Saturday, March 21, 2009

Nearby Hotel with REDUCED rates!

We've reserved some rooms at a nearby Renaissance (Marriott) hotel within 15 minutes of our ceremony site. Here is the info below. You can click the link to make your reservation.

http://marriott.com/laxag?groupCode=sinsina&app=resvlink

A block of sleeping rooms has been selectively reserved for
the Sinclair/Joachim wedding group at a special rate of
$104.00 for standard rooms arriving Saturday, August 15th,
2009 to Sunday, August 16th, 2009. We encourage you to
make your reservations before July 16th, 2009 to guarantee
receiving this special rate.

Call 818.665.4256 or 1.800.933.3970 in the U.S.


Renaissance Agoura Hills Hotel
30100 Agoura Road
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
818.707.1220

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Headed to Japan to visit Steve!

Next Wednesday the 18th, I'll be crossing the pacific to go and visit Steve in Japan for a few days. I'm REALLY excited and a little nervous as well. I get back on Sunday morning the 23rd.


I'll be posting photos and maybe even video on here! Keep checking back or subscribe!

Registry complete!

After falling into a short coma over how much Macy's charges for bone china, I pared down our needs to the basics and now our registry is, for the most part, complete.

We're also registered at Crate & Barrel.

Both of which you can access online very easily! Search either of our names.


We really don't need much more than what's on these registries, so if you want to give us anything else we could use... cash towards the honeymoon is perfecto.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Emily's version of the Engagement Story

MY version of our engagement story:

A cold and damp Sunday evening Steve made reservations unbeknownst to me at a gorgeous French Mediterranean restaurant called "The Little Door" on 3rd street in WeHo. The whole day, and even 3-4 days leading up to our anniversary Steve was acting extremely excited, even giddy. He had been dancing and singing all over the house. It became slightly unnerving because I had no idea why he was so happy! I had prepared myself that he wouldn’t propose, because the let-down I had experienced the year before was too great, and I didn’t want to set myself up for failure again. I was, of course, hoping for the best!

When we arrived at The Little Door the hostess knew Steve’s name and it INSTANTLY made me very suspicious! I was suddenly hyper aware of everything that was happening, and was half afraid he would propose right there in the restaurant. Certainly not because I didn’t want him to propose, but more that I wanted it to be a surprise and not feel set up. Also, I knew there would be happy tears, which I didn’t want to be public. The hostess seated us in a more private section of the main dining room, still visible to everyone but audible to no one. We were directly beneath the largest staghorn fern I have ever seen, which I love!

Our meal was exquisite and dimly lit by candlelight. After our cheese plate, lamb chops and scallop dishes, we were far too stuffed for dessert so Steve suggested we take a ride to the beach. "The beach????" I said. "Honey, it's cold and wet out right now, I really don't want to go to the beach. I'm wearing panty hose and 4" heels." Steve conceded and we attempted to look for a romantic look out spot somewhere in the hills of Los Feliz. Read: near our house. After driving around for nearly an hour, a frustrated Steve firmly stated that he really wanted to go to the beach and why wouldn't I let him go with the plan. (This is so like our life.) I agreed to go to the beach but ONLY if we went home and I could change from my dress and heels into sweats. He obliged me.

It was nearly 11pm and we got back in his car to the beach. I thought for sure it would be Santa Monica or Venice. I thought wrong. We drove to Manhattan Beach! The whole drive we were listening to a cd with all our favorite songs over the years and we were both pretty emotional. It was really beautiful and it got my mind off the fact that we were driving so far from home on a “school night.”

We arrived in Manhattan Beach close to the pier. Steve let out a huge sigh with a bright smile and I suddenly felt my stomach drop out beneath me. We got out of the car and the clouds starting pouring rain on us! I thought, “Really?!!!” Steve pulled out his blue Native American blanket out of the back of his car and threw it over my head like a babushka. He pulled my hand and we started running down the hill towards the pier, me in my fuzzy slippers no less. As we approached the pier there were people who were running the opposite direction from us: fishermen, a Father and son who were drenched by the rain, all the while I kept thinking, “Everyone else is vacating, why are we running towards a storm?!!” but I trusted there was a reason and was tickled by Steve's tenacity.

Halfway on the pier Steve took me to the edge and threw down the cooler of champagne and dropped to his knees. Between the rain, the blanket over my head, and the tears starting to stream down my face, everything went into slow motion and I saw a bright sparkling ring before me. I recall him saying, “Will you marry me?” and I could barely speak, I kept nodding my head up and down and laughing while crying at the same time. Steve stood up, “Really? Really? You’ll be my wife? You’ll marry me?” And we embraced as I finally got the words, “Yes!” out of my mouth. We were both obviously very emotional and it all felt ethereal. By this time we are totally drenched and we both didn’t see the point of getting pneumonia so we ran back to the car and quickly drove home.

