Saying Yes! to the Dress

Yes, I left you hanging a bit yesterday.....please forgive me :) I didn't want to make you wait too long for the conclusion of this story so......

...A few weeks after my visit to Gianna's, I went on to Wedding-Gown-Shopping-Round-2. I decided to visit a salon called Pure Bliss, in Newburyport Ma. I had a friend buy her gown here and she had a really great experience. I also knew that they would be able to work with my budget. I was seriously stressing over how much a wedding dress was going to cost me. I know there are some people who are of the opinion that "you only get one day and one dress, so who cares what it costs" but I am not one of those people. I wanted a beautiful and amazing dress, but I also wanted to stay in the budget we had set.

I probably tried on 20+ dresses that day. Since my last appointment I was focused on romantic details and mermaid silhouettes, I wanted to go the opposite route this time, and make sure that I wasn't leaving anything out. I was unfortunately, not allowed to take any pictures here, so I don't have any of the dresses I tried on :/

None of that matters anyway, because about 10 dresses in, I put on THE gown. The dress was simple, classic and gorgeous. It somehow even "fit" my nautical theme. I kept going back to that one, over and over. I think that's when I *knew* that this was MY dress.

Even still, we went to lunch and sat on it. I thought about it. I called Keith. I thought about it some more. Then I called my MOH (who was working) and asked her if she could meet us at the salon after work, because I couldn't buy a dress without her being there.

She loved it as much as I did....and just like that, my decision was made. I placed my order and paid the deposit....and that was that! I originally didn't share my dress with very many people, because I really did want it to be a surprise.

When my dress came in (after SIX long months of waiting and many moments of doubt) and I put it on, all my fears flew out the window. This dress was still so perfect for my wedding. Standing there in the salon with my dress on all I could think about was how much I could not wait until July 14 to become a Mrs! <3

I learned a lot during this experience. Dress shopping is stressful. It's tiring. And for me, too many choices makes me very anxious. I had thought it was going to be super fun and easy, and was kind of amazed at how different it was. Still, the end result was more than worth the stress and anxiety that I (most likely!) brought upon myself! Anyone else feel this way? How many shopping trips did you go on before finding the right dress?

The search for THE dress!

Ok, yes, you know I already have a dress. But I never really gave any back story to how I found my dress, and what is a wedding blog without dress-shopping posts? :)

Besides, as you may already know from a previous post, I didn't walk into a salon and buy the first dress I tried on, so I may as well take you back on my journey to finding the perfect dress! But first things first....

Keither, I love you but you need to go away! Even though, MY dress isn't in this post, there are pictures of me in wedding dresses and you don't need to see that :)

Choosing the Flowers!

In case you haven't already figured this out about me, I am 100% a girly-girl. I love pink. And anything that sparkles! I also, really love flowers. If fresh flowers weren't so expensive and didn't die after three days, I would always have fresh flowers in our house.

So anyway, back to the subject at hand....I was SO excited about picking flowers for our wedding. Choosing a floral designer was an easy, no-brainer for me. One of my oldest friends, M, has been a floral designer for almost 15 years, and she does absolutely amazing work. Since she knows me so well, and knows my taste, I knew that I could trust her completely to turn my vision into a reality. This was one area where I told Keith that he had zero say. Besides, he's a guy, so how much could he care about flowers? :)

I "reserved" M as soon as we had our date settled, but we didn't get together until a couple of months later to discuss my vision and ideas. I knew I wanted green and white flowers,  it feels very crisp and clean, perfect for our preppy, nautical themed wedding! I want my bouquet to also have touches of pink flowers, and the bridesmaids bouquets to be white and green. Green orchids are some of my favorite flowers, and since my grandmother is still living in Hawaii, she knows someone who grows orchids and is sending them to me to use in my bouquet. I love that it will be a nice touch of "home" to carry with me.  Here are some of the photos I showed M during our consult.

Image courtesy of beach-weddings-florida.net / This has been one of my inspiration shots since before we got engaged! Love! 

