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2/12/2010 10:26:29 AM

since no one reads the last post...

Quote :

"that's what I love about "house parties" I got 10 friends who want to do stuff like that"

My friend was ecstatic when I described what she could be involved in (if she wanted to)... Her words: "So I'm basically like a bridesmaid except I don't have to buy a dress and stand in front of everyone and I just help out with stuff? Hell yeah!"

2/12/2010 10:28:08 AM

^ That's pretty perfect. The whole bridesmaid thing can be very time- and money-consuming. The attendant idea rocks!

2/12/2010 10:29:15 AM

we've found 3 very affordable photographers whose work we really like...about $3k for an all-day package, engagement sitting, and they provide high-res digital copies and do not require you purchase pictures through them

the problem is that the cheapest (like, 50-70% the cost of the others) seems less personable than the others, but his work is just as good...the most expensive was a lot of fun to talk to, is willing to provide us with all of the RAW files (something important to me), and said he actually likes working with couples who enjoy photography since he finds that they work well with his ideas rather than making his job more difficult

i'd say the more expensive guy is our choice, but the idea of saving $1500 is tempting

[Edited on February 12, 2010 at 10:33 AM. Reason : .]

2/12/2010 10:31:27 AM

yeah, being a bridesmaid has the potential to suck.....

taking that in mind...we are paying for everything for the bridesmaids.
dresses, shoes, hair, makeup, jewelry, and i think in lue of a traditional shower or bachelorette party we're going to take them to a spa for head to toe pampering for a day
(which is easy to do when you only have two )

^the RAW files would be my winning factor in that situation imo

[Edited on February 12, 2010 at 10:35 AM. Reason : ps-does anyone know of any places that rent chandeliers?]

2/12/2010 10:33:18 AM

Quote :

"the RAW files would be my winning factor in that situation imo"

well, the cheaper guy said he's never had anyone request that before and he'd have to talk it over with his wife (the secondary photographer)...also, when i asked whether we'd be given ALL of the pictures (even the bad ones), he said they don't usually do that and that any photographer that says they would is probably lying

i don't like that attitude...he wasn't rude about it, it just seemed like he doesn't think anyone would have any use for photographs that he doesn't think are the best (which, while that may be true in most cases, i DO enjoy photography and i think some of the "bad" photos can be very cool...i'm worried that his opinion of what's good and what isn't might differ from mine)

if he comes back and says he'll give us the RAW files and all of the high-res pictures (even the "bad" ones), it's going to be a hard decision because his work IS good and the price is great

2/12/2010 10:37:40 AM

^yeah, i hear you.

does either one care if you manipulate the images yourself?
(some photographers are really picky about stuff like that)

2/12/2010 10:40:03 AM

Quote :

"(which is easy to do when you only have two )"

yeahhhhh I have 6... can't really pay for everyone. I think I'm going to offer to buy something for them though ya know to help with costs

I'm just glad my M.O.H. is my OCD sister because then I know everything will be organized and taken care of if I need help

2/12/2010 10:46:33 AM

4^the spa thing is a great idea and day w/ your girls. that's what I did as well and we had so much fun. we paid for half their dress, did a spa day (mani, pedi, wine, sandwiches & fruit--we had half the spa to ourselves, it was awesome), threw them a traditional bridesmaid luncheon, and i gave them a clutch off etsy. hair, makeup, shoes, jewelry--i had no "requirements" so they could wear and do whatever.

i'd like to think i made it pretty easy for them *shrug* I had 5 and a reader that I paid for...yep, quite the chunk of change out of my paycheck.

pretty much any party supply store that does weddings and events can get access to chandeliers to rent. the party supply store we used http://www.partysuppliers.net/ had everything from the simplest item to the most ornate and extravagant...all kinds of linens, chairs, centerpieces, lighting, etc i'm sure there's a place around here that does as well.

