Early Christmas Gift

So...I'm on the computer alot. And between me and my toddler, my computer has taken a beating. I have a Mac IBook G4 laptop. But it is really starting to fall apart from 1) The time it dragged along the ground across Boston in a ripped suitcase, and 2) The five times my toddler sent it crashing to the ground. Fiance and I both have laptops, but he said he felt sorry for me and said he'd try to get me a new computer by spring.
But this was waiting for me when I got home from work Wednesday.


Oh, the joy. The possibilities!
PS. It has Photoshop! Playtime!

PSA: Snapfish

Until Friday, Snapfish is offering their 20-page 5X7 photobooks for $5.99--yes, $5.99. They're normally $11.99, so it's a deal! The PROMO CODE: PHOTOBOOK07.
These would make great gifts--especially for those who have children--for grandparents and family. There are a ton of layouts to choose from and you can fit numerous photos on one page, if you'd like AND add text to create a cute story/narrative.
And I'm SURE you enterprising brides can come up with a way to use them for your upcoming wedings. Maybe make a book of your engagement photos, etc...
Have fun!

Flowers...Check!

So...over Thanksgiving weekend you know I met with two florists in addition to the lighting company.

Well, I am glad to say, I have found my florist! And it was such an easy an obvious choice!

ABOUT HELENE
Helene of Brunswick Ohio-based Hosanna Designs will be doing floral for the wedding. (She created that mandap pictured).
I first chatted with Helene last month and got a great feeling about her over the phone.
That feeling was confirmed upon meeting her Saturday over the Thanksgiving holiday.
She works from her home studio on the west-side of Cleveland, so we met half way, near downtown, for lunch (which she'd offered to treat me to).
As soon as I saw her we connected and bounced ideas off of each other for about an hour.
What I loved about Helene is that she was very upfront about what flowers cost and had great ideas on how to save money. She actually showed me catalogs of her wholesalers and was clear about pricing. Most of all, she is clearly passionate about what she does.
Very excited to be working with her!
**One thing I must note about Hosanna Designs is that they don't charge a deposit. I was certainly prepared to give her one, but...according to Helene: "I've raised kids. Spend that money on vendors who need it now.."
Just like a mom!

OTHER FLORISTS
In all, I interviewed three florists. Maybe I should have talked to more, but interviewing vendors is tiring and I believe you know when you've found the right one.

The others I met with with were Lynn from Creations by Lynn, Broadview Heights and Amy of AC Designs, Westlake (well, didn't actually meet her but communicated via e-mail).
Both Amy and Lynn could be good choices for floral and I have nothing but good things to say about them both.
Lynn's shop was very organized. She even had fresh orchids, mokara and cymbidium, by the stem-- a huge plus for an orchid-lover like me!
Her prices are reasonable but she said she does 4 weddings in a weekend--which seems like a lot and kind of turned me off).

Amy is a fast and excellent communicator. She worked with me via e-mail for a few days and created sketches of ideas she had and was able to quote me this way. Amy's prices are very reasonable and she is good at thinking outside of the box. I just wished I could've seen more of her work...

