Wow, I’m ahead of schedule!
I am very, very excited. So I know I just got engaged like, last week, but I’ll let you in on a little secret: I knew it was coming. As a result, I sorta started planning a little bit. I just wanted to test the waters a little, and since Mr. Stinkerpants had seven (yes, SEVEN) weeks off from work, I figured there was no better time to check out reception venues. So we looked at a lot of places, and we just booked one! I seriously couldn’t be happier–not only because it’s an AMAZING place to have our reception, but because it’s an AWESOME deal (at least, by San Francisco standards). This place, called “the Green Room,” is in the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in downtown SF. It’s a hidden gem–because it’s owned by the government, they do no advertising–so hardly anyone knows about them…and even still, it’s really competitive! We originally wanted to get married September 6, 2008, but we couldn’t get that date. Our second choice was August 30th, and we couldn’t get THAT date! So our official date (which we’re perfectly happy with) is August 2, 2008.
The outside of the War Memorial/Performing Arts Center:
Believe it or not, for only $25, you can have those lights on the building changed to whatever color you want! I joked with Mr. Stinkerpants that I’ll have them turn the whole building pink and hang a huge sign on the building that says “THE STINKERPANTS’: EVERLASTING LOVE” or something equally cheesy. He looked like he wanted to barf. Too bad he knew I was kidding.
You can click the following pictures to make them bigger, btw.
The inside of the Green Room (OMG I’m so excited!):
This is the patio, which is off the side of the Green Room.
This is the view from the patio. It’s the back of city hall (which, oddly enough, looks like what you’d expect the front to look like):
So that’s where we’re having the reception. We’re not having the ceremony there because we want to incorporate nature into our wedding somehow…but we weren’t sure where to have it. One day we were at Crissy Field and we decided to take a little walk down memory lane. On May 8th of 2005, I (like the cheesy 8th grader that I am) asked Mr. Stinkerpants if I could be his girlfriend right under a tree at Crissy Field. Awww….so suddenly I said, “Why don’t we have the ceremony here?!” Turns out, it’s only $400 for a permit to use the little amphitheater right next to the tree, and I think with a little bit of decoration it will look totally awesome. Plus, you can’t beat the location OR the sentimental value.
This is where we hope to have our ceremony. It’s the Crissy Field Amphitheater:
Just so you get an idea of the amazing surroundings (I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO!), this is the view from one direction:
And this is the view from the other (you might have to make this pic really big in order to see, but that’s basically the entire city. You can see the Palace of Fine Arts/Exploratorium and the Transamerica building if you look hard enough):
Also, I bought my wedding dress. Shocking, I know. It was so fun! After the proposal, my mom was here for a week. We decided to go shopping for wedding dresses, just to see what was out there. So last Tuesday Katie called in sick to work, and she, my mom, Winnie (Mr. Stinkerpants’ mom) and I went shopping. We had SUCH a great time, and we found a beautiful dress. My mom and I went shopping around together the rest of the week, and we just couldn’t get a dress we saw on Tuesday out of our heads. So on Thursday afternoon, we went back and I tried it on again. It’s fabulous! I was very happy because I got a great deal on the dress (I bought it off the rack). But no one gets to see it until the wedding! I know I probably sound like a psychopath because I am very far ahead of schedule. But this is fun. And in any case, it turns out that people have to book their reception venue, caterer and photographer at least a year in advance if they want the opportunity to get what they want. So I guess I’m only ahead of schedule on the dress–and even that you’re supposed to order 9 months ahead of time. So maybe I’m not too crazy.
In any case, I’m excited!
The end.