Image courtesy of kellysweddingflowers.com / For my bouquet maybe? 

Image courtesy of theknot.com / I love the full peonies with touches of green

Image courtesy of  wedding-special.onsugar.com / Including green orchids and hydrangeas

Her and I came up with some great ideas and a day after we met she sent me a quote, and I was very pleased with the number she gave me. I know that the cost of flowers can quickly add up, so I was relieved and grateful to see that they were still (relatively!) in budget.

M and I also discussed my reception decor, but since that is a post in itself, I'll save that one for another day! 

What was your inspiration for choosing your flowers? Were you shocked at the prices of wedding flowers, or were you pleasantly surprised like me? 

Please find your seat!

In all my planning, it's funny the things that seem so minor that turn into such a big deal for me. One of these, has always been ..... escort cards! 


Honestly, until I got engaged, I did not know the difference between seating cards and escort cards. I am pretty sure that I am not alone in this! (See here for a simple and easy explanation if you're unsure like I was!)


I knew that I wanted really cool escort cards. And I wanted to somehow tie in our "nautical" theme. I didn't want just cards on a table, I wanted something fun. Here were a few of the ideas I was loving!

These seem like they might be a lot of work, but who doesn't love a message in a bottle? /Image via loloeventdesign.com 

I love these ribbon boards! So creative! / Image via libbyjamesblog.com

I love bakers twine. And the sandbox! / Image via bridalguide.com

I am a sucker for starfish!! And again with the sandbox! / Image via theknot.com

I also knew that I wanted something that I could DIY. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on paper products, because let's be honest, people don't save their escort cards. I also thought about attaching them to a favor, something like this:

Sailor knot bracelets! How fitting! They could be displayed with a tag attached with the guest name and seat / Image via Etsy

Local jam is cute and yummy! / Image via theknot.com

Nothing was really sticking out though, or seemed right. Finally I decided to put all my favorite ideas together and see what I could come up with! Here's a sneak peek!! 

I absolutely LOVE them. And they were honestly, so easy to make. Granted, I have to make 175 of them, so I'm sure I'll be cursing myself soon, but I'm so excited to get them all finished! 

I promise to share my DIY instructions in my next post! 

Did anyone else have some confusion with escort/seating cards? Do you have any fun ideas for how you'll show your guests to their seats? 

Honeymoon Destination Decided!

When we first got engaged, choosing our honeymoon spot was far, far from my mind. I was more involved in all the other uber important details that choosing our honeymoon didn't seem so important at that exact time.

Fast forward a few months. The stress and the drama from wedding planning had set in. We were tired and cranky. Ok, ok...I was the tired and cranky one! I needed some cheering up. So for the better part of two weeks, I spent all my time looking at honeymoon destinations.

My first thought was Greece, specifically Santorini.

Seriously, is this place even real?? / kategale.wordpress.com

But after talking to a travel agent and doing some internet research, I quickly realized that Greece was way out of our budget.

Keith and I really love to travel and we knew that we wanted to go somewhere warm, where he could golf (obviously!) and we preferred an all-inclusive. I liked the thought of paying upfront for all our meals and drinks and not worrying about what we were spending when we were there. 

So my next obsession became Costa Rica. Especially once I found this resort, Hilton Grand Papagayo.

Aerial View of the Resort / Image via memorablecostarica.com

 

I love the rugged coast! / Image via Tripadvisor.com

For the price, we really couldn't get a better deal. Because Costa Rica is still a relatively "new" tourist destination, the prices for an all-inclusive were much more reasonable than say, the Caribbean. But I kept reading mixed reviews on Trip Advisor and I was starting to get a little bit worried. We obviously weren't expecting perfection, but I still wanted to go somewhere that got consistently positive reviews.

Then one day I came home from work to a large envelope from Sandals resorts. I was slightly confused as to how they got my address, then realized I must have given them my info at a bridal show I attended the month before. 

