Quote :

"So now that I gave away the date and our address, feel free to send gifts. "

I totally would... if we were allowed to be friends

3/28/2011 1:34:54 AM

We have decided to elope in the San Fran town hall.

Gonna have about 10 people join us for a reception afterwords and during the ceremony.

No parents, and no body from work.

3/28/2011 2:24:10 AM

^ in that case, i can honestly say that the majority of the suggestions in this thread will be of little use to you

3/28/2011 8:42:44 AM

Well, I will still take suit recommendations.

3/28/2011 7:20:47 PM

we got cods from ebay

[Edited on March 28, 2011 at 7:31 PM. Reason : f]

3/28/2011 7:31:42 PM

sup y'all

anyone have any experience/comments on the stockroom at 230?

3/29/2011 8:13:50 AM

i had my hair/makeup consult yesterday. ill post some pics on here later .


i have a question....anyone have a recommendation on where i can get my nails done?
i bite them (but have been doing a lot better as of recent) and im gonna need tips put on :/....but the thing is-i want them SUPER short! a lot of places ive been to wont do them as short as i want them aha.

[Edited on March 30, 2011 at 11:24 AM. Reason : omg getting close]

3/30/2011 11:24:19 AM

Just spray bitter apple on your nails til the wedding I imagine it'd be pretty difficult to do super short fake nails based on what I've seen at the salon I go to.

3/30/2011 11:52:10 AM

^ive had it done once before. but the place has since closed

they did silk nails, that was the only kind that could be that short (bitter apple doesnt work for me btw ahaha)

3/30/2011 5:35:03 PM

Joie - I bite my nails too. I buy Kiss Flat fakes from CVS and I keep putting them on every 5 days until my nails grow out...as for short tips, try getting gels instead of tips. Bitter apple didn't work for me either.

3/30/2011 7:29:27 PM

Bass Lake wedding show this Sunday from 1-4p

SpiceCubed Catering will be out there w/ FREE CANDY.

http://www.spicecubedcatering.com

3/31/2011 10:59:38 AM

You could try the super strength spray. Just spray it on in the pet store before buying it to make sure it will work for you.

3/31/2011 11:35:31 AM

we got our engagement pics back





one of my faves

























Everyone liked our awkward family photos, so I guess we fail at being awkward

4/3/2011 1:44:56 PM

I love that red dress!!!!!!!!!
Your photos are great.

4/3/2011 2:20:24 PM

thanks I didn't realize I would get so many compliments on the dress

oh and... even though I look like I'm cackling in this pic, I didn't realize I had lost that much weight

4/3/2011 2:40:55 PM

you look great!


and i love them!

4/3/2011 6:54:25 PM

Those pics rock! Who was your photographer again?

I can't believe it's only a month until my wedding

4/4/2011 9:38:05 AM

SpiceCubed Catering did the Bass Lake Wedding Show yesterday and it was great

I met this really cool DJ there. Across the Pond DJ Entertainment

http://www.acrosstheponddjentertainment.com/

She was providing music for the entire event.

In case anybody was looking for a DJ, I can put my $.02 in about Across the Pond.

4/4/2011 11:37:52 AM

samwise...you look fantastic!!

4/4/2011 2:14:29 PM

Sam!! You guys are so cute together I love it.. you look rockin'

4/4/2011 3:24:10 PM

Anyone have any experience buying beer and wine for a wedding? We're looking to spend less than $1000 on these 2 items for an approximate 175 person wedding. Some people have suggested contacting some local brewers for the beer in hopes that they'd offer a better price for us than say, total wine. One thing that is nice about total wine is that they'll buy back any uncorked wine and unopened beer.

Anyone have any tips, suggestions, or life experiences they'd like to share? Thanks

4/4/2011 4:43:21 PM

We purchased our own...did Trader Joe's wine and bought beer from various grocery stores all over (we had invited ~180, RSVP ~150 guests, ~120 showed). But I wish we had done Total Wine for at least the beer. Would've been much easier, and like you said they purchase unopened back from you.

Although we bought just the right amount so buying back would not have been an issue. We only had 12 pack of beer and ~6 bottles of wine left over. The beer and wine we took with us on our mini moon...drank all but 3 bottles of wine which we polished off when we got home

4/4/2011 7:17:40 PM

I'm thinking trader joe's is a good place for the wine. How much of each did you purchase for your ~150 anticipated guests?

4/4/2011 11:50:40 PM

we purchased 3 cases of wine (I imagine 2 red and 1 white)

2 cases of magic hat (got those at Total Wine, which was our last stop and how we found out we should've just gone there from the beginning)
6 12 pks corona
6 12 pks PBR
5 cases bud light

note, our wedding was at 3 with the cocktail hour beginning at 4:00, reception had an end time of 8:30, and it was on a Sunday. So we took that in to account when buying alcohol. Whereas if this was a Saturday night reception we would've purchased a little bit more...but probably not too much.

