Awww, They Really Love Us!

On an average day, I don't miss wedding planning one bit!.... Okay, the cake tastings were pretty great, but it's much better to be on this side of the proverbial broom. However, every now and then, something brings me back to the memories of bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, engaged Lu and Val.

Today, I was searching through the statistics on our blog's counter. (That little log at the bottom keeps track of a lot more than numbers!) For the most part, our blog's hits come from my Facebook friends checking out my status. We also get a fair share from familiar cities where we have friends and family, who just like to see what we're doing.

I noticed that we've recently been getting a lot more hits from Maryland, outside of my hometown. It turns out that they were linked back to the Atrium at Treetops -- where we had our reception! The website's slideshow not only included several pictures of our wedding, but also a link to one of my blog posts about the venue. In addition, our entire wedding party is prominently featured on our photographer's page. Wow --  what great surprises!

We really did have some amazing wedding vendors. The time and attention they spent with us truly helped to make our day perfect. I know that's cliché, but despite all the random craziness surrounding our wedding day, I couldn't have been happier.

 As soon as I finish typing, I'm going to send all of our vendors an email just to say, "Hi." I might not miss wedding planning, but I certainly do miss them.

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Never Thought I'd Ask My Stylist for This, Buutttt...

Planning a vintage-themed wedding has been a lot of fun. I've really enjoyed picking out the attire, décor, cake, etc. However, I had been putting one thing on the back burner: my hair.

After a discouraging week of style after style, I just kinda put it off as something that I'd figure out "later." Well, later is here now!

I thought about wearing my hair up, down, half-up/half-down, curled, straight, sleek. I finally decided to try something that I never, ever thought I'd do in my life: finger waves.

Yes, that's right. I said I'm putting my hair in finger waves. Although, this may bring back scary flashbacks of the early-90s, this is not the look I'm going for. I'm thinking back to the 1940s with softer curls.

What my hair will NOT look like!

After scouring the internet, I decided that I want a style that looks kind of like these:

I even found a stylist with a salon that's half a mile from the church who can do it! I'm going to skip the trial because I'm getting into town so close to the wedding date.

Although a trial would be ideal, with only a few days before the wedding, I don't really see the point. If the style comes out great, then it was a waste of time. If it comes out horrible, then I'll be extra-stressed and have no other options. (If it doesn't work out the day of, then I'm going to pull it back into a simple, classic chignon.)

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Menu Card Switcharoo/I Love Vistaprint/Lu Valentine Trivia

Last week, Lu and I had to totally change our cake. Earlier this week, Lu and I had to change our catering! No worries -- the case isn't as extreme.

Since we're having more guests than we originally anticipated and had to switch up our floor plan, we've decided to have a buffet-style dinner instead of a plated dinner. We also changed around our menu choices -- instead of lamb chops and chicken marsala, we're now having grilled salmon and chicken san francisco.

This was a bonus for us in one area. Since a plated dinner costs more, we were able to apply our credit to hors d'oeuvres for our cocktail hour. However, it was a drawback in another because we have 200 menu cards that are totally useless now. In case you're not Ms. Etiquette, menu cards are only used for a plated dinner, not if you're having a buffet meal.

Luckily, we got our cards printed through Vistaprint, so we spent about $25 max (including taxes and shipping) on printing all of our cards.

I have to give a pitch for Vistaprint. This company is great! We've gotten 200 personalized menu cards (we used regular postcards and designed them ourselves with our menu), 200 advice/wish cards (folded business cards with our own design), 200 return address labels, 200 magnets, 20 sheets of stationary, 3 pens, a tote bag, and a lawn sign to direct people to the reception hall -- all for under $100.

Our advice/wish cards.

The trick to Vistaprint is that they're always having specials. Once you order one item, they send you emails for tons of free stuff. All you have to do is pay for shipping. Granted, they email you nearly everyday with their specials, but Vistaprint is definitely one company that I don't mind being spammed by!

Back to the menu cards: Lu and I loved our menu cards. They pulled in all of the wedding colors, and they added the right amount of "pop" to the tables when you stuck them inside the folded napkin.

They also did double duty. Even though Lu and I plan to be on schedule, we want a way to keep guests occupied in case they have to wait a little longer for us at the reception venue than anticipated. Although the cocktail hour will take up part of the time, guests still might get bored.

Menu cards are an easy way to add to the table and bring in your theme.