I had briefly looked at Sandals, but only two of their resorts had golf courses, and one of them was St. Lucia, where BM AC had just gone on her honeymoon. She had an amazing time, but I kind of want to go somewhere none of our friends had gone. (Petty, I know!) Then I saw their resort at Great Exuma Bay in the Bahamas. Keith had originally suggested the Bahamas, but I had turned the idea down because he had been there once with an ex-girlfriend. (Again, I'm petty I know!) Anyway, after some research on their site, I 100% fell in love with their Emerald Bay resort, for the following reasons: 

• The resort is brand new, only 2 years old, and is their nicest resort yet. 
• The resort is located on one of the outer islands, making it far away from all the tourism and places people normally go. I still wanted something different, while romantic and secluded.
• They were running a special for unlimited golf at their championship designed golf course. We could golf for free the entire week by booking a specific level room. Keith was especially excited about this!
• We were able to get an ocean-front, beach walkout, butler-serviced suite. Our room is amazing.

Want to see pictures?

This is where you will find me for the entire week. Look at that water!! / Image via Sandals.com 

The golf course. Keith is in heaven! / Image via Sandals.com

The main pool of the rest / image via Sandals.com

The one downside is that our seven-day honeymoon at Sandals is costing us double what our ten-day honeymoon in Costa Rica would have been :/ I was nervous spending that much money, but we decided that since we'll only get one honeymoon, we figured that we might as well go all out! Plus, Sandals lets you put down a small deposit, and pay off the trip over the next several months. So, we decided to book it! 

Planning and booking our honeymoon was definitely a nice distraction from the stress of wedding planning, and gives us a great vacation to look forward to!! 

How far in advance did you book your honeymoon? Where are you going? Has anyone been to Emerald Bay?

Changing the Dresses...

...for the bridesmaids that is!

About a month ago, we had decided on a bridesmaids dress. But it was chiffon, and I really dislike chiffon fabric. It just wasn't what I pictured. Then finally I decided that maybe I should give the whole mis-matched bridesmaid dresses a shot. Shocking, right?! I realized that it was more important for me that my bridesmaids be happy with their dresses, and I also figured they would look even more fabulous if they were wearing dresses they felt good in.

I started my research with the Dessy Group, the Alfred Sung collection. This collection is very reasonably priced (for bridesmaid dresses anyway) and I love how modern and cool they look. I chose four dresses and sent them off to the girls for their opinions. Here were their choices!

Option #1

http://www.dessy.com/dresses/bridesmaid/D543/

It has pockets. So cool!

Option #2

http://www.dessy.com/dresses/bridesmaid/d475/

I'm a sucker for bows, and I love the simplicity of this dress. Plus it was the lowest price point out of all the choices.

Option #3

http://www.dessy.com/dresses/bridesmaid/d471/

Ok, I am OBSESSED with this dress. Seriously, I adore ruffles. This one is a true halter, with an open back. Plus, I love the bow at the waist!

Option #4

http://www.dessy.com/dresses/bridesmaid/d466/

This dress is a little bit different than three, it has a closed back and a straighter skirt, but because of the ruffles I threw this choice in as well.

I loved the fabric, and thought it would be both comfortable and light weight. And while dresses three and four are very similar, because of the $30 price difference, I figured I would throw them both in there. And guess what? No one picked dress #4!

So the first three dresses are (I hope!) the dresses my girls will be wearing. I think that they are all similar enough that they will look gorgeous in photos! I feel really confident and excited about these choices and I think my girls feel the same way :)

How did your search for bridesmaid dresses go? Did you go the mis-matched or all-the-same look?

*Sneak* Peak!

On Friday I got the call I had been waiting six months for ---- my wedding dress was in!!

I bought my dress pretty early on in my planning, and since it took six months to come in, I had plenty of time and opportunity to look at other wedding gowns. I think in the last month or so, I really started having some serious dress doubt.

I was worried that maybe I had chosen a dress too fast. Maybe it was too plain. Maybe it wasn't enough. And on and on and on. I really tortured myself. My friends and bridesmaids did their best trying to talk me off the edge of the cliff (and I'm forever grateful for their support!) so as soon as I knew it was in, I knew I had to go try it on.