We also took in to account who of those ~150 guests would've been drinking, and would've had more than 2 drinks. So it boiled down to about 30 people I would say that we were really catering to to make sure there was enough alcohol.

4/5/2011 6:49:41 AM

Sam- GREAT e-pics!! You look fabulous, and I love the ones with the pup

4/5/2011 8:58:30 AM

Funny story about Trader Joe wine. Lots of people have suggested that to us. We decided to buy 4 reds and 4 whites that were cheaper than what you can get from a wine store typically. So less than ten dollars a bottle. Got some appetizers from the frozen section and brought them over to his mom's place to do a wine tasting. Of those wines ONE we liked. Two were so bad we spit them out.

His mom was so unimpressed she has now offered to buy the wine for us to ensure we don't get wine from Trader Joe's We went to this wine shop in Cary and the guy was SO helpful. We told him her budget per bottle and the type of food we're serving. He came back with three reds and three whites. We brought them home to try and they were all great save one I wasn't too hot on. And they were all about $10/bottle. And they'll let us return bottles we don't use!

So unless you are only planning on spending like two bucks a bottle on wine, I think you can do better elsewhere

For beer kegs are cheaper as long as your venue will allow them. We're getting kegs from Big Boss and Lone Rider Brewery.

[Edited on April 5, 2011 at 9:16 AM. Reason : F]

4/5/2011 9:12:25 AM

^ Nice! We want kegs and we both love Shotgun Betty.

Our ceremony will be at the Currituck Lighthouse. I'm at a loss for a reception venue. Any suggestions for that area? (Not the whalehead club-we're on the quite the budget)

4/5/2011 10:48:03 AM

^^ Our place wouldn't let us do kegs

4/5/2011 10:51:53 AM

I was thinking of getting some big boss kegs. Have you already talked to them about costs?

4/5/2011 11:17:31 AM

We're getting a pony keg of Bad Penny for $65. There's a hundred dollar refundable deposit on the keg.
For the Shotgun Betty, Lone Rider has random keg sizes. We're debating between the full keg or torpedo keg. Full keg is $132 and torpedo is $52. We only have 50 guests so I'm guessing we can get away with the smaller size. Their refundable deposit is also $100.

4/5/2011 11:27:38 AM

So how much beer should I have for a 125 person wedding? Wine? What's the rule on that? I'd say there will be 30 Heavy drinkers (over 2 beers/hour) 70 regular drinkers (1 drink/hour) and 25 light/non drinkers...........Is that even a fair estimate? How do you calculate this stuff? Wedding is in the middle of the day.....

4/5/2011 5:47:12 PM

oh and PS- SAM- Those pictures of y'all are SO fun. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the one with the dog paw on your paws...hahaha

4/5/2011 5:47:42 PM

Quote :

"Anyone have any experience buying beer and wine for a wedding? We're looking to spend less than $1000 on these 2 items for an approximate 175 person wedding. Some people have suggested contacting some local brewers for the beer in hopes that they'd offer a better price for us than say, total wine. One thing that is nice about total wine is that they'll buy back any uncorked wine and unopened beer. Anyone have any tips, suggestions, or life experiences they'd like to share? Thanks"

If you have friends/family in the military, you may want to check Class Six. Their alcohol is usually cheaper and tax free, which can save you quite a bit if you buy a lot. Not sure if they have limits on how much you can buy at one time, but may be worth a few trips if you know someone with a military ID.

4/5/2011 5:51:46 PM

^Is this place in Raleigh or near Bragg?

4/5/2011 6:03:57 PM

re: my Trader Joe's suggestion...we went with $3 chuck our guests weren't fancy enough to care. we broke the bank on food instead.

and our food. was. f'in. delish.

4/5/2011 6:27:14 PM

^yes, yes it was!

Quote :

"If you have friends/family in the military, you may want to check Class Six. Their alcohol is usually cheaper and tax free, which can save you quite a bit if you buy a lot. Not sure if they have limits on how much you can buy at one time, but may be worth a few trips if you know someone with a military ID. "

that's true for some stuff, but other stuff, I have found way cheaper in places like frugal mcdougals, and even in some ABC stores- you really gotta shop around on the liquor. Also, having to actually get on to the base makes it a pain. As for beer, you'd be better off getting someone in the service industry to get a rep to get some extra kegs for ya if you want some good stuff. *note, this is all from I have found when trying to buy mass quantities of alcohol

4/5/2011 6:56:58 PM

whew. cod and i went through a rough wedding planning patch for about a week there, but everything is falling nicely back into place.


*breathing out

4/5/2011 8:09:18 PM

DJ Lauren, google "wedding alcohol calculator" and you'll find lots of them. I suggest getting numbers from at least three different sites and comparing numbers. For example we have more beer drinkers than wine drinkers so I took that into account.

4/6/2011 8:04:08 AM

My wedding's about 2 months away and I'm panicking now on trying to find vendors, esp a photographer and videographer. Any suggestions would be appreciated! These are the ones I've narrowed it down to.

