Returning to the Scene of the Crime

Just a couple of weeks into our engagement and we returned yesterday to the "scene of the crime" - Robbin's Bros, "the World's Largest Engagement Ring Store", where Dan bought Amanda's ring - to meet Dan's co-conspirator, Mary Ann, the diamond ring guru. Dan was very excited to have Amanda meet Mary Ann, who was so instrumental in picking out our beautiful diamond ring. He also wanted to show Amanda where all the ring-selecting action unfolded.

After free water, a cup of hot chocolate (for Dan), and some Hershey's kisses, Amanda was able to inspect her diamond ring up close and personal under the microscope! After seeing her ring in magnified detail, she was truly amazed by not just the ring in general but by the beauty and quality of the diamond itself. She was also amazed by what her fingernail looked like under that power of magnification. :) Anyway, it was really cool for Amanda to experience a little of what Dan experienced when he bought the ring almost 2 months ago.

Mary Ann was incredibly nice and helpful, as always. One goal of the visit was for Dan to pick out his wedding band. He found exactly what he wanted - a classy, solid white gold band, no frills or designs. He is giddily excited about his ring. He can't wait to be the White Gold Wielder. (50 pts to anyone who knows what he's referring to).

Another goal of the visit was to get Amanda's ring re-sized. Her ring is size 4.5, which if you can believe it, is too large. We discovered size 4 really suits her better. But we would need to send the ring back to Tacori (the manufacturer) for the best re-sizing job, and that will take 3-4 weeks. We're going to wait until July to do that. In the meantime, Mary Ann, the savvy and professional salesperson, suggested that Amanda consider getting a simple, nice wedding band to wear in place of her wedding ring during the re-sizing period, as well as during our honeymoon - we don't want to bring her bling out of the country (a word of advice given to us by many people).

So, like a good fiance, Dan went ahead and bought Amanda a very pretty wedding band that will be ready in time for the re-sizing so that she doesn't have to pretend to be un-engaged. :) Amanda was very stoked and had a lot of fun picking it out.

Finally, after all this, Mary Ann had a wonderful surprise up her sleeve (almost literally). She brought out a very cool handmade bead bracelet that she made, and gave it to Amanda, who loved it. It was extremely cool of her. Very sweet. Anyone want to place an order? :)

Dan's wedding ring picked out... Amanda's ring re-sizing set up... Amanda's new wedding band purchased... the gift of a new bead bracelet... All in all, the return to Robbin's Bros was a success!

Reception Place [check]!!

Dan and I have been CRAZY busy trying to get everything together for the wedding. I didn't realize how much work went into wedding planning. The past 2 weekends have been very productive. We had been searching for a place to have our reception, and it seemed like every place I called was already booked for our wedding day.

Well, I found the Newport Beach Radisson through theknot.com, and they had an outdoor pavilion that we really liked. So I called and talked to the woman in charge of events and catering, Linda. She, like everyone else I'd talked to, said that September 18th was already booked. She was trying to offer different days, and then I asked if it was booked all day. She said that it was actually open during the day - it was only booked after 7pm. I told her we would think about it and get back to her. Dan and I played around with the idea of having an afternoon reception and we decided that it was actually a great idea and that we wanted to do it.

So last Saturday, May 8th, we went and took a look at it - it was bright and airy and a good fit for what we were looking for. Linda ended up giving us a very good deal. Needless to say we booked it!! It's official - our afternoon reception will be on Sep 18, 2010 in the Pavilion at the Radisson Newport Beach. Here it is:

Also the Radisson is giving a special discount to our out of town guests! They are offering anyone that is coming from out of town for our wedding a discount on a room. It will be $99 per night without breakfast or $109 a night with breakfast (normally it's $159 a night without breakfast). How to book: just call the Radisson (949-833-0570) and let them know you are booking under the Hillman/Smith wedding.

The Radisson is 0.5 miles from the Orange County- John Wayne (SNA) airport, on the corner of MacArthur and Birch. If you have any questions, you can call either Dan or me. We are getting very excited and want to thank everyone again for all your love and support!

Welcome to our wedding blog!

Dan and Amanda have chosen to be married on Saturday, September 18, 2010! The wedding and reception will be in Southern California, with an open house in Minnesota shortly thereafter (date tbd). We will be updating this blog with all pertinent wedding and reception/open house information to keep everyone informed and in the loop.

Follow our blog to stay abreast of any new developments, important info, and other exciting things related to our big day! Feel free to comment and send us any questions. Our new email is damandasmith2010(at)gmail.com!

Thank you for your love and support! We can't wait to see all of our family and friends during this special time!