Sari and Dylan

Soon it will be time for Sari and I to pick out our wedding bands. 

I had the best shopping experience at Robbins Diamonds in Delaware for Sari's engagement ring.  Before I arrived I had already talked to them about the style I was interested in and when I got there they showed a few that matched that style.  The first one I looked at was it, no compromises necessary!  I definitely need to thank my cousin Mindy for her generous help and the time she spent searching her extensive inventory to find exactly what I had in mind.  So I'm definitely looking forward to going back to Robbins Diamonds. 

Before we go we need to pick out the style we want.  We know we want our rings to match, and we prefer that they are kosher, which means no precious stones and no intricate artwork.  The sort of choices we are thinking are smooth vs pounded, simple vs bevels, etc.

What do you think we should look for in our wedding bands?

We're starting to compile our song list for the wedding.  We'd love your input!  Though we probably won't be able to use them all, we'd love to know what you all like to dance to.  So, add a comment below and tell us what songs you'd like to hear at the wedding.

Last night Dylan and I went to Jazz in the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery.  It's a free program that features a different musician every Friday night (5 PM-8:30 PM) from late May thru early October.  It's a great scene: people sitting outside, listening to music, drinking sangria, beer or wine and snacking on the treats for sale at the Pavilion Cafe.  Although the 2009 schedule isn't out yet, it's likely that the first night will be the Friday before the wedding (Friday, May 22nd).  For those of you coming early or any locals who want an activity for that night, we'll probably plan a casual meetup at the Sculpture Garden to enjoy some drinks and music together.  What a great way to start out the weekend!!  We'll keep you updated on the Wedding Weekend Events page. 

If you get to DC early or stay late the weekend of the wedding and want to try something really different I would recommend Co Co Sala (www.cocosala.com).  This is definitely for those of you who, like me, are huge dessert lovers.  Imagine a chocolate mojito, a three course dessert or a chocolate tasting.  It's really exceptional and different.  There are also great small, savory plates-- 3 different choices each of mac & cheese, crab cakes, sliders and salads.  The atmosphere is trendy and the food is whimsical.  It's located just a block and a half from Hotel Monaco.

Because I know that a lot of you are planning to come early/ stay late and make a vacation of your time in DC, I wanted to share some recommendations.  Dylan and I are huge fans of eating out so I'll be sure to write up some of our favorites around the city.  One that's on my mind right now-- Rosa Mexicano.  We went with a big group for July 4th.  It's in Penn Quarter, one block from The Hotel Monaco and The Verizon Center.  It's a small chain with a few restaurants in NYC, Florida, Atlanta and this one in DC.  I guess you could call it "creative" Mexican food (during Passover this year they had a special Passover meal, it was really cool-- Mexican matzoh ball soup!!!).  Their margaritas are delicious, particularly the pomegranate.  The guacamole is prepared tableside and can be made mild, medium or spicy.  We also had Queso Fundito (a gooey, guilty pleasure of an appetizer).  The highlight of the meal this time was their ice cream guacamole.  It was made tableside just like the regular guac but used avocado ice cream, fresh strawberries, white chocolate shavings, Mexican wedding cookie crunch and mint leaves.  The restaurant is pretty popular so definitely make reservations if you're interested in trying it.

The Kogod Courtyard is located right across from The Hotel Monaco.  It just opened November 2007 and we haven't had a chance to see it yet.  The Courtyard is connected to the National Portrait Gallery which houses one of Dylan and my favorite exhibits-- a map of the United States made out of TVs (it's cooler than it sounds).   We hope to get to spend time with family and friends throughout the weekend doing things in the area.  The Portrait Gallery and the Kogod Courtyard are two of the many sites we're looking forward to sharing with you all!!

 

We're excited that our hotels have been picked and you can book for the wedding weekend now!  We picked one main hotel, Hotel Monaco, and two others, Hotel George and Willard Intercontinental.  Dylan and I and our families will be staying at the Hotel Monaco and we would love to have as many people there with us as possible.  We encourage our family and friends to book early because the group prices we got are phenemonal-- under $200 which is really hard to beat right in downtown DC-- but we were only able to reserve a limited number of rooms.

The Hotel Monaco 

I just got back from a wonderful weekend in NYC with my mom.  We shopped at Kleinfeld's (see my review below if you're interested) and planned to move on to the Pronovias Flagship store.  My mom and I fell in love with a dress at Kleinfelds so ended up being able to have a relaxing weekend in New York.  I'm not going to write any details about the dress here but would be happy to share some details with family/friends when we're out of Dylan's "earshot."  The rest of the weekend we spent walking a lot, eating at Tao, seeing Legally Blond (really cute) and watching Sex in the City, the movie. 

A quick review of Kleinfeld's:  It was overall a very positive experience.  I've read tons of reviews that say it's a "must" because they have more dresses than any other store in the country.  However, just as many people say that it tends to be a bad experience that leaves you feeling not-so-great.  I've also read that it all depends on your consultant.  Our consultant was so helpful (sorry, I don't remember her name).  When we walked in, she asked a few very simple questions then immediately took my mom and me over to the exact type of dresses I love.  She knew the venue where we are getting married and really helped talk through the type of dress that made sense for the setting.  She was bright, patient with all of our questions and fun to work with.  I left there feeling like a movie star!!  The "fashion expert" talked me through one of the dresses I was considering and gave me good insight into why another dress flattered my body more (in the end I went we the one he liked best).  Now I'm sure the experience is much different if you don't find something you love, but since we did, it was just a blast.  My only negative comment would be that the hour and a half time slot didn't feel like enough time.  It makes sense that they have to keep to a certain schedule but, with so many dresses available, 2 hour slots might be more reasonable.  As I go through the fittings, etc. . . . I'm sure I'll update my review.  Rating: A

As a side note, I wanted to also say that I had an exceptionally good experience at Hitched in Georgetown.  I didn't find my dress there, but they had a great selection and it was just such a pleasant place to be.  They have beautiful dresses but a relatively small selection (especially when compared to Kleinfeld's but that's kind of a "David and Golieth" comparison).  I was the only bride in the store and the truly delightful saleswoman (who totally put me at ease), let me look at each dress and decide if I wanted to try it.   Rating: A++   

 

We've known since we were dating that both of our dream vacations would be an African safari.  I'm incredibly excited to announce here first that we've decided that we are going to do it!

Sari has spent months researching hundreds of tours, parks, and camp sites and we finally have our winner.  Stay tuned for more information!