So yesterday morning with CC and MC, we drove up to Newburyport so I could try it on. The second the dress was zipped up and I stood in front of the mirror, all my fears melted away. I was so over the moon about my dress. The fabric was nicer, it fit so much better, and I felt like a bride. Putting on all my accessories only reinforced that this was indeed, MY dress.

Want to see a sneak peek? :)

The backstory: Choosing a Photographer

In my last post, I hinted at having booked a photographer who later backed out on us....here is our story.

Way back in the day, before I even met Keith, I used to drool over wedding photography. There was something so amazing to me about the talents these people had and their ability to capture the most perfect, beautiful moments of a couple's wedding day.

Through Jen, my MOH, I was introduced to the work of her sister-in-law, who is an amazing photographer. I immediately fell in love with her work. I used to stalk her Facebook page and blog, and would get so excited whenever she posted a new wedding! These are just a few of her images that I love so much.

All photos courtesy of yvonnelebrunphotography.com

As soon as I got engaged, the very first vendor I called was Yvonne. Out of all the photographers I could have, she was the one I wanted. Even though she was living in Southern California at the time, I hoped she would be willing to travel back East for our wedding. As luck would have it, she agreed to travel and gave me a really awesome deal. Score for having friends (or friends of friends!) in the wedding business! And so, just like that, within one week of getting engaged, I had my first vendor.

But as you know, Yvonne is no longer our photographer.  :( About three months after we booked her (it was rather informal, we hadn't yet signed a contract or given her a deposit), she called me and told me that due to her husband's job (he is in the Marines) they were given orders that they would be relocating in the summer of 2012. Since she didn't know when exactly or where, she felt it was too risky to assume that she could be in Boston on July 14. Sadly, after some tears, we agreed it was best to part ways.

After a couple days of looking and interviewing other photographers, we decided to book Amber with Forever Candid. Amber had done our engagement session and since she was someone we knew and felt comfortable with, we knew this was the best choice.

It definitely took some time getting used to the idea that we were changing photographers. At this point, I had already booked everything else, so it was kind of a weird, last minute change for me. Part of me is still sad that Yvonne isn't going to be a part of our day, but I know that we are in great hands, and there is no one I trust more than Amber!

Did you have any vendors you knew you wanted even before you were engaged? Did you have any vendors back out on you?

Blogged---Every Photographer's Dream!

As most brides today know, Style Me Pretty is one of the most beautiful sites for inspirational wedding photos. I can only imagine how tough the competition must be to be a featured wedding!

Yesterday, my photographer was a featured blogger on Style Me Pretty-Massachusetts! This wedding was simply stunning, and I am so proud of Amber for being chosen!

Photography was incredibly important to me. Next to the venue, I would say photography was my next "most important" item. At the end of the day, our photos and video will be all we'll have left of the day. (Except for each other of course :) I had a difficult time with photography, as my original photographer backed out on us three months after we booked her. (Another post on that story coming soon!) However, Amber was a very easy second choice for us.

Here are a few of my favorite shots, all courtesy of Forever Candid Photography.

So pretty! 

How cool is this picture??

Most.Amazing.Photo.Ever.

I'm a sucker for detail shots.

I am so excited that Amber will be photographing our big day. She did such an amazing job with our engagement photos, and judging from the quality of all the wedding photos I've seen, I know that we are in good hands come July 14!

Is anyone else as in love with Style Me Pretty's website? 

Changing Our Venue: Parts 2 and 3

I realize that all these posts about choosing and changing a venue are getting kind of lengthy. Sorry! So since you know that I obviously did end up with a venue (yay!), I'm going to end this saga right here, right now!

Early in my searches, one of the first places I considered was Danversport Yacht Club. However, their main ballroom was booked for all of the summer months of 2012, and the minimum was more than I wanted to spend. At this point, I decided to re-visit DYC because they do have another ballroom that I had not previously considered.

