Wednesday, August 27, 2008

some registry inspiration

"If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older." -- Tom Stoppard
So it's been a few days since I last blogged (med school is taking over my life!) and much has happened in the wedding planning world since then, but sadly I once again do not have enough time to share all the exciting things that have been going on (I promise to do some substantial blogging in the near future)!

For now, I just wanted to congratulate our friends Peter and Marianne, and Michelle and DJ, who celebrated their one year anniversary and wedding, respectively, this past Sunday (see below).


Also, I thought you should know that I left Al in charge of working on completing our registry while I was studying last night and to my surprise, when I logged in today I found that he had added this... yes, that is a remote control car. Today he informed me that he'll be adding more "toys" to the registry. Alas, I guess that's what happens when I leave such tasks to someone who is one of the biggest kids I know... or maybe it's just a guy thing? Either way, he makes me laugh so I wouldn't have it any other way. And speaking of registries, ours are almost done, so expect a link to those soon :) .

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." -- 3 John 1:4

Saturday, August 23, 2008

happy future anniversary?


"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." -- Germaine Greer

August 23rd. Today is a very important day (for a couple of reasons). First off, my sister is returning from Uganda/Dubai today! Now while this reality may be sad news to her, it makes me quite happy since I have greatly missed her over the past few months (and I can't wait to hear stories/see pictures of her adventures abroad). And now that she's back in the States, she can reprise her MoH duties, which I'm sure she was thinking about constantly while she was being a humanitarian in a war-torn country (just kidding). But all jokes aside, today is also exactly one year from my wedding AND Alphonse is on his was down to visit again this weekend! So happy future anniversary to us... I'm so happy that I get to spend it with my honey (even though he laughs at me everytime I mention "happy future anniversary"). The way I see it, this is the only future anniversary we have, so why not celebrate it, champagne and all :P ?! And if that isn't corny enough, I just thought you should know that it's both the big things (like looking for jobs in DC) and the little things (like unexpected kisses) that Al does that keep me falling in love with him... and I doubt that will change over our many anniversaries to come.

My favorite girl + my favorite boy + me = sallykat
"...And that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."-- Deuteronomy 30:20

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

veil time! :)

"Humility is a necessary veil to all other graces." -- William Gurnall
It's been a pretty busy week for me, and to top it off, a few of my favorite people (including my friends Sydnie and Gemina, and that silly love of life, Alphonse) were in the area contributing to the happy, speedy disappearance of the past few days. So while I don't quite have time to share with you all of the wedding details we've been working on, here are a few really gorgeous photos of some beautiful veils I found looking through wedding portfolios. I'm leaning towards a cathedral length veil (so I can do this! looks like fun) however, veils are surprisingly expensive! Or perhaps not so surprisingly, since all things wedding-related seem to be quite pricey... but it's just a piece of fancy lace, isn't it?

Top: photos by Orange Turtle, Bottom: photos by Ed Pingol
click to enlarge

Also, I know Al's not supposed to see me in my wedding dress before the big day, but what about the veil? Does anyone know? I have pictures of me in a veil I was thinking of posting.

"How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead."-- Song of Solomon 4:1

Saturday, August 16, 2008

suit yourself.

"Overwear, underwear, any time, anywhere... Dress has always been my strongest suit" -- From the musical Aida
When Al and I first started discussing wedding apparel, Al made it quite clear that he wanted to wear "a nice suit" and not a tuxedo. A few months back, when we first met with our photographer, she said that recently she's been seeing a lot of grooms opt for suits, particularly for summer weddings. So, considering our wedding is on a summer afternoon, and Alphonse and I are not really the super formal type anyways, we're on the hunt for a nice summer suit. Below are photos (courtesy of style me pretty) of a few recent summer weddings that Al and I both like.

For more info on this first wedding, click here or here. I like this wedding because their colors are the same as ours (yellow and blue!) and they do a nice job of bringing everything together:


and for more info on this second wedding, click here or here. I love this wedding because it has a lot of great details and the bride's dress is so pretty!


Enjoy! We'll keep you posted as we figure out more details (style, color, etc.) about what my lovely future hubby will be wearing. Also, we're in the process of registering, so stay tuned for that info :) .

"The LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him'" -- Genesis 2:18

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

blessings big and small.

"Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; / Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. / Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above. / Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love." -- Robert Robinson
On Monday was my dreaded first exam of medical school, and I'm happy to say (results in hand) that it went over quite well. In fact, I'm having a ridiculously good week, and Al is coming down to visit on Friday, so it looks like it should just keep getting better. Last week while I was studying I played my favorite hymn (Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing) on repeat because I can always relate to the lyrics, whether I'm celebrating a really good day or just trying to get through an extra tough hour (actually it's the most played song on my iTunes, with >630 plays, no joke). Anyways, when I went to church on Sunday I was just so thankful for how blessed I've been over the past few months and I lifted up my exam and any anxiety I had about medical school. And right when I finished my prayer, none other than this hymn started to play. I almost started to cry because it's such a beautiful song and so relevant in my life (to be fair, I should admit that I also almost cried during the National Anthem when Michael Phelps got his first gold medal of the year over the weekend). I guess, all in all, it's been a week full of happy (almost) tears and lots to be thankful for.

Now you may be wondering what on earth this has to do with our wedding... well, as it may be, Al and I decided that we would have this hymn played at our ceremony. I mean it makes sense, after all, since the song is about praising God for his grace and blessings, and I feel sooo blessed that Alphonse is in my life for always.