Let there be Light!: Part II

Let there be Light: Part I
So, I went to Cleveland for Thanksgiving, super excited to meet with the fourth and last lighting company for reasons explained in Part I.
I have already received quotes from three other Cleveland-area companies--two who had actually visited my venue and one who , without seeing the location, gave me a 'rough quote.'
So fiance, toddler and I woke up early Friday morning in some very frigid and blustery and typically Cleveland weather to meet John from RCS Corp. at Starbucks in the BP Tower. (The BP Tower houses several businesses and on the first floor has about a dozen storefronts and small shops).
We headed up to the third floor so John could check out our space and tell us all of the amazing ways he could transform it with fabulous lighting.
But as he scoped the venue, he looked perplexed...
"I would love to take your money," he said. "But this is going to be a very difficult space to do much with."
Why, I asked?
The answer: Power.
There was not enough power--as in power outlets--in the venue to accomodate any significant lighting set-up.
He said he even remembered working in the space once before for a high school gala and having the same issues.
Further, he explained, with an August wedding and the sun not setting until around 9 p.m., natural light would be a huge obstacle to lighting.
One reason we love our venue is because one whole side of the room is open and overlooks an atrium. The building it's housed in is, on the front side, made entirely of windows. And although our space is set back from those windows, I was assured that natural light would clash with any man-made lighting--and we may only have two hours where lighting would even be noticeable...
I can't say I hadn't heard this before. Two of the other lighting companies told me it would be a "difficult room to transform."
I guess I was just waiting to meet with that company that would tell me they had some fabulous idea on how to get past the obstacles!
So, I'm sad. The very reasons why we chose our venue--the windows and the view--are working against my plans!
A few good things from our meeting with RCS:
1) John had a GREAT idea for our ceremony space!
2) John talked to us about a new designer RCS recently hired who is young and really good at thinking outside of the box on how to use lighting; he plans to send him to our venue next week to see what he comes up with...
To be continued!

What's Your Color Inspiration?

Color is perhaps one of the key things I think about when considering the feel and vibe of any event. A good way to start is to figure out a color pallete that suits your style. It doesn't have to be rigid, but it's a good way to begin.
So...
1. Gather a few images that inspire you. They don't have to be pictures of flowers, attire or anything wedding related, for that matter. In my opinion, they should just be pictures that make you "feel" something and set a mood.
2. Go to: Colorhunter.com or DeGraeve.com.
3. Enter the URL of your image (s) and VOILA! Your own custom color palette!

Dollar Tree Direct

The other day I wrote about the fabulous damask-inspired votive holders I found at the Dollar Tree. Turns out between two local Dollar Tree locations I was able to buy enough of them for what I needed (about 60). But apparently, for people planning large events, Dollar Tree recently started up Dollar Tree Direct, where you can buy ANYTHING you see in a store, in bulk.
I don't think I need to explain why this is is useful to event planners and brides planning wedding!

I think this service is fairly new. Here is a write-up from the press release on Retail Net.

Dollar Tree has launched an e-commerce site called "Dollar Tree Direct" (www.dollartreedirect.com) designed for customers who want to purchase large quantities of items from the store.
Customers can submit orders via electronic submission, fax or by phone. No matter what method they choose, shoppers will have the chance to speak with a customer-service representative who will check on availability of requested items and process payments.

It doesn't look like a whole lot that I've seen in the stores is on the web site yet, but as long as you have the product number you can call-in an order.

Stamps & Pretty Paper

Today I bought some art materials online to play around with!
I ordered:
**Two clear stamps--one damask, one a double scroll
**12, 12X12 sheets of Anna Griffin Dorothy Graphic Black Damask Paper from Memory Villa store
**4X6 Acrylic Stamp Block from an Ebay store called 'Heart-Shaped Rock Cottage', who by the way, is super fast and emailed me to say she'd shipped my order within an hour after of me placing it!

The damask print paper, I may use as bellybands for the invitations.
A bellyband is simply a decorative element you can use to embellish invites--pictured in orange at right---->

I bought the stamps and stamp block to use on our printed materials. Stamping--particularly clear stamping--is a whole new world for me, so I had to do some research. But from what I've seen they work really great and will undoubtedly be a fabulous accent to my new Print Gocco that I have asked Santa for as a Christmas gift!
More on stamps and gocco later.

For those who love Damask....

A Walmart run and a trip to the Dollar Tree landed me these fabulous damask-inspired votive holders and a damask box that I may modify and use as a card box. I've seen these same/very similar votive holders elsewhere for like $29.99 for two! Look here! and The votive holders were two in a pack for a buck. Lets just say I cleared the shelves. The box was $4. More on my love affair with damask.

Free Orchids!!

