippie all day just being high off all the love. I was blown away by how loved I truly felt that day. I am SO excited for the wedding now. Not that I wasn't before, but more now because I know I'll have the best people there to celebrate with me (and Pete). :)

Thank you Isabelle for taking this group photo! :)

My bridal shower wasn't the only party this weekend. Pete's entourage threw him what has been described as "an EPIC bachelor party." I know it's like a cardinal sin for me to know anything that happened during his weekend, but from what little they've told me, I am SO jealous of what they were able to experience. For roughly half a second, I wished I was a boy so I could have been at his bachelor party. Anyhow, I'll let him expand on his party if he so chooses. All I have to say is... The Veteran better effing come to our wedding or I will be thoroughly disappointed in all 13 of you who were there. No lie.

In other news, Dame Elizabeth Taylor passed away last night. You really can't think of marriage and not think of one of the most stunning and beautiful woman to ever walk this planet. She was a strong and confident woman who was simply addicted to love. I've read two of her biographies, and both times, I was left in awe of her compassion for humanity. She knew exactly who she was- violet eyes and all- and she was proud. What an iconic and extraordinary human being.

"I don't entirely approve of some of the things I've done, or am, or have been. But I'm me. God knows, I'm me."

"I call upon you to draw from the depths of your being to prove that we are a human race, to prove that our love outweighs our need to hate, that our compassion is more compelling than our need to blame."

-Elizabeth Taylor

So much love to you from us.
p.s. :):)

My San Diego Friends..

We recently received a blank RSVP card. Looks like it was sent out Friday March 11th, 2011. So if you happen to recognize it, would you kindly let us know? =)

p.s. :) :)

Price Nego-ti-ator

Recently, one of my friends mentioned that you can look for hotels off of Priceline (dot) com. you can go and do the 'name your price' option and hopefully a hotel will accept it. The only thing is, you do not get to pick which hotel you're staying at. So if you place a bid at $70 for a 4 star hotel, you would enter in your information on what days you would like to stay and payment. Then you wait for confirmation if someone accepts, you're booked! Simple!

p.s. :) :)

Very belated birthday wishes!

To Papa Tran!

We're sorry we didn't post for you on your actual day. Technically, Peter started a post, but never finished it. Hopefully he'll add to the post when he gets a chance. We did talk to you on your day, but more birthday wishes is never bad! Chúc mừng sinh nhật Bố! We love you so very much, and can't wait to see you in April! :)

Also, happy birthday to Baby Huy! We looooove you, Chom Chom!

Last week, I was hit with the ever-annoying flu bug. I couldn't get anything done, and now I'm playing catch up. I'm almost back to normal now, but poor Pete might have caught it. I hope everyone is bundling up- it's been really cold out there. We heard it even snowed a little bit in San Diego!

Like I said, lots to catch up on, so we'll post again at another time. Just wanted to say hello before we disappear again for another couple days. We'll give more wedding planning updates soon. There's lots to talk about! Remember to send in your RSVP cards! If you don't want to send in the card, a verbal RSVP is a-ok with us. Even a text or email would be better than not hearing from you at all. Closer to the date, we'll need to start doing seating arrangements and name tags, so it'd just save us a lot of time if we already knew whether or not you were attending. Thank you to those who have already done so :)

Also, if you're looking for a good movie to see, don't see The Adjustment Bureau. It's been compared to Inception but is no where near the same level of sophistication in writing, directing, acting, etc. I would, however, recommend The King's Speech- a film truly deserving of all its awards and recognition. That, and I am so in love with Colin Firth.

Anyway, I wouldn't be opposed to this getup for our photo session. What do you think, Pete? Bridal party?? hahaha. I'm (kind of) kidding.

photo via Style Me Pretty

p.s. :):)