Venue and Dress

Derek and I are planning to be married in May and I will announce the EXACT date soon!

We are just a little over 5 months away from the big day, and Derek and I have been taking part in a planning frenzy! Some might say May is not that close and I still have TONS of time, but here's a little tidbit to throw into the mix. I am an accountant. As soon as February 15 hits and then all the way through April 15, I will basically be dedicating every ounce of time and energy to pumping out tax returns at work. AKA... no wedding planning for me. That being said, we have been workin' it and we can say that we crossed 2 BIG items off our wedding planning list this week!

Venue
Have you ever heard of Anoush? (Pronounced: Ah-Noosh; Origin: Armenian; Meaning: Sweet, Sweetness)


I am Armenian, and I really really wanted our wedding reception to be at an Armenian Banquet Hall, and for this primary reason... THE ABUNDANCE of FOOD. In the Armenian culture, it is SO important to be OVERLY generous when it comes to food. And that is EXACTLY what Anoush does. They bring food to your table ALL. NIGHT. LONG. And then just when you feel like you can't eat another bite, they bring you more. You can find plates of shish kabobs, hummus, pita bread, feta cheese, fruit, rice pilaf, to name a few items. If you go home hungry from an Armenian dinner, it's your own fault ;).

I also love that our reception will be held in the city that our love began to bloom! Derek and I met in the Glendale 7th Singles Ward. We hit it off at a Glendale 7th Dance. And Derek and I had our first kiss in Glendale.

Some other items that I love about Anoush include the dance floor, the coziness of the room, and the amazing service!





A side note...
My fiance, Derek, is half Hawaiian and half Samoan. Just because the reception will be at an Armenian banquet hall, don't think for one second that we won't be including some elements of Polynesian style and dance. ;)


MY Dress!!
Another HUGE thing I was able to cross off my list was MY DRESS!! I went dress shopping yesterday morning with my mom, my two best friends - Jessica and Ine, and my fiance's sister/my soon-to-be sister-in-law - Dionne. I was really nervous about finding a dress that I LOVED. I decided to go to a darling little boutique called A Dressy Occasion in Trabuco Canyon. It is run by a woman who has been designing and selling modest wedding dresses for over 10 years now. It was SO fun trying on different gowns and modeling for my family and friends. I am SO happy to say that I found the PERFECT dress though. As soon as I tried it on, everyone with me KNEW this was the one. It fit my body perfectly! I LOVED IT!!!!! Here's a picture:






















Hahaha... yeah right ;). Derek will see this!