Our California Wedding

South Jersey Fare

For our second ceremony, we'll have Italian sub sandwiches, baked ziti, mashed potatoes, and green salad. My mom is also getting a crudite platter and providing birch beer soda. She will making the party favors with our neighbor, and saved the cranes from our wedding to use at this event. With our sheet cake from my favorite bakery in Bridgeton, Century Bakery, the afternoon will be a yummy time!

Countdown to Reception Number Two

We'll be having our NJ reception for family and friends on the East Coast soon. People that will be coming are those we couldn't invite or could not make it to California in September. This reception will be less formal (Italian subs, pizza, salad). I don't even know if there will be table cloths!

We need to pick up my wedding dress and his suit from the cleaners. Other than those items, and a few cranes that made it to NJ with my mother, the look of the day will be completely different. It may be rainy and cold, compared to the beautiful outdoorsy weather we had for our wedding. I'm not carrying any flowers. I'm not having a bridal party. We are walking down the aisle together hand in hand. We will face each other and the minister's assistant will congratulate us on our marriage, affirm our values (Buddhist on my side), and send us on our way to a happy life together. Short and sweet.

I'm looking forward to meeting some more of J's family and friends on the East Coast as well as hanging out with a dear friend that is flying in from the Mid-West to make it.

On to the Next Reception

Now that our California wedding and the wonderful honeymoon are over, I am on to planning for our New Jersey reception in November. I sent out the invites the other day after talking with my mom, who was wondering when the invites would go out so she could order the food.

There will be a short ceremony to "bless" the marriage and then a lunch reception featuring Italian subs and pizza and whatever else my mom plans on having. There will be cake, too. And maybe taiko drummers.

We need to make our hotel reservations for the nights we will be there. We decided against going to a concert or hockey game in Philly because that is the only night that we could spend extra time in NJ with friends and family.

My mom saved some of the origami cranes from the CA wedding reception to use at the NJ ones. I wonder how that will work since I am not gathering branches for this one!

More Honeymoon Pics

Relaxing on the beach on Moorea at the Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort and Spa

Snorkeling off the deck of our overwater bungalow















That's my shadow on the beach















What's a trip to Polynesia without going to a Polynesian show?















On our ATV ride through the inner-island

The Honeymoon

Hinano girl --the national symbol of Tahiti and the Islands it seems.

Moorea in French Polynesia.

The InterContinental on Tahiti Nui with views of Moorea.

Tahiti Nui from the water

Sunset on Tahiti from the infinity pool with swim-up bar

Married!