The Wedding Day-Part 2

Today is our one month "anniversary". I can't believe that it has been that long since we got married! Andre got me a card and a sweet treat! I didn't get him anything! pobrecito! I will make it up to him for the second month.

Our ceremony was scheduled at 4:00 PM because we wanted to have our pictures taken with natural light. We followed our photographer's advice for good pictures and made everybody get ready early. The pictures from the salon and the hotel are in the previous post here. I forgot to mention that while I was in Cali, most of the time I was on the phone!!!! I hate talking on the phone! I love texting, emailing, using facebook, or twitter, but I HATE calling someone (unless it's for a good reason). While I was in Cali, I had a local prepaid phone that barely received texts and I could not respond only receive messages. The challenge is that in Colombia, when you call, you pay!! People do not call you, you have to call them. They might call you, but the hang up quickly so that you return the call and pay for it.

Most of our guests were from out of town. Even my friends from Cali now live in Bogota or somewhere else. I was only concerned about the non-colombians. My mom, who was the best wedding planner I could have had, found a van for 13 people. This was perfect for us, but we still needed more cars. The van driver had a friend who drove 5 more guests in a taxi. We also had a friend who let us use her car and her driver for the day to take Andre and his parents. Also, another driver took 3 more friends. The van was scheduled to start picking people up at 3:00 PM. Just before 3:00 PM, the driver called me to confirm the time to pick up the first group of people!!!!! I don't remember what I told him but I was very upset!! We talked about this at least 10 times before the wedding! I think I might have over reacted because he didn't call me again. I knew the guests were going to be a little late, so we planned for a 4:15 PM to 4:20 PM arrival.

Andre was supposed to pay for more minutes for our phones, BUT he forgot to do it!!! I had enough money for 1 or 2 calls and he had NADA! While we were taking pictures, my phone rang and I saw in the called ID that it was the other photographer. We got scared for a moment, but it was just Andre to ask something. He had no money left in his phone, and he had to use the photographer's phone. They were extremely nice and Valeria helped us a lot while getting ready. I will definitely recommend them!! This was the last phone call that I received. I was getting very upset of having people asking me questions. Everyone knew what they had to do, where they were going to be picked up, and at what time. I gave my cell phone to one of my sisters and forgot about it.

Here are some of the pictures while I was getting the annoying phone calls. I should have posted them yesterday, but there are so many pictures that I lost track of the order. All the pictures were taken by Valeria from Efeunodos.

My family

My parents - married 47 years

My sisters and best friends

My nephew David was the ring bearer

Mariana, the flower girl, just after the strap of her shoe was gone

While Andre was getting ready and when we were on our way to the venue, the groom had a little photo session with his family. These pictures were taken by Juan Felipe Rubio from efeunodos.

Andre with his parents before the ceremony

with his brother and sisters

Andre's nieces

After we left the hotel in the cute 1903 car, we realized that we were going to be early. We stopped at a gas station to get some water and kill a few minutes. I had no phone and Andre had no minutes! Valeria, the photographer, called her husband Juan Felipe, the other photographer, to ask him if the guests (and the groom) had arrived. When he said that most people were there we kept going.

As we go close to the place I started to get a little nervous. I was not nervous about getting married, but I do not like people staring at me. Walking down the aisle was not a big dream that I had, it was more something I had to do to make my dad happy. I get shy when so many people are looking at me at the same time. Definitely not the center of attention type of girl, but I survived. My mom had already arrived and she wanted everybody to see the old car. She had everyone outside the chapel waiting for my arrival. The problem was that they had to be inside the chapel. At this moment it was total chaos, and I don't remember who said that they had to get inside but it happened. Then the wedding march started to play.

One of our hand-made decorations for the wedding! Thanks Michelle! :)

waiting while they got people inside the chapel

My favorite picture with my dad

The day before the wedding

After a whole week in Tampa, I'm finally recovered from the jet lag. The first week at work was hard! After almost 4 weeks off, I had to make a big effort to keep my concentration and my energy. I needed LOTS of coffee last week.

I will start blogging about the big day, the things that went well and not so well, and the details that we did the days before. I got all the pictures now and I will publish some of my favorites.

I wrote a couple of posts about Cali before and after the wedding if you want to read about the madness. Those 10 days went by very quickly.

The day before the wedding (Friday) was probably the busiest day of the trip, even worse than the actual wedding day. On Thursday night, we went to a bar with some of Andre's friends that arrived from Quito that day. I didn't know that the bars in the City were closing at 1:00 AM, but it was good for us since we had a long day ahead of us. I almost had a panic attack Thursday night because the cellular networks were down in the WHOLE Country!!! I had no way to confirm the time or where we were going to meet the photographers, or to confirm the transportation for all of our foreigner guests. I really had no idea how long an issue like this could last. The first thing I did when I woke up on Friday was to check my cell phone. It worked! I was relieved and ready for the busy day ahead.

