Drowning in Wedding Blogs!

I need your help!

I follow a LOT of wedding blogs... I don't even want to count... the list on the side bar of this page isn't even all of them... I haven't updated the list in awhile.

Problem is, I can't find anything again later (if I didn't book mark it).

I'm looking for a blog post about a survey that one of the bride-to-bes gave her bridesmaids. It had questions about jewelry, food allergies, soda preferences, etc. At the time I didn't think I'd need that post again, but now I want another look! lol

Do any of you lurking brides remember reading it somewhere else?? Or maybe you wrote it?

Help!

This is a Test...

I'm about to make the 10 minute walk to the train in the rain, followed by a 15 minute walk to work after I get OFF the train... This is a test.

See, as most brides are, I'm sure, I'm a little bit more.. um... pleasantly plump than I would like to be on my wedding day. I have it figured out that I can get through the holiday season and not really have to push myself until February... giving me six months to tone it up and drop a few pounds. BUT, since I am so close to the public transit, I figured walking 4 days a week for almost an hour round trip would be a great little thing to do.

And I knew this was going to happen. Oregon has a LOT of rain for about 9 months out of the year... and I should have been prepared... but looking out the window right now, a I want to do is get in my nice, covered, warm car and drive the 6 miles to work! lol

This is a test...

Now What?

I'm feeling kind of at a stand still wedding-planning-wise right now. We still have a little over 10 months to go... and I think it's this (what seems like) long period of time that is jilting me. We already have our reception site booked, our photographer kinda booked (I'll reveal this as soon as the paperwork is signed!), we have a beach picked out for the ceremony (just need to figure out the permit stuff), we have our wedding party picked out, we have our videographer (my brother) booked, we have our minister (my other brother) booked, and we have the ceremony music (my OTHER brother) booked. We even have a lead on a florist (who I sent any e-mail to yesterday), and are down to two possible options for catering (DIY-Family or the hotel where we are having the reception).

So, my question is, now what? I'm feeling the urge to shop (been scanning etsy and the dollar tree online for the last couple of days!), but I can't shop for dresses until Dec. when all of my bridesmaids are in the same state at the same time... and, even with shopping I feel like it's too soon! I don't want a PWC sitting around my house for MONTHS. I also want to do our invitations... but again... too soon! I don't want to get them all done and then have them just sit there! And then, God forbid, what if something happens and a change needs to be made? Then I have to do them all over again!

*sigh*

Bulk Shopping

Guess what I discovered yesterday? You can shop at the Dollar Tree ONLINE if you need items in bulk! I didn't even know that they had a website! I found some vases and candles that I really like... I may have to do a little shopping ;)

Slumber Parties Aren't Just for Pre-Teen Girls!

There are 3 boys asleep in my house right now.... what cracks me up a little bit is that the cat has the big bed to himself and my fiance is sleeping on the couch with a tiny little back support pillow! lol

I got the opportunity to observe a very strange phenomenon last night... the slumber party of a 28-year-old computer nerd! lol

My fiance loves computers.... everything from building them to playing a multitude of games on them to working from home on one. Computers seem to be his passions, so I try not to tease him about it... too much. ;) Last night a friend of his came over at about 11:00 PM with HIS computer (I'm talking a desktop... NOT a lap top! Hauled over the tower, monitor... the whole bit), set it up on my desk (my little 15' monitor dwarfs compared to the large screens of these two!), and the two of them played some interactive, team game ALL NIGHT LONG sitting side by side... but on different computers. lol I went to bed about 12:30... woke up about 8:30... and they were still at it! This is a game that they could have played "together" at two different houses, but they chose to get together in the same room to spend the "time" together.

This is much like the slumber parties of my childhood. We could very well have slept in our own beds with a telephone to our ear and had the same conversations (and not have been so cranky in the morning), but, instead, a gaggle of 12 year olds chose to cuddle up in sleeping bags on the hard floor and stay up until 2 in the morning giggling and trying not to wake up the parents. This is EXACTLY what the boys did last night. lol

And now, at 10 AM, they have just gone to bed. Friend on the futon in the guest room, finance on the couch in the living room and cat in a ball in the bedroom. =)

New Giveaway!

Bride on a Budget is hosting a new give away for 250 custom greeting cards from UPrinting! Check it out!!

Marie's Wedding

So, as I mentioned yesterday, my old college friend/roommate got married this weekend and I was fortunate enough to be able to go and celebrate with them...and take notes! =)

They got married in Southern Oregon. The weather was nice and warm (though a bit windy), and their location (his parent's house) was perfect. It was up on a hill with a fantastic view.


