Goin' to the Chapel

That, my friends, is the church I will be married in. First United Methodist Church in downtown Fort Worth. Isn't it gorgeous? We will be married in the chapel of the church which is significantly smaller than the sanctuary but more beautiful (I think). It will offer a more intimate feel for the ceremony as well. The moment I walked in the chapel I felt peaceful and calm. It was like my soul knew this was the right place to marry my love.

Originally, I wanted to be married in the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. It would have been far more cost effective but they make it nearly impossible to pull off without causing me a headache. They didn't allow chairs at all (which I thought was odd) and they only allowed a two hour block of time for all of the pre-ceremony, ceremony, and post-ceremony happenings. Plus, they had no inclement weather plan that would accommodate more than 25 people. I decided pretty quickly after touring the place that as much as I'd love to get married in a garden, I was not willing to risk my sanity to do it. So we started looking at churches and I'm so glad we did!

If you ever have a chance to visit First United Methodist Church in downtown Fort Worth, I highly encourage you to do so. It's an architectural treasure in the heart of an amazing city. I can't wait to get married there!

Hey, Mr. DJ, Put A Record On...

Huzzah! Another big TO DO out of the way! This week Lobster and I made a joint effort to find ourselves a good, but affordable, DJ. This was no easy task. But we divided and conquered! Basically, I did all the research (I'm good at that) by finding the best rated DJs in the DFW area on WeddingWire and then gathering more information from the Star Telegram Bridal Show last weekend and busted out my super sleuthing google skills to find out more about the candidates. I had the pleasure of meeting one guy from DJ Connection Dallas at the bridal show who was very informative and had a great personality. And he quoted me a great price. I liked him immediately. But, being me, I still had to research the snot out of every other candidate I found. I really make a lot of work for myself, don't I? Don't answer that.

Anyhoodle, I fired off about a dozen email inquiries and most of those that came back were a bit disappointing. They were all so flipping expensive! $1,500 for a DJ??!! Seriously?? I had budgeted $600. . . because I'm naive and have no idea what anything costs. I quickly realized we weren't going to find a good DJ for that amount (key word being "good"). But I was determined not to spend a whopping $1,500 either. 

So we continued our email inquiries, but in the meantime, Lobster started making phone calls. One of the calls he made was to the DJ Connection dude I met at the bridal show. They really hit it off (and they even offered to train Lobster to be a DJ, which is an entirely different post). They had really good ratings on WeddingWire and they seemed professional and entertaining but not in a cheesy way (which was a must for us). AND they offered us a price that was WAY closer to what I had originally budgeted. Not spot on, but close enough for comfort.

After a couple of days of discussing the pros and cons, Lobster finally called them back and booked them. Woo! So now we have our DJ and I'm really excited. A little nervous because you never know what you're going to get with a DJ, but we did the best we could with the information we had. I guess that's all you can do, right?

Book a DJ...CHECK!

Put Down the Gun!

This weekend Lobster and I went to the Galleria to look for his wedding band. We went to the jewelry store where Lobster got my Shiny and the matching band and he found a very cool Tungsten band that was (amazingly) within budget. We didn't put a deposit down because Lobster wants to keep looking, but it was good to get an idea of what he wants wrapped around his finger for the rest of his life.

While at the Galleria we decided at the last minute that we might as well start registering for gifts since one of the stores we knew we wanted to register at was just downstairs. So we hightailed it to Williams Sonoma and got signed up for a registry. The nice sales woman explained the process and showed us how everything worked.

And then she handed us The Gun.

The woman, God bless her, began to hand me The Gun and I quickly corrected her, pointing out that this store was, in fact, Lobster's mecca. He nearly snatched The Gun from the poor woman. Lobster looked a little nervous at first, but as soon as he zapped the first item he was as giddy as a school boy.

To say that Lobster went nuts is a bit of an understatement. More than once I had to use my veto power. For example:

Lobster:  "OOOHH! We need this!"
Me:  "What is it?"
Lobster:  "It's a [insert random, useless item here]?"
Me:  "We don't need that."
Lobster:  "Yes, we do! It's awesome!"
Me:  "How many times since we've been together have we ever had a need for [refer to useless item here]?"
Lobster:  Pause. "Well, we might need it someday."
Me:  "Put it back."
Lobster:  Giving me a dirty look. "FINE!"