So when Lu and I had our menu cards printed, we put some trivia questions about us on the back of the cards. The plan was that the DJ could ask guests trivia questions about us to take up some time if needed. If we were on schedule, then we'd just have questions asked/answered at various intervals throughout the evening.

With the switch in dinner service, we've decided to reprint the cards with the trivia questions on the front and the answers on the back. This way, we'll still have the "look" of menu cards on the table without break any etiquette rules.... Of course, people are going to figure out that the answers are on the back of the card, but it'll still be a fun way to keep guests occupied and hopefully spark some conversation before and during dinner.

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Great Cake News!!

WE'RE GOING WITH COTTON'S GOURMET!!!!!

I got an email from Gary (the director of hospitality at our reception venue) yesterday, and I just got off the phone with Cotton confirming our switch in bakers. :-)

The design consultation with Cotton was totally different than with our previous baker. At the first bakeshop, the consultation was really detailed. We talked about cake shape, cake flavors, what color cake we wanted, she wanted to see pictures of cake designs we were considering, she took pictures of the bouquet, and I even gave her fabric swatches of the dress. I was definitely confident that she'd make a great cake for us -- mostly because we pretty much designed the whole thing.

This time, things were different. We discussed the theme of the wedding, my dress, our flowers/boutonnieres, how much color we wanted on the cake, and any details that we liked. Cotton took notes, and is going to just go with it.

And you know what? My micro-managing, detail-oriented, "Can we please also document this conversation in an email?" self is totally fine with her taking the lead!

I'm a big fan of shows like Cake Boss, so I'm excited to get my own big reveal. With Mrs. Oliver, I think I would've have been more worried about the cake being "exactly the way we discussed." With Cotton, I'm looking forward to seeing what she puts together. I know it'll be colorful, I know it'll be vintage, and I think it'll have some feathers. We'll see!

Cotton is also going to do our Spelman/Morehouse/UMich groom's cake for the rehearsal dinner, so that will be like our "preview" of the next day.

Now the hard part, which flavors to choose?! (Yes, yes. Sweet potato will definitely be one!)

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Cotton's Cake... Mmm-mmmm!

The wedding package that Lu and I booked through the Atrium came with a baker that we loved. In June, we did our cake tasting and were totally wowed by the choices and creativity. We checked another item off of our to do list and moved on.

.... Or so we thought. When we contacted our baker, Mrs. Oliver, to let her know that we'd be having closer to 165 guests, she told us that the cake that came with our package was for 100 people and that we'd be charged $200+ to add servings to our cake.

We told her that he hadn't been informed of that when we signed the contract. Sorry, but that was the agreement with the Atrium.

We asked about having a less elaborate cake that served more people. No.

We asked about having a two-tier cake instead. No.

Time out.

When we signed our contract, we were told that the cost for each additional guest over the 100 people that the package covered was $16. Apparently, this cost was just for catering -- not for the cake. But since every guest wants a piece of wedding cake (even if they don't eat the whole thing), we contacted Gary and let him know the situation.

We asked what he could do about this unexpected expense. If nothing, then we suggested that he raise the package price to an extra $20/guest for future brides. (When you're signing a contract for $11,500, an extra $200 is nothing. When you're eight weeks away from the date, every penny counts!)

Gary immediately apologized and recommended another baker, Cotton's Gourmet, and promised that her cakes were delicious. Within 20 minutes of receiving the email response from Gary, I got a call from Cotton.

Cotton was professional and courteous, and she had that "old friend" quality about her. We talked about the wedding, we talked about flavors, and she insured us that she could do a cake for 165 people plus an anniversary cake for us. I was so happy about Cotton that we set up a tasting for the following weekend.

Then I went home, looked at her website... and fell in love. Not only were her cakes beautiful and unique (no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all design), but her flavors sounded amazing: sweet potato poundcake, caramel apple, chocolate, hazelnut, pina colada, peachy keen, almond poppyseed -- and the list goes on. We were so excited to meet Cotton and have our tasting.

One of Cotton's fall-themed cakes with a coordinating anniversary cake. How cute is that?!

One problem: By this point, our initial baker had decided that she could do the cake for 160 people at no extra charge after all.  Gary told us that he would prefer it if we stuck with Mrs. Oliver since she'd decided to be accommodating, even if it was belated, but he would definitely just swallow any cancellation fees if we went with Cotton.

