Eric and I have known each other since the fifth grade. He sat behind me in eighth grade English class and had a secret crush on me -- no wonder I couldn't get him to talk to me. We parted ways for high school, then met back up a couple of years post graduation; our brothers were roommates and we both attended a party at their house where sparks flew. We've now been together for over four years and have built a beautiful home and life together and are so excited to share our love and happiness with those closest to us.
Our wedding will be on May 12, 2011 in Oceanside, CA. We live in Phoenix, but have always enjoyed vacations to San Diego, so we decided that a relaxed ceremony on the beach sounded perfect for us! We found a beautiful beach house that sleeps 28 people, where both of our families will stay with us. We'll have our ceremony on the sand and our reception on the two rooftop decks of the amazing beach house. We're going for a laid-back, fun party (no bridesmaids or groomsmen, no chairs for the ceremony, no tuxedo for Eric). My brother will play the guitar while I walk down the "aisle," and my best friend from high school will officiate the service. We expect around 40 guests and have budgeted the wedding to be within $10,000 with a few DIY projects and some money-saving ideas. Though the wedding will be nondenominational, we will be incorporating some Jewish traditions to celebrate my heritage.
I've also managed to incorporate both Eric's and my lifelong obsessions; Spiderman and Marvel Comics for Eric, and elephants for me, into the wedding day details. I've created a "Sleeping Chart" for the beach house and will label each room with a different Marvel character. Guests will find their rooms by finding the cardboard standup character that has his/her name on it and locating the matching sticker on the floor plan. We'll also have a special guest book: an oversized comic book that guests can insert polaroids of themselves into and fill in the captions. I found a beautiful stone carved elephant statue for the cake topper and will add subtle touches of elephant decor throughout the wedding...so very us!
We then plan to have a postwedding celebration back in Phoenix for all of our friends to help us celebrate. I've been gradually planning the wedding and spreading out costs and have yet to have a stressful moment. I am NOT a girl who has thought about her wedding for her entire life; in fact, I never thought I would actually WANT to get married. Eric has changed all that. This experience has been so much fun!
One of the biggest concerns I had to overcome was the fact that I've had a rocky relationship with my father my entire life and I had to decide how much I wanted to involve him in the occasion, as well as find out how much (if at all) he would want to help. To my surprise, after a lot of lengthy emails with bullet points (he's a lawyer and as such, tends to be very formal) he told me that he would split the cost of the wedding with my mom! In the end, I am glad that he will be a part of the most important day of our lives.
I think we should be featured on The Knot or WeddingChannel.com because the story of our relationship is so unique, the wedding we are having is $10K, and Eric and I are frequently referred to as the "Fun Couple." We couldn't be more excited for our special day!
May 13, 2010