What I want right now

 

I am currently on the hunt for a nifty birdcage.  I've been trolling CraigsList and found some promising ones, but these craislisters won't e-mail me back! If any of you see one on the side of the road or at a flea market or such, let me know!  I'll pay you back for it!  I really don't care what color it is or if it's a bit rusted because I'll be spray painting it (probably either lavender or navy) and tying a big fuchsia ribbon on top.

Why do I want one, you ask? I debated not divulging this little secret, but I decided it would be okay.  I'm going to use it for cards.  Unusual?  Yes.  Is there a perfectly logical reason for it?  Absolutely.  It's just a hint, though. I'm such a tease.

A follow -up rant

I have more to say about my frustration with the wedding/bridal gown industry.  Don't even get me started about how much I've found out.  I've been planning my wedding since I was 16 (when I was convinced I was going to meet Jonathan Taylor Thomas at a Starbucks and we would fall madly in love), so I have learned a lot just by digging and research.  I also have a mother who sews and so I know a bit about construction.  I've also watched enough Project Runway to pick up a few things.

Most designer gowns are not made by hand by the designer in the United States in beautiful work rooms with a BlueFly accessory wall:

Granted, most designer anything is probably not made this way, but we're going to focus on bridal gowns.  The gowns are usually made overseas in China and produced in massive batches.  Manufacturers wait for awhile until they get a certain number of orders.  This is why it takes so long for a gown to get made.  They wait for 10 women to buy a size 8 gown.  Then they stack layers of fabric onto a gigantic die cut machine and cut everything at once.  Then a machine will sew everything together.  Some even add lace and beads and such by machine.  This is probably the reason why so many dresses have quality problems such as exposed seams, no lining, etc.  Thus, most gowns are not made to your measurements (unless you pay a ton ton ton of money for it)* and are instead a rough approximation of your size.  You'll have to get alterations done = more money.**

Oh, and you should read the label.  "Italian satin" doesn't really mean that it's a luxury fabric.  It's probably a synthetic fabric more likely to be made in Asia than Italy. "Italy" just sounds a lot more glamorous than "Indonesia."  In order for affordable gowns to be affordable, manufacturers substitute synthetic fabrics but call it something different.  "Polyester" and "acetate" just doesn't sound so bridal, does it?  It's like calling Target, Tar-jay.  Silky Satin isn't silk.  If the tag doesn't say 100% silk, it probably isn't.

What if you decide you're going to shop around?  This seems like a fab idea.  You don't buy a house without looking at other ones, and when you buy a refrigerator (or any other big purchase for that matter), you probably look at ads and decide which one is better.  Some even price match for you.  I have a game theory point on why you actually pay more when stores guarantee price matching, but I'll save that for later.  You probably correctly assume that a dress in NYC will probably cost more than the same dress in Vidalia, Georgia.  The overhead costs of owning a shop in NYC is higher than in Vidalia, which are passed on to you.  You also probably have more options in a NYC salon (although perhaps not), and the cost of carrying the stock may be higher.  We'll see.

Did you know that stores actually prevent you from shopping around?  Seriously!  You can't take a picture of the dress to shop around.  Stores are worried (and should be worried about me) that you'll take it to a seamstress to have it copied or look for it elsewhere.  Many shops also rip the tags out of their sample dresses so you don't know who designed and manufactured the dress.  They're worried that you'll go to a competitor to get the dress at a discount.  On some level, this bothers me.  Designers spend a bazillion dollars trying to get you to recognize their brand and design only to have retailers tear out the tag just to stop "price competition."
 
Getting steamed?  You ain't heard nothing yet:

So say you decided that you want a simpler gown anyway and don't need a massive confectionery concoction.  Some designers will try to stop you from doing this.  How?  Some designers charge a penalty fee (like $75) for any bridesmaid gown ordered in white.  The fabric isn't more expensive and the design isn't any different, they just want to protect the wedding gown business.  Other designers (like Vera Wang and Amsale) will not allow you to buy a single bridesmaid dress in white or ivory.  You must make a minimum order of at least 3.  This minimum, however, doesn't apply to colored dresses.

What's a girl to do?  There are a few online retailers, but the dress I want probably won't be sold online.  We'll see.  Plus, there's always eBay.  For real.  There's this one company on eBay that makes dresses.  They've been doing it for 7 years and have an extremely high approval rating.  Sometimes I have ethical qualms about copying a designer dress.  Fakes are never in fashion.  On the other hand, there's a limit.  I simply can't afford to be a higher moral power.  I don't know if I could ever be.

I can always attend Filene's Basement Running of the Brides event which happens 1-2 times a year in Atlanta.  You can get $10K dresses for $650.  For real. It's happened before.  Plus, it'll settle my ethical concerns.

Thirdly, there's always the seamstress option.  In one of my bridal magazines, a bride from Athens, GA had a beautiful gown handmade here in Athens.  I almost like this option the best.  It'll probably be a bit more than that eBay option, but I can better control the quality of the fabric particularly if I buy it myself, and I won't have to pay extra for alterations.  Maybe I can even get her to make me a veil!  I'll have to try on a few more dresses and get a better idea of what I like and look good in before I go with any of these options, but they seem better to me!