Gary's been great, so we didn't want to saddle him with an extra fee. We also definitely enjoyed our initial tasting with Mrs. Oliver, and we'd already had our menu cards printed. It just made more sense to stick with her and maybe just use one of Cotton's cakes for our rehearsal dinner the night before.

That is, until we had our tasting.

Lu and I changed our mind almost immediately after taking the first bite of Cotton's sweet potato poundcake. We literally devoured four cupcakes in five minutes -- including one flavor called Wacky Tacky Watermelon. (Who would've thought a watermelon cake would be so good?!)

The carrot cake was amazing, the strawberries and cream was delicious, and the sweet potato poundcake was quite possibly the best cake that I've ever had in my life. And trust me, I've had a whole lot of cake!

We were so impressed with Cotton's cake and her attitude -- so accommodating and down-to-earth -- that we called her back to thank her again for how delicious everything was, and we decided that we wanted her to do our wedding cake.

But we found out that Gary had already sent a check for our wedding cake to Mrs. Oliver. :-(

We're hoping -- more like praying really hard -- that the check can be applied to another Atrium client's bill, and that Cotton will be the baker for our wedding. She's absolutely amazing as both a baker and as a person.

Who cares if we have to get our menu cards reprinted?! We just have to share her dessert with as many people as possible.

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Busy Days Ahead!

This is going to be a short post because I'm about to begin a(nother) very busy week/weekend. I'm actually writing this in Chick-fil-a in Maryland on the go. Gotta love Chick-fil-a!!

Hopefully, I can check in with some updates. If not, this is what my schedule looks like:

-- Today: Get our marriage license!!!
-- Tomorrow: Conference
-- Friday: Conference & Jeremy comes to DC
-- Saturday: Cake Tasting, Dinner with Pastor & Assigned Mentor Couple
-- Sunday: Church and Bridal Shower
-- Monday: Catch up on all the work that I'll undoubtedly be behind on doing, and head back to Michigan!

I'll update you when I can. Pray that I keep my patience, schedule, and sanity. :-)

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More Etsy Love

Etsy has been so great to me during the wedding planning process!

In earlier posts (under "attire" and "flowers"), I've mentioned how BellaFiore did our boutonnieres, corsages, and made me a matching purse for the wedding.

Now I have something else that's super-cool! (Yes, I said "super-cool." I'm really excited about this!!)

As a reminder of the vow that I'm making on October 16, 2010. I will be hanging my dress on my very own hanger that says, "Mrs. Brown" -- personalized, sentimental, and functional.

LilaFrances makes these personalized hangers, and they provide great photo ops for your wedding dress.  At $25 a pop, they aren't cheap. However, since this is one of the few items that I "had" to have, then I'm totally willing to swallow the cost.

After I received the hanger, I also thought of another great use for it: lingerie.

Not just on our wedding night, but I'll hang my lingerie on my "Mrs. Brown" hanger on the morning of every anniversary. That way Lu can imagine all day what I'll look like that night... not sure how enticing that image will be in 50 years, but it'll definitely help keep the spice in our marriage!

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Platinum Décor by Eventions

When Lu and I agreed to get the Platinum Package at the Atrium, I was really psyched. I remember telling my mom about what a great deal it was and how it would save us so much time and stress.

"So Mom, we get the place for six hours with a consultant and a hostess, the food with all the serving stuff, the drinks -- can you believe most people charge you extra for anything besides water and coffee?!"

"That sounds nice."

"Oh, I'm just getting to the good part! Remember all those crazy rental prices for tablecloths?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, we get linens, chair covers, vases, those little mirrors, votive candles, table number holders, platinum décor enhancements -- "

"Wait, what's 'platinum décor'?"

" -- a limo, a cake, a DJ, a bartender -- we bring our own alcohol but we can shop around for a good price on wine. We even get photography with an engagement session. Plus, they -- "

"Ash."

"-- even do the setup however we want and the full breakdown, but we still have to bring some of our own stuff --"

"Ash!"

"-- like favors, and toasting flutes, menu cards, and any of our little personalized --"

"ASHLEY! Baby, what are platinum décor enhancements?"

.... Good question. I had no idea. I'd seen Platinum Weddings a few times, so I know that they could be any and everything. Come to think of it, this was a really good question because some of the stuff they do on that show -- most of it, actually -- is just way over the top and too gaudy for my taste.

Lu and I want our wedding to be elegant, yet funky, with a vintage feel.... I want to feel beautiful, and we want everyone to have fun. Basically, Lu and I don't want our wedding to look like some fairytale garden covered in Swarovski crystals. Some people like that, but it's not for everyone.

