Those of you who are actually reading, do you remember when I had to find a new photographer because I hadn't heard from mine in months? And how I was upset because I felt abandoned? And I e-mailed her a while ago and got absolutely no response?
Yeah, you can probably see where this is going.
She sent me a message on FB today talking about how excited she is to shoot my wedding and could I send her details about the wedding like a timeline, etc. What?
Um, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Obviously I just have to tell her that since I never received a contract or heard from her for MONTHS that I signed a contract with another photographer and can't use her any longer.
I feel bad about it but I did almost everything I could to get ahold of her. I suppose the only other thing I could have done was e-mail her through FB, but seriously, if you own a business you should be checking your business e-mail! And if you say you're going to send someone a contract, you should actually do that.
I feel very badly about the whole thing. Hopefully she'll understand the situation and it won't be an issue.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
This is Not My Wedding
If I am 100% honest, this is not the wedding I dreamed of. I haven't been dreaming of my wedding since I was a little girl or anything, 4 brother and no sisters will take away many girly things, but I did start to envision something when C & I got engaged or first started talking.
We picked Chicago location because it was the most convenient for our families and friends. We knew that people would be traveling so it made sense to just split the difference. I knew we'd have to make a planning trip at some point to start viewing potential venues and I knew that we would need to have the ceremony and reception in the same location.
So I started looking online and instantly fell in love with Fulton's on the River. It was everything I never knew I wanted. It had a wonderful reception room with tall windows and all kinds of brick and wood. It was right on the river with a bridge in the background and I could just see our pictures. It was amazing.
It was also amazingly out of budget. Not even just a little. We learned that if we truly wanted to get married in Chicago, we couldn't actually get married in Chicago. Moving outside the city took about $10K minimum off our bill.
We toured many places during our trip there but not Fulton's. We saw hotel banquet rooms and golf courses and this amazing little country house. You can tell where I fell in love.
But, he is a guy and I am an engineer and that makes us both rather logical and we knew that we couldn't handle Danada with it's separate caterers and florists and SO MANY CONTRACTS to handle. We decided that it was too much.
Pheasant Run was not my first choice, and amazingly enough, nor was it C's. But when we sat and talked about things we needed and what made the most sense, there it was. It doesn't have any exposed brick or even windows in the ballroom. It doesn't have that sweet country vibe I loved. But it does have 3 pools and 3 restaurants and everything our guests might need. And they are treating us very well and have been super accommodating.
So while this wasn't the wedding I dreamed of or imagined, it will be the wedding I love.
We picked Chicago location because it was the most convenient for our families and friends. We knew that people would be traveling so it made sense to just split the difference. I knew we'd have to make a planning trip at some point to start viewing potential venues and I knew that we would need to have the ceremony and reception in the same location.
So I started looking online and instantly fell in love with Fulton's on the River. It was everything I never knew I wanted. It had a wonderful reception room with tall windows and all kinds of brick and wood. It was right on the river with a bridge in the background and I could just see our pictures. It was amazing.
It was also amazingly out of budget. Not even just a little. We learned that if we truly wanted to get married in Chicago, we couldn't actually get married in Chicago. Moving outside the city took about $10K minimum off our bill.
We toured many places during our trip there but not Fulton's. We saw hotel banquet rooms and golf courses and this amazing little country house. You can tell where I fell in love.
But, he is a guy and I am an engineer and that makes us both rather logical and we knew that we couldn't handle Danada with it's separate caterers and florists and SO MANY CONTRACTS to handle. We decided that it was too much.
Pheasant Run was not my first choice, and amazingly enough, nor was it C's. But when we sat and talked about things we needed and what made the most sense, there it was. It doesn't have any exposed brick or even windows in the ballroom. It doesn't have that sweet country vibe I loved. But it does have 3 pools and 3 restaurants and everything our guests might need. And they are treating us very well and have been super accommodating.
