why i wish i were getting married in thailand...

flowers.
i went to the flower market this morning and picked up some orchids for the house. it's a really beautiful place, a few blocks of flower merchants selling there stuff on the street. lots and lots of beautiful orchids, plus roses and all sorts of other flowers, too! i bought four bunches of orchids plus a really tall, thin bunch for $7.00. sadly, you won't be finding them at our wedding. :-(

pictures!

ok i poached these from one of FH's friends. i think i explained the madness of songkran before, but perhaps a few photos would help? the first is the general insanity. note that this is a large street in the middle of the city. now imagine that for four days.

second photo is of me, getting soaked by seemingly innocent and friendly man (who smiled as he poured a bucket of water on me) while the four men i was with watched and took pictures. yeah, thanks for that. thanks a lot.

and last, a photo to illustrate the bender week it was. a crotch shot of FH.

wedding bee

a few weeks ago, i stumbled upon a wonderful wedding blog. not a website that tells me i have to have a cookie-cutter wedding and tries to constantly sell me stuff. but a real community of fabulous women who are asking lots of smart questions and approaching their big days with humor, grace and great attitudes. real women, except that they are probably better DIYers and writers than the average! some of this stuff is like macgyver level brilliance -- three popsicle sticks, a hot glue gun and and some old pigeon feathers will become a lovely centerpiece in the hands of these able-bodied women.


and one of the bloggers, ms. kiwi, posted a question i had posed about what to do about registering since we are so far from home. what a wonderful community!

http://www.weddingbee.com/2007/04/26/lets-help-suzie/#comment-112574

where have all the sleeves gone?

i've been thinking a lot about wedding gowns. because, you know, before we pick the date i should probably know what i'm wearing, right? ;-)

there's a trend that's been going on for a while, and i don't really like it. seems like every single lovely gown i've looked at is a strapless a-line. of course, they will put rhinestones on it, give you some tulle, even an accent sash. mermaid, plus size, taupe, sure. but all the dresses look pretty much the same.



but why do i want to look like every other bride? aren't i supposed to feel special on my special day?

elephants?

well, it's been a little busy the past couple of weeks! aside from the friends visiting, i've also been really busy with work. freelance is wonderful because i have so much freedom and flexibility, but sometimes i have to do many things at the same time, and that's stressful. oh well, at least i don't have to go into an office!

i'm covering a vacation for a friend of mine who's a tv correspondent and it's been tough to transition from print to tv! but, lots of fun in its own way. here's the story we did today (not the tv version, but you can see what it's about): http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/272480/1/.html
let me tell you, it was 102 degrees here in bangkok today, and after making sure you have all your interviews and b-roll, the last thing on your mind is how you look on camera. i think i'll go down in history as the sweatiest girl ever to be on tv.

what does this have to do with weddings? nothing at all. ;-)

where have i been...

it's been a very busy couple of weeks here. john had some friends visiting from philly and it was non-stop while they were here. now the guys are gone and john's on a business trip till saturday night so i can finally focus on all the things i need to get done.

the worst of it is that we have not yet been able to have a real conversation about the wedding! we promised each other we would discuss when he gets back, but... there are two girls coming to visit from france on saturday, and there is a chance i will have to travel to new delhi next week! someday we'll have some quiet time together to make some decisions.

one of the visitors, the guy who got engaged after us and had his wedding planned in record time (i call him the vince vaghn character because, well, he's pretty tall and big and funny in that vince vaghn sort of way) is getting married on december 30. and he's asked john to be his best man. so there goes a new years eve wedding! vince was like, no way guys! you'll be so hung over from my wedding, you need a couple of days to recover.

back to square one. does anyone get married in january? it would be so much easier for us to do it while we're home for the holidays.

picking the date: new years eve wedding

we've finally decided on a wedding in the US, but the when and where remain. it's got to be somewhere between boston and philly, but we can't pick a venue until we pick a date. i was talking to my friend julie, another american here who got married in boston, and she suggested a new years eve wedding. could it be?

pros:
we'll already be home for the holidays
people in their 30s are generally looking for something to do on december 31
we can have a formal wedding and a big, fun party

cons:
one of fiance's friends from home is getting married on december 30 (and he got engaged after us!)
people might already have plans

is it really selfish to have a wedding on a holiday? i was recently at a destination wedding in jamaica the weekend of thanksgiving and thought it was a little tough to have to fly all the way from southeast asia to america just to miss turkey dinner with our families!