As you can see, instead of bouquets, Marie chose to have her lovely bridesmaids carry parasols. I found this VERY classy and elegant!

Marie, in proper Marie-fashion, walked down the aisle to none other than Queen (though specific song I can't remember... but, as fer FAVORITE band, it was BOUND to pop up somewhere!)


There was concern for awhile that, due to medical conditions, Marie's father wasn't going to be able to attend the wedding. However, as luck would have it, he was released from the hospital that morning! So, even though he was not up to the task of walking her down the aisle, he was still there to give her away. In his place, Marie's four brother walked with her.


Thanks to the magic of camera zoom, I was able to get a few close pictures of the hand holding during the ceremony. But, what I found to be one of the most romantic parts of the whole ceremony (with the exception of the kiss... it was one hell of a kiss!) was the fact that Ben continued to stroke Marie's hand with his thumb throughout the ceremony.


Instead of hand fastening, unity candles, or sand, Ben and Marie chose to put together a time capsule to commemorate their special day. The capsule included photos, love letters, etc. from their years together, and was locked after the final piece was placed inside... their vows to each other.


As previously mentioned... after the vows, the "I Do"s and the rings... came THE kiss. It was perfect. You could just feel their love for each other.


Here are my last two favor moments from the ceremony portion of the evening...

Ben's hand there to support Marie as she climbed the stairs...

AND

This private moment that the two of them share... even away from the photographer. I'm curious what their first words are to each other as husband and wife...

The reception was held directly after the ceremony. Appetizers, drinks, and finally a buffet style turkey dinner followed by a *delicious* chocolate cake! Here are a few of my favorite moments from the reception.

Horrible picture... but blow it up and look at the expression on her face!

They guys got into a bigger fight over the boutonniere than the ladies with the bouquet!


Congratulations Ben and Marie!!!

Our Weekend.... unexplained =)

NWR

I think this is my first "Not Wedding Related" post (I'm sure there will be more along the way). But I just saw this photo on Le Love and I LOVE it!

Jacob and I went to my college roommate's wedding this weekend. I'm exhausted now, but will write all about it tomorrow! It was gorgeous!

Today is my last birthday as a "single" woman! =)

That is all =)

Video Love Note

Thank you SOOO much Louise at The Thirty-Something Bride for posting a link to the Robbins Bros. video love note site. I love, love, LOVE this! I love it so much I made it a permanent fixture on my blog (though Jacob made me change one of the pictures because he didn't look good in it)... lol

DIY Second Shooter

I got an e-mail from an old college classmate of mine today regarding my blog post about the necessity of a second shooter for the wedding. I am in LOVE with this idea and I feel the need to share it with the rest of you budget conscious brides out there!

(Thanks Nicole!)

I think a second photographer is great idea however, can add to your costs. Something we did instead is let our guests be our second photographers. You know at least a handful of people are going to have cameras (and most of them will be digital) so what we did was provided a handful of blank cd's (you often find on sale) labeled [couple last names and wedding date] with a self addressed envelope and asked everyone who took photos to copy them onto the cd and mail them to us...or meet up with us for lunch someday soon. It worked out great and its fun to see what moments our guests captured.

Yellow Dresses?

Our wedding colors are blue, yellow and white. The picture in my head was always white table clothes, with blue bridesmaids dresses and yellow flowers. I can just SEE it.

Then I ran across some wedding pictures...I know my MOH will kill me if I put her in yellow, but I am REALLY digging these marigold dresses that the bridesmaids wore for the wedding of We Met in a Bar blogger, Heather.

Parallel Weddings

I just found out that one of my high school classmates is getting married on the exact same day at the exact same time... I hope we don't have too many mutual guests...

Second Shooter?

Jacob and I have made our wedding photographer decision... but I'm not going to say anything here until the paper work is signed and the date booked!

I do have a question for you though... how important is a second shooter?

We're planning on about 100 guests. For those of you who only had one photographer, do you wish you would have had two? And vice versa... those who had two, do you think one would have been sufficient?

Results are in!

Well you guys were no help! lol... and only FOUR votes? C'mon now! =) The results for the photographer vote were split evenly between Photog #1 and Photog #4. Like I said... you were no help... but, luckily, Jacob and I have made OUR choice... I'll keep you posted ;)

Engagement Photos....

