wedding tasting

yesterday, we headed into philadelphia for our wedding tasting at our venue - xix restaurant at the hyatt at the bellevue.  center city was a bustle - no, not because of me and craig...  president obama was making an appearance, not just in philly, not just in center city, but in the hyatt at the same hour of our tasting.  needless to say the crowds were massive.  luckily, we got into the parking garage just minutes before they put it on "lock down" for three hours.

(we tweeted obama and invited him to our tasting, but alas, he did not show...)

for our tasting, we selected 3 appetizers and 3 entrees to sample.  we also were able to try out the available wines and also (re)try our wedding cake. 

the spread was beautiful as well as delicious.  the apps we selected to try were:

appetizer sampler

spinach salad, tossed tableside with granny smith apples, warm rosemary polenta, caramelized endive and goat cheese

asian pear salad, tossed tableside with baby greens, gorgonzola, pecan and cider vinaigrette

jumbo lump crab cake, pickled beets, mustard aioli with red pepper coulis

the entrees we tried were:

entree sampler

mushroom and onion tart with gruyere, arugula and lemon vinaigrette

lemon thyme roasted eberly farms chicken, paired with jumbo grilled shrimp, sweet potato puree, wilted greens with morel demi

roasted beef tenderloin paired with pan seared filet of grouper, potato gnocchi, braised holland leeks with tomato infused demi

the wines we sampled were equally good.  the pinot grigio, chardonnay, merlot and cabernet sauvignon all hailed from a private label exclusively available at the hyatt.  i'm not a huge red wine drinker, but the merlot was particularly good...especially with the chicken with morel demi...

for dessert we enjoyed a wedding cake sampling:

chocolate, chocolate chip, marble, vanilla and lemon pound cakes

with a variety of icing options:

vanilla, chocolate, fudge, mocha and strawberry

we like the chocolate chip and marble pound cakes with the fudge icing and the lemon with the vanilla icing.  delish!

we definitely found some favorites.  the rosemary polenta appetizer was excellent, and my personal fave of everything we tried was the mushroom & onion tart with gruyere.  it. was. amazing.  the chicken was also fabulous, and though i didn't try it, there were not complaints about the beef.  decisions...decisions...

we're torn between doing a duo entree for everyone (chicken with grilled shrimp) or offering a choice (chicken or beef).  your thoughts???

for more wedding updates, click {here}.

the dress

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i didn’t want to like the dress. it was so different than what i had been envisioning all along. i didn’t want to like it…but i did. in fact, i more than liked it. i fell in love.

yes, that’s right. yesterday, while wedding dress shopping with my mom and sister, i found my dress. the gown i’ll walk down the aisle in, dance our first dance in and enjoy my first day of marriage in. and it’s fabulous.

credit [here]

i went to 4 bridal salons and tried on over 30 gowns before finding “the one”. prior to heading out yesterday, i had resigned myself to the fact that, perhaps, unlike other brides, i would never have that moment when it all clicked. my mom and my sister and i would never well up with happiness and tears. and, just maybe, i would have to settle (ever so slightly) because i was just too damn picky.

credit [here]

enter the dress. i tried it on on a whim. my bridal salon attendant asked if i wanted to try on a sample dress from a new line they were carrying. they hadn’t seen anyone in it yet, and the sample was in my size. “well…it’s not what i am looking for…but…ok…” i put it on and something magical happened. i can’t quite describe it, because i don’t know if words can capture what took place. but, i knew. even though it didn’t look like the pictures i had brought with me or the images i had saved in my wedding file. i knew. this was my dress. and once i put it on. i didn’t want to take it off. the knowing came. the tears came (from everyone). and i was sold. it’s glamorous and beautiful, and i love wearing it. (i spent over an hour in it.)

credit [here]

it’s more perfect (for me) than i could have ever imagined. it’s everything i never knew i always wanted. (just like craig : )

credit [here]

ok, ok. i know this post is an extreme tease, but i want to surprise everyone (especially craig) with my selection, so i can’t share any pictures (at this time). you’ll just have to wait until november….