Quote :

"also, when i asked whether we'd be given ALL of the pictures (even the bad ones), he said they don't usually do that and that any photographer that says they would is probably lying"

when we got all the raw images from our photographer, he said up front that he would remove formal photos if people had their eyes closed, or any blurry shots, etc. we still got ~2000 images out of the deal

[Edited on February 12, 2010 at 10:49 AM. Reason : ]

[Edited on February 12, 2010 at 10:51 AM. Reason : ]

2/12/2010 10:48:01 AM

^^the funny thing is...i dont really have anyone who is OCD in my family or friends for the most part.
codys the worst one probably.
which i think is most good and bad.
bad in the sense that things could very possibly go wrong.
good in the sense that we won't care when they do

^sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet. im glad to hear it worked out well for you
(and thanks...book marked ahahah im gonna have to organize these!)


im excited

[Edited on February 12, 2010 at 10:50 AM. Reason : yayayayyayayaya]

2/12/2010 10:49:30 AM

to the ladies (and gents) out there planning now....
is their anything that you have definitely decided on?

the ladies (and gents) who have already done the damn thing ---what was your favorite part of the wedding?

i want ot see pictures and ideas people!!!!!!!!!

2/12/2010 10:52:09 AM

I decided on my colors and I'm taking a break so I won't go crazy before the one year mark

2/12/2010 10:54:15 AM

tangarine and green?

2/12/2010 10:57:18 AM

yeah, tangerine, apple green, and lemon yellow

I like fruit

2/12/2010 10:58:21 AM

thats gonna be sooo cute?

what is the date again?

2/12/2010 10:59:46 AM

March 2012.... I'll know an official date when I hear back from schools and decide which one


there's a chance it could be St. Patty's Day


I think my mom is happy that I want to use fruit for a lot of decorative things because that = less $$

[Edited on February 12, 2010 at 11:01 AM. Reason : .]

2/12/2010 11:01:21 AM

that would be pretty awesome

green guiness anyone

2/12/2010 11:02:02 AM

yeah I think it would be pretty neat

only downside to having that date would mean I would be living in Baltimore for 2 years... which I love Baltimore but it's pretty scary moving away from everyone you know


also, St. Patty's Day makes my open-bar sound more appealing!

[Edited on February 12, 2010 at 11:03 AM. Reason : .]

2/12/2010 11:02:54 AM

i could see that....

class is about to start...

happy planning

2/12/2010 11:04:26 AM

I have many favorites, and a lot are moments that can't be recreated...but here's a few (b/c i love sharing )

our dog was the "Dog of Honor" and walked down w/ my brother


we arrived to canon fire at the reception


my MOH and poopface's grand entrance



after the reception ended...going to our favorite local dive bar (Provisions) w/ the VIP crowd for a proper sendoff

2/12/2010 11:09:51 AM

Quote :

"does either one care if you manipulate the images yourself? (some photographers are really picky about stuff like that)"

nope, they're all cool with it...i realize that, traditionally, the photographer owned the photographs and as such, the couple was not technically supposed to duplicate or enlarge or modify or whatever...we've always thought that was silly and so that's the first question we've asked of any photographer...if they won't give us full rights to the pictures, then we tell them thank you and that's the end of the interview

actually, the majority of the photographers made it clear that we would own the pictures and would have full license to do whatever we wanted with them...only a few said that we'd have to pay extra or that they didn't offer the pictures to the couple (not surprisingly, these were mostly older photographers...the younger ones were more than happy give us the pics)

Quote :

"when we got all the raw images from our photographer, he said up front that he would remove formal photos if people had their eyes closed, or any blurry shots, etc. we still got ~2000 images out of the deal"

oh, i know...i've told each one that while i'm a photography enthusiast, i am far from a professional and not even a very serious amateur...i have no doubt that they can pick out the obviously good pictures, but i'm very weird about not getting rid of anything...what if the pic is awful of us (the couple), but great of other people? while we obviously want great pictures of us, i don't want to throw out pictures that look good for other people...so rather than trying to explain this, i just want them to give me everything and i'll deal with it

[Edited on February 12, 2010 at 11:11 AM. Reason : grammar]

2/12/2010 11:09:54 AM

Quote :

"the ladies (and gents) who have already done the damn thing ---what was your favorite part of the wedding?"

Not having one.