So while this wasn't the wedding I dreamed of or imagined, it will be the wedding I love.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Getting Crafty
In an effort to keep our wedding costs relatively low (and low means under $20K but I hate even thinking about that number and all the things we could do instead) I've decided to take on DIY projects and get my craft on. The only issue is that I'm not really crafty, at all.
I've never really been a scrapbooker. The closest I came was when I organized my pictures and cut out little squares of construction paper and wrote on them with a sharpie. No stickers or frame thingys for this girl. Pictures, construction paper. That's how I roll. Or craft.
My DIY projects include making tags for our favors that thank everyone for coming. I envision a light blue tag with Ty printed on it and 5.21 underneath that. Kind of an element thing again. Then on the back I'd like to "define" the element. "Thankuium is an element commonly found when large groups of people gather to celebrate and gratitude is felt. Thankuium is not dependent on the number of people, but by amount of love. It is especially abundant today." And then have our names or something.
Another DIY project is to make menus and table numbers with vellum paper. The menus should be simple, print out 2 menus on each sheet, cut in half, add ribbon. But first, I have to figure out if there are different types of vellum and how to tie a pretty bow. For the table numbers, I just want to print out "Table 2" on the vellum paper and wrap it around a pillar candle. However, I'm not sure if I can use real candles in case they get hot & burn the paper. So I may also have to buy battery operated tea lights.
Printing seems like it would be a no-brainer, but our printer is far from state-of-the-art. So I may also end up printing at Kinko's.
DIY or DIKinko's?
I've never really been a scrapbooker. The closest I came was when I organized my pictures and cut out little squares of construction paper and wrote on them with a sharpie. No stickers or frame thingys for this girl. Pictures, construction paper. That's how I roll. Or craft.
My DIY projects include making tags for our favors that thank everyone for coming. I envision a light blue tag with Ty printed on it and 5.21 underneath that. Kind of an element thing again. Then on the back I'd like to "define" the element. "Thankuium is an element commonly found when large groups of people gather to celebrate and gratitude is felt. Thankuium is not dependent on the number of people, but by amount of love. It is especially abundant today." And then have our names or something.
Another DIY project is to make menus and table numbers with vellum paper. The menus should be simple, print out 2 menus on each sheet, cut in half, add ribbon. But first, I have to figure out if there are different types of vellum and how to tie a pretty bow. For the table numbers, I just want to print out "Table 2" on the vellum paper and wrap it around a pillar candle. However, I'm not sure if I can use real candles in case they get hot & burn the paper. So I may also have to buy battery operated tea lights.
Printing seems like it would be a no-brainer, but our printer is far from state-of-the-art. So I may also end up printing at Kinko's.
DIY or DIKinko's?
Almost Decided
After yesterday's post I decided that the easiest and most logical thing to do would be to get hotel rooms in downtown Chicago. So I emailed my MOHs and gave them my list of names and what I thought would make sense.
I have a very diverse group of friends. My college friends are the ones I drink with and we have done our share of drinking (and probably then some). Most of us are grown ups and moms so those days are kind of behind us but we have still been known to get our drink on, as the kids say. Bachelorette parties in the past have included strippers at a house, going to a male strip club, lots of drinking and dancing.
My Cali friends really don't drink and are slightly more reserved. They don't imbibe so much and I don't think they've seen many naked men. At least, not up close and personal if you know what I'm sayin'. They don't really care for dirty movies or crazy clubs & dancing. They're more stay in and hang out together girls. Or wine bar girls.
And then there's C's friends, one of whom is in the wedding and so I invited her and a couple other girls that will all know each other. I've only really seen them a handful of times, twice at weddings. I have a feeling these girls are more like my college friends, but we've never seen each other in a Bachelorette party kind of situation.
It's interesting to note that my 2 MOHs are one college friend and one Cali friend.