He would then run off to zap more items. I can't be sure that I caught all the useless ones, but I sure did try. Later, we went to Crate and Barrel where I proceeded to go nuts with The Gun. Lobster was not as excited with the home goods as I was but as soon as we got to the kitchen section, he perked right up. We spent a good eight hours registering and we were both exhausted.

When we got home I realized that we hadn't registered for any linens. I just hadn't found any that I liked enough. So I did a bit of research online and finally found exactly what I was looking for at Restoration Hardware (be still my heart!). So I registered online and I was a happy, happy girl.

I think it's going to be funny when we get a bunch of kitchen stuff and Lobster's going to be the one that freaks out about it. I will be pleased as punch, too, because it means that he will be cooking more. Bwahahaha!

Visions of Photographers Dance in My Head

Anyone who has planned a wedding (or is obsessed with weddings) knows that there are certain things you must do in a particular order to have a smooth wedding planning process (and when I say smooth, I mean the least amount of people getting maimed or killed by the crazy bride). In keeping with many traditional wedding planning checklists, my No. 1 Thing To Do was Find a Venue, whereupon I would inherently Pick a Date. While I kinda checked this one off the list out of order (Buy a Dress accidentally sneaked its way up to No. 1 somehow), I managed to get it done as No. 2. Many brides will have Hire a Caterer and Arrange a Bar as Nos. 3 and 4, but since my venue includes those things (whether I like it or not), I need not worry about that. So, the next priority on my list was Hire a Photographer.

And not just any photographer, mind you. Nooooo. It was known from the very beginning that a photographer was on my Top Three Most Important Aspects of My Wedding List. The photos, you see, are the only tangible things I will be able to keep from my wedding. They will capture the emotions of that day. They will memorialize the tiny special moments that I will not get to see in person because I'm too busy getting married. They will be passed down to my children's children. My photos MUST be amazing.

Being a lawyer, I'm a bit of a researcher. I research every decision I make TO DEATH. If you recall, I visited a grand total of five possible venues in one day...and I still wasn't sure. So it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that I booked appointments with five photographers within a two week time frame. I also had three more in the wings "just in case." Type A, you say? Why, thank you!

Anyhoo, thus began my whirlwind search for the Perfect Photographer. I had my first appointment on Wednesday night in Dallas and I was PREPARED. I had not just one, but two, lists of questions to ask the photographer that I was "interviewing." I brought my trusty blue Wedding Planner with all of my research, including print-outs of all the emails I had sent and received pertinent to each potential photographer. I knew exactly what I wanted out of my photos. I was ready to ROCK.

Enter Cristina, the first of my candidates. I had heard of Cristina from a girl in my boot camp class who had just gotten married. She spoke so highly of Cristina and her photography skills, I just had to see for myself. I had been stalking Cristina's website and blog for weeks before I actually made an appointment, so I knew she was talented. But I wanted to see if we got along because, frankly, being in front of a camera makes me a bit nervous so if the photographer and I can laugh and joke then I know she's my girl.

Upon meeting Cristina I could tell she was a very sweet spirit. But only when we started talking did I realize how down to earth and friendly she was. During the "official interview" part of the meeting, though, as much as I already liked her, I was not yet blown away. I still had my cautious hat on. I was still in Bride-on-a-Mission mode.

After the interview, however, Cristina walked me downstairs and out to the parking lot. As we walked we began chatting like regular girls. We talked about how Lobster and I met and how our significant others seem to have a desperate need to get German Shepherds, much to our chagrin. As we started talking and laughing and joking like we had known each other for months, not just minutes, I suddenly realized that THIS was what I was looking for in a photographer. We just clicked.

Of course, being who I am, I decided that I needed to at least visit with one other photographer before I made any decisions. So I did, the following day at lunch. And the other photographer was wonderful and nice and did amazing work too. But we didn't joke and laugh as much. And I could never shake the feeling that I was already committed to another photographer.