We had planned a photo session for months with our wedding photographers that was going to take place Friday afternoon. I knew that it was not the best idea, but they live in Bogota and this was the only day that we could do it. We also had a cocktail party to welcome the travelers at 7:00 PM. We had lots of small details to finish, and I also had an appointment for my hair and makeup at 10:00 AM. Early that day, we took all the alcohol to the hacienda and all the hand made decorations for the party and the ceremony. I went to my salon appointment, my mom brought me lunch to the salon, and we headed to the Country Club where we would have the photo shoot at 2:00 PM. We had a driver pick us up at the salon, pick up the photographers, and take all of us to the Club. The Club Campestre is located about 40 minutes from my parent's home without traffic.

We spent about 4 hours taking pictures around the golf course, the lake, the pool, and the polo field. This club is a beautiful place. I originally wanted a Cali theme for this photo session, but the reports of robbery and the safety issues in the City were scary. It was better to go to a private place instead of walking around the streets with two big cameras.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Friday Afternoon. We have 220 pictures from that day. I think I even like them more than our wedding pictures.

Amazing trees everywhere!

My favorite picture of the session

My hair is so long! now it is fried and long

We loved the purple flowers of this tree

Cholados are very typical in Cali! It is shaved ice with fresh fruits and condensed milk!!

The traffic on Friday afternoon is always bad, and we didn't have a lot of time to get ready for the cocktail. We spent about 1.5 hours in the taxi back. We got home at around 7:30 PM. We were not too late because the guests were also late because of the traffic.

This cocktail took a lot of effort to plan and at the end we had to improvise. The restaurant where we wanted to have the event canceled our reservation two weeks before the day. I know the owner and I saw her at the airport the night that we got to Cali. She said that other event was canceled, and we could have the place for us again. By this time, my mom had already order food and reserved the club house from their condominium. I didn't feel I could trust anyone anymore, and if we had more control it would be less stressful. I was wrong. It was more stressful. We ordered food, but had to find trays to serve the food, rent chairs, tables, table cloths, glasses, and get some flowers to decorate the tables. Furthermore, I was gone all day for the pictures. I really thought that my mom and sisters were ready to kill me because I left them with all that work. I was lucky that they were just happy to have everyone together. A few guests were flying that day into Cali and their flights were delayed. We had planned for 40 people and we were around 25 or 30. My mom takes blurry pictures but I wanted to share a few. She also LOVES taking pictures of the food and me posing with the food. I hate doing that, but I had to make her happy after all the work that she did for me.

At around mid night we checked in at the hotel and had a good night sleep. Thank you Valeria and Juan Felipe! We loved the pictures!!!

Last Details

Today we are getting married! We decided to go alone to the Court house in downtown and sign the "Contract" as I want to call it. After one year of talking wedding details I refuse to call this my wedding. We wanted to go alone and not tell anyone. My oldest sister would never forgive me if I didn't at least let her have a toast. She lives in California and she is now in Tampa, so I can see why she would be mad at me. We agreed to meet tonight with a few people to have a toast. My sister insisted in having a cake!!! After many attempts to convince me, I agreed to a cake but just a supermarket cake. I don't want anything fancy since I do not want to make July 15th my anniversary. I'm trying to believe my own lie: that I will be married August 6th not July 15th. I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt trying to make my point. After signing, I will go to Nordstrom for the big sale and my HUSBAND will go back to work. I hate to say this but I am nervous!!!

Back to wedding details, I still have a lot to figure out. Only small things that I keep forgetting. I completely forgot about the ceremony music. Thankfully my mom is on top of everything and she found a trio for US $100. The ceremony is only supposed to last 20 minutes so I guess they will 2 a couple of songs and that's it. The best part of all is that getting married in Colombia is so much cheaper than in the US. Even with the dollar hitting record low rates and paying for our plane tickets. We decided to do it there to invite more for the same amount of money that we would spend here. A lot of our friends will not travel, they still say that MAYBE they will come. It was hard to say that we can't wait anymore but we had to do it. We are having less people than we were expecting but we are very excited for the ones that will make it.

I'm having a hard time finding the perfect earrings. I want something chandelier style but most of the earring that I see are full of "bling bling" fake diamonds. Who is going to believe that I'm wearing thousands of dollars worth of diamonds? I hate that from jewelry. I rather have a small and simple jewel that is made of real gold than a big fake one.



I bougth this pair of earrings in pink last month at Nordstrom's. I love the meaning of the stone. I have always have quartz and I believe that they can help us with energy. I love all new era things and I would love to practice more things that can help me find balance.