2/12/2010 12:02:27 PM

I LOVE the mason jar idea. Are the candles in them tealights? We're having the reception at Caffe Luna and they won't allow candles unless they're enclosed in glass.

Anyone else have a reception there? How did you handle an offsite ceremony & getting everything decorated? They won't let us come in the night before. Only 1hr before the reception.

2/12/2010 6:12:56 PM

Quote :

"our dog was the "Dog of Honor" and walked down w/ my brother "

hahaha

that makes me laugh. how old is your brother? did he care about walking down the aisle with a doggy?

i totally want to make my brother do that. but my dog is not well behaved so she could never be in a wedding

2/12/2010 6:15:35 PM

he's 30.

and did he care? well...like everything there's a story! once we were engaged and started asking our bridal party, we had just come back from being out of town. my brother and my SIL usually dogsit for us, so we went over there to pick her up. justin asked then if he'd be a groomsman (he accepted), and i said, "and I want to ask you something too...Sabrina is going to be in the wedding; will you walk her down the aisle?"

he laughed, looked at Sabrina and said, "do I want to walk you down the aisle?" RIGHT ON CUE Sabrina wagged her tail, released her happy/excited whine, then jumped in his lap and gave him a kiss. he said, "well I can't say no to THAT"

so did he care? i don't really know, but he played along. he was definitely the best person to handle her during the ceremony.

2/12/2010 6:27:01 PM

that is so awesome

2/12/2010 6:43:38 PM

omg i LOVEEEE the canon fire!
and poopface's entrance! lol


(this is joie)

2/12/2010 7:12:11 PM

ive started my bouquet stash!

2/12/2010 7:39:49 PM

^That's going to be awesome! Where'd you get all the little brooches?

2/12/2010 8:01:37 PM

it would be cool to give a broach to each guest or wedding party member or family or whatever from the bouquet at the end

2/13/2010 12:20:28 AM

^^^drooooooooooooool......nice!!!

2/13/2010 12:57:45 AM

Quote :

"is their anything that you have definitely decided on?"

Colors are going to be aqua and red for the most part.

For escort cards we're going to collect mason jars from friends and family, clean them up proper, and put tags on them with people's names and table number. It will double as their drinking glass for the night.

We're getting kegs of beer from Big Boss.

Bouquets will be made out of felt (currently making them now!)

I'll be doing a bouquet pull rather than a toss.

I'm letting the bridesmaids pick out their own dresses in aqua so they can pick a style they'll be comfortable in.

That's about it so far

2/13/2010 1:47:46 AM

Quote :

"Where'd you get all the little brooches?"

etsy, ebay, and anywhere i can find em cheap
i also found a bunch in my old jewelry boxes

2/13/2010 9:31:22 AM

soooooooo I got Eric to agree to this cake (with our colors of course)

my mom went to the cake place we normally go to (who are completely badass and not super expensive) and they said they can do it for $190 and have it feed 200 people!! yayyy!!!

I think I would want a yellow cake color with white, green, and orange flowers (Eric said he isn't fond of having a green cake >_>

[Edited on February 16, 2010 at 2:09 PM. Reason : .]

2/16/2010 2:07:51 PM

Holy crap that's a phenomenal price for a cake like that.

2/16/2010 2:42:52 PM

yeah I was completely floored by that!! it might go up if I want it to feed a little more than 200 people (this cake is so good I'm sure lots of people will want seconds) but that's awesome.. I think my mom left out that it was a wedding cake

here are some examples of how good they are (Your Perfect Cake in Greenville)

my 21st birthday cake:



best friend's wedding cake (which she got for about ... $200 or $300 I think):



my graduation cake:



my sister's birthday cake (born on NYE, hence the mask):




I just hope they'll travel as far as Raleigh..

2/16/2010 3:24:49 PM

Your Perfect Cake??? That's where my cake was from. Definitely didn't get that price. Her starting price when I talked to the owner (and her Mom) was $4 a slice! They are awesome though.

I wouldn't plan on people getting multiple slices. We had 110 guests and a cake that fed 104 people. We had a lot left over. There are tons of people who just don't eat cake.