With all this in mind, I gave the MOHs 2 options. One is a drinking play called Bye, Bye Liver. It sounds like an amazing good time. Comedy sketches about going to the bar, drinking games built in, laughter and drinks. Sounds great! It was running in MN for a bit but I missed it and was disappointed. The play runs at 8 & 10pm so there would be time for dinner, then play, then dancing.
The other option is a male revue that doesn't seem too raunchy, just a good time. I think we could do dinner, and then go to the club. The club has 3 hours of open bar for $30 which sounds like a good deal but also sounds like a lot of trouble. After that, dancing. I really do want to go dancing somewhere.
I'd be fine with either option but I think the play sounds unique AND fun! Depending on what these girls decide for me, it will also help me figure out outfits. I'd still like to glam it up a little but that's not usually my style. I might even wear, gasp, a dress!
I have a very diverse group of friends. My college friends are the ones I drink with and we have done our share of drinking (and probably then some). Most of us are grown ups and moms so those days are kind of behind us but we have still been known to get our drink on, as the kids say. Bachelorette parties in the past have included strippers at a house, going to a male strip club, lots of drinking and dancing.
My Cali friends really don't drink and are slightly more reserved. They don't imbibe so much and I don't think they've seen many naked men. At least, not up close and personal if you know what I'm sayin'. They don't really care for dirty movies or crazy clubs & dancing. They're more stay in and hang out together girls. Or wine bar girls.
And then there's C's friends, one of whom is in the wedding and so I invited her and a couple other girls that will all know each other. I've only really seen them a handful of times, twice at weddings. I have a feeling these girls are more like my college friends, but we've never seen each other in a Bachelorette party kind of situation.
It's interesting to note that my 2 MOHs are one college friend and one Cali friend.
With all this in mind, I gave the MOHs 2 options. One is a drinking play called Bye, Bye Liver. It sounds like an amazing good time. Comedy sketches about going to the bar, drinking games built in, laughter and drinks. Sounds great! It was running in MN for a bit but I missed it and was disappointed. The play runs at 8 & 10pm so there would be time for dinner, then play, then dancing.
The other option is a male revue that doesn't seem too raunchy, just a good time. I think we could do dinner, and then go to the club. The club has 3 hours of open bar for $30 which sounds like a good deal but also sounds like a lot of trouble. After that, dancing. I really do want to go dancing somewhere.
I'd be fine with either option but I think the play sounds unique AND fun! Depending on what these girls decide for me, it will also help me figure out outfits. I'd still like to glam it up a little but that's not usually my style. I might even wear, gasp, a dress!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Girls Weekend
One of the things that I shouldn't have to stress about but do anyway is my Bachelorette party. Of course, it seems that I stress about everything to some degree so this is normal. But the biggies are, where do we have it, what do we do, what will I wear?
Where is almost easy. Chicago makes the most sense since my girls are spread out in MN, MI, OH, and CA. The majority can drive it where the Cali girls can hopefully fly in. Plus, the Cali girls have the option of flying directly to Chicago or to MN and spending 5 hours in the car with me. I mean, no brainer!
So the where is done but the what? that's a little harder. I have it down to 2 options. We could go outside of Chicago and rent a house (vrbo.com) and spend the weekend being girls and staying indoors. Cooking meals together, playing games and watching movies. There's something very tempting about that but I see a couple issues. Not all my girls know eachother and what if some girls don't get along? Plus, spending the weekend with people you don't know could be awkward! We'd all be stuck in the same house together with not much to do but interact.
The other option is to get a hotel downtown and party and dance the night away! It would be shopping/sight-seeing during the day and dancing & drinking in the night with a possible male review show thrown in. Issues with this are that it's more expensive and not everyone likes to drink and dance. Plus, when I think of this I want a little more glamor so I'm thinking dress & heels and that's not everyone's style. But the pros would be that people are separated by hotel rooms so it wouldn't be as "in your face" all weekend. And any activities could be separated according to who wants to do what. Another con though is trying to keep track of ~10 girls in downtown Chicago.
