Archive for May, 2006

Any Tangs in the house?

May 31, 2006 12:15 am

Man, I went over a preliminary guest list with my mother the other day, just to get a sense of the size of venue.  I didn’t realize I was related to so many Lees and Lis.

Total Tangs on the list right now = 4 (not including me)

Total Lees and Lis on the list right now = 31

Planning Planning…

May 30, 2006 9:07 am

A week back from Portugal and I already feel a bit overwhelmed with the thoughts of the upcoming planning.  I bought my first bridal magazine in the airport in Newark–I couldn’t resist.  Then I bought a second one, Seattle Bride, at QFC the other day because I noticed that it was chalk full of local resources.  First issue to face in the planning…

Location: where in the world to have it?  My first gut was Seattle, then my parents reminded me that Las Vegas would be really convenient for the family and a potential fun place for guests to go to.  So Seattle and Vegas are the two candidates (I’m still personally leaning towards Seattle).  But before even looking at places, Matt and I realized that we had to have some sense of the size of the guest list—so we’ve even started putting together a preliminary list for this purpose..and it keeps growing and growing!  Ack.

Out of curiosity and to get a sense of the timeline I had to work with to find a place, I decided to call up Newcastle Golf yesterday to check their availability for next summer—there are only TWO Saturday evenings open left in the summer, plus September is pretty open.  Damn.  Seattle brides really get their act together EARLY.

Okay, so Matt and I aim to visit a bunch of reception/ceremony sites this weekend so we can start narrowing choices down.

Next decision: an outdoor or church ceremony? [sigh]

We’re engaged!

May 22, 2006 4:43 pm

We’re back from Portugal and here’s our engagement announcement:

Dearest friends & family,
As some of you may’ve heard by now, Matt and I wanted to let you know that we’ve just returned from our trip to Portugal—and while we were over there, we GOT ENGAGED!!  We’re extremely excited and eager to start our new life together.
Details, details, details…May 11th: We had just left Lisbon to stay at the uber-romantic Fortaleza do Guincho (our “fortress by the sea”) in Cascais.  Little did I know that Matt had been carrying and guarding the ring with him on this trip the whole time.  We had been traveling with our NYC friends, Debbie & Saevar, and had just finished eating dinner and getting drinks in Cascais with them.  Once back at the hotel, Matt tried to get me to take a nice moonlit walk with him on the beach since there was a full moon and it would be the perfect setting—what he didn’t know was that the Guincho Beach is also often the host of the World Windsurfing Championships and gets extremely windy, particularly at night.  I, completely clueless, totally dismissed the idea because it was dark, windy and cold as a result.  Okay, Plan B.  Matt then decides to propose on the balcony in the room, since it faces the water & the beach and can still capture the moment.  He pours some port wine and suggests stepping out onto the balcony, perhaps with some candles.  I, still clueless, respond by saying “why can’t we just turn the lights on?”. (heh heh, I was being difficult)  Eventually, we step out onto the balcony but I’m shaking a bit from the wind that’s blowing onto the balcony and end up spilling port everywhere while Matt starts mumbling something about his love for me. (again, I’m totally clueless)  I go back inside the room to clean off the port and finally return to the balcony when Matt then pops the question.  Still clueless and completely shocked, my first reaction, looking at the ring, is “What’s that?”.  Soon after, after truly realizing that this was indeed a proposal, I blurt out a huge “YES!”
Looking ahead, we’ve had some conversations about dates, places, etc. but nothing is set in stone—so look out for updates!    

All the best,
Matt and Audrey

 

Fortaleza do Guincho