Image courtesy of Danversport.com

Image courtesy of danversport.com

The photos really don't do it justice...the property is gorgeous and well-kept. After a site visit with my MOH in tow, we decided that this location had more of what I was looking for, and the minimum was right where I needed it to be! The catch was ... they didn't have June 16. The next available Saturday that they had was July 14. After a quick call to our church, confirming they had 7/14 open, we decided to change it. I still needed Keith to come and look at it for his final approval, but with my upcoming weekend trip, we wouldn't be able to go back until Tuesday to put the deposit down. The wedding coordinator told me that they couldn't hold the date (some weird policy) but assured me four days wouldn't be a problem, and that they didn't expect/anticipate someone else to booking that room in that time frame. So I left .... a little wary, but excited. 

Sigh. Well, it turns out that I should have either a) demanded they hold it or b) put down the deposit without Keith seeing it. He had been there before. He knew what it looked liked. He was happy, if I was happy. But I really wanted to him to see it. So I walked away. And as it turns out, lost the venue. Yep, someone came in on Saturday and put down a deposit. 

It was not a pretty moment when I found this out. There were lots of tears and maybe even some yelling on my part. The poor woman who had to give me the bad news felt so awful for me, but the best she could offer me was August 4. I refused. I was not going to be an August bride. June 16 or July 14 were the only two dates I would consider. So back to the drawing board I went. 

Two hours later, I was in my car (again with my amazing MOH in tow) going to look at the Salem Waterfront Hotel. This was a venue that I had known of, but never really considered because it's a bit farther from my church than I would have liked. But at this point, I had to consider everything. As soon as I walked in, I fell in love. This was my place. I loved the ballroom. I loved the room where the cocktail hour would be held. And it was right on the wharf. My pictures would be beautiful. Oh, I guess you probably want to see some of those, right?

The hotel from the wharf, Image courtesy of mywedding.com

The gorgeous lobby, Image courtesy salemwaterfront.com

Image via theknot.com
Yes sometimes there is an old schooner docked at the marina!

The best part? They had July 14 available! Done and done. I put a hold on the hotel, and a few days later Keith and I went back to look at it, and paid the deposit. 

Finally after over a month of venue-craziness,our search was over. We really had the right place this time! I felt bad for putting our families through the madness of finding a venue, but in the end it was worth it. I have no regrets about the place we chose and I know that it will be truly amazing.

.

Changing Our Venue: Part 1

We chose the Andover Country Club many reasons. Its a convenient location for people traveling from all over the state. We liked the golf course views. It was reasonably priced. I knew the food would be yummy.

So then, why (?!?) after a couple of weeks, did I have a nagging feeling that something was not right? Well, I think it had a little something to do with continuing to see wedding photos like this:

Photo courtesy Forever Candid 

Photo Courtesy of Forever Candid 

Oceanfront Reception, Image courtesy Paul Johnson Photography

Are you sensing what was wrong? Yes, I was having a very hard time giving up my waterfront location. All my life, when I thought about how my photos would look, I imagined beach pictures. And I was really missing my nautical theme :/

Finally, I broke down to Keith and told him how I was feeling. Thankfully, he was SO supportive. He agreed that we shouldn't be spending thousands of dollars on something if it wasn't exactly what I wanted. We literally had ten days left to cancel ACC and get our deposit back. He told me that if I could find something else in our budget by then, we could change the reception location. 

This conversation took place on a Wednesday. On Saturday morning I was due to fly out to BM AC's bachelorette party weekend in Las Vegas. I had two days to make phone calls, schedule site visits and get details. I was a woman on a (very serious!) mission! 

Up next....finding my dream location! 

Making a list...and checking it twice!

No, this post is not about my Christmas list. Although, if you want to see that .... well you're out of luck because I am already done with my Christmas shopping! Woo!!

Ok, on to the subject at hand (sorry I get a little distracted sometimes) ..... I am referring to my wedding to-do list. I am telling you, this list is never ending and constantly growing! Here is proof:

This is what my list looked like 2 weeks ago. I thought I was in GREAT shape and was oh-so-proud of myself. Then, over the weekend I decided to re-visit my to-do list and try to organize my projects a little better. The result of that is this:

And it continues on the other side too! The sad part is, I know this will continue to grow. I'll cross one thing off (best feeling in the world!!) and add three more things.