Cherry quartz earrings. Photo Credit http://www.nordstrom.com/

This is how they will look. Photo Credit http://www.norstrom.com/

I'm still not sure they will be the right pair of earrings to wear but I fell in love with them. I though they were pink quartz that I've always know is good to attract love. It is actually cherry quartz and according to the card that came with the earrings "Cherry quartz represents love, romance, and harmony. Cherry quartz releases, stores, and regulates energy. it attracts love in all its forms." I'm good with that for the wedding day. I was curious to see what the difference with rose (pink) quartz and I found a similar description  "Rose quartz: love, comfort, & peace wear as a daily reminder. Rose quartz soothes the heart, has a calming effect, and encourages healthy relationships". I like both descriptions. I love the style of the earring but I'm not sure they will go well with the delicate wedding dress. I am definitely keeping the earrings. Actually, I'm wearing them today to the court. A little extra luck wouldn't hurt. Looking for the perfect wedding earrings from the same manufacturer I found the website and I think that I might become obsessed with this brand. It is called Dogeared jewelery .
 
There is a store from Cali that I love, pequeñas indulgencias, where I'm hoping to find the perfect pair for me. I own many earrings from this place but the ones I have are not as delicate as I want for the wedding day. They always change their collections and they are willing to alter their designs. However, I will have only 1 week before the wedding to have a custom made piece. I need to get what is there or wear what I already have. Out of the earrings I have from there the ones in the picture below could also work. I will have my hair down and that is why I want earrings that hang below my ear.

earrings from pequenas indulgencias

Wedding Updates - less than 1 month to go!

In 3 weeks, I will be in Cali getting ready for the big day. We will have 4 days before people from out of town start getting there. We want to show them around as much as possible. The biggest challenge with this weeding and the days before the wedding will be transportation. I don't live there and my parents have a car but it could only fit 3 more and that's it. For the wedding we stayed close to the City so that wont be too hard. We have some recommended drivers that are willing to work any time. We will see how it goes. I'm used to the way it is in the US, when you plan things in advance and expect people to show up on time. In South America, every thing is last minute. You feel like begging vendors to give you an estimate. When you hire someone it could fall off without notice. It doesn't matter if you agreed on something. The words customer service do not exist. If you mess with their money that is something different but if there is no money involved don't expect much. I sound like I have never lived. I love it but the truth is that I moved to the US when I was 18 and my parents did EVERYTHING for me. This is the first time that I have tried to deal with vendors and contracts.

Having said that we are having a hard time finding someone to make the cupcakes and someone to take care of the night before. We don't do rehearsal dinners but there is a get together the night before called la entrega de regalos. This is when the guests bring the gifts and the groom serenades the bride. We can't get 80 people inside my parent's apartment so we decided to find a restaurant. Plus, you can't tell people to go home if it gets late. I need my beauty sleep the night before. We completely forgot to budget for this night and it is quickly adding up. We talked to the restaurant owner and explained this situation. She said not to worry about it. But again, this is the favorite quote in South America. I still don't know how it's going to work out. We decided to call this event a welcome for the travelers. This means all of my family and friends that live in Cali will not be invited. It is easier, less people, and less formal. Plus the ones that don't in in Cali will be looking for a place to go that night. We will be there for a couple of hours and leave early. The others can go anywhere they want. We will offer some appetizers and 2 glasses of sangria per person. The issue is how to manage the waiters after the food that we agreed to pay for is over. This is something else that is different in Colombia, they don't like separate checks. It is a big check and at the end the men split it. This means that my dad will be handed the check and he will be too ashamed to accept money from somebody else. I don't want him to have to pay for another big night of food and drinking.

The morning of the wedding, my boyfriend and I are planning to eat breakfast alone and have a relaxing massage. My hair and makeup appointment is at 11:00AM, the photographer will be at the hotel at 2:00PM, and the wedding is at 4:00PM. We have to be late since most people will be late.  

We are going to get married at the court probably next Friday. We want to go alone so we don't believe it is our wedding. Not after all this time and effort. We completed the marriage preparation class and paperwork here and already have a priest to marry us in Cali. This was a LONG process that we didn't expect to take that much energy out of us.

The things left to do on my end are small hand made projects that I wanted to do. I did a thank you sign that I saw on Etsy for the thank you notes. I also did some lips and mustaches for fun pictures. My mom had her painter friend, Henry Tejada, do a Cali theme painting. She took it to a print and got a huge banner for the photobooth background. I am bringing the original painting home. I love it. I still don't know where to hang it but we will figure it out when I get there. I showed the pictures in an older post a few months ago.

We are also packing to move in the next few weeks. Packing for the most important trip and packing an apartment are probably the 2 most stressful tasks at this point. Also it has been hard to get an RSVP from some of the guests that keep saying that maybe they will come. We need a final count and this week we have to call them and tell them that we need to know NOW.

I need help finding the best spanx or something similar that can make my stomach flat!!!! any recommendations? what brand or style to get??



We got our wedding bands last weekend. We will engrave them in Cali

My mom did this for our rings

My red shoes :)

The flowers I picked for the reception

Photobooth background

Sunset Sunday

These are some of the pictures that I took at one of my best friend's wedding. It was a beautiful place and that it why I decided to add more to the post not just the sunset pictures. This is an hacienda outside of Cali where I wanted to do my wedding. I decided to stay closer to the City to avoid a headache with transportation arrangements. I also found out that recently they stopped organizing any events. 

sugar cane plantations on our way there

the entrance