That afternoon I decided it was time to stop the madness and just seal the deal. I canceled all my other appointments with the rest of my candidates. I emailed Cristina and asked her to be my photographer. We both squealed with delight. We're now BFFs.

So, let me formally introduce you to my Perfect Photographer: Cristina Wisner of Wisner Photo. Go check her out. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Hire a Photographer...CHECK!

Dressing the Maids

Remember when you were a little girl (ladies, I'm talking to you, obviously) and you would spend hours either dressing up your dolls in pretty dresses or driving your mother crazy by putting on every dress in your closet (that was me)? Ah, those were the good old days.

Flash forward about 25 years and here I am still playing dress up. But this time I have life-sized dolls! I have been scouring the internet for dresses for my bridesmaids since I bought my dress back in November. My dress is a beautiful champagne Maggie Sotterro. It's form fitted with a trumpet skirt and an asymmetrical bodice. Clearly, I can't post a picture of the dress for fear of Lobster finding it. Sorry! Anyhoo, I love the warmth of the champagne color of my dress and I wanted to stick to an equally warm, elegant tone for my bridesmaids. Almost immediately I knew that eggplant purple (or jewel-toned purple) was the color I wanted them in. I also wanted to mirror the asymmetrical shape of the bodice in their dresses if I could.

With that in mind I continued my internet quest to find the perfect dress. Here are a couple of the short dresses that I liked:

For a while I couldn't decide whether I wanted them in short or long dresses. I slept on the decision for a couple of weeks and then came to the realization that I really wanted them in an elegant long dress. Thus, these were the two dresses I decided were my top picks:

Very similar, I know. The color of the one on top is perfect, but I love the style of the one on the bottom a little better. Luckily they are both made by the same designer, Mori Lee, so hopefully we'll be able to order the one on the bottom in the purple color. The best part is that they are not that expensive (compared to other bridesmaid dresses, that is.)

What do you think? Me and a couple of my girls will be going to try on the dresses sometime within the next couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to a fun girls' day playing real life dress up!

Tablescape Inspiration

One of my biggest challenges in saving money is going to be the decor. I want to have an elegant, beautiful, warm, glowing room with personal touches everywhere. I would love to have gigantic flower arrangements on each table but I have never understood paying so much money for flowers. Sure, they're beautiful but they are also very expensive and THEY DIE. Why do I want to pay so much for something that will be thrown away in a few days? So what's a girl to do? How does one create an elegant tablescape on a budget and without wasting a lot of money?

Candles. That's my solution, anyway. I love candles. They are inherently beautiful and elegant. They create a warm, magical atmosphere. And there are so many shapes and sizes, you can really fill up a table with them. Here are some pictures that I found on the internet that inspired this idea:

So with this idea in mind, I headed over to my local Homegoods. Oh, Homegoods, how I love thee. It just so happened that Homegoods had twelve crystal candlesticks and a few other goodies (like a beautiful cupcake stand, which I'll discuss in another post) ranging in price between $3.99 and $12.99. I bought them all! Here is a sample of my lovelies:

My goal is to find 12-24 more of these babies (or similar models) and have these grouped on the tables at the reception interspersed with votive candles. Well, you say, you can rent stuff like that for about the same price. Yes, yes you can. But if I rented them, I couldn't then re-sell them on ebay, now could I?

Bwahahahaha! Saving (and recouping) money makes me giddy.

So, whatcha think about my candlesticks? Do you have other suggestions for saving money on decor?

It's A Date!

Yeah, so, remember that time that I thought I had a reception venue picked out? Um, not so much, it turns out.

BUT...now I really do! For real this time! I'm super excited. It's in Fort Worth (like I originally wanted), it's beautiful (like I wanted) and it came in less expensive than the other option that I almost decided on (bonus). And they had my preferred date available! I'm officially getting married on November 6, 2010!

Holy wedding bells, Batman!

Now I just have to find a ceremony location that also has my date available. So the search continues...oy.