A weekend away

This weekend was spent in Amsterdam, visiting two friends from the states who are spending a week vacation there. It was just beautiful, not in the least because the weather was perfect, and Amsterdam is just the right kind of city to wander around under sunny skies. We mostly just soaked up the romantic canal-lined streets and chatted, every now and then sitting down in a cafè to drink some beer or wine or simply gazing at the boats tuckering by. We also took a lovely boat tour on a small, wooden boat through the waterfront area of the city, a once warehouse/shipping port and now-turned modern living area. We gazed into people's waterside homes and admired their fine tuned mixing of design pieces with all around Amsterdamy coziness. Lovely. Yet another European city that I could most certainly call home.

It was great to see my friend Miss Spunky Glasses (currently searching for a new pair!) also because we got to talk wedding! I was awestruck when she brought a HUGE stack of American bridal magazines (magazines are really heavy!) and we spent a lot of time sitting at cafès and flipping through them and pointing out the things we liked/didn't like. Plus, German bridal magazines, like so many things wedding here, are proverbially dusty and traditional, and, well, boring. Not that German weddings are boring… it's just… there isn't a lot of spunk or creativity surrounding the whole thing, in my opinion. But maybe I just like American magazines better :)

So the planning took a bit of a hiatus for the relaxing weekend, and I came back to a stack of things to do and swearing to eat right and exercise after a somewhat indulgent trip. Since our mode of transport of choice was the night train, we were somewhat less than perky upon arrival in Munich, and for some reason when I am feeling that drag from lack of sleep, I attempt to compensate by eating extra calories. Let's just say that I topped off my burger king breakfast with a nice dinner of Pringles and wine by the river with my friend Miss Giggles by the Isar river. But I swear, starting today….

In terms of wedding planning, I feel like I have been doing more reconsidering than actual decision making. The momentum of the first couple of weeks has faded somewhat, but then again, some things are good to mull over, including:

-the dress (I have lots of ideas and examples and am already planning my dress buying trip for February/March to the US)
- the wedding party (I am waiting for our meeting on September 6th with Oliver to hear his thoughts and opinions on the ceremony, as well as to meet with our venue this weekend to talk about ceremony possibilities among other things)
- the photographer (I am rethinking my original budget/priorities and have written about ten other photographers for quotes
- -the color scheme (I saw a bouquet at a beautiful market in Amsterdam that had all my previously mentioned colors plus a shade of peachy orange – beautiful! That might be just the kick we need)
- save the dates (still trying to decide if we should go for a simple photo card, a hand drawn picture including our logo and a cute slogan or a magnet! Also still trying to decide if doing that engagement shoot is worth the money)

Phew. I have to be honest, writing this blog is actually a really great therapeutic way to sort out my thoughts. Thanks again to Miss Spunky Glasses (did you find new ones?!) and Mr. McIcecream for the wonderful weekend in Amsterdam!!!!!!