A little -- a lot -- too much for Lu and me.

I emailed the events director at our reception venue, and Gary sent us a menu of the enhancements that came with our package. In addition to a personalized aisle runner, we could either go with Platinum Package A or pick two bundles in Platinum Package B.

Package A included the "Enchanted Florist," or custom-designed centerpieces for 15 tables. Given the size of our guest list, we knew that we'd need more than 15 centerpieces. That was out.

We moved on to Package B with the following selections:

• Enchanted Florist II -- Custom Bouquets and Boutonnieres
• Sashy & Sweet -- Chair Sashes, Napkins, and Table Overlays
• Canopy Combo -- Fabric Lobby Canopy and Custom Candy Bar Canopy with Candy
  
• Ceremonial Splendor -- Two eight-foot lighted columns, two four-foot pedestals with flower arrangements, and six shepherd's hook aisle indicators

We're having the ceremony at a church, and we're doing an Etsy/DIY combo for our bouquets and boutonnieres. That left Sashy & Sweet and the Canopy Combo.

Great! I think linens can really make a whole room "pop" and set the tone for the reception, so the linen package was perfect for us.

The canopies would also be an elegant addition. The lobby canopy would help create the ambiance for the wedding. The candy canopy (pictured below) would be really fun and give our guests another favor option besides the personalized coffee.

Candy Canopy by Eventions. Photo by Martin Studio Photography, LLC.

We checked off the boxes, sent the email back, and the "hard part" was done.... Or so we thought.

Enter Johann Brown and Eventions Event Planning and Design.

I'm one of those people that need to work from start to finish. I need to get my hands dirty first to figure out if I don't like something. Johann has the gift for visualizing the end product before it begins.

Normally, these types of people annoy me. They have the "vision," but not what it takes to get there. Johann has the vision, knows the steps in the process, and will fuss with every last detail to make it complete.

She also understands our budget constraints. Lu and I want the most bang for our buck, but we realize that we don't have a ton of bucks to work with for the wedding.

Some vendors will suggest the most expensive options, then make you feel like your wedding will be a total bust if you don't have all of the little details. At the opposite end, you have the people who suggest things that are totally tacky and obviously cheap because they know we're students.

Johann is somewhere in the middle. She has a blend of letting us know what she can do (custom centerpieces, unique lighting, draping the whole room in fabric, creating a "lounge" area, and bringing in all sorts of fabrics and materials, etc.) without making it feel like we have to do everything to have a beautiful day.

She's a great listener, and she'll also offer advice -- but only when she's asked. She has mastered the art of taking people seriously even when they have no idea what they're talking about. Most importantly, she really works to make sure she understands and can enhance our theme, not create one of her own.

I'll give you a comparison: Think back to high school or college. Remember that one teacher who made everyone feel like they were geniuses? You could ask the most off-the-wall questions, and they would praise you for thinking outside of the box. You would give an answer that was 100% wrong, but they would flip it to introduce a new topic of discussion.

Johann's like that.

Lu and I knew what we wanted, but we had no idea how to get there. Instead of dismissing us or getting (obviously) exasperated, Johann took the time to listen to what we were saying. She repeated her understanding of our jumbled, disorganized words back to us until we were all on the same page.

We learned that our theme was more "Harlem Renaissance" than "Shabby Chic." We learned that fancy font on a small card can be distracting and hard to read. We learned that although using bright yellow in the fall wasn't typical, our choice to pair it with burgundy gave the overall palette a sense of elegance.... Overall, we learned that our ideas were kinda quirky but not "wrong."

Johann has been courteous, professional, responsive, and a great guide. In fact, it amazed me when I found out that she has a traditional career in the government with its own large set of responsibilities.

Over the last few months, Johann has transitioned from a good vendor to someone I really admire and generally like as a person. Event planning and design is truly her passion, and it shows.

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The Perfect Getaway

Lu and I aren't exactly "limo people."

Don't get me wrong, limos are beautiful, elegant, and traditional... especially for weddings. They break out the red carpet, the champagne, and the whole nine yards. However, true to our style, we wanted something beautiful, elegant, and... different.

A limo came with our package at the Atrium, so we figured that we might as well take advantage of it. That is, until we went to a tasting at the reception venue and found out that our package had been changed to include videography.

Technically, our package was the same but the events coordinator told us that we could substitute videography for the limo. Since Lu's mom really wanted us to have a videographer and Lu and I weren't the biggest fans of a traditional limo in the first place, our immediate response was, "Let's do it!"