So, I was having a flower attack today--an uncontrollable feeling I get now and then when I have to get my hands on some fresh flowers. So I broke down and went to the flower stand to buy some more orchids. The guy wanted $15 for 10 stems...and while I know that's not bad for orchids generally, I have bought them for $10 from another local stand, SO I talked him down to $12. That's when the FLOWER ANGEL-- some random city worker-- strolls up and asks who the flowers were for. When I replied they were for me he whispered something to the flower man and told me to put my money "back in my pocket."
He freakin' bought me the flowers and then disappeared. I swear. Now you KNOW free orchids made my day!
Here are some photos of one stem I submerged. (I'm considering some sort of sunken orchid centerpiece...)

Two Florists & A Lighting Guy

So, next week I will be in Cleveland for a few days (Thanksgiving) and am super excited to FINALLY have a chance to meet with some vendors. As you know, I am planning our wedding long distance and have largely been communicating with vendors via e-mail and phone and relying on my fabulous mom to do legwork.
It's always better to meet with people face-to-face, so I'll be doing just that--all day on Friday the 23rd! The interview line-up includes... two florists and a lighting company.
Here is my agenda for Friday, August 23:

8:00 AM: Beg fiance to take me to rental car place to pick up two-day rental car.
(I'm not driving my SUV home. If I did, the trip would cost me about $200 with the cost of gas...)

10:30 AM: Meet with John of RCS Corporation in the BP Tower to discuss lighting and draping, and to hopefully soon after get a reasonable quote.
Here is what John said to me on the phone yesterday:
"See, I've worked with the same customers for years...and they keep coming back to me because I'm frugal with their money," he said. "So what I'll do depending on your budget is figure out a quote and then if it's not what you had in mind, we can rethink it to make it work for you."
**Hmmmm....I like John already!

1:00 PM: Meet with Lynn of Creations by Lynn to talk flowers.
Here is what Lynn's assistant said to me last month at the Bridal Show:
"Lynn is very good about working within your budget."
Me: "But what if i want to do some things myself?"
"Oh, Lynn will order the flowers for you!"
**Hmmmm...kinda liking Lynn, too!

3:00 PM: Meet with Helene of Hosanna Designs to talk flowers.
I spoke to Helene last week and she is super nice. She said she liked me already because I had creative ideas. And at least one person on IndieBride was familiar with her work and said "she's creative, inexpensive and actually tries to save you money...."

5:00 PM: Happy Hour!

Vista Print: Part I

So I am using Vista Print as the printer for my invitations--to which there are a LOT of components. I am doing pocketfolds, so in all there are four printed pieces to the invite- the actual invite, two detail cards and an RSVP postcard.

An advantage to me figuring this out early is that I get to test, test and test again ALL of my vendors. SO, I ordered a batch of the RSVP postcards from VistaPrint about two weeks ago to see what the quality was like.

100 postcards arrived Saturday, earlier than I expected and well packaged. (At checkout I chose the slowest possible shipping time--like 3 weeks). Also, I should note I paid only $5.99 (the shipping) for 100 postcards! VistaPrint ALWAYS has "free" and majorly discounted promotions going so I plan on using that to my advantage! I seriously doubt I will pay more than $100 for all of my printing when all is said and done.

Anyway, the postcards look GREAT! The color is great, the printing crisp and the card stock is a nice heavy quality and glossy. So far I am recommending Vista Print as I am amazed with their pricing and customer service has so far exceeded
expectation.

Oh--on a sidenote, Emily, who designed our invites, also created this Save the Date card... but we are unsure about sending out save the dates--fiance thinks they are pointless--and even if we do, I don't think I would use this design. I would like something more interesting. Any ideas about what I could use this card for?

I ordered another monogram...

I mean...why not? I may order like ten more because they're only $2.50 a pop from Angela over at Save the Date Originals.
Actually, because mine are so similar they were only $2.00 a pop!
Here's my modified monogram I posted about before, except in a circle! I adore the monograms! I feel like they say "modern"and "vintage" simultaneously.

Inspiration Board!

So, a lot of ladies over on The Knot have created 'boards' that reflect the overall feeling of what they have in mind for their day. Here is the first shot at mine. I think it could be better but it is pretty representative of what I'm going for.