The most amazing part was that once out of the rain and into some light I noticed how perfect the ring fit and looked. It’s pretty much exactly what I had my eye on and the fact that it fit perfectly (without Steve thinking to steal one of my other rings to size it) is incredible to me. It was meant to be, there’s no denying it.

I feel so blessed to have found Steve and that our lives have grown so beautifully together over the years. I am looking forward to more adventures and milestones with him. ☺

Friday, March 6, 2009

Engagement Story (Told by Steve)

Hi Everyone!

As you have probably heard, Emily and I are got engaged on February 8th, 2009! We are very happy and super excited about our future together. I am not usually one for mushy stuff, but I thought I’d share the story of our engagement with a select few people who are closest to me. So without further ado…

I had a plan. But like all plans, when it comes to romance – you can’t plan a thing, you have to just go with your heart and roll with the punches. This was no exception. Our 5th Anniversary was coming up in about a week, on February 9th (Monday), so we decided to celebrate on Sunday, February 8th. I had reservations at a beautiful restaurant called “The Little Door” which we both had always heard of but never been to. The plan was shaping up nicely.

My Dad had a great jeweler who he had used many times before. I met with her in December and she gave me an education in diamonds.

The holidays came and went and it was now February 2009. I was ready to pop the question. I had thought about it long and hard and I knew I was ready.

But I wasn’t sure how to pull it off. Emily is picky when it comes to her jewelry, so I decided to take her shopping with me for the ring. But in the meantime, I needed a proposal ring, something to use just for the proposal. It had to be a similar style to what she likes and it should be in the same price range as I was prepared to spend, just in case she wanted to keep it. In the back of my head I though, “But what girl would pass up a chance to go shopping for diamonds?”

So the day comes to pick up the proposal ring. I have 3 choices of pre-set rings to choose from. At first glance none seemed to be exactly what I was looking for, but all seemed to be close enough for the purpose of a proposal ring. I assumed none would actually fit Emily since I didn’t know her ring size. One of the three rings catches my eye, it looks simple and timeless and very sparkly. “I’ll use this one,” I said, and she boxed it up as I wrote a large check to the jeweler. Upon leaving the jewelers house, I was not sure if I was more excited to finally have the ring or more nervous that I would lose it before we got it insured… or worse!

Now I had about 4 days to hold onto the ring without Emily finding it.

I began to wonder if I should ask for her father’s permission to marry her? I began to think, “How would I feel if she was my little girl? What would I think about the guy who didn’t have the guts to tell me first? Is he less of a man, a coward, or just flat out disrespectful?” So, I stole her Dad’s cell phone number from her cell phone. I intended to call him on Sunday morning before proposing.

On Saturday Emily informs me that her dad is coincidentally in town, and stopping by on Sunday afternoon. That’s my chance I thought! “The universe is supporting me and setting it all up for me, letting me know I am on the right track!” I couldn’t believe it. The doorbell rings. He arrives and much to my surprise he is with a friend I have never met, an older guy with an Aussie accent. He was nice, but this certainly put an obstacle in my way of speaking to Les about his daughter’s hand in marriage. How could I pull this off without his friend being there or even more importantly without Emily hearing me ask him? Just then Les went out to the car to grab some avocados he had brought for us. “Is this my chance? Do I run outside with him? No I thought – that would be way too obvious.” Then he came back inside. Emily decided to take his friend on a quick tour of our backyard garden while Les went to the restroom. I was left in the living room all by myself. “Holy Crap I thought! Now is my chance, they are both outside and Les & I are inside – only problem, he’s in the bathroom!” I waited and prayed for him to hurry up. I heard a flush and called him into the “Man’s Room” where I very quickly told him the news. He looked shocked, he wasn’t expecting it. Then it sunk in and I he looked as if he was about to cry (in the best way!). Just then I heard Emily come back inside through the back door. “Thanks!” I said before quickly hurrying out into the other room. I felt bad for being abrupt, but what else was I to do? “Whew”... she had no idea. Now hopefully Les could keep it a secret!

And he definitely did, because the night went off without a hitch…

As I said, I had a plan; I knew the basics of how I wanted the night to go:

Step 1 - Romantic dinner at “The Little Door”.
Step 2 – A romantic setting in nature (beach or view of city lights)
Step 3 – Propose!

So we first finish our wonderfully delicious dinner in a very romantic restaurant. Emily has never looked more beautiful, and we were situated underneath one of Emily's favorite plants, a giant Staghorn Fern! It was a perfect night so far.

We leave the restaurant and I tell her that I have some champagne and glasses in the trunk – “Lets go to the beach for a toast!” I say. Much to my dismay, she says it will be too cold at the beach and she is wearing a short dress and 4” black heels. Ok, I think to myself, a minor setback, but I need to roll with the punches. “How about some place in the Hollywood hills with a beautiful view of the city?” I ask. She agrees. “Great we are back on track I think to myself.”