So we began our search for something "different."

We immediately found a company in DC, Regal Limousines, that rents classic Rolls Royce and Bentley limousines for only $95/hour with a two-hour minimum and a 20% gratuity. Perfect!

However, like most things in the Wedding Industrial Complex, "perfect" comes with a footnote. When we emailed the company, we were quoted $918 for four hours... without gratuity. Huh?

Well, it turns out that there's a "maintenance fee" for the car that makes the actual rental double the price on the website. They call it "preservation," but I call it "false advertising."

Not to be deterred, we emailed local car clubs and contacted various car lovers that we know and found these classic beauties for a fraction of the price that we were quoted before:

1954 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible:

1951 Cadillac Fleetwood:

Or even this car that I'm not sure what it is, but my cousin saw it at a car show and thought it'd be up our alley:

Lu and I are actively considering all of these cars for our reception. We're leaning toward the Eldorado. Maryland weather in October can be fickle, but a classic black convertible with red leather interior.... What says elegant-funky-vintage better than that?!

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Shutterly Speechless

I'm sure everyone has heard the cliche: "A picture is worth a thousand words." Well in my opinion, the photographer who can take a remarkable one is worth just as much. Although I doubt this post will turn into a 1000-word essay on how good our photographer, Jeff Martin of Martin Studio Photography, is (in fact, Val made me promise this wouldn't because I could go on twice as long), there are a few keywords I feel should be associated with him.

Keyword #1: Skilled

He shoots with a Nikon. For me, one of the newest initiates to the Nikon family, that's enough right there. For those of you not so optically inclined, let me shed some light on it. In the world of professional digital photography, there are two poles that determine the gravitational field: Nikon and Cannon. And whereas both manufacturers produce high quality lenses and cameras, they both do so in there own unique (trademarkable) way. My point is not to make a case as to which is better (although I am biased), it's just to say that anyone claiming to be a professional photographer more often than not shoots with a Nikon or a Cannon.

Even more important than his equipment, is his ability to compose a picture in his head before pressing the shutter release. Don't just take my word for it. Take a look at these cool pictures he took of Maggie, Val's dog, during our consultation in his studio:

Keyword #2: Professional

Jeff has been shooting professionally for the last 18 years. Therefore, just as his photographic skills have developed during this time, so too has his knack for running a successful business. From the beginning, his desire to create satisfied clients stood out. He was the first of all our vendors to contact us after signing our contract with the Atrium, and made it clear as our photographer his job more so than not was to capture the moment, not create it. Therefore, from the moment we arrived at his studio, he made every attempt possible show us that this was OUR wedding and he was only there to take the pictures WE wanted (see Keyword #3: Flexible). In addition, Jeff made sure that we left with every questioned answered. He was very transparent about his shooting preferences and potential concerns. He gave advice from his experience with other weddings, as well as his own. He was friendly and personable and made us feel at home in his studio, instead of like guests in a museum. Overall, he was a pleasure to talk with.

Keyword #3: Flexible

Understanding that we were graduate students on a fellowship-based budget, Jeff made no attempt to pressure us into purchasing more time than what came in our package. To the contrary, he showed us how we could fit all of the pictures that we wanted in the time we already had. No matter whether we chose to have a receiving line following the ceremony, pictures in a park afterwards, or pictures with specific guests, he showed us just how it all could be done. And since my groomsman Mr. J took such great engagement pictures of us, Jeff was willing to take our engagement session,and use it for additional time the day of the wedding. Again, I have to reiterate that he made it clear that this was our day and he was only there to capture the memories.

Keyword #4: Passionate
Needless to say, Jeff really likes photography; but when you're as passionate about it as he is, a few words wouldn't help. He loves what he does, and that comes every time he talks about something photography related. In his studio are tons of pictures that he's taken. Pick one, and he'll give you a play by play description of how he captured the scene, right down to the exposure, shutter speed, and ISO he used on the camera. It's almost if he uses these opportunities as teaching moments, which for me was great.

Which brings me to my next point, his goal isn't to be the only photographer out there. He understands that parts of responsibility is to impart the skills and tricks of the trade he's learned to other up and coming photographers, which is why he host several workshops covering topics from understanding camera basics, to landscapes and portaits. In fact, I plan on taking one of his courses this weekend....That's right Val and I are taking another trip to Maryland.

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