Tutorial: How to Handtie & Dress a Bouquet

If you're interested in DIY bouquets, please check out this fabulous video from Pash Weddings! Also, if you don't believe DIY bouquets can be fabulous, look at some made by Ms. Penguin over at Weddingbee on her very first attempt.

Let There Be Light!:Part I

The dim amber lighting of a late-night jazz club;
The yellow and green and orange neon darting spotlights in a disco;
A summer afternoon's plentiful sunshine's ability to single-handedly brighten your mood;
Subtle and soft all white lights on a Christmas tree;
The flash on your camera.
Lighting matters.
It makes a difference in how we look in photographs...
And it can even change our mood.

So, why do most people overlook the power of lighting their events...their weddings?

In contemplating our 'decor' budget and how to get the 'biggest bang for our bucks,' professional lighting is a factor that I couldn't ignore.
Traditionally, flowers have been the huge 'budget buster' for brides. Flowers and florists can easily produce bills in the thousands.
Yes, easily.

But, I don't want a flowery wedding. And although I love flowers, in thinking back on weddings I've been to I can't recall: "Oh, those were some lovely spray roses they had on their tables!" Basically, who really remembers flowers?

So why not give guests an experience with lighting to reflect the 'feel' of your celebration?
The realization that I'm crazy about lighting had led me to thoroughly explore the options for pro lighting in the Cleveland area. And basically there are 4 major players that I've come across: Hughies, ColorTone, RCS Corporation, and Event Lighting. Soon, I will post generally about the quotes and customer service I received from these vendors--because I know that professional lighting is a "newer" concept in the Cleveland market and many brides don't have experience using them and don't know what to expect.

To be clear, lighting is not on its face a cheaper alternative to decadent flowers. For me, I am making a choice to appropriate the majority of what would be a floral budget to lighting, because I think it's a better fit for us and packs incredible impact when compared to flowers--especially for an evening event.
As with anything, you can do more or less with lighting to fit your budget.

Here are just a few ways lighting can transform:



Above photo courtesy of Knottie Brown Bride07






Look at the possibilities! More on light lata.

I. Heart. Etsy!

Generally, I'd like to think I am pretty crafty and have decent taste.
And normally, when I take on do-it-yourself projects they come out better than expected. Plus, I enjoy 'personalizing' things and paying attention to the details.

For our wedding, there are a number of small projects that I am excited to be taking on myself, e.g. our invitations, a crystal manzanita tree, programs, out of town boxes etc. But I am not so ambitious to think I couldn't use some creative help from somewhere...
Enter Etsy!
Etsy is presently my favorite online store--one huge marketplace of items by individual sellers/small companies. And EVERYTHING is hand-made. I first came across Etsy via the store of Emily, who took my inspiration and designed our invitations.

Now, I literally spend hours browsing this site-- and I have found some amazing and oh so affordable finds that will help me with my projects, namely 200 CUSTOM stickers for $6!?!? (Sorry ladies, I'll post the link AFTER I order mine!)

Anyways, here are a few of the adorable things I've found on Etsy (some NOT wedding related):

Crown Labels by Paperologie
Really see no use for these...but I'll FIND one! I love them!

Custom Monogrammed Ring Pillow from MondeDesign

How CUTE!

Silk Dupioni Custom Monogrammed Check Book Cover from plethora

This could be something to add to BM's gifts:)

Personalized Monogram Bloomers/ Diaper Cover from Carabellas

Baby Raven, I want these for you!

Luxe Fuschia and Red Damask Hemp Strung Tags by Paperologie

Again, unsure how I would use these. But they are surely eye candy!

So basically, I've found Etsy to be a good place for supplies, but more so for general inspiration!

What are things you look at, read etc. for inspiration--fashion, decor or other?

10 Biggest Mistakes Wedding Guests Make

Hmmmm. I thought with all this talk about wedding planning that it was time to turn the tables and focus on, ahem, the guests!
This from MSN.com.