[Edited on February 16, 2010 at 3:36 PM. Reason : ]

2/16/2010 3:32:34 PM

Yeah, good point.

And dang, $4 a slice?! Do you think it's because my mom left out that it's a wedding cake? :\

2/16/2010 4:01:41 PM

Probably? It's their advertised price on the website, but I also think that most people looking at that picture would think wedding cake, so she probably knew. Amber was really nice though. She comped the delivery fee for us, and gave us 10% off the total because we paid in full (and her Mom has been making cakes for my husband's godmother for 20 years).

I wouldn't worry about it!

[Edited on February 16, 2010 at 4:23 PM. Reason : ]

2/16/2010 4:12:15 PM

Yeah, she spoke to Amber... now I'm kinda worried on why she offered $190 I guess we'll see when I go in there to talk to them!

2/16/2010 4:21:42 PM

My guess would be your mom failed to mention it was a wedding cake and you guys have been customers for a long time.

2/16/2010 6:25:31 PM

Turns out my mom just didn't talk to the girl and guessed

but we discussed the $4/slice and figured that's reasonable

2/16/2010 9:29:06 PM

ahahahaha, yeah now that makes A LOT more sense

2/16/2010 10:42:44 PM

her reasoning: "Well they don't NEED to know it's a wedding cake!"


I talked her out of that because I explained I'm sure this lady deals with plenty of wedding cakes... Not to mention, I feel like putting the tag "wedding" on the cake part denotes a sense of "Please get this perfect or close to it"

2/16/2010 11:13:18 PM

Yeah, I agree with that. And you really wouldn't want to have any problems on your wedding day when they come to set the cake up, and obviously realize it's a wedding. I personally think it's crazy the word "wedding" can increase the price exponentially, but that's the nature of planning.

2/17/2010 8:21:46 AM

I don’t know how to add photos so ya’ll will have to do without I can PM anybody the online wedding album is anybody really cares to see them. BUT my favorite things about my wedding were:

Using canvas as a sort of them. We screen printed our invites on raw canvas (My husband is a screen printer by hobby). Although we made them I am sure we ended up spending more that if we had bought traditional paper ones. We then used the canvas in the center pieces and on our cake stand.

Using my mom veil in my outfit. I used part the tulle from hers in mine and also used some of the lace in my garter. I also added my family crest and his family crest pendants along with a little moose pendant on the garter.

This is silly but using my dads RV as our transportation from the church to the reception site. It was just very roomy, comfortable and wasn’t an extra cost.

Finally, choosing a reception place that was also the baker, decorator, event planner, chef ect. We wrote one check for everything and we didn’t have to worry about getting all the vendors and everybody coordinated.

If we could do one thing over it would be the photographer. I think 95% of the people who used our guy would be happy it but my husband minored in photography in college so we noticed a lot more flaws then like I said most people would notice.

2/17/2010 5:53:18 PM

^i wanna see!!!!!!!


and after further consideration we may not have the wedding at my parents house.
well maybe the wedding but not the reception.
i thought the backyard was bigger than what it was.
its about an acre and a half (with another acre not fenced in which would be for parking).
i dont see that as being enough room


on to option number 2....
any observatories in the area for rent?

2/18/2010 8:09:28 AM

Off the top of my head, the only observatory I can think of is the one at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Also, for anyone who wants a rustic, outdoor wedding on a gorgeous plantation, I recommend Lake o the Woods Plantation in Inez, NC. It's gorgeous. It's a Williams family home, so I'm biased. http://www.lakeothewoodsplantation.com/

http://www.lakeothewoodsplantation.com/special-occasions-gallery.html

2/18/2010 9:43:08 AM

http://www.woodallhouse.com/

i just sent an email to this place to ask them about outside vendors (it says on their website no outside vendors, but im wondering if thats solid, or if they charge a fee for outside ones)

2/18/2010 10:13:56 AM

Friend of mine was married there. They're very particular and it's pretty solid on the no outside vendor thing. At least a few years ago, they were.

2/18/2010 10:18:15 AM