Sigh. I guess I knew this would happen. That no matter how organized I was in the beginning, things would creep up out of nowhere and stress me out like no other. With just over 7 months to go, I'm starting to feel the pressure. I know that as soon as the holidays wrap up, the rest of the time is going to whiz by!

Anyone else feeling this way? Do you have any good tips on how to keep my sanity in check??

Finding a Venue: Part 2

So I realized I left you hanging after my last post, so continuing on....

I left off with my putting a hold on Bass Rocks Golf Club without my own fiancé having seen it. Well, maybe I was jumping the gun just a little bit because.....he hated the space! Ok, maybe hate is a strong word, but he disliked the L-shaped dining room. He felt that some of our friends and family would get squished in a corner somewhere. He also felt that our guest list was just too large to fit into their space. Sadly, I had to agree that he was right. It broke my heart to say 'no' to this place, because it was otherwise.so.perfect.

Moving on. We really weren't left with many waterfront options in our area, with our desired month, nevermind date, and in our budget. We slowly were beginning to realize that we would have to be willing to compromise on our criteria. Either the waterfront or the golf course had to go.

The next place we looked at, was Andover Country Club. Andover is about 45 minutes north of Boston, and not anywhere near the water. But it was a private (ie, expensive and well-maintained) golf course. We had attended a wedding here the previous summer and thought it was a beautiful location.

View of golf course from the ballroom. Image courtesy of andovercountryclub.com

Main Ballroom, Image courtesy of andovercountryclub.com

The outdoor ceremony space, image courtesy of Deborah Zoe photography

I had a few reservations about this location, mainly because they allowed up to three events at the same time. And since we were getting married in prime wedding season, there was a very good chance there would be two other weddings going on at the same time. However, the wedding coordinator assured us that we would have our own staff and that they had three separate kitchens so none of the other events would "run" into ours. Also, the main ballroom that we were looking at, had it's own private dressing room and restrooms, so we would only ever see another wedding if we were all outside taking photos at the same time. Their prices were also very reasonable, so we considered ourselves lucky to get 2 out of our 3 criteria. 

We put a 7-day hold on the room for June 16, 2012 and went home to think about it. I had a hard time letting go of the fact that it wasn't on the water, but I decided this was something I would just have to sacrifice. My mind was already running with other ways I could incorporate my colors. So we decided to go for it and sent in our deposit check a few days later! We had finally chosen a venue!

....or so I thought. Stay tuned! 

Finding a Venue: Part1

The *second* I got engaged, I was going crazy with researching venues. We knew we wanted a summer wedding in 2012, which only gave me 13 months. I know this might seem like a lot of time, but I knew better. I knew that some of the best venues booked up 12-18 months ahead of time, so I felt like it was a mad scramble to find a venue. Our criteria was:


1. Location. HAD to be on the water/across from the water/water views...whatever. I'm having a nautical theme wedding. So this was pretty important.


2. Keith's one request? He wanted it to be on a golf course. He loves to golf, it's his favorite hobby. He wanted a place where he could golf with all the guys the day before. 


3. Reasonable. This one is kind of a given. But seriously, we knew we couldn't afford places that were charging thousands just to rent the space. We also had to keep our per person minimum to, well, a minimum. 


Armed with my criteria, off I went! Shouldn't be so hard right? I live near Boston for chrissake! I grew up in a gorgeous little fishing town on the water. I HAD to be able to find something! 


So just days after getting engaged, I looked at three places, all in my hometown, The Ocean View Inn, Bass Rocks Golf Club and The Cruiseport. 


Here's the details on each one!