... well, sort of! =)

Jacob and I were at the coast again this weekend for a family reunion. Since the weather was fantastic (probably the least time before next summer that we'll be able to enjoy it), I wanted to get some photos on the beach that I can use with our wedding invitations (which I hope to be designing myself).

Here are the few of the photos that turned out decent enough for me to feel comfortable posting! lol Please remember, these are set-the-time-and-run photos. I wanted us to be dressed in our wedding colors in case I decide to go with color photos over black and white... though I wish I would have had a different dress because I'm really not appreciating the bag-like look I have in this one... but... well... I'm never happy with pictures of myself anyway! lol

Venue? CHECK!

Jacob and I signed the papers and put down the deposit to reserve our reception venue yesterday!! Yay!!! =)

Waldport Beach Resort

Worst-Case Scenario

I'm doing pretty good so far on this whole wedding-blog-give-away thing... I won a copy of "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Weddings" via a contest at Modern Bride with a Budget. The book came in the mail today, and, after flipping through it really quick, I can say that I had really looking forward to reading it! For instance, how to keep the bride and groom from accidentally seeing each other before the wedding?? Wear bells! lol I love it!

Photographer Poll!

As my friend Lauren suggested, I'm going to put up a poll for our wedding photographer at the top of the blog... I look forward to getting some feedback from the rest of you!!! =)

Check out my posts on each photographer for background info (the $ sign shows what order their prices fall in... the more $$ the more expensive):

Photographer #1 -- Guy Perkins, $$

Photographer #2-- Cherished Moments Photographer, $$$$

Photographer #3-- Kristin from Photo Objectif, $$$

Photographer # 4-- Justin from Sky Blue Iris, $

Photographer #4

Well, we met with (what we think is going to be) our last potential wedding photographer candidate this evening, Justin from Sky Blue Iris Event Photography. It's a fledgling business. After years of doing photography on the side he finally decided to start getting paid for it. It's his first year in, and so far he's done about 7 weddings/events since starting up in March.

We like his work, we like him, we like what he offers, and I like the fact that his love for "the list" is as strong as mine! lol ... so... now it's time to make a choice...

Google Dilemma

Should I be concerned if I can't find ANYTHING about one of my vendors in a google search? I'm trying to Internet-stalk one of my photographer candidates and NOTHING is coming up about him (except for the one portfolio sample he sent me). He says that he's been in the business for years and studied with a bunch of the top people... but I can't find ANYTHING. I feel like I need to be particularly careful with this as I'm booking almost a year out and he's independent (not affiliated with a studio).

What do you think?

Invitation Mock Up

I got bored today. It's the first time I've had an actual weekend in about a year (you don't really get a weekend when you're in school... there's always some paper that you should be writing). So, just for the hell of it, I mocked up our wedding invitation (I have MONTHS before I have to do this... but, hey, why not? lol). I plan on designing them myself and taking them somewhere to get printed up. So... here you have it. The picture is not the one I plan on using, but it will be something similar. Also, for some reason when I turned the image to a jpg it changed everything to red... not really sure why. The headline text is blue, the line is black, the picture is normal color, and the monogram at the bottom is blue and yellow.

I really love the wording. I stole it from honey my heart (who also stole it from someone else! It's good wording!)

And the Spending Begins!

I bought my first wedding thing today. =) Decided that we needed address labels for the multitude of save the dates, invitations, thank you cards, etc. so I got online and ordered us some!

The site I bought them from, 123Print, Inc. also has CHEAP customized designs for wedding invitations, save the dates, and thank you cards. Hmm... I may have to look into this a bit deeper... especially since I was planning on designing my own invitations, etc. anyhow!

Our Beach

Governor Patterson Memorial State Park... where we will (99% sure) be saying our vows next August.

Now I just need to find out about fees and permits...

Venue Search... Complete?

Jacob and I spent a tiring 8 hours on Friday driving up and down the central Oregon coast looking at potential ceremony and reception site possibilities. Our goal was to find a reception site and be able to book it ASAP. As we are getting married on the beach, we have pretty unlimited options in that area, so, even though we had a beach in mind, we decided to find the reception venue first and then match a nearby beach to it.

