Wedding Plans: The Beginning

The Ring

So when the Chem Geek Princess and her Knight Errant arrived home from England via Dallas, the Engineering Geek met them at the airport (in the CGP's car) and brought them to Weck's for breakfast. They were having Green Chile withdrawal symptoms that had to be attended to immediately!

After oooh-ing and ah-ing over the ring--and as you can see, this was required!--we got right down to the immediate questions as the coffee was poured, and were deep into discussion by the time the Juevos Rancheros and Breakfast Burritos were delivered to the table.

Then we got down to business. Both the Bride and the Groom wanta small and elegant wedding, but they had different definitions of small. He was for immediate family only (about 20 people) she thought small was 100 people. As the discussion continued, I kept notes in my head. From that breakfast discussion and several more, we have gotten the basic outline down. Here is what they have in mind:

• No "sheet-cake wedding": elegant and unique




• Venue: small and intimate: a wedding chapel, a winery, or a Bed and Breakfast; no southwest decor--Victorian?




• Guests: Close family and close friends, the wedding party (~50 people total)




• Date: She was thinking fall 2010, but they have finally settled on April 24, 2010




• Time of day: Evening




• Attire: Black tie required




• Food: Hors d'ouvres, Sparkling waters and fruit juices, cake and a Champaigne Toast (no bar), perhaps a midnight breakfast, no southwestern food, perhaps Italian?




• Groom's jobs: list of close family, friends, his witnesses, he gets the officiant, plans the honeymoon




• Mother of Bride (MOB): plans with bride (CGP), Groom does not sweat details




• Brides parents set budget and bride abides by it (we like this one!)




• Invitations: elegant and formal, sent out in Engineering Geek and MOB's name




• Dress: she's thinking of using her friend's Italian silk dress, and would add a lace jacket but not worried about this yet




• Colors: ivory/candlelight and gold for the women, black tuxes with gold accents and ivory shirts for the men (MOB's requirement: I get to choose my own complimentary color)

Yesterday, the Engineering Geek took me to Butterfield's Jewelry to get me some birthday gold and garnets (on Monday I will celebrate another trip around the sun!) and while we were there, I picked up a free Albuquerque/Santa Fe wedding guide. After perusing it, and consulting the CGP, I signed us up for The Wedding Gallery bridal show to take place two weeks from tomorrow at Hotel Albuquerque, which is advertised to be:

"New Mexico's first luxury wedding showcase, featuring the southwest's finest products, services, and wedding professionals for couples with discerning tastes."

The Chem Geek Princess and her Knight Errant

This sounds like the CGP--after all, her last initial stands for Princess--and her Knight Errant. And the KE himself had suggested it on New Year's day.

So.

I have 16 months.

The fun begins!

And I mean that sincerely. I have been looking forward to this since I cradled the newborn CGP in my arms.