Update, take 2

So I'm back to finish my previous update. Whoo!

So since I last updated, I spoke with the photographer that we won a prize from at the show. They are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. I'm not sure if we are still "eligible" for the "prizes" since we are not booking them though because this was the list of options they sent me:

FREE $500 Gift of Choice

The Gifts of Choice are:

$500 FREE Engagement Session (Must be done 6-8 months prior to ceremony. Subject to availability.)

FREE $500 Medium Magazine Style Album

FREE $500 16x20 Print or Sofa/Mantel Print

FREE $500 2 Small Magazine Style Parent Albums

FREE $500 Shopping Spree of Reprints

FREE $500 towards our Digital Photo Booth *As seen in Platinum Weddings* (FREE with qualifying package.  Must be chosen prior to ceremony. Subject to availability)

These options, with the exception of perhaps the first one, all require us to buy something from them first. Crummy "prizes" if you ask me. But whatever. I've been to lazy to email them back to ask the details on whether or not the first one is still an option. I was just really disappointed with them when they said they were "affordable" and ended up being $3000+. Eh, whatever.

I did get a call from another photographer though which I spoke to on Wednesday. He is quite affordable when looking at his packages, but he has yet to get back to me with his estimates for travel fees to Key West. 

I still really, really like Clearly in Focus that I originally met at the first bridal show. They are so great. And they don't have travel fees. They are just barely above my budget, but it may come down to being them in the end.

In other news, I finally went out and bought the latest copy of "The Knot." It was another fashion edition. I'm not really into the fashion editions anymore. I know, I've only seen one before this one, but still. I think I already know what I'm going with as far as my dress, so that stuff no longer really interests me. Still there was a decent amount of useful information in this edition. 

I also finally got around to reading my latest Florida edition. They had these WONDERFUL ideas for personalization. One thing I loved were cookies in the form of their family crest. We have been wanting to make a family crest (and signet rings!) for me, the hubby, and the roommate ever since we deemed ourselves a "Clan." This would be an awesome plug for our unique family dynamic.

Oh! Speaking of unique and family... I almost forgot! At Christmas this year, a new member of the family was introduced at the in-laws'. Nilpferd, the hippopotamus. He is a traveling trophy. Each year at Christmas he will be passed on to a new family member. That family member (this year it's my youngest brother-in-law) will carry him along on trips and fill a photo album of Nilpferd at various locations of significance. Next year, that means he will be at the wedding of course. We have talked about him having a special spot in the ceremony and reception for prime photo ops. Steven, the officiant, is even cool with Nilpferd sitting on his shoulder during the ceremony. In any case, I am quite excited about this traveling trophy. I can't wait until it falls into our hands!

And, just because I find this hilarious, I will share a bit of news I uncovered in the last couple of days. Apparently, Andrew and I are related (other than by marriage). I have been working pretty diligently on his mother's side of his family tree taking a slight break on my own side. I have now found a common ancestor: Pocahontas. While she is my (insert several greats) grandmother, she is only a distant cousin to him. So we're inCREDibly distant cousins. I'm cool with this only because it's so far back AND because it's Pocahontas that joins us. :-P

As another update, I was perusing the DIY bride book at Barnes and Noble. (I'm sure I will probably buy it someday, but for the time being, I love opening it to random pages and seeing what I find.) They had instructions for a DIY canopy/huppah thing. It estimated the cost to be about $75 for DIYing it. This makes it seem incredibly do-able. Currently my budget for decorations is $200. I am not sure how much the few decorations I have in mind will actually cost, but I'm hoping this canopy fits in somehow.

Speaking of budget, I don't think I've officially shared my estimate breakdown of what I'm expecting to spend.

ESTIMATE COSTS
Food	1500
Beverage	250
Ceremony venue	1500
Stationery	400
Photographer	1000
DJ	300
Flowers	60
Cake	250
BM bags	500
Groomsmen+officiant	600
favors	400
flower girl buckets	10
dress	800
suit	300
decorations	200
reception venue	1000
HM	934

This makes the total $10,004 for a little less (probably a lot less depending on who can come) than 100 people now. Currently, unless I or Andrew are able to pick up more hours and/or get raises, I estimate we will only be able to save about $6,000-$7,000. This includes us completely paying off a couple of debts we've accrued and beginning paying back our ridiculous student loans. I am hoping, however, that we will get closer to my estimate, obviously. Certain numbers would definitely go down if people are unable to come, which I am anticipating though hoping against. It's a quite conflicting feeling I have about the guest list. In any case, I will keep updating on the budget, especially as things start to become more finalized.

Alright, I think that's about it for now. I'm sure I probably forgot a few things I wanted to mention, but I have time to come back and add them later. :-P Until next time!

My wedding day vision

I was never the girl that thought about her wedding as a child. I didn't plan out every detail at the age of 12. I always knew I would get married some day, but it wasn't something I was worried about planning until it happened. (Which is kind of funny to think about now since I'm such a planner.) Still, when we decided to get married and agreed to have the ceremony of my dreams on our anniversary, I already knew a good number of the "big" things.

