being a guy and going through this is kinda different. well thats my assumption. we dont really grow up planning our dream wedding or all the details that go into the making. heck i dont even know all the traditions and unspoken rules about what is done. this past week i have been trying to set up appointments with venues(may have to switch) and caterers and i find myself having to ask a lot of questions and pretty much let the person on the other end guide me through it. most are amazingly helpful and some are shocked to hear that there is the groom on the other end, im okay with that. i love her lots.

-manny

i absolutely love my family and so happy to see them excited about the process for me. my parents offering me money that i didnt even know they had, an aunt offering to pay for our cake, an amazing sister who is super excited to help out. im pretty lucky to have such an amazing and supportive family. thanks.

-manny

we’ve found a potential venue, church, and caterer! now we have to make sure we can pay for all these different things. it’s crazy how quickly the costs add up.

-manny

awesome site for finding venues

so one of the first major tasks so far has been looking at wedding venues. we both love the idea of having a modern venue and have been looking at lofts, galleries, and spaces with cool architecture. one thing that we quickly learned is that cool spaces cost money, lots of it. they cost lots of money just to let you use it; the rental fee does not include catering, decorations and all of the other necessities.

so one of the first venues that i happened to like was BoxEight studios and it’s an awesome looking space with both indoor and outdoor use. however, as we approached the venue we noticed out surroundings starting to look a little sketch. we drove right past the venue not realizing that we had missed it. although it was a cool location with the benefit of a seedy neighborhood strip club on the corner, the prospect of a bum fight happening in or outside of our venue wasnt too exciting.

stuff ive learned about venues thus far…

• they can be really expensive
• saturdays cost more than friday and sunday
• if they dont have tables or a kitchen you have to provide them
• you may have to provide your own licensed bartender
• there are a lot of different places available for rent from train cars to mansions
• people have to park somewhere
• have fun

-manny

it’s seven days later and i’m still in it for the long run :)

needless to say, the proposal was absolutely amazing. manny pulled it off without a hitch and people are still talking about it! he knew i wanted a public proposal and he made it as public as possible :)

and just like manny’s said, the planning has begun! one week ago i wouldn’t have imagined that we’d be checking out wedding venues and churches, openly talking about the big day and our amazing future! without getting too mushy, i’m extremely happy and i’m so excited about this whole process. we’ve both secretly, separately planned for our future together for so long, and can finally share the details with each other.

and yes, i may have unfolded my secret wedding plans within hours of all the guests leaving. i had collected inspiration for a variety of blogs and wanted to share it all with him as quickly as possible. how overwhelming it could have been for him, but he embraced my continued sharing with a smile and told me he loved it.

and after only an iphone photo album, a notebook of scribbles, and a powerpoint presentation later was he completely filled in on my envision :) 

okay so the planing is well on its way. apparently its also been going on for some time now (smile). i must confess i may have looked on a photographers blog or two for wedding ideas. but anyways the first topic that came up was the wedding party. not quite as easy as picking your favorite people, there are family members, cousins, siblings, oh my. lame joke. but anyways time to start making some cuts.

she said yes!  but just in case you wanted more details here we go…

two months ago I came to rachel’s parents and told them I wanted to marry their daughter and after begging and pleading they agreed. jk, they were actually happy and we jumped right into how and when I was going to ask. i told them rachel wanted a public proposal and that I would need her help to gather both sides of the family together while keeping the actual proposal a secret. the date and location changed several times, but finally we agreed upon the 27th of February.

fast forward two months

there was a knock at the door with rudy jr holding a sign made by his younger brother which had the word “she” and an owl pointing in the direction of where she was to go next. rachel would then find another set of people holding the word “woke” and an owl pointing her towards the next person with all of the people from the party trailing behind. as she made her way towards the park, she collected more friends and more signs with the lyrics to song “the question” by the old 97’s. once she got to the park she was greeted by our friends and my family and was given an audio cable and directions to go to the people flying a kite (we flew kites the day following out first kiss) who gave her a fender mini amp. she was then given instructions to go back towards the benches. I met her halfway and plugged my phone into the amp and began to sing the song from the walk over to the park. i sang about a verse and couldnt wait any longer…she said yes.