So we start driving up the hill, past all the beautiful multi-million dollar homes. The drive is nice and we are really enjoying each other’s company. 20 minutes goes by, we are still driving, 40 minutes goes by, we are still driving. 45 minutes goes by and finally I start to get a little uneasy. We haven’t found a place to park, and I didn’t want to propose in the car or in the middle of some random street. “I need to take back control of the night!” I think to myself.

I urged her to go to the beach. She complains that it is late and now she desperately has to pee. We head home so she can change clothes and take care of business. . So now, it’s 11pm, she’s swearing sweats and her fuzzy slippers and we jump back in the car.

I start driving, not sure of exactly which beach I should drive us to. Somehow my brain just automatically started driving towards the Manhattan Beach Pier. After another hour of driving, we arrive and I park… Just in time for the heavens to suddenly open up and start storming down on us, rain falling like cats and dogs. “There is no way this is going to stop me!” I thought to myself. The wind was blowing hard and giant raindrops were pounding down on the car. Emily looks at me like I am out of my mind.

I jump out of the car yelling, “C’mon lets go!” I pop the trunk, grab the champagne and toss a blanket (cotton mind you) over Emily’s already soaked head.

“C’mon!” I grab her hand and start running through the rain towards the pier. My goal was to make it all the way to the end and pop the question there. About ½ way down the pier I can feel Emily is starting to move slower and drag behind me a bit, she was wearing fuzzy slippers afterall! She looks like she could potentially become miserable at any second, and I’m certain that she is totally confused as to why I have brought her here in this weather– I can see it in her eyes.

That’s when I knew the time was right. It was like I was living in a dream. I dropped to my knee, looked up at her adorable face wrapped in a soaking wet blue Mexican blanket and I don’t really remember exactly what I said, but I did it … “Will you marry me?” I ask. Despite the freezing cold, howling winds, and the water being blown into her eyes, I hear her say “YES!” We both instantly started to cry. Somehow I knew those were not raindrops on her face.

The crazy thing is… not only did Emily love this ring enough to NOT go shopping for diamonds the next day, but also the ring fit her finger PERFECTLY. This ring was meant for her. This was God’s hand telling us that we are on the right path and that this was all as it was supposed to be!

I stood up, we embraced, (Emily says it felt like a scene from The Notebook!) and then grabbed the champagne and said, “Let’s get outta here!” We ran hand in hand back through the storm to the car, and promptly drove home to celebrate.

All in all, this is the best decision I have ever made, the most important question I will ever ask and the most memorable day I will ever have. Emily, I love you. Thanks for always joining me on my crazy adventures… as you now know – sometimes they totally pay off! ☺ I love you more than all of these words could ever describe.

Steve

Thursday, March 5, 2009

REGISTRY!!! (This was supposed to be fun???)

Really, we have it all. But I suppose we could use some good bone china, and some other grown-up stuff.
We are registered at:

Crate & Barrel http://www.crateandbarrel.com/
Macy's http://www.macys.com


We have a house full of stuff and no where to store it, so if none of these items feel like a gift to you, we will graciously accept cash towards our honeymoon.

Speaking of honeymoon... we REALLY wanted to go to Tahiti, Fiji, or the Caribbean, however due to money and hurricane season we are possibly going in a different direction... the Aloha direction. Right now we're thinking Kauai and possibly Maui. Heck, I'm up for showing Steve around Oahu too. Why not. Any suggestions are welcome!

AUGUST 16TH 2009 6PM





We picked a location and a date in just three short weeks after getting engaged! It was surprisingly easy. The only downer is just how ridiculously expensive everything is. That said, we're choosing to keep our wedding very small and very intimate, read: 65 people. We clearly have scores of amazing friends that we'd love to invite to be with us on the day, but if you've ever been married you know just how out of control it can become financially.

We also unfortunately have to make our event an adults only event, except for babies under 1 year old who are nursing.

Invitations are currently being created but please save this date: Sunday August 16th 2009 6pm-11:30pm. There are lodging options in Agoura Hills that we'll be posting here if you wish to spend the night Sunday night or even Saturday night.

Hurray! Emily & Steve are engaged!




Steve and I could not be happier to announce our engagement to the world! Steve proposed at 11:15pm Sunday February 8th. After five years of enormous personal growth, fun, travel and incredible experiences (Europe and the Emmys to name a few) we've decided that this should really be a permanent situation blessed by the government.

Here on this blog you'll find all the info you need on our:
wedding details
bachelor/ette parties
showers
engagement parties
and even where we've registered for gifts!!!

We will also include our engagement story here in case you haven't heard it or couldn't get enough of it when you did.