Since the wedding is still a while away, I definitely recommend that you check out the lyrics to the song if you're not familiar with it, and to hear the song for yourself, click here and simply press play as shown here:


O to grace how great a debtor Daily I’m constrained to be! Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.

Monday, August 11, 2008

a transatlantic wedding

"Live in the moment and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering!" -- Fanny Crosby
With classwork starting to build up, I'm finding I have less time to blog (although there's always so much to write about!). To hold you over for a little while, I thought I'd share a fun update about my sister with you. As many of you know she's spending the summer in Uganda again this year, and just a few weeks ago she had the pleasure of partaking in a wedding over there. Since I love all things wedding related at the moment, I thought I'd share a snippet of her experience with you. She writes:
"Last Saturday I got to go to a traditional Uganadan wedding, actually I got to be in it! I met the groom in town, he works for the teso maternity project. It was soo cool, it was the "introduction" which is basically the traditional ceremony before the actual church wedding which will probably be sometime next year. The two families basically meet officially and the groom pays the dowry (it was 10 goats and some cows) and presents tons of gifts to the bride's family. And they do this skit where they pretend to be selecting the bride from a group of women (I think to imitate how it was traditionally done). I actually got to be in the wedding -- picture me carrying a basket of fruit on my head during the procession, which was presented to the bride's family from the groom."
Sounds like fun. Here's a photo of my sister at the wedding in the traditional kikoi with her friends Sarah and Jeje.


"When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them."
-- Job 29:24

Saturday, August 9, 2008

08 x 3 and recent happiness

"I can only think of one thing greater than being happy and that is to help another to be happy, too." -- Jim Thompson
Last night was a big night... not only did it mark the start of the 2008 summer Olympics, but it also was the most popular day to get married so far in 2008. I mean who wouldn't want to get married on 08/08/08? And on top of that, one of my good friends proposed yesterday (an engagement of Olympic proportions perhaps?). Together with all of my other friends who have been sharing happy news of their recent engagements, this new addition to the engaged club made me quite happy, to say the least. Seeing other people happy and in love makes smile (a lot).

Here are a few of my friends who recently got engaged: (L-R) Andrew and Julia, Julie and Dean, Jeff and Tara. Mazel Tov to each of you!


"...Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" -- Matthew 25:21

Thursday, August 7, 2008

happy 6 month engagement!

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." -- From When Harry Met Sally
Today is exactly six months from when Al first proposed to me. Part of me is in disbelief about how quickly time has gone by since that day, while the rest of me feels like: "Let's just do this already!" I can't believe it's still over a year until our wedding!

Six months, twelve months... one thing's for sure: we're still as in love and as silly as ever. To prove it, here are a few pictures from my NJ visit a few weeks ago:

Click to enlarge

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" -- Ecclesiastes 3:1

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

blooming bridal party...

"Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher" -- Oprah Winfrey
Sooo, Al and I have a pretty big bridal party (so many family and friends). To be honest, I tried to veto the big bridal party, but after many a discussion, we decided to move forward and keep all the people that we originally hoped to include. And after browsing pictures of weddings on theknot.com and of my friend's weddings, I'm much more at ease about having a large bridal party. The more the merrier... I'll be posting the bridal party on the blog soon!

Photo from my friends Flo & Earl Manguiat's wedding
9 bridesmaids, 10 groomsmen, 1 flower girl, and 1 ring bearer!

"The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends." -- Proverbs 14:20

Sunday, August 3, 2008

more bouquets.

"If the sun always shines, there's a desert below. It takes a little rain to make love grow." -- Unknown
So a couple of entries ago I mentioned my new approach to flower finding, which excludes many different flowers (including this lovely, simple bouquet). Note to future brides: get married in the spring... tons of gorgeous flowers in season! But since a spring wedding wouldn't work for me anyways, let's not cry over spilled milk. So moving on, for the bouquets (mine and the bridesmaids') I think I want to try to keep things simple beautiful (aka not too many different flowers and vibes going on at once). To that end here are a few bouquets from theknot that I've been liking lately:


Clockwise from top left:
  1. double Dutch tulips and sweet pea -- very simple and light, the sweet peas add some texture
  2. yellow mini calla lilies, ivory roses, light green hydrangea, and green poms, kumquats, and berries -- a little too busy for me, but I like the way they incorporated unique pieces, like berries
  3. blue hydrangea ball -- simple and full, i think this might make a nice bridesmaid bouquet
  4. white peonies and yellow garden roses accented with green hypericum berries and sprigs of rosemary -- again, I love round flowers like peonies, and I like the way they used sprigs and berries.
"He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden; it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks and looks for a place among the stones." -- Job 8:16-17

Friday, August 1, 2008

a new white chapter.

"White ... is not a mere absence of color; it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black.... God paints in many colors; but He never paints so gorgeously, I had almost said so gaudily, as when He paints in white." -- Gilbert Keith Chesterton
So today was my white coat ceremony at school, which marks the start of a new chapter of my life: being a humanist/physician. It seems quite appropriate that this event took place today since the last time someone helped me get dressed in a different really important white garment was when my sister helped me try on wedding gowns at the "running of the brides" in Manhattan back in February, marking the start of an equally important chapter in my life. As coincidence would have it, the "running of the brides" here in DC (home of the White House and my new home for the next 4+ years, also another new chapter in my life) was this morning. So cheers to crisp white clothes, and all the love, responsibility, and hope that they bring with them.


"Mordecai left the king's presence wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration." -- Esther 8:15