Florists
Fallons
Watkins

DJ
Damien Mass djraleighdurham.com
DJ Joe Bunn bunndjcompany.com
Anything Music anythingmusicnc.com
Streetwork streetworkdjs.com

Cakes
Simply Cakes simplycakesnc.com
Cinda's Creative Cakes cindascreativecakes.com

Photographer - No clue! But would like to keep around $2000
Videographer - No clue!
Musicians for Ceremony - No clue!

[Edited on April 6, 2011 at 10:41 AM. Reason : k]

4/6/2011 10:34:22 AM

We're using Story Photographers. They're in your price range.

4/6/2011 11:04:17 AM

this is crazy, there are literally hundreds of wedding photographers in this area....i have no idea how to narrow it down, this is the help i need the most and i'm freaking out !

4/6/2011 3:05:32 PM

That's tons of photographer suggestions in this thread lol.

4/6/2011 4:41:28 PM

the ones I got from this thread:
2and3 2and3photography.com
Michael Moss michaelmoss.com
Story Photographers storyphotographers.com

the ones I got from other references:
Philip Schmidt philipschmidtphotography.com
Portraits by Angelo portraitsbyangelo.com
Neecie George neeciegeorge.com
Hilton Pittman hiltonpittmanphotography.com
Still Life Photography yourstilllifephotography.com
Heather Swanner heatherswanner.com
Amy Terrell @ Simple Moments simplemomentsphoto.com
Melissa Kay melissakayphoto.com

A Moment Like This amomentlikethis.net
Bridal Spectrum bridalspectrum.com
Carrie Richardson richardsonfry.com
Dara Blakeley darablakeley.com
Emory Lane emorylanephotography.com
Jennifer Kidd kiddphotography.com
Kevin Milz kevinmilz.com
Kelly Martin kellymartinphotography.com
Michelle Gunton michellegunton.com
Nicole Faby nicolefabyphotography.com
Robert Filcsik filcsikphoto.net
Penny Noell pennynoell.com
Michaels Memories michaelsmemories.com
Megan Kime megankime.com
Loebach Studios loebachstudios.com
Simply Creative simplycreativephotography.com

Pretty crazy huh?!

4/6/2011 4:44:09 PM

So you go to those websites and make a list of ones whose photography style you like. Then you email those photographers and ask them what their photography package price range is. Once you've narrowed down those in your price range, pick a few to interview and ask them to bring a full set of photos from a wedding they recently shot with them. From there narrow it down to the one you're comfortable with and you like the majority of the photos they took at the wedding they showed you. When I interviewed photographers they all met me at a local coffee shop and I gave them 30 minutes to chat. 2 hours later I had chosen my photographer.

Also when you email ask if they are open on your date. No point meeting with someone already booked and 2 months out many of them will be.

[Edited on April 6, 2011 at 4:59 PM. Reason : Fa]

4/6/2011 4:54:36 PM

Good luck finding a good photographer two months before the date. Next time you get married try to nail that down like 6 months out

4/7/2011 5:39:35 PM

I irks me when people have nothing constructive to say but instead down someone for something it's too late to do anything about.

I hope you never have to find a wedding photographer again because you will still be married to your sweetie and happy with wonderful pics from your dream photographer.

We went with studiofinch after 2+3photography refused to work with us on modifying a package. They were nice but at the top of our price range and unwilling to negotiate on engagement pics in lieu of rehearsal dinner pictures.

We are super thrilled with Studio Finch. Not only were they cheaper and the pictures were more the style we wanted, but they were super fun to hang out with and love traveling.

4/7/2011 7:58:17 PM

calm down.

I'm genuinely saying good luck, a lot of good photogs get booked out many months in advance. I'm not bashing them.

I added the beatup face to imply that the last sentence was a joke. I wouldn't actually hope that their marriage fails and they get married again.

4/7/2011 8:07:44 PM

thanks for the truly useful comments and PMs.....
i'm not too concerned as my wedding is on a Sunday and majority of the photogs responded that they are available...hope to nail down within the week

thanks again everyone for helping me

4/7/2011 9:16:19 PM

^Stop being so negative!
we are using michael moss. He's awesome (will post e-pics soon) but he's very busy. Given the amount of photographers, I'm certain you'll find someone in your price range that's available and that you like. It'll come to you, it just takes some work and many pros/cons lists.
Good luck!! Contact as many people as you need to. At times this close to a date, you may be able to get a great deal!!!

Btw, samwise, I love the pic of you giving him a smooch on the cheek!

[Edited on April 7, 2011 at 9:30 PM. Reason : K]

4/7/2011 9:26:32 PM

Quote :

"^Is this place in Raleigh or near Bragg?"

Class Six is the name of all liquor stores (kinda like NC's ABC stores) on military posts/bases so it would be on Ft. Bragg. But like someone else already said, it's kind of a hassle getting on post in the first place and you may find cheaper stuff elsewhere. I'm still going to check since I go on post every so often. I'll let you know if I find some good deals.

4/7/2011 9:27:34 PM