The Ocean View Inn: 

The reception space, image courtesy of oceanviewinn.com

Image courtesy of bostonweddingvenues.com

I loved the ceremony set-up, except we weren't planning on getting married there. The views were amazing. The photo opps we would have were perfect. Also we would be able to rent out one of the guest houses for all our OOT guests; it fit within our budget; and they had our *desired* date of June 22, 2012. The cons were that we had to provide our own alcohol and bartenders; there was no golf course; and the reception space was set up awkwardly, with multiple rooms instead of one big space. It went on the "ehhh maybe, but probably not" list.

Next up, was The Cruiseport. This location is brand new, right in the heart of downtown on the wharf where all the boats come in. And can I tell you how gorgeous this place was? Well, I'll let the photos speak for themselves!

The beautiful entry way! Image courtesy of weddingwire.com

The grand ballroom, coutesy of weddingwire.com

The bar area, leading out to the private patio overlooking the harbor. Image via weddingwire.com

Despite the gorgeousness of this place, we sadly had to cross it off our list because they were booked solid for ALL of 2012....I'm talking the end of April through the end of October! We would have had to have done an early spring or a late fall wedding. And with the weather being as wacky as it is here in New England, we weren't willing to chance having really crappy weather. And they were way out of our budget. $5000 just to rent the place? Umm yeah, I think we'll pass. 

On to the next! Bass Rocks Golf Club. This was secretly the one I was hoping would be IT. It had everything that we were looking for .... a gorgeous golf course on the ocean. It was perfect! 

The back of the clubhouse. Right above where the flags are hanging is the outdoor patio where our cocktail hour would be held. Image courtesy www.bassrocksgolfclub.com

The ballroom area. The windows overlook the golf course with the ocean in the distance. Image courtesy www.bassrocksgolfclub.com

There was one issue I had with this location. The ballroom was really more of a large dining room, and it could only hold up to 180 people, in the L-shaped space. Despite that fact, and because I was determined to make this work,  I decided to put a hold on this location. I figured space and set-up were minor details that could be figured out later. (Nevermind my guest list was currently at 206! Again, a minor detail.) Now all that was left was bringing Keith in for his final approval! 

Oh, did I fail to mention that I looked at these places without him?? Oops! Hey, he was working and I had work to do! I figured all the running around and research I was doing would be overwhelming for him, and if I could narrow down our options, it would be easier for us to decide :) 

Did you put a venue on hold without your fiance seeing it? Do you think I'm nuts for doing so?? Well, stay tuned for part 2!

My first *almost-but-not-quite* DIY!

So I mentioned in a post a few weeks back, about all the random odds and ends that I had started collecting for the wedding. One of those was my RSVP cards. Yes, I have since chosen invitations, but I chose not to use one that matched my invitation suite.

I love the idea of RSVP postcards. I've seen this done more often lately, and I think that a) it's much cuter and b) it's more cost effective because stamps are cheaper and you don't need an envelope. Bonus!

Again, thanks to all my months of research, I found that a lot of DIY brides are using Vista Print to print and design various paper products. At first, I was unsure of this idea. I use VP at work all the time, but for my wedding? Hmm.

Then I got an email for 250 free postcards. After a little playing around on their site looking for a template I liked, I realized that I could upload my own design! Now, I do not pretend to be a computer genius. I know my way around a computer ok, but using programs like Photoshop make me incredibly anxious. Someone suggested Powerpoint, which I do know how to use!

For the front of our postcard, I just used one of the pictures from our engagement shoot.

This is one of my favorite photos, for several reasons. I love the lighting, and I love the boats and the harbor in the background, and I love that he is so sweetly kissing my forehead. Plus, I think my hair looks fabulous! :)

The back of the postcard looks like so:

It was really easy to create in Powerpoint, and then I saved it and uploaded it! At checkout, I think I paid $5 for shipping, but that was it! I figured that if they came in and I hated them, I wouldn't have wasted much money, so I was so excited when they finally arrived. I loved them!

They don't really match my invitations, but I think that once I have the whole set together, they will look great. Plus, I think I saved about $100, so that alone is worth it. And sometimes mismatched is ok!

I know that this wasn't a true DIY project, but I'm getting my feet wet! Anyone else have a good experience with Vista Print? What else should I look into ordering for the wedding?