Just to be clear, I don't want to look a hot mess on my wedding day.  I want to look nice and I want to love my dress.  I just think there are non-designer options that have great construction and quality for a fraction of the price.  Plus, I'd rather spend that $2000 on other things -- like better photography or alcohol for you lovely folks.  Am I missing something? Is there something else I should be considering?

*To be fair, the cost of a wedding gown (maybe) should be more than the cost of an average gown. You hopefully only buy a gown once and the market is potentially much smaller.  The economies of scale are smaller.  On the other hand, maybe the economies of scale are larger in the gown business.  While I would never need or buy a large ballgown, many women do get married and wear a white dress, so perhaps the customer base is larger.  Maybe it's about the same?  In non-wedding gowns, there are fewer designs, because the market is smaller.  In wedding gowns, there are many more designs to serve a larger market.  So per dress, you probably have the same number of people buying a particular dress.  I'm actually more inclined to say that the number of people buying a particular bridal gown (on average) is probably larger than for non-bridal gowns.  Although, maybe I'm not considering the prom dress market.  I have no idea.  This is just the economist in me coming out.


*As a sidenote, this always bothered me in the women's fashion industry.  When men buy a suit or a shirt, they can buy in a dizzying array of sizes from neck size, to leg and waist length.  On the other hand, women have the option to buy in 8-10 sizes (potentially more if there is a petite or tall option).  Men can buy something to their measurements and women have to find "good enough."  I always have to get things tailored and taken in to fit me better to compensate for that.  It's just so bizarre considering that the fashion industry is largely driven by women's and not men's fashion.  Wouldn't you think that the reverse would be the case?  

Can I rant for a bit?

Ann Taylor also does wedding dresses now.  Check out this number:

While it may not be quite my style, let me tell you about it.  It's 100% silk and fully lined and finished.  I can't tell you how unusual this is.  There is a ridiculous mark-up associated with anything to do with weddings.  I guess the industry believes that as soon as you get a ring on your finger all common sense goes out the window.  The average cost of a wedding dress is about $1200.  If you were going to buy a formal gown that wasn't white-- just one for every day occasions -- you would expect quality fabrics (silk etc.), a lining, finished seams, and maybe even hand sewn beading and other details.  You know what $1200 gets you in bridal land?  Synthetic fabric, unfinished seams, exposed zippers.  Back in the day, I tried on this dress in Bloomingdales: 

Fierce, right?  I tried it on in plum.  It's 100% silk, lined, and although you can't tell on Kate Hudson's smoking body, it's actually boned for structure and support.  It is impeccably made.  So much so that you can't see the boning when you have it on.  You know how much this dress cost?  Even after Kate Hudson worked it?  $600.  And that's off the rack. You could have it made to your measurements if you would like for $900.  Exorbitant, but IT'S STILL CHEAPER THAN A WEDDING DRESS.  In order to get a wedding dress with detailing, fine fabrics and the like, you have to spend upwards of $2000.  $2000 for the 8 hours you will actually wear it.  I can't tell you how frustrating the wedding industry is.  I just can't stomach dropping $1000 on a dress I would never consider buying for $100 if I saw it in a department store in any color other than white. Sigh.

So, back to that Ann Taylor dress.  100% silk, lined, spectacular tiers (as in not just a plain sheath like Kate Hudson's), built in bra, boning, and hidden zipper.  Guess how much it costs.  $495 and free shipping.  With my discount, that dress would be $250.  Heck.  It comes in navy, too.  If I had my 'maids get that dress (which I would never make them spend $250), they would be getting a TON of dress for the money.  So even if it's not really my style, for $250, it might be.

 

Sorry about my rant.  This is just one of my pet peeves.

Custom Stamps and Embossers

So I really want a custom embosser.  This probably goes along with my need to have that Gocco machine.  They cost about $80 ($40 for the embosser and $40 for the plate).  While the plate is interchangeable, it can get pretty pricey. So the problem with most embossers is that you have to get a new plate every time you want to change something.  This isn't very practical when you're changing names and addresses all the time.  Enter: PSA Essentials.

 

So the beauty of this is that there's an outer and inner ring that are both interchangeable.  That means we can put our monogram in the center, and then as our addresses change, just pay for the outside to change.  It's also bad etiquette to pair my name with my new last name before we actually get married. This way, I can easily change the exterior or interior depending on what I need.  I just think this is the coolest thing.  I love products that are versatile!

I'm also fairly certain that whoever invented this is from Alpharetta, GA, where my parents are from, since all the examples are from there.  Plus, one of the collegiate options (there are only 4) is UGA.  They only sell through authorized retailers, but there's one located right by my apartment.  I may go swing by and see how much one costs.  I may want one just for me!

Here comes the Groom(smen)

I always feel that the bride gets all the attention and the groom and his little helpers get minor cameos (with good reason!).  Still, it takes a lot for those boys to get dressed and show up.  Much more, I think, then  getting girls to put on a pretty frock and get her hair done.

Meanwhile, I know I posted a few days ago about those custom shirts.  Is still haven't ordered a shirt for Chris, so the jury's still out on the efficacy of those shirts.  Anyway, how cool would something like this be to go with those shirts?