My 2 MOH are already working together but before they can plan, they need to know what I want and I don't have an answer! How to choose?
Where is almost easy. Chicago makes the most sense since my girls are spread out in MN, MI, OH, and CA. The majority can drive it where the Cali girls can hopefully fly in. Plus, the Cali girls have the option of flying directly to Chicago or to MN and spending 5 hours in the car with me. I mean, no brainer!
So the where is done but the what? that's a little harder. I have it down to 2 options. We could go outside of Chicago and rent a house (vrbo.com) and spend the weekend being girls and staying indoors. Cooking meals together, playing games and watching movies. There's something very tempting about that but I see a couple issues. Not all my girls know eachother and what if some girls don't get along? Plus, spending the weekend with people you don't know could be awkward! We'd all be stuck in the same house together with not much to do but interact.
The other option is to get a hotel downtown and party and dance the night away! It would be shopping/sight-seeing during the day and dancing & drinking in the night with a possible male review show thrown in. Issues with this are that it's more expensive and not everyone likes to drink and dance. Plus, when I think of this I want a little more glamor so I'm thinking dress & heels and that's not everyone's style. But the pros would be that people are separated by hotel rooms so it wouldn't be as "in your face" all weekend. And any activities could be separated according to who wants to do what. Another con though is trying to keep track of ~10 girls in downtown Chicago.
My 2 MOH are already working together but before they can plan, they need to know what I want and I don't have an answer! How to choose?
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Moms
I know I've talked about a unity ceremony before and how I didn't like the unity candle, but if we don't do something like that then how do we involve our moms? I love the symbolism that we come from different families and are joining together now and I love the thought of having our moms involved but I could not come up with a way to make it happen for the longest time.
Then I started thinking about the ceremony and things that we would involve and what we would take out. We exchanged rings at our civil ceremony back in September but they were extremely affordable and were not meant to be our "wedding bands" for our lives. We actually went ring shopping over the weekend but have yet to purchase anything.
So I decided that our moms would carry in our rings in little ring dishes and when the time comes to exchange rings, they'll come forward and give them to us. That way we'll get to hug them and involve them. I like the idea that our rings come from each family, just like we do.
So, of course, the ring dish idea necessitated another Etsy search where I stumbled upon these pretties. Then I wondered what to do with them after the wedding and I think that either the moms can have them back or we could hang them with a wedding picture between them.
Now the question is, does C's mom have my ring or his ring? Does it matter?
Save the Dates (STDs) are officially done. I gave some out at our holiday party over the weekend for addresses I didn't have or people I wasn't sure I was supposed to invite. Now we turn our concentration over to invites. I'm having issues with out invite person because we found some amazing invites on etsy and had a meeting in Chicago but since then they've been extremely unresponsive. I told C that if we didn't absolutely love the design that I'd drop them. I've looked at other invites but haven't found anything that is as good as these.
I'm actually starting to wonder if I should give up and just make them myself. I know it's an undertaking but I think it could be done if I ordered the pre-folded pocket envelopes and just printed out the invite part and somehow glued/attached it. Then in the pocket goes the map, RSVP, and accommodations card. They have websites that have the whole package put together so you can just print them and assemble them. It might be worth looking in to.
Another project I'd like to take on soon is the photo booth props. I found a tutorial to make them so I would just need some stiff felt, some glue and some dowels. That seems like something I can knock out over a weekend. Mustaches, mouths, hats (think top hat and bowler), eye patches, and masks (Batman!) here we come!
Then I started thinking about the ceremony and things that we would involve and what we would take out. We exchanged rings at our civil ceremony back in September but they were extremely affordable and were not meant to be our "wedding bands" for our lives. We actually went ring shopping over the weekend but have yet to purchase anything.
So I decided that our moms would carry in our rings in little ring dishes and when the time comes to exchange rings, they'll come forward and give them to us. That way we'll get to hug them and involve them. I like the idea that our rings come from each family, just like we do.