I knew I wanted a barefoot beach wedding at sunset. I knew I wanted daisies for the flower. I knew the kind of music I wanted played. I even knew who I wanted for my bridesmaids, flower girls, and ring bearer. As for everything else, I was starting from scratch.

I didn't start planning anything until we actually got married (sounds kind of backwards, I know). After we said our "I do"s (or "Oh yeah"s in the case of my husband) under the waterfall, we went out to dinner. We made the bad decision of trying a new place called "Shiners." (The name should have been our first clue, but it came highly recommended.) It was absolutely wretched. We skipped dessert and went to the grocery store to buy our own version of a "wedding cake." While at the store, I picked up my first bridal magazine, "The Knot," and all the planning began then. Now, four magazines, countless websites, and two bridal shows later, I think I have an idea of what I want. (The problem now is making all of my visions come true, especially with such a restricted budget!)

Since this will technically be a vow renewal, we want the wedding to be rather laid back. Andrew doesn't even plan on wearing a tux or tie. He wants a light colored linen suit. I want a rather light dress without a train. I don't want a veil. I want my hair mostly down while still being out of my face. And, as I said before, I want everyone, guests included, barefoot.

My ideal location right now is Key West (though I'm willing to have it anywhere on the western side of Florida that is close to an airport). That means Fort Zachary Taylor (http://www.fortzacharytaylor.com/wedding.html), which takes up the majority of the western side of the island, is the best place to have the ceremony so the sun sets over the water. I also want the bamboo "alter" (if that's what it is called). I may decorate it with some white lights and maybe some fabric. I also want to incorporate the sand ceremony into the wedding.

Even though we don't really need an officiant, our roommate (who got ordained to marry us the first time) will be officiating. He did an awesome job the first time around, especially considering we were only "engaged" for a total of 13 days and it was his first time officiating. I'm excited to hear his ideas on what he wants to add the second time around.

We would love a brass quintet to play for the wedding. Our first pick is the quintet made up of our old professors from college (http://www.smbq.com/). The only problem is, since four of the five of them are teachers, unless our wedding falls during spring break, the likelihood that they will be able to do it is quite slim. If they can't, we may have to settle on a local quintet, but I worry no one will compare to the other.

In looking at wedding magazines and seeing what I like, I really want my bridesmaids all in the same dress, but if it comes down to it, I am flexible with changing it. I want their dresses to be short and chocolate brown. I want the flower girls (we will have two) in red. The ring bearer, who is the sister of our two flower girls, I have not yet decided. She may wear the same dress as the flower girls with a different colored sash or something, but we'll see.

I want the reception location nearby. I am already worrying enough about how my guests will get to the ceremony venue from the airport if they fly, I don't need to worry about how they will get to the reception. My one worry is that everyone will have to rent rent-a-cars and be very unhappy with me. I have thought of having a shuttle run from the airport to the park, but I have not even begun to think about how much this may cost. I know our families will end up driving, especially mine. But I hope the travel aspect will not be the one thing to keep our friends from making the trek.

I am 100% okay with an iPod for a DJ, but if I find a DJ that I love and comes reasonably priced, I am open to the idea. I just don't want a band.

If the reception site is willing to do a cash bar, that'd be perfect. This seems to be one of the hardest things to find. Most places only do open bars. I am not comfortable with this for many reasons. My idea is to have a cash bar and then give everyone a couple of free drinks on us. Then, if the guests decide they want more, they can buy them own their own. I know a lot of people don't like cash bars, but this is the idea I like the best.

I haven't decided on what to do for food yet. I would love plated dinners. I find them more enjoyable than buffet style. But cost-wise, we just don't have the money to pay $80-$200 a plate, even if we cut the guest list down to 40 people. I have toyed with the idea of just a "cocktail reception" and a dessert bar, but if I can find an affordable dinner, that would definitely be better.

I do want a relatively short reception though. I'm not much of a "partier." A two and a half to three hour reception seems long enough to me. Oh, and I love the idea of a photobooth at the wedding. Whether we make our own version or we rent one, has yet to be decided. We'll check the budget later, but this seems like a must-have at this point.

As for the cake... neither of us are big cake people. We both prefer pie. We have seen many photos of "wedding pies," but I am unsure if that is something I really want. I like the idea of a small cake (or pie) for Andrew and I and then cupcakes for the guests. I love the idea of a dessert bar for sure, even if it just means I make a few different desserts and place them near the cupcakes. The only must-have dessert so far is chocolate-covered strawberries (my favorite!). I also LOVE the idea of a candy buffet. I'm currently trying to work out an estimate for this based on the candies I like. It seems do-able so far.

As for the day of the wedding before sunset, we are still planning on going with tradition and not seeing each other (even though we didn't do that when we got married). I plan on spending the day with my ladies. We may even take the time with the sun to do all of the "all-girl" and "all-boy" photos (at different times of course). That way, after the wedding, we can just do the photos with everyone and the couple shots with the sunset as a backdrop without worrying about losing all the light. We may change this depending on the photographer's opinions. We may want to do the photos with everyone before the wedding too. Who knows!

But anywho... I think that covers most of it. I'm sure many more ideas will be added to this list, and I'm sure many of these ideas will be modified later on. Until then, this is what I want.