Mr. & Mrs. Link

The Save the Dates weren’t done yet. A few weeks ago we went to Kinkos and got the cards printed on card-stock glossy photo-paper. Here we made a little error that cost us that few weeks that it’s been since we went to Kinkos.

We printed four cards to a single 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. Then, we made the mistake. We had them cut the pages yeilding a pile of 4.25″ x 5.5″ cards. But we still had to print the backs. The trouble was that we couldn’t find a printer that would print on cards that small. We looked everywhere.

Finally, though it was Grooms Man Dan who saved the day. He had access to a printer that could manage the cards, although it wasn’t an easy task for him. But he made it happen ’cause that’s what All Star Members of the Wedding Party do.

So there’s the back. Printing’s done. Time to address, stamp and mail.

But first, gotta watch the State of the Union Address.

I bet you didn’t/won’t have to get official permission from the Senate Select Committee on Ethics to get married. Well, I do!

See, I work for a U.S. Senator, and technically attending an event in my honor that costs more than $49.99 constitutes a violation of Rule 35 (the gift ban). Accepting gifts that cost more than $49.99 are individual violations of the same rule.

So, the event requires an official waiver, which I applied for today. Rumor has it, the request is a formality in that it will be granted. I just have to put in writing that the gifts and event aren’t the result of my official job.

Tiffany wants me to gently clarify that there will be no Rule 35 restriction when we get married. So no one should set a $49.99 budget or anything rash like that!

Tags: planning

Whenever the topic of tuxedos comes up, someone suggests something like this (1.67MB .mov file). Don’t think it will work for our wedding, but I’m glad someone out there did it.

The paragon of a Hopkins Medical student. Smart, witty, driven, and extreme upper body flexibility. Meet Alice Yao.

Physician… love thyself – Alice giving herself a big birthday hug.

Read more… …

Tags: wparty

It wasn’t a drive from Chicago to New York or a discussion of death and whether men and women can be friends. It was a trip up the Grapevine to a debate tournament in Fresno and a discussion about eating oranges.

But just like Harry and Sally, who had no idea what would result from the drive to New York, neither Tiffany nor I could have predicted the results of a simple conversation about biochemistry, a promise ring and, of course, eating oranges one cell at a time.

Tags: genesis

It’s finally done! Jed’s ring arrived yesterday from the lazer engraving place. And it looks A-W-E-S-O-M-E. So here’s the final product. I’m really pleased with how it turned out. You can see the edges are shiny yellow gold, and the inside is brushed white gold. Jed’s idea turned out to become this one of a kind, amazing ring that he will wear as a symbol of our love for the rest of his life. I know I’ve said this several times, but I am one lucky girl.

The ring in the box

a closer look

Tags: jed's ring, planning

There have been several anxious inquiries about the engagement photos. Well, they are in progress. There are issues with ownership and such. You know how these things go. We’re working on it.

From a special section in the January 25, issue of The Hill:

(Them) $19 billion: The average yearlyi amount spent on wedding nationally.
(Us) We come in well below this, at $1.2 billion.

(Them) $26,327: Average total cost of a wedding.
(Us) See above.

(Them) 168: The typical number of wedding guests.
(Us) Hard to tell right now, but we’re guessing around 200, assuming that many people like us enough.

(Them) 15%: Percent of weddings held outdoors.
(Us) We’re in the 85%.

(Them) 83%: Brides who take their husband’s last name.
(Us) Again, we’re in teh majority. Go Link, go!

(Them) 2,178,400: Number of marriages in the US in 2004.
(Us) Zero. We’re getting married in 2006.

(Them) 86%: Portion of young adults who think that marriage is hard work.
(Us): Anything worth having is worth working for.

(Them) 61%: Percentage of couples who exclude the word “obey” from their vows.
(Us): We haven’t talked about this, but Tiffany will do whatever I say because I say so (haha)…

(Them) $8 billion: Amount spent on honeymoons each year in the US, on average.
(Us) We aren’t spending quite that much.

(Them) 16 months: Average duration of an engagement.
(Us) 11 months.

(Them) 27: Average age of first-time brides.
(Us) 24.

(Them) 29: Average age of first-time grooms.
(Us) 27.

In Norway, 51% of the population thinks that the main purpose of marriage is to have children. In Italy, it’s 45%. In the US, it’s 30%.

We’re getting married in California, where between 1990 and 2004 the number of marriages declined 64,400 – the most in the US. That’s despite a population increase of 5,724,432, or 20%. New York, South Carolina, Ohio and Illinois are second through fifth in this category.

If you want to go where the bells are ringing the most, get hitched in Nevada where there were 22,400 more weddings in 2004 than in 1990. You can also go to numbers two through five: Florida, North Carolina, Hawaii and Wisconsin.

Nevada had an increase of

At the Airport back from Colorado, Tiffany bought as many bridal magazines as she could. She used them to look at dresses, honeymoon destinations, plans and everything else that we’ve already posted about in this blog.

Tiffany with her “first” bridal magazine at Flathead Lake a few days after I popped the question.

Busted…

After living in our apartment for the last six months, on painful and slightly disturbing reality has become evidently clear. We buy into the public service announcement rhetoric, but in our case the warnings turn out to be nothing but smoke and mirrors. Deception spawned by a simple undeniable fact: Our smoke detector hates us.

Click for full size

Boil water? It goes off. Turn on the range. It goes off. Say the word “cook” in a voice louder than a whisper. beeep-beeep-beeep-beeep…

It’s gotten so bad that we have a fan just sitting next to the kitchen plugged in pointing at the detector. If you turn on the range, you might as well turn on the fan to create a wind-tunnel through which nothing resembling smoke can pass.

But…

Strike a match to light a candle. Silence.

Run out of matches so light an 8.5×11 piece of paper on the stove, carry it across the room, light the candle and blow the paper out filling the room with smoke. Nothing.

Start a fire in the fireplace without knowing if the flue is open (it’s not) causing the entire apartment to smell like smoke for two days…

Zilch.

It would be easy to just take the battery out, right. But then if there’s ever a fire we wouldn’t have anyone to blame as the building collapses around us. And I want that righteous satisfaction right before I die.

Tags: home