10 Biggest Mistakes Wedding Guests Make
By Miles Stiverson
In the course of wedding planning, you'll probably come across a guest or two whose inappropriate actions, odd requests, or rude behavior seems appalling. Don't be shocked -- while you may know the ins and outs of wedding etiquette, some of your friends and family may not be aware of what's acceptable. What can you do? Be proactive. Here's how.

1. Not Sending RSVPs
What they did: Anyone who's ever planned a wedding knows the importance of a punctual RSVP -- from plotting your seating chart to giving the caterer a final headcount, it's hard to proceed without a firm grasp of who's coming. Unfortunately, some of your guests may treat the RSVP as a novelty rather than a necessity.

How to deal: Give it a week. After that, it's time to give them a call. Recruit your maid of honor to help you with phone duties if you're really struggling with missing RSVPs. Or, better yet, send out a group email (use a blind CC) saying that you need to know by [insert deadline] if they're planning on attending. Keep the tone nice, but firm. Then, you only have to call those who don't reply to the email (which really is a double-duty foul).

Stop the cycle: Make the reply-by-date as early as possible, say two weeks from the date you intend to mail the invitations. That way, when your guests see that the deadline is quickly approaching, they'll (hopefully) stick the reply card in the mail right then and there.

2. Sending RSVPs With Extra Guests
What they did: The good news is that the guest has returned the RSVP. The bad news is that she'd love to attend. . .with a person you never invited -- maybe never heard of. Whether she believes every invite bestows the right to bring a date, or a child, adding a name on the RSVP puts everyone in an awkward position.

How to deal: To avoid potential hurt feelings, you need to establish a no-exceptions guest list policy (significant others only if engaged; no children under 18). Then, call the misguided guest to explain the circumstances. Apologize for the misunderstanding, and tell her that unfortunately the limitations (a small reception space or a tight budget) require a strict guest list. The person most likely didn't intend to thwart your list with the addition of another guest, and will gladly come to the wedding solo.

Stop the cycle: Tell your parents, wedding party, and other close relatives and friends, so that they can spread the word when asked. And, of course, address your invitations in a direct manner (don't write "Smith Family" unless they really are all invited). The earlier that a guest knows who's actually invited, the less painful the conversation will be.

3. Bombarding the Bride
What they did: As soon as they received the invite to your wedding, the phone calls began. Guests are treating you like their personal concierge, with questions about transportation, accommodations, and fun things to do while they're in town.

How to deal: Make sure every guest has all the info they need by creating a wedding website. Include a link to the hotel where you've reserved a block of rooms, local museums and restaurants, and driving directions. Put together a welcome basket for out-of-towners with the weekend's itinerary, so that no one feels the need to ask you about the wedding game plan.

Stop the cycle: Some technophobes might still pester you with questions. Go over the guest list with both sets of parents, and decide which key invitees, if any, are not likely to check your website. Print out a copy of the info listed on the site and mail it to them.

4. Buying a Non-registry Gift
What they did: Some guests feel that buying a present from the registry is impersonal. Instead, they go and purchase a gift with a little more -- er, imagination.

How to deal: Shopping off the registry can result in a pleasant surprise, or leave a couple cringing. You cannot, however, be anything but gracious for any gift you're given. While they're typically expected, wedding gifts are technically not required from a guest. If someone has eschewed the registry and bought you a present you know you won't use (or, even worse, they've given you a gift you know you'll have to hide), check whether they sent it with the receipt. If so, they may have realized their gift might not be your style, and it's fine to return the present. Otherwise, write a thank-you note for the thoughtful gesture, and keep the gift for as long as you can stand having it around.

Stop the cycle: Register at an off-the-beaten path store that offers unique gift options like a local museum shop or a boutique home store. That way, the guest can get you something a bit more personal that you actually love.

5. Showing Up Late
What they did: You know how some people show up late to movies because they know there will be 20 minutes of trailers? Some guests may have a similar notion for your ceremony. We know one maid of honor who saw a late guest stroll in directly behind the bride as she walked down the aisle with her father!

How to deal: For those who are really late, ask an usher or your day-of coordinator to hang out near the rear of the ceremony site so they can make sure your processional goes undisturbed, and to have them help any late guest quickly and quietly find a seat.