I just think this collection of cuff links and money clips are so rad.  They're by an etsy artist, Bella Moda.  I'm a little partial to the Goonies cuff links, myself, but the mustache ones are awesome.  Do guys still wear cuff links?  Or are they functional equivalent of clip-on earrings?

I think they're probably more of like the functional equivalent of snakeskin peep toe slingbacks -- they're too formal to wear for a night on the town, but too crazy to wear to work.  Thus, they will be just be a really pretty prop on the floor of my bedroom.  Thoughts?

This one goes out to my only blog fan...

Will:  is it bad that i like to read your wedding blog
Will:  i'm always excited when i see a new buzz cause i hope it's a new update

 Yes!  I've sucked at least one person into my madness! So, Will, this Buzz's for you.

PUMA Hardchorus

My friend Ali had this link up, and I about died laughing. Probably one of my favorite advertising campaigns of all time -- seriously. Better than the little kid Doritos commercial. Super Bowl advertisers, get on this.

Story? Apparently a big football match (Trans.: soccer game) fell on Valentine's Day, so Puma created this to help ease the blow when you chose the stands over her. If I got this, I would let him go

PUMA Hardchorus

Personalizing Fun

I just posted yesterday about my love affair with the Gocco.  In part, I'd really like to create a motif for our wedding.  Something to add visual consistency to our wedding (Wow, I spend way too much time thinking about brands. You know you're in law school when...).  With my mad Photoshop skillz, I think I could design one and they use the Gocco to put it everywhere -- napkins, envelopes, aisle runners, etc.

I came across these:

There are generally problems that I don't like about all of them, but in theory I kinda dig them.  I like that they're graphic and bold and that there's a mix of vintage and modern.  Nothing too frilly or girly.  I would say that's the general "look" to our wedding -- modern vintage.  Or maybe vintage chic?

Take note, everyone.  If you want me to create the graphic identity of your wedding, I am definitely for hire!

DIY Flowers

So, a big part of me really wants to do my own flowers for the wedding.  You can just save so much money.  I don't really need massive elaborate arrangements and I'd really like a relaxed and quirky look.  My mom and I have done the flower arrangements for our church before, so I think that it may be doable.  I don't know if I want to add that huge stress on myself the day before the wedding, and there are always issues like where the heck I'm going to put and store 500 stems of flowers in a cool place.  I suppose we could always crank up the air in one spot of Chris' place (the room over the garage or something) and stick everything in water.

Websites like www.fiftyflowers.com, www.wholeblossom.com and www.flowerbud.com make arrangements just so affordable.  I can order those 500 stems for $300.  I already know exactly the type of vases I want to put everything in, and I know they won't cost that much (hello, Ikea!).

This is what www.flowerbud.com has to say on the issue:

You'll want to do it yourself if:

• You enjoy arranging flowers.
• You want relatively simple arrangements, or ones you already know how to create.
• You're using only a few kinds of flowers, and they're easy to find.
• You have friends and family who can help arrange the flowers.
• You'll have plenty of time before the ceremony to work with the flowers.
• You want to feel involved with the creation of every aspect of your wedding.
• You're on a budget.

You may want to hire a florist if:

• You want lots and lots of big arrangements.
• You want to use flowers that are hard to find, or out of season.
• You want to use many types of flowers, and just a few of each type.
• You're overwhelmed already, and don't know much about flower arranging.
• You don't have any time, or anyone to help with the flowers.
• You don't care how much it costs; you just want it to be perfect.

So, I feel like I'm probably in the first camp, but I don't know about that time thing...  Plus, how will I transport these arrangements?  I mean I suppose that's what my awesome wedding planner will be for, but who knows what exactly is doable.  I guess these are decisions I'll have to make closer to the day of.  I mean, I still have months to make this decision.

Gocco Love

 Hello folks that may actually be reading this.  Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, but I've been super busy with class.  Sunday was Chris and my engagement anniversary, but we didn't really celebrate.  Him being in Charleston and me being in Athens...

 

Do any of you know what a Gocco is?  It's this machine that was made in Japan that you can make your own screenprints.  It can cost anywhere from $200-$500 on Ebay.  I really want one.  At one point, about 1/3 of all Japanese households had a Gocco machine, but then I guess the market was saturated and they stopped selling it.  I just feel like I could really get my money's worth out of it for this wedding and beyond.  I worry, though, that because Gocco is not being made anymore, I won't be able to buy replacement products later.  I want to make so many aspects of my wedding and this could really help me personalize things without paying a fortune to have it professional done.  Of course, I don't really need any of these things; I just want them.  This one bride who's blog I follow has a Gocco and look at all the BAMF things she made:

Save the Dates

 Bar Napkins

She also Gocco'ed the return addresses on her envelopes.  The beauty of the Gocco is that I can print white on dark paper (think white on navy paper) and on things that can't be run through my printer.  I mean, obviously I don't really need custom coasters and napkins, but it's these details that make a wedding personalized and seem more expensive than they actually are.  If I did it myself, I could make sure that it matched (and wasn't that crappy looking stuff from Oriental Trading) and could use the graphic all over.

