For the last few months we have been itching to get something done. A long engagement has its benefits, of course: Plenty of time, less stress, more options for vendors, time to enjoy being engaged, etc. At the same time, however, a 22-month engagement also means we have no excuse to get things done quite yet. While we're still over a year out, we have no need to feel pressured to make decisions or book vendors, which is both comforting and frustrating. But very slowly, we are crawling closer to that year mark, and we can finally make some strides toward planning our wedding!
Last weekend, we ventured up north for a marathon weekend of meetings and appointments. Planning a "long-distance" (which I define as anything that can involve a plane ride) wedding requires serious organization. We have to book appointments far in advance and make sure that we schedule as many as possible. Otherwise, we have to wait perhaps a month or two before we can come up again. So we hauled our wedding binder back and forth between Dublin, Campbell, Cupertino, Livermore, and San Jose. We met with photographers and a DJ, visited a bridal salon (well, not Terry), checked out a bridal fair, and even spent time with some of our bridal party members.
While we didn't make any final decisions, the weekend felt extremely productive. Comparing different photographers really gave us an idea of what we are looking for and what we can expect to pay. Man, photographers are expensive! But as we've said, pictures last the longest and will capture those little moments we want to remember and share with our children. We will likely make our own albums, however, which can save upward of $1,000 through most photographers. As for style, we are picky about finding a true photojournalist for our wedding. We want few, if any, posed pictures; instead, we want the photographer to capture the mood and moments of the day. We also really want two photographers on site for the whole day so that we can get various angles and have plenty of choices for our prints. We hope to book a photographer within the next two months.
One element we are really looking for is professionalism in all of our vendors. Perhaps that's obvious, but we expect a certain level of respect, friendliness, organization, and attention during these meetings, and so far we have been extremely impressed with most people we've met. We also need to feel really comfortable with these people, because we have to feel able to honestly say what we do and don't want. Terry did an awesome job of lining up an interview with a great DJ, so we're off to a great start in two of the most important parts of the wedding!
In other news, we also had to have my ring resized because it was too big. Dropping it off at the jeweler was a special treat for me because I got to see my wedding ring again! Terry did such an incredible job of telling the jeweler exactly how to make it, and I cannot wait to get to wear the whole set next year!
We are busy now trying to plan our next trip up north, during which we hope to put down deposits on a photographer and a DJ. Expect some updates soon on our choices!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
March already???
It seems impossible that March is here already, but, alas, here we are. Our wedding is inching closer, and we are still finding time to love engaged life!
2010 has been a fun challenge for us. Our New Year's resolutions and commitments to Lent have been great for helping us grow individually and as a couple. Our New Year's resolutions are to avoid fast food for a whole year, along with flossing daily and cooking a new recipe every Sunday night. We've had an awesome time coming up with new things to cook, though we miss In-N-Out! For Lent, we gave up sweets, which is probably going to kill me sometime soon, or I'll kill Terry because I'm craving sugar so desperately, but we're okay right now. I'll keep you updated. Meanwhile, work keeps us busy, but my cheer season has slowed so I can be home more with my fiance! Terry won't travel again until fall, so we are grateful for our time together.
In the way of wedding planning progress, we are nearing some important dates. Long-distance planning is tough at this stage, because we need to interview potential vendors. This month, however, we'll finally have a chance to get up north (our last trip was when we finalized our contract with The Palm Event Center. You can read about it here). During our weekend up there, we will meet with a few potential photographers and hopefully a DJ or two.
For photographers, I started by using the "Recommended Vendors" list from our venue. I also found some photographers on miscellaneous websites and used recommendations from friends. I then researched photographers' websites and focused on quality of the images, pricing and packages, and style. We're looking for a candid style that will capture the most important moments of the day, and, ideally, we would prefer two photographers for the whole day. We have always said photographs are one area we assume will take up most of our budget, and we could not have been more right. Photographers run at least a few thousand dollars, plus extra for overtime, travel, or any bonuses.
Dress shopping will (finally? already?) get underway this month, also. My mom and I will hit up our first store when I'm in the Bay Area. We've both looked at pictures of dresses we like, and our tastes are surprisingly similar, so hopefully we can get a good idea of what works with my body so that subsequent trips are easy and fun. Some of my favorite high school memories are of shopping for prom dresses with my mom, and I'm so excited to continue that tradition with her again!