Stop the cycle: Give yourself a slight buffer for your friends and family who are never quite on time. If your invites say the ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m., plan on walking down the aisle about 15 minutes after that.

Photo: Dara Blakeley Photography

6. Bringing a Big, Heavy Gift
What they did: It doesn't sound so bad: Someone brought a huge gift to the wedding. While you really can't complain about receiving presents at your reception -- or, at all for that matter -- it can be a pain to lug them home.

How to deal: Ask one of your attendants to store all the gifts in one place -- preferably a locked, separate room in your reception space -- so that nothing gets left behind. At the end of the evening, that attendant can account for all the gifts and then take them to the most convenient location (probably your home rather than your honeymoon suite).

Stop the cycle: Online registries have made it easier than ever to send gifts wherever you want. Promote this gifting tool by including links to your online registries on your website.

7. Giving Unexpected Toasts
What they did: Weddings can be emotional events, and the toasts are an opportunity for your closest friends and family to share sentiments with the rest of your guests. Those same emotions (and maybe too much alcohol) can do funny things to any otherwise reliable guest, and some may feel compelled to grab the mic when they weren't asked to toast. Embarrassing stories, offensive anecdotes, and rambling rants have all worked their way into wedding toasts.

How to deal: Unfortunately, you need to just grin and bear it. If the toast seems like it will never end, have the best man signal the band or DJ to carefully cut in. The other guests will appreciate the gesture too.

Stop the cycle: Head off unexpected toasts by making sure the emcee of the evening (your DJ or bandleader) has a list of approved toasters. Tell them not to give the mic to anyone who's not scheduled to speak, no matter how persistent their plea for the microphone.

8. Requesting Songs
What they did: You've worked with your band or DJ to put together the perfect soundtrack for your evening. All of a sudden, your ambience is interrupted by the sounds of "Y.M.C.A." and it seems that your Aunt Margie is behind it.

How to deal: Requests from your guests may be inevitable, and if your band or DJ thinks it's appropriate for the atmosphere, they might give requested songs a play. And it might be okay -- you can't control everything about your wedding or reception. But if you're still fuming from the faux pas, talk to the bandleader or DJ immediately afterward and tell them that you would prefer to avoid group dance songs like the "Y.M.C.A.," or any requests for that matter.

Stop the cycle: To avoid any playlist pitfalls, give your band or DJ a list of songs that you absolutely don't want to hear at the reception. If you're worried your strictly-Motown playlist will be disrupted by someone's insistence on hearing his favorite Bon Jovi tune, it's okay to let your band or DJ know that guests' song requests should be politely declined.

9. Drinking Too Much
What they did: A few too many signature cocktails turned one of your guests from the life of the party into a bit of a mess.

How to deal: While it's not your responsibility to babysit your guests, you can't turn a blind eye to someone who's had way too much to drink. If there's any risk that the guest will try to drive, ask your planner, a responsible attendant, friend, or family member to call a cab, and to make sure they take the ride. It's not much fun to send someone home early, but making sure everyone gets home safely is incredibly important.

Stop the cycle: You can't limit the number of drinks each guest consumes, but you can grant the bartender permission to cut off anyone that's has had one too many. Other than that, make sure there's plenty of water on the tables and enough delicious edibles to satiate any guest -- big drinker or not.

10. Crashing Your Wedding
What they did: In the middle of your perfect party, you notice a few unfamiliar faces in the crowd, and wonder, "Who invited them?" Your wedding has been crashed.

How to deal: Don't freak out! With tasty food, fun music, and free drinks, it's no wonder some fun-loving people might want to get in on the action. If you spot a crasher, have the site manager or one of your attendants discreetly escort them out.

Stop the cycle: If you're marrying at a hotel or club that hosts multiple parties in one night, there might be wedding wanderers. Unless you hire a security guard (which is a bit extreme), there's no way to prevent it. If you're really worried, tell the catering manager (and the waitstaff) to keep an eye out for possible crashers.