My other option is this product and the supposedly new and improved version.  It's the same type of do-it-yourself silk screening, but I think it's probably more limited.  It is a lot less expensive, and I could (I think) make much larger screens.  However, unlike the Gocco, it'll be difficult to line everything up so that it prints in the same spot each time because there's no "machine," just the screens.  It looks like it does a really nice job, though:

I have to do some really hard thinking about what (and how much) I want to print.  I think I have to invest in one, either way.  Maybe I'll try out the $40 kit and if it's total crap, see if I can hunt down a Gocco.  So many ideas, so little time.

Oh, what's in a name?

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to take Chris' last name.  I thought hard about hyphenating, but with my name being a verb and his a noun, I didn't really want my name also being a sentence (pause for a moment and think about that a bit).  If I were farther along in my career, I would probably keep my own last name and maybe Chris would take my last name or we would just both keep our own last names.  If I had more property or assets in my name than Chris, I think Chris and I would think long and hard about him taking my last name.  As it is, I'm not one for tradition one way or the other, but I do think that the expectation that you take your husband's last name is a bit antiquated.  Chris has a good lawyer-y sounding last name, so that's the reason why I'm taking his (for real.  Wouldn't you want a lawyer named "Victor" representing you?).

The biggest challenge and hassle is changing your name on all official documents.  Seriously.  Don't you think that since traditionally the bride plans the wedding, then the groom should have to change his last name?  It seems unfair to make the bride do both.  I guess since Chris is pretty hands on in this wedding, that's not really a good argument here, but whatever.  Do you know just how many things need to be changed?  Social Security, Drivers License, Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, and the list goes on and on.

So there's this website called MissNowMrs.com where you can change your maiden name to your married name on all your official documents, credit cards, etc.  I've seen this come up on a lot of blogs and in a lot of magazines and they all say how awesome it is.

I always wondered about the actual usefulness of this site.  Did some googling, and found someone who said that it just wasn't worth the $30.  Most everything can be done easily yourself and for free and the fact of the matter is that you have to do a lot of legwork for MissNowMrs.com anyway.  She made a great list of all the things you need to change and (kinda) how to do it.  I will definitely be bookmarking this site.  What are your thoughts about keeping your own last name vs. taking his?

Perfect Groomsmen Gift

I think I just found the perfect groomsmen gift.  Blank Label has a new online shirt design program where you can customize dress shirts for men.

They are made to measure and start at $45, which is pretty reasonable.  I think my brother has paid more for shirts from Kohls.  You can change the color of the fabric, the style of the collar, buttons, pockets, and cuffs, add monograms or other things, and virtually do everything you want.  $15 off your first order for entering snippetandink at checkout. I just think this is a great gift and way better than a glamorous looking flask.  Maybe I'll try it out and get one for Chris for his upcoming birthday.  I'll check back in with an update on quality and construction.  Thoughts?

Wouldn't Chris get mad if...

I made him wear his Dress Whites to the wedding?  Good thing I don't love him too much, because chances are I will make him wear them :)  Just kidding, but this is an ongoing debate.

Wouldn't Lindsay get mad if.....

1) I showed up to the wedding wearing a confederate general's uniform.

2) I decorated the Cotton Dock (place of the reception) with stuffed fish, deer heads, and such from the taxidermist.

3) I wore my Sugar Daddy boxers to the wedding..... let me be more specific. Normal tux apparel from the waist up and only Sugar Daddy boxers from the waist down.

4) I showed up still drunk or with a ridiculous hangover to the wedding.

5) I somehow snuck in the phrase "Git R Done" in the wedding invitations.

I wouldn't actually do this. I love Lindsay lots and wouldn't ruin our special day like that.

Note to future married friends:

I stumbled along this photo:

I really love this photo!  The bride and her three best girlfriends/bridesmaids all got married really close to one another.  I love how they all brought their invitations and it's one big mash-up.  Niki, I know you've already got a hold date for a December wedding right after mine on the beach, so make sure you bring a copy of your invitation to my wedding.  For everyone else that may even be thinking of getting into a relationship, make sure you plan it around (not on) November 5th.  My photographer and I thank you.

Way more dedication that I have...

Chris and I decided right after we got engaged that we would be getting married after I completed law school.  We wanted and needed more time to plan than the few months before I headed off to Athens.  And getting married while in law school was really not an option.  Plus, there is that little thing called money.  Hopefully I would have a job after graduation and it would be easier to carry the costs of a wedding and also student loans.

Not so for this law student, however.  Not only did she get married while in law school, she WENT TO CLASS afterwards.  For real.  Married in the morning; Legal Writing in the afternoon.  That's dedication.  I looked for every excuse possible to get out of Legal Writing.  I think my own wedding would have been a more than convenient excuse.

WHEEEE!

I love Google.  I really do.  I love absolutely everything there is about Google.  I have my frustrations, and little things I'd like to change, but for the most part, I loooooove Google.

So I'm into this new Buzz thing, mostly because of the name.  I wanted to learn a little bit more about it and how to use it and how to suggest things I'd like to change.  Whenever I want to know more about Google, I always head on over to their blog.  GUESS WHAT I FOUND?!