We looked at 8 different sites, in 4 different coastal towns. And, I think, we've made our decision! =)

It came down to two different options that we both really liked. The first was the Yachats Commons in Yachats, Oregon. This community center use to be the local elementary school, and they rent out their gym for large events. They also have "classroom" sized rooms available and a large covered picnic area. Not to mention a HUGE kitchen space. Here's a few pictures I snapped after the jazzercise class let out ;)






We loved the covered outdoor area. Plus, I felt like the sunflowers painted in the kitchen was a sign! =) Plus, the place was SUPER cheap and the guy in charge of the place that showed us around was REALLY nice.

The second place that really grabbed our attention was the Waldport Beach Resort. It's a hotel (as the name kind of suggests) and they were offering up their second story banquet room for the reception, as well as having a bar onsite and someone who could serve at our party for a minimum hourly fee and a discount on rooms for our guests. Here's some pictures of the room and view over the bay.





The beach resort was a bit more expensive, and did not have an adjacent outdoor area of any sort, but talking to the assistant manager (who is also an event coordinator) we started to like the idea of having our reception here a little bit better. Apparently the higher cost covers a lot of other stuff, included linens, furniture, and wait staff, as well as, kind of, our own event coordinator to rent outside equipment for us (projectors, microphones, etc.). Also, we are allowed to bring in our own food if we'd like, but it sounds like their caterer may be able to make something from our meager budget as well! =) Additionally, they are started a complete renovation/remodel of the hotel at the end of the month. Apparently the big wigs that recently bought the place are putting $1 million into revamping the resort. Part of this, we were told, was too add a patio onto the banquet room (which addresses our issue of wanting an outdoor area). All of this work is suppose to be starting at the end of the month and be finished by next summer.

This makes me nervous a little bit. I know how construction goes. When a job is going to take 6 weeks it ends up taking 6 months. What if the place isn't done by the summer like it's suppose to be?? Also, the staff at the hotel has yet to see any blue prints, so they do not know FOR SURE what the banquet room is going to look like and if it will or will not ACTUALLY have a patio area. This is just what they've been told.

Jacob and I put our names down on the calendar for the Yachats Commons as a "right of first refusal". If someone else wants it on that date we'll be given the opportunity first to put down a deposit and call it ours.

However, I think we are 95% sure we're going to go with the Waldport Beach Resort. I have contacted the assistant manager and plan on going in next weekend to put down the deposit. However, here's my conundrum. Should I play it safe and reserve BOTH places? They both have refund policies, so, should I be safe and reserve the Commons JUST IN CASE? I hate to cause someone else not to be able to use it and then cancel "at the last minute", but I worry a LOT about the construction. Am I just being paranoid?

Photographer #3

Third photographer appointment today... and it went well! =) This photographer is a lot less experienced than the others that we've met with (she's still trying to enhance her portfolio and 2009 was her first "wedding season"), but personality-wise we really clicked. She's a LOT like me as far as background, personal interests/career choices, and what we look for in photos and her boyfriend (who is her second shooter) has a very similar job to my fiance working with computers. The similarities were slightly eerie. =) When we got back in the car after the meeting Jacob said, "So, how long did it take you to realize she was just like you?" =)

Now I am torn. I like the work that I've seen from Photographer #1 a lot better. This photographer, Kristin from Photo Objectif, was number four on my list of 5 photographers when I rated the quality of the photos in their online portfolios, however, so far I *like* her the most. Granted, I DID like her work or I wouldn't have even contacted her in the first place.

We still have one, maybe two more photographers to meet with before we make a decision. But, already, I don't know what to do! lol

This is a photo from Kristin's portfolio... I'm not exactly showing it for quality or for her style, but rather for the space age bridesmaids' dresses... lol... what do you think? ;)

And The Search Begins!

This coming weekend is our first official venue search!!!! I've done a TON of research online for areas along the central Oregon coast that meet our needs for a reception site and have a pretty decent sized list. We're looking for something with both indoor and outdoor areas (which may also work as a plan B for the ceremony if the weather sucks), somewhere between Florence and Newport that's cheap... therefore we are primarily focusing our search on city-owned facilities (and even one RV park... hehe). I'll be sure to post a recap when we get back, but so far I have SIX appointments on Friday alone (one place we wanted to see is already booked! Dang!)... we are going to be busy, busy, busy!

Additionally, when I planned this weekend months ago it didn't occur to me that it was Labor Day weekend... so... we are going to be camping (because our usual beach house accommodations were already booked) in a VERY crowded campground. PLUS, just to add a bit more fun, the weather is suppose to showers all weekend, with Weather.com suggesting that holiday weekend participants put "plan B" into effect! lol I don't know... we may end up sleeping in the car! =)