So....have you ever been guilty of one of these heinous crimes?

Our Monogram

Here is a proof!
I ordered it from Angela at Save the Date Originals and plan to use it throughout the wedding....
I can't speak to the quality yet, but she is very reasonable. I'm ordering the PDF monogram and about 200 stickers for under $40. The monogram itself was a STEAL at only $2.50! I will review her when the order is complete.
The monogram was "inspired" by my new love affair with damask and fancy flourishes in cool colors. And, of course, by our "color inspiration." And I think it matches our invites pretty well!
What do you think?

Photo Finish!

I'm happy to say that today we can check another vendor off our
list--our photographer!
I've talked a lot about photography and how important it is to me. I've talked about some great Cleveland-area photographers,
one who was booked on my date. And I've talked about my engagement photos, and how awesome the photographer who took them is..

BUT I have never even mentioned the photographer we chose!

Introducing Joe Kolecki, of Kolecki Photography!

Joe used to work with a larger Cleveland company and has recently started shooting on his own.
By far, thing that I liked most about Joe's package was the reasonable price for all-day-coverage. That means he'll be there as much as I want...from early morning salon-time to the last dance.
Kolecki only offers one package that assures all-day-coverage and then you can
pretty much decide what kind of extras you want. The package also guarantees a high res dvd with all of the images taken and a very cool photo book--which is exactly as it sounds--your photos laid out into a glossy book format to 'tell the story' of your day. This is in lieu of a traditional album, which fiance and I didn't want anyway after first seeing a photo book. We saw few photographers who had packages that actually included the photo books. Either they offered them as an extra starting at like $300 for a small book...or packages that did include them were outrageous pricewise.

I think Joe will do a great job capturing clear and telling photos of our day. He is not (I don't think) a photojournalist by trade (which is something I wanted) but
then again, his photos do not come off as cheesy or contrived like many wedding photos can. And he is open to doing what we want. So we've stressed that we want very few posed photos and would like him to focus on shooting exactly what he sees and not to try to "create" or "stage" moments.

For the price and product we think Kolecki
well-suits our needs. We both LOVE photos and photo printing, so the right to our images on DVD was a must. And neither of us were into the multiple albums (something we'd like to do as a project ourselves) but we LOVE the photo book.

Plus, booking Kolecki was a treat, especially after the fiasco that happened with our former DJ on Friday!

Flower Arranging Trial III: Stargazin'

Flower Trial I:Orchids
Flower Trial II: Mums

I hate stargazer lilies. Really.
I know they smell good--kind of bubblegum-ish--but I just think they are so common and boring. Thursday my fiance took me to lunch and bought me none other than a big ole bouquet of stargazer lilies from the flower stand near my job. Coincidently I had seen the lilies and a few very bright stems of gerberas when I'd got off the train that same day and was thinking to myself, "Hmmmm, how I'd like to have a few stems of those!" But I got my lilies and was happy because of the thought.

So--love em or not--of COURSE I had to try to arrange them in a cool way. Here is what I came up with.

Music: Back to Square One...

I need a DJ. A new DJ. **Sigh**
As I have talked about before, entertainment/ music is a big thing to me which is why I began my search for the perfect DJ early.

Basically,we had given a deposit to the DJ of our choice, a small up and coming company out of Sandusky, Ohio that we thought would be a good fit for our wedding and music style.

So they gave us a very reasonable quote that we were happy with, but then said that they would have to do a survey of our venue to make sure there were no obstacles logistically that would make that quote go up. (Note: Once a vendor quotes you... rule is it should never go up...)

So...long story short, today, after seeing my venue the DJ company has quoted us $300 HIGHER than they did a month ago for the same service! Needless to say, I was disappointed.

So after a day's worth of back and forth, they are going to refund my deposit as a gesture. And I will have to resume my search for entertainment--something I was hoping to have off my plate.

Contrary to the thought that live entertainment is best, we really want a DJ because of the versatility they offer. In my prior post, I talked about the things we want and don't want in a DJ.

Do you know of any great Cleveland-area DJs?