The very first post was on using Google to make your wedding planning easier!  I've been using google to do this for awhile now (yay GoogleDocs), but now they have partnered with one of my favorite wedding blogs StyleMePretty and created wedding templates.  I haven't really done a whole lot of playing around with them, but I am very excited.  My favorite thing -- the address updater.

So many of my friends constantly move around (between school, the Navy, etc.).  What a great way to keep track of things!  StyleMePretty is also doing a giveaway associated with this, so I definitely entered that.  Combining Google with Weddings?  I think I have hit Google Nirvana.

Tool of the Trade: Touche Eclat

Has anyone used this YSL Highlighter before?  I'm not generally a fan of overly priced beauty products, but I've heard some good things about it.  Someone said that they were convinced that they needed to buy it for their wedding day, and now it's their go-to product that they keep with them all the time.  It's $40 at Sephora.  Any thoughts?  Is there another highlighter that you use that's better?

Wanted: Professional Summer Associate Bag

This doesn't really have to do with planning a wedding.  I guess this is more the "trial" part of "Aisle Trials."  Indirectly it does, though.  I have to do well this summer to get hired to pay for my wedding.

I have been On The Hunt for a professional black tote for this summer.  Nothing with loads of hardware and dangling heart key chains.  I want it big enough to hold a couple files, structured, and square-ish.  I don't want it to look like a purse, but I also don't really want it to look like a men's briefcase.  I really want black, but I was open to black with a bit of brown so that I could wear it with more things. I wanted it to be professional, lawyerly, acceptable for even the most conservative judge, but still kinda edgy.  I don't really want matronly.  Oh, and I wanted leather.  Do you know how HARD it is to find something like that?  My only real option (seriously) is Coach, although I did find a Liz Claiborne one at T.J. Maxx that I kinda dug.  Then I saw this:

How much do I want thee... However, even on sale, I cannot afford this bag.  Free shipping for this order, but at $262.50 there is no way.  I don't have a paycheck in hand yet!

Let me tell you about the neat-o-ness that is this company.  Passchal takes large tractor tires, cleans them thoroughly, combines with leather, and then creates bags.  Kinda cool!  So that black part is actually rubber and the brown is calfskin leather.  I bet it would be easy to clean.  A girl can dream...

Grapewood Candelabra

So, I came across this really neat DIY tutorial on how to make a candelabra out of what is essentially a big branch using tea lights, glue, and a drill.  I have to ponder hard about where I may be able to put this at our wedding.  Maybe in that gigantic fireplace?  That may be cool.

Someone needs to keep their eye out for a cool branch so I don't have to spend $25 for one.

Oh, Deanna...

Deanna:  These girls in my class are married and they are talking about how married people don't like to hang out with unmarried people....so when everyone except me is married, you should still hang out with me

Yes, Deanna, I will hang out with you even when I'm married.  But only if you hang out with me when you have 19 kids and counting.  Oh... and write my prenup.  I hear you're getting good at that in Document Drafting.

Things are looking up

Chris went to go see the Property Manager at Boone Hall.  They agreed to change the contract and were really nice about it.  Yay! I feel really bad.  Between yesterday when she got off of work and this morning, she had about 4 e-mails from us and then Chris also showed up.  We have to do a better job CC-ing each other on e-mails so that we're not saying the same things.

Looks like we're getting married at Boone Hall!

D-Day

As most of you know, Chris and I have chosen November 5th as D-Day.  Why did we do this?*  Originally we wanted a cool day.  11/11/11 or something like that.  But half of the cool days don't fall on weekends.  I really really wanted Pi Day (3/14), but this doesn't fall on a weekend until 2015.  I was strongly considering waiting since this would have made it 3/14/15 and that had me super excited.  We could have had the ceremony at 9:00AM!

And then reality hit.  I had already waited for too long.  I was not waiting until 2015.  Never.

So then the decision became a calculated one.  I took a little trip over to weather.com.**

There was no way that I was ever going to have a Summer wedding in Charleston.  Everyone would be sweating. I would look like a glowing bride.  I would be a wilting bride.   I thought that late March to early April looked promising as did late October to early November.  And then this sealed it:

November had the lowest precipitation of any month.  Sold!  Why November 5th?  It's an crappy game for Georgia and an away game for Georgia Tech.  Seriously.  This went into my decision calculus.  I was sure to ask my die-hard UGA friend, Deanna what she thought about the game against New Mexico State that weekend and she said that she didn't care.  Okay.  If she didn't care about the game, then noone else would either.  November 5th it is!

Here is a snapshot of the averages for November 5th:

 

Not bad.  Maybe a bit warm, but the Cotton Dock is right on the water and there are lots of large doors and windows that would provide a ton of circulation.  Plus, it'll be towards the evening, so the temperature will settle into a comfortable mid-60s. That's my guess, anyway.  Even if it rains, the Cotton Dock is enclosed so we can have everything inside.  We're looking at perhaps having the ceremony on the back patio of the actual house.  That'll be outdoors, but it's something easily moved if it rains.

