Time for another update on all things wedding!
A couple weeks ago, we spent 1.5 hours on the phone with our DJ and MC going over everything they’ll be involved in. Our conversation had very little to do with music, actually, and much more to do with the general flow of the evening. Tera and Wayne will be key in helping the evening run smoothly, so we went over all the little details — whether we want to be introduced, when we want the cake cutting, what kind of dances we want and when, and even how we want to exit. It was a good session, and Jose and I both left feeling confident that Tera and Wayne will do their best to keep things running so that we don’t have to worry about it! That’s a huge help, and we wouldn’t have had it with an iPod wedding. Score one for hiring a DJ/MC combo.
Last week, a few days before my birthday, we bought airplane tickets for our honeymoon! Plane tickets to Belize had risen to an absurd $650 each (for a short 2.5 hour flight!) so for a few weeks Hawaii was back on the table, but then the tickets to Belize City dropped again and we jumped on it. We’ve got tickets, and on Tuesday I confirmed our reservation at the Turtle Inn in Placencia. Our friends Matt and Stephanie stayed there for their own honeymoon four or five years ago and all the books say it’s one of the best resorts in the entire country. I’m very excited to have our own thatched-roof cottage, go swimming and snokeling in the Caribbean, and see some Mayan ruins and monkeys. I even got a cute new bathing suit for the occasion. 
We also finished up our wedding registry since we were both tired of the headache it was causing us. In the end, we decided to just register for what we truly want and need and forget trying to find stuff at all price points, etc. We went with Macy’s for kitchen supplies, sheets and towels, Target for miscellaneous items like bathroom decor for our soon-to-be three bathrooms, Lowe’s for a random assortment of things we’ll need for the new house like a drill and a hose, and Honeyfund for anyone who would rather just help us enjoy our week in Belize!
(Jose dancing with Kimberly)
Last weekend Jose and I were in Corpus Christi for his cousin Kimberly’s wedding. While there, we worked on a few things we needed to talk to his family about. There is a tradition in Hispanic families of having “padrinos” or sponsors, which is a way of having all the family members pitch in to help throw a wedding (or quinceanera). Basically, various people help pay for the flowers, or invitations, or DJ, etc (for example, Jose and I paid for part of the ballroom for Kimberly’s wedding.) It’s very strange to me to think about asking his family for specific amounts of money to pay for certain wedding items, but they really want to do it — and expect to be asked. So we left his mom with a list of various items available and they will divide it up as they see fit. At the reception, padrinos are recognized so we will have them called by name before we do the toasts.
I also sat down with his mom and went through albums upon albums of photos to find some adorable shots of little Jose. My mom and sister want to put together a board or album with pictures of both of us through the years. I can’t wait to see it. HOW CUTE is that shot of 1 year old Jose on an awesome airplane toy?? I love it. And the one with his mom where he’s smiling really big? When he laughs really hard, his face still looks like that, all scruched up and happy. Aw. I love little Jose.
And last night as we watched the Rockets give away a win to the Suns, I used three different cutters to turn 7 large sheets of paper into this nice little pile of 84 sheets. Construction of the invitations has begun! I hope to have them finished by the end of this weekend and ready to be put in the mail on Monday morning. That might be a little optimistic, so the secondary goal is to have them on their way by Easter, a week later.