So, of course, the ring dish idea necessitated another Etsy search where I stumbled upon these pretties. Then I wondered what to do with them after the wedding and I think that either the moms can have them back or we could hang them with a wedding picture between them.
Now the question is, does C's mom have my ring or his ring? Does it matter?
Save the Dates (STDs) are officially done. I gave some out at our holiday party over the weekend for addresses I didn't have or people I wasn't sure I was supposed to invite. Now we turn our concentration over to invites. I'm having issues with out invite person because we found some amazing invites on etsy and had a meeting in Chicago but since then they've been extremely unresponsive. I told C that if we didn't absolutely love the design that I'd drop them. I've looked at other invites but haven't found anything that is as good as these.
I'm actually starting to wonder if I should give up and just make them myself. I know it's an undertaking but I think it could be done if I ordered the pre-folded pocket envelopes and just printed out the invite part and somehow glued/attached it. Then in the pocket goes the map, RSVP, and accommodations card. They have websites that have the whole package put together so you can just print them and assemble them. It might be worth looking in to.
Another project I'd like to take on soon is the photo booth props. I found a tutorial to make them so I would just need some stiff felt, some glue and some dowels. That seems like something I can knock out over a weekend. Mustaches, mouths, hats (think top hat and bowler), eye patches, and masks (Batman!) here we come!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Love Them!
I don't have a picture to accompany this post so you're just going to have to take my word for it, but we got our cake toppers finally and I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! The lady was so awesome to work with and they're just perfect. I can't wait for people to see them on our cake and laugh. (BTW, if you are looking for a cake topper or a clay sculpture, she offers more than just robots! Check her out!)
We finally got off our butts over the break and finished registering! Our registries are now Bed,Bath & Beyond (or Tri-B as C likes to call it) and Target. I've heard sometimes things go funky with Target's registries so we'll have to keep an eye on it but I think it's ok so far. The hard part is having 2 registries though because we were wandering around asking each other if we remembered registering for X at Tri-B.
I'd like to manage it online but I have no idea what my password is so I'll have to do something about that soon.
Also, I can almost cross chairs off my list since I'm under contract with a rental company for the ceremony. The price is reasonable as long as we're willing to set up and tear down ourselves, which, I have brothers and what else are the groomsmen doing that day?!
I also contacted someone about transportation for myself and the wedding party for the ceremony. It's only 3.5 miles from the hotel to the ceremony but I don't know anyone else to help us so I guess we'll be renting a limo bus of some kind. C's friend has an Escalade but it won't fit the entire wedding party and someone else would have to drive the bridal party since he's a groomsman. Maybe we could make it work... It'd be nice to save some money.
We were planning a trip back to Chicago but I'm not sure we need to do that just yet. Seems like we have a plan for most things. We'll see as the wedding gets closer.
We finally got off our butts over the break and finished registering! Our registries are now Bed,Bath & Beyond (or Tri-B as C likes to call it) and Target. I've heard sometimes things go funky with Target's registries so we'll have to keep an eye on it but I think it's ok so far. The hard part is having 2 registries though because we were wandering around asking each other if we remembered registering for X at Tri-B.
I'd like to manage it online but I have no idea what my password is so I'll have to do something about that soon.
Also, I can almost cross chairs off my list since I'm under contract with a rental company for the ceremony. The price is reasonable as long as we're willing to set up and tear down ourselves, which, I have brothers and what else are the groomsmen doing that day?!
I also contacted someone about transportation for myself and the wedding party for the ceremony. It's only 3.5 miles from the hotel to the ceremony but I don't know anyone else to help us so I guess we'll be renting a limo bus of some kind. C's friend has an Escalade but it won't fit the entire wedding party and someone else would have to drive the bridal party since he's a groomsman. Maybe we could make it work... It'd be nice to save some money.
We were planning a trip back to Chicago but I'm not sure we need to do that just yet. Seems like we have a plan for most things. We'll see as the wedding gets closer.
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