That means that you now have a date.  Go ahead and ask for time off of work now.  I expect all of you there the whole week to have a par-tay.  Buy your plane tickets or arrange your car pools.  AirTran probably has them on for $6.  Plus, you guys have some last minute crafting to do.  You have had fair warning to not only get your craft on but also to make arrangements.  I imagine this is how the conversation with your bosses will go:

 You:  Boss, I need to ask off from October 31-November 4th.

Boss:  Wow, 10 months early.  I appreciate you being so on top of things.

You: No, boss.  For 2011.

Boss:  errrr....

You:  You see, I'm going to the much anticipated wedding of the century.

Boss: ...

You:  If Princess Diana got married in this century, Lindsay's wedding would definitely beat it.

Boss: Well, then, if that's the case.  Do you need the whole month of?  We'll even pay you.  This is clearly the opportunity of a lifetime.  You must attend.

And that, dear friends, is how things will play out.  So book time off now!

*Chris really didn't have a whole lot to do with the decision, but no matter...

 ** Pretty much my favorite website in the world.

Katherine will have her own Aisle Trials!!

Katherine is officially Legally Brunette!  She just found out she got into Harvard Law today!  So pretty soon she should be experiencing the wonders of law school + wedding (maybe?? hint hint Amartya) too!  And she was so freaked out.  If you ever need a lawyer, make sure you call her, not me.  Send your opponent to me, though.  We'll have a whole system worked out.

If I had more time, I would photoshop this with Katherine's face, a Herve Legere skirt, and some fab Manolos.  Since I'm in law school, I no longer have any time, so you'll have to use your imagination.

Colors!

Chris and I have decided on colors for the wedding.  Well... More like I decided and let Chris know what we were going to have.

Despite what you think, picking colors is a grueling process.  This went through a number of iterations (Emerald and Aqua, Hot Pink and Ice Blue...).  Chris was really committed to lavender.  I think he saw a wedding once where one of the colors was lavender, and he got stuck on the idea.  I think he wants his groomsmen wearing lavender ties.  Who knows.  It still shocks me that he picked purple.  I figured if he picked a color like that, I should do my best to try and make it work.

Thoughts floated through my head of a nine year old girl's room, and I just couldn't handle it.  He really wanted lavender and chocolate.  I understand that chocolate is the new "it" color, but I just think it's going to look so dated.  Plus, I don't wear a lot of brown in my own wardrobe.  I wear it about as often as I wear black.  I knew I wanted it to look like a color scheme that I would wear.  There had to be a way to make it look more grown up.  My friend Ali showed me a post from a wedding blog that used lavender with cherry.  I had seen something similar on Martha Stewart Weddings.

I really loved the color combo and THOSE RED SHOES!  But as I kept trying to make it work, it just got harder and harder.  I knew that if I were going to lavender, it would have to be a dusty lavender.  It's really difficult to get that color in any type of dress.  Plus, red was so hard!  I didn't want it to look to UGA.  I loved the scheme.  It was so modern and chic.  But alas, it just wasn't meant to be.

And then... Inspiration.  Navy!  I love navy!  I love it almost as much as I love gray.  Oooo navy.  One of my fave neutrals. And Chris is in the Navy.  FATE! Lavender would be a prominent accent color but no more.  Our wedding will be loads of navy, lavender for color, and shots of dark pink/fuschia for interest.  I am stoked!

And now those of you actually reading this blog will have a sneak peak of all the little details as they occur.  Aren't you excited?  So much of this wedding will have my crafty DIY mad skillz (Martha Stewart, eat your heart out). Therefore, a lot of it will end up in this blog.  Wait until you see my adventures with glue guns :)  I have so many projects in mind!

And so it begins!

Chris and I have finally started to get underway with our wedding plans. Even though our wedding is almost two years away, Charleston is a Wedding Town. Venues here often book up more than 2 years in advance. So, if you want your pick of times and dates, you have to start early. Plus, with me in law school and Chris' bizarre Navy schedule, we need the luxury of a long time line. It'll be rare that our schedules will coincide enough to let us plan. Planning will be intermittent.

This will be an extremely long first post because we just got so much done this weekend! We're going to try and reeellllaaaaxxx tomorrow.

• The Planners

Chris and I had a ridiculously successful and busy weekend. We talked to 3 planners and visited several venues. We are well on our way to planning this event. We met with Emmy at Peacock Events on Friday (I skipped class... shhhh...). I found her online and really liked her because she actually responded to my e-mail in a timely manner. She was also recommended by several other planners I e-mailed who were way outside of our price range. We thought that she was really nice and an excellent planner, but not sure if she was willing to work within our budget. She kept telling us that our budget wasn't realistic. I would rather have a planner tell us how we can work within our budget and still make things look awesome. We flipped through some albums of her weddings. I looked over at an album he was looking at and told him to stop, because a venue had caught my eye. Emmy said that it was the Cotton Dock at Boone Hall Plantation. Chris said he really liked it, but wasn't going to point it out to me because he thought I wouldn't like it. Good thing I looked over!