A few weeks ago, Terry and I attended a Crate and Barrel "Wedding Party" in Beverly Hills. We chose Crate and Barrel for its high quality, range of products, and reasonable prices. At these Wedding Parties, the store opens early for couples who RSVP, and those couples get the entire store to themselves to register. We decided to check it out, regardless of how ridiculously early it is to register, and we had a BLAST! The Crate and Barrel staff was incredibly attentive, the breakfast was delicious (not to mention the mimosas!), and the empty store felt relaxed and easy. Only five other couples attended, so we essentially had the entire floor to ourselves. Terry got the scanner gun, and I got the checklist. We took off running!
Most of our kitchen gadgets are registered through Crate and Barrel, but we are also going to register for our honeymoon. Registering for a honeymoon is becoming a popular option for registries, especially for couples who live together before they are married. The idea is that someone can contribute to your honeymoon rather than giving either cash or a physical gift. There are plenty of companies who run these types of registries, but we are going with Honeyfund. Our friends Nick and Jocelyn used this site for their wedding registry last year and had no problems, so we're giving it a shot! Researching the honeymoon "items" that we're registering for makes us so excited for our trip. 16 months can't go by fast enough!
And lastly, our first set of engagement pictures are in! Our incredible photographer (and great friend), Roxanne Neal, with the help of her husband Chris, took some awesome shots of us at Point Dume in Malibu. She is so talented, and we were so excited to see our photos. We want to share them all eventually, but we haven't decided how we will use them all quite yet, so for now, enjoy one of our highlights!
2010 has been a fun challenge for us. Our New Year's resolutions and commitments to Lent have been great for helping us grow individually and as a couple. Our New Year's resolutions are to avoid fast food for a whole year, along with flossing daily and cooking a new recipe every Sunday night. We've had an awesome time coming up with new things to cook, though we miss In-N-Out! For Lent, we gave up sweets, which is probably going to kill me sometime soon, or I'll kill Terry because I'm craving sugar so desperately, but we're okay right now. I'll keep you updated. Meanwhile, work keeps us busy, but my cheer season has slowed so I can be home more with my fiance! Terry won't travel again until fall, so we are grateful for our time together.
In the way of wedding planning progress, we are nearing some important dates. Long-distance planning is tough at this stage, because we need to interview potential vendors. This month, however, we'll finally have a chance to get up north (our last trip was when we finalized our contract with The Palm Event Center. You can read about it here). During our weekend up there, we will meet with a few potential photographers and hopefully a DJ or two.
For photographers, I started by using the "Recommended Vendors" list from our venue. I also found some photographers on miscellaneous websites and used recommendations from friends. I then researched photographers' websites and focused on quality of the images, pricing and packages, and style. We're looking for a candid style that will capture the most important moments of the day, and, ideally, we would prefer two photographers for the whole day. We have always said photographs are one area we assume will take up most of our budget, and we could not have been more right. Photographers run at least a few thousand dollars, plus extra for overtime, travel, or any bonuses.
Dress shopping will (finally? already?) get underway this month, also. My mom and I will hit up our first store when I'm in the Bay Area. We've both looked at pictures of dresses we like, and our tastes are surprisingly similar, so hopefully we can get a good idea of what works with my body so that subsequent trips are easy and fun. Some of my favorite high school memories are of shopping for prom dresses with my mom, and I'm so excited to continue that tradition with her again!
A few weeks ago, Terry and I attended a Crate and Barrel "Wedding Party" in Beverly Hills. We chose Crate and Barrel for its high quality, range of products, and reasonable prices. At these Wedding Parties, the store opens early for couples who RSVP, and those couples get the entire store to themselves to register. We decided to check it out, regardless of how ridiculously early it is to register, and we had a BLAST! The Crate and Barrel staff was incredibly attentive, the breakfast was delicious (not to mention the mimosas!), and the empty store felt relaxed and easy. Only five other couples attended, so we essentially had the entire floor to ourselves. Terry got the scanner gun, and I got the checklist. We took off running!
Most of our kitchen gadgets are registered through Crate and Barrel, but we are also going to register for our honeymoon. Registering for a honeymoon is becoming a popular option for registries, especially for couples who live together before they are married. The idea is that someone can contribute to your honeymoon rather than giving either cash or a physical gift. There are plenty of companies who run these types of registries, but we are going with Honeyfund. Our friends Nick and Jocelyn used this site for their wedding registry last year and had no problems, so we're giving it a shot! Researching the honeymoon "items" that we're registering for makes us so excited for our trip. 16 months can't go by fast enough!
And lastly, our first set of engagement pictures are in! Our incredible photographer (and great friend), Roxanne Neal, with the help of her husband Chris, took some awesome shots of us at Point Dume in Malibu. She is so talented, and we were so excited to see our photos. We want to share them all eventually, but we haven't decided how we will use them all quite yet, so for now, enjoy one of our highlights!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)