Pre-wedding week recap (part 1)

So we're finally back from our mini-vacation. I'm sure Mr. Honda would agree that this wasn't much of a vacation at all. As I mentioned our stay in Hawaii consisted of something wedding-related every day we were there. Not to mention inconveniently coencided with APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Convention). So for those of you that are interested here's the recap of our pre-wedding week. I'll split it into different parts so that this post isn't so long.

Dinner with the future bridesmaids

On Friday we started off our already jam packed week with our flight having to turn around mid-flight for an emergency landing because one of the passengers was having a medical emergency. Once we finally made it to Hawaii we had to rush home to get ready for a dinner with my Hawaii bridesmaids, Jamie and Tehani, at Shokudo. It was great to get to see my ladies. It gave them a chance to meet eachother for the first time and gave me the chance to hand off their dresses for the wedding. I'm relieved to say that everyone has reported that their dresses fit and won't require any alterations.

Mr. Honda and I got to see our wedding venue with our own eyes for the first time on Saturday. At first I was a bit concerned about booking our venue without actually having seen it...one of the biggest downsides to planning a wedding from afar. Thank goodness the venue is as beautiful in person as it is in my Mom's pictures. While we were at the venue we were able to see all the possible ceremony locations as well as the ballroom our reception will take place in. We also were able to take part in a complementary tasting of a small selection of food choices for the reception. Visiting the venue was probably one of the most productive things we did the entire week...and that's saying a lot because all of our vendor meetings were incredibly helpful. We have now settled on a ceremony site and have almost finished our buffet menu. Unfortunately, we also realized that our we need to increase the wedding budget (yet again) to accomodate the ceremony site we chose and the chair covers that we'll need for the reception as well.

Wedding shower favors

My family planned a wedding shower for me at my favorite brunch buffet, Hale Ikena, on Sunday. Too bad it directly coincided with all the presidents of several different countries traveling from Waikiki to Koolina for APEC which required many major freeway closures. Either way the shower was perfect even with a few late comers...including ourselves. It was great to be able to get to see so much of my family and eat some great food. After opening all of our wonderful gifts Mr. Honda and I were treated to the traditional dressing of the bride and groom in wrapping paper. I'm so glad he was such a great sport about it.

Future Mr. & Mrs. Honda

Well, that concludes part 1 of our pre-wedding week recap. Hopefully it wasn't completely boring to you. But if so, feel free to skip the rest of the recap. I promise I won't be offended if you do :)