Chris had to be at work at 3PM and we had a furniture delivery coming that afternoon (yay!), so we didn't get much done on Friday. After he left, I e-mailed Boone Hall to get some info from there. Turns out, they are exactly within our price range and the Cotton Dock (one of the various locations you can have it at) is perfect for a wedding of 150 guests. She was extremely prompt e-mailing me. Another good sign. You'd be surprised how many venues and planners don't e-mail you in a timely manner or not at all. She told me that they had very few days left in 2010 (!!!), so wanted to know if she could check availability for us. I told her we were looking at sometime in November 2011. She said that 1 weekend was already booked, but I could put a hold on for 2 weeks if I wanted. Chris and I were looking at November 5th, so I said to put a hold on that day. I happened to mention that I was going down to visit the Plantation the next day (today) with Chris as two of the wedding planners we were looking at are in the area. She sent over a self-guided tour sheet and a map and told us that our name was on a list at the gate, so we should be able to go right in. Wow. What a whirlwind set of e-mails! Good thing I mentioned I was going to be there!

Today, we had a meeting with Meloyne at Voila! Events. I really liked her over e-mail. She was really accommodating, sweet, and I thought enthusiastic to have us. She's not as experienced as Emmy, but she sent us a .pdf with images of some of her events. I feel like even if she doesn't do as many events as Emmy, she's experienced at working within our budget. Also, aesthetically, I love her work. I think she really would be great at putting together what we liked. Chris tended to agree. He also mentioned that he though Meloyne wanted to hear about us and what we wanted, and Emmy talked more about budget, numbers, and what we couldn't do. While numbers are important, didn't she want to hear about me and Chris? What our vision was? What we wanted and needed from her?

On the way out, we stopped by Barnes and Noble to get some coffee at the Starbucks inside. Chris said, "Look there's a book signing today!" Turns out, one of my favorite wedding designers, Tara Guerard was signing her new book later on that day. I was just telling him how I needed to get her book. Tara is pretty much the gold standard amongst southern wedding planners. She has a massive client list and does all the southern platinum weddings. I love her. Everyone who is planning a wedding in the south (or anywhere, for that matter), needs a copy of at least one of her books (She also has Southern Weddings). You will love it/them. It has fabulous ideas that you can DIY or do cheaper or just gain inspiration. We were headed over to the Cotton Dock to view the site, but I told Chris that we had to return to see her and get the book signed. He sighed, and said fine. Couldn't wait!

Next we went to the Cotton Dock, but I'll talk about that later.

After Chris had to go to work, I visited Alison at Ooh! Events by myself. I went in pretty closed minded. I wasn't having a great experience with them. I called their shop to speak with someone and they gave me the e-mail address of the person to contact. I e-mailed immediately and it was about 10 days before I even received a response. I was bounced around between several people before they finally gave me to Alison. She wanted to meet today at 1:00. I told her that I would prefer it if we moved it up so Chris could also attend. It took her a full 4 days to get back to me and told me that she actually wouldn't be able to even meet at the 1:00 timeslot and could we meet at 2:00 instead. Needless to say, I was exasperated. If this was the way they treated me to get me to sign a contract, it was not a good sign.

When I got there, I was a bit early. The event planning service is run out of a little shop called Out of Hand. It's really charming and they have some really neat stuff. My mom would love it.

I met with Alison, and it was actually my longest meeting of the three. It lasted about an hour and a half. I'm surprised that the other two planners didn't ask me some of the questions Alison asked me. She was really trying to get a feel for my event. They also do florals and rentals as well as planning. They have some of the neatest rentals. A lot of random and vintage items and really eclectic. Pretty much exactly what I want for my wedding. Their books of some of their events are really cool. They have a lot of really great ideas and some of them are totally doable for our wedding. She also had some fabulous ideas about what to do. She had some suggestions as far as catering and photographers and asked me a lot about that. Meloyne didn't really ask about this at all and what was important out of the wedding, but she was the only one that had a budget breakdown printed out for us. Our meeting with her was pretty short, but she talked about what she offered with her prices and such. I also get the impression that she would probably be the most available for us, because I think her work load is a bit less.

Alison also kept checking her Blackberry and stuff. I really wish Chris were there with me to get an impression of her. Had it not been for my bad string of e-mails and such, I may have been really set to sign a contract with them. However, a quick look of some Reviews are not very flattering. They seem like they tend to drop the ball. They have some great things going for them, but don't really seem all that reliable. I need reliable.

So, those are the three planners we're down to. I like that Emmy was really business oriented and professional. She is popular and probably the best within our price range. I think we're leaning toward Meloyne, though. Our meeting was so brief, but I really liked her. If we're going to be working so closely and for so long with someone, I really want to like her. Maybe we can get the rentals from Ooh! Events and keep Meloyne as a planner. We'll have to see what is most cost effective. Thoughts, anyone?

• The Venue
  

Okay, so back to venue talk. After meeting with Meloyne, we headed on over to Boone Hall Plantation. This is the drive up to Boone Hall:
You may remember this as the house in The Notebook. It was Rachel McAdams' house when she came to visit. The drive up to the house is down this long road called the Avenue of Oaks. If anything was Old South, it would be this.
There are so many amazing places to have a wedding here. Both the front and back lawns of the house are gorgeous. But the place everyone recommends is the Cotton Dock.

