So You're EnGAYged, a LGBT wedding blog

*By Wasabi*

Before I get to deep into this post, let me start by saying our trip to Canada was wonderful. We skied at Whistler Blackcomb, toured Vancouver, and had lots of fabulous food. It was also a perfect opportunity to bond some more with my future in laws who took us on this amazing trip. And, without further ado, here are some pics:

Here is us on the ski lift

And, this is the awesome view from the top of Blackcomb Glacier. The best run of the day (week, even) was when Ginger and I got up early and hiked Spanky’s Ladder, so we could drop into the powder-y goodness in this gorgeous glacier. From the top of the glacier you see here, we skied six vertical miles back down. Whee!

In case anyone out there is thinking of getting married at or honeymooning in British Columbia, let me say it is mind blowing-ly beautiful up there, and Canadians are super friendly. Feel free to pick my brain about hotels, restaurants, and the like down in the comments. Also, if your partner is the kind of person who you know would love a mountain top proposal, there is a peak at Blackcomb Mountain called Proposal Point. I wanted to take a picture of it for you all, but the visibility was bad on the morning I was up there (I found this great shot on Flickr). From Proposal Point, you will have a breathtaking view of Whistler. But, I wouldn’t recommend skiing straight down from Proposal Point unless you read about us hiking up Spanky’s Ladder to ski that backcountry double black diamond, and thought “That’s cute, but I need a real challenge”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpurdy/2221048462/

The other very exciting part of our trip was getting to really talk to my future in laws about our wedding plans. And, now I can check the first thing off my wedding to-do list: Figure out how we are funding this shin-dig. Our parents have graciously offered to split the wedding costs 50/50. And now that the planning is beginning to really get under way, we have some concrete tasks to tackle.

Wasabi and Ginger’s First Official Wedding To-Do List (in no particular order)

1) Book a trip home for this summer (maybe be in town for the march)

2) Get Ginger and our parents all together while we are home to talk wedding plans

3) Set up a tour of at least two Baltimore venues, most likely the AVAM and the Aquarium, for while we are home

4) Make a comprehensive budget and put it together in Google Doc’s for both sets of parents to see and modify.

6) Delegate the Rabbi search to Ginger, and get contact info for the Cantor her parents raved about.

7) Talk to my dad about having my childhood priest co-officiate.

8) Set a new wedding date

Ok, I feel like I am taking a step back with number eight, but all things point to a warmer time of year than March 4, 2011 (our old date, and six year anniversary). My favorite venue option is a sculpture barn at the American Visionary Art Museum that they don’t usually rent in early March because it’s to cold. Ginger is eying a gorgeous short lace dress; and I am dreaming of a short, white dress too, which isn’t so practical for March. And, the future in-laws are pretty adamant that our bayside ceremony in Maryland would be much better on a sunny spring day. So, we are thinking about April or May of 2011. I can’t quite believe that we are actually pushing our wedding further back (it already feels pretty far away), but it sounds like spring just fits us better.

I am so happy to have everyone on the same page and excited about our plans (things didn’t always seem to be going in that direction). I can now say, somewhat definitely, that we will be having a Friday afternoon ceremony at my parent’s house on the bay that is interfaith, Jewish and Episcopal, with a heavy focus on Jewish wedding traditions. We will invite between thirty and fifty people to our intimate, family oriented ceremony followed by a laid back cake and champagne reception. If it’s the perfect sunny day we are hoping for, the ceremony will be outside on the lawn at the water’s edge. If the weather doesn’t work out in our favor, we will have the ceremony inside in front of a large window looking out on the bay. Then, on Saturday night we will invite 150 guests to celebrate our marriage with food, drinks and dancing at an interesting, non-wedding-y venue in Baltimore. Our big splurge will most likely be on a kick ass band for our reception. I’m really excited to dive back into planning mode; it feels so real now!