The Cotton Dock is down a short road just to the left of the house. It sits right on the water. It can best be described as a barn, but really it's just a rustic building that's a complete blank slate. Unlike many venues, we can literally do whatever we want to the place. We can tack and nail to the walls and ceiling, something which obviously would not be covered by the damage deposit at other places. It's in this neat "L" shape, which is great. It creates a great flow to the space and breaks it up so it doesn't feel like a gymnasium. There's also a wonderful old fireplace that can actually be lit and is included in the cost of the rental.
The Cotton Dock has an actual dock (go figure), where we can have a ceremony. It is right out on the water. It's fairly large and can seat about 100 people in chairs. We may put benches instead of chairs so that we can fit more people.
So much can be done with the space. Imagine it with lights and lanterns and flowers. The decorated pictures of this place are really nice. After the ceremony the staff at Boone Hall can flip the dock and turn it into a dance floor or just a nice outdoor area with a bar.

Chris and I really liked the place a lot. We were starting to get hungry and I had a date with Tara! We stopped by Barnes and Noble again so I could get my book signed. I told her that we had just visited the Cotton Dock and we really liked it. She immediately started raving. She said that it was one of her absolute favorite places in Charleston to have a wedding. You could do a lot or a little with it and it would always look fabulous. Your dollar could really go far there. Well... If the top wedding planner in the south loves it... She told us not to even wait and book it as fast as we could. We had one more site to visit, but we definitely did love it.

We drove down a long and windy road to Alhambra Hall. It was not too far away from Boone Hall, but someone will definitely get lost going there.
It has a really lovely porch that wraps all the way around the building. The inside space is huge and has two fireplaces.
Again, a nice open space. Plenty of light and really pretty. There's a lot we could do with the place. It's a pretty standard event place.

We also looked at a few more places. One of my law school friends recommended the Riviera Theatre in downtown Charleston. It is ridiculously cheap and Chris and I really loved it.
We loved that it was right in downtown Charleston. It is literally a step away from the famed Market Street (where you can get all sorts of crafts and knickknacks). It's on King Street, which is the new shopping district in Charleston. It's across the street from the Louis Vuitton shop and Saks. Katherine would have loved it. The pictures of the weddings at this place are impressive. It's this awesome historic Art Deco theater. The problem was, that the event space is absolutely massive.
The chairs are just part of the charm. You can see the ballroom in front of them. We loved that it was so inexpensive and it was just plain COOL. It was different. However, we would never fill the space. It's big enough to accommodate groups of 500 easily. We would look so puny in the space. Plus, there are no divisions or partitions. We would spend a ton of money dividing the space to do what we needed. We love that it's within walking distance of this beautiful episcopalian church where I (and my mother) would love Chris and I to get married in. We could have the ceremony there and then just walk en masse over to the theater. It would make some amazing pictures. We just would never do this place justice, though.

We also looked at the South Carolina Society Hall which is also owned by the same company/hotel chain that owns the Theater.
It's got an amazing exterior and beautiful interior with lots of great rooms. We could definitely do cool things with it. Do the ceremony in one room, the cocktail party in another, dinner in a third, and dancing in another. There's also a great outdoor area. We would not have to spend a ton of money on the decor, because the interior is gorgeous. It's not blue anymore :) It's also within walking distance of that same church. Plus, we could get a great rate on hotel rooms and things. Also, they were prepared to waive the rental fee on either property if we used their in-house rental company.

The last place we really considered was the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon. It is probably one of the top 5 most historic places in the United States.

I really liked it because it was historic. It's right on the battery next to the main river that runs past Charleston, the Wando. Just like the South Carolina Society Hall, the interior is faboosh and has several old rooms that we could use.
Definitely Old Charleston. More importantly, pirates use to hang out here!!! I was definitely loving it. It was a little more expensive than the Riviera and Society Hall, but not by much. The problem with this place is that it's a working museum. We would have (our planner would have) only about an hour or so to set up because they wouldn't be able to come in until after the exchange closed for the day. Plus, we had to be out of there really early. Sigh.

We would have loved to be in downtown Charleston. There were just so few places within our price range, though. I would have killed to be at the William Aiken House and Nathanial Russell House. Everyone gets married there, and for good reason. But it's almost 3X as expensive as some of these places AND you have to use their preferred caterer. While they're amazing, they are also the most expensive caterers in Charleston. Once you get inside the city limits, the cost of everything skyrockets because everyone wants to have their wedding there.  And so, we settled on:

The Cotton Dock at Boone Hall Plantation

Chris and I really loved this place. There are just so many options once you move just slightly outside of the city limits. Plus, you don't have to worry about pesky things like parking. Also, I think our guests are just going to be happier with us since the price of hotels are much better. So, that meant we had our decision. Boone Hall is located in Mount Pleasant, about 10-15 minutes or so away from downtown. This means that guests, if they want, can easily get into the city. They can also stay in downtown Charleston, if they would prefer and quickly get to the wedding venue itself. We're going to organize a ton of things to do downtown, so don't worry! We're also planning to do some of our wedding photos downtown and then driving into the plantation to finish taking them there. We're really excited and will book this week!