They're Here!

The paper for my pocketfolds came in the mail yesterday! I had been waiting all day, kept checking the door incase I had missed them, and then they finally came after I went out last night around 7:30. Damn UPS man. Anyways, the color is EXACTLY what I wanted! The perfect light yellow shade! It also came packaged really nicely too. The actual paper I had ordered specially cut came wrapped in thick brown paper then all the scraps came with it, I wouldn't exactly call them scraps though..theres enough to have like 50 extra invitations if I want plus enough for menus or table cards or whatever I choose I need them for. I just also made a mock up per knottie heatherkj's instructions and they turned out B-E-A-UTIFUL :)

The paper wrapped in the brown paper is the 200 custom cut pieces of 16 1/8 x 7 that I ordered, all the yellow paper that you can see is just the scraps! CRAZY huh! and all for only $50!

I still have to find the paper for the invitations and inserts and everything though! I also got a book of samples from renaissancewritings.com with all the colors they carry yesterday in the mail so I've chosen about fifteen that I like and I'm going hold them up to my pocketfold and decide on colors hopefully within the next few days so I can get those ordered! This is getting exciting!

Pocketfolds

I just ordered the paper for the pocketfolds of my pocketfold invitations. I'm making my own thanks to blogger heather from roadtotheaisle.blogspot.com. Her invites were absolutley gorgeous and she even provided step by step directions on how to make them.

I shopped around for paper from a couple different sites include simplypaperandenvelopes.com, anchorpaper.com, thepapermillstore.com and handmade-paper.com. I ordered samples from all of them to find the right color yellow, because I do NOT want anything to bright, I wanted something light and pastel. I ended up liking one from anchorpaper and one from simplypaperandenvelopes but it came down in the end to the price. Tom from anchorpaper told me it would only cost about $60 and that included shipping for 200 sheets of paper custom cut to 16 1/4 x 7whereas simplypaperandenvelopes told me with would cost right around $115. So I ended up ordering them from anchorpaper. I should have them sometime within the next couple of weeks! I decided to order these way in advance because I know its going to by time consuming with me at work and school from 6 am to 6 pm everyday of the week except Wednesday and Sunday I know I'm not going to want to work on them a lot so I figure I have a year to get them made, that should be enough time :)

I plan on ordering the paper for the inserts and the backing and stuff within the next couple months. I'm still deciding on colors and actually wanted to see a pocketfold in my yellow color made before I chose the other colors. I'm definitley excited to get started making them though. I guess I should probably make my save the dates first since they go out in four months ha. I dont think those will be hard though since I've already got an idea of how I want them set up. I need to start looking for photographers in my area to take our engagement photo as well so I can attatch those to the magnets for my save the dates.

DJ Nel

So I had a list of about twenty dj's and after calling all of them, and actually talking to about fifteen of them I've decided on a dj! His name is Scott Nelson of Nelson Entertainment (also known as DJ Nel) and he seams perfect! His rates are $100 per hour. Which wasn't too bad of a price compared to some of the ones I talked too. He also only requires a $100 deposit which is perfect for our budget right now. He also can do the ceremony and reception, which I haven't decided if I want a dj at the ceremony but it seams like the cheaper choice. Plus if I have him at the ceremony I can choose what type of here comes the bride I want to walk down the aisle too, where as if I were to have a pianist I'd have to listen to every song in the ceremony off the piano. It would be more elegant if it was done that way but no variety. I kind of like the violin sound of here comes the bride too (I've been downloading different versons in limewire) so he would def. be able to do that. He also seamed to really know his stuff and he was definitley very easy to get along with. I'm very excited to work with him and I think he'll make everything perfect for us! I haven't been to a wedding where he's dj'd at before but my MOH was actually a MOH in another wedding and he was the dj for that wedding so I got to have a personal reference of how good he was plus I got to see the dvd of that wedding so I kind of got to hear what he was like! He seams knowledgable and has been dj'ing since he was like a sophmore in highschool (not professionally of course) but he comes with a lot of experiance. Another crazy ccoincidence is that he's also a funeral director, and he just so happened to be at the funeral of my grandfather like ten years ago. Weird huh? But he's sending the contract in the mail this week so I can send him a check back and get him OFFICIALLY boooked.

Bad Communication

I just FINALLY got an email response back from Julie at The Grande View and she didn't even get back to all the questions I had asked her! I had called her on the 1st of April and when I hadn't hearf from her on the 3rd I emailed her (she hasnt' returned my calls before but she always seams to write back to the emails) anyways, she finally just wrote back today and only half the questions were answered. And then in the email she's like I can answer the rest but you'll have to call me, and then she asked me to call her on the 1st of May. Thats like three weeks away and everytime I call her she NEVER answers or calls me back!
And what she did answer wasn't as great as news as I hopes. I asked about prices for menus, she couldn't answer that one, I asked if cake cutting and serving would be included in the price and only the cake cutting was included. Serving the cake was $1.50 per person. I think I'll serve the damn cake myself! ha Then she said the price also only included the silverware and plates. Linens are going to cost me an extra $1.75 per person. Its already $800 to rent the place for the day plus however much per person for food! Its getting to be quite expensive! This place is actually one of the most expensive I've looked into but its just like I HAVE to have it :) She also couldn't tell me how much extra it would cost to have the reception outside, and by outside I mean having it five feet from the building doors. Hopefully she doesn't try to rack me for that! The bar prices she gave me were fairly cheap though, she said between $2-$3.50 per person..she didnt' say though if that was per hour..or what though? I guess I should remember to ask that when I call her next. Good news is if theres not an event the night before we can get in as early as thursday night or friday night to start decorating and we just have to start 'winding down' around midnight on Saturday night. In the end I think everything will be okay though. I'll just have to wait to talk to her at the beginning of May to find out food rates and then I'll be ready to book!

More Ideas

So I'm still looking into decorations and ideas for the ceremony. I've decided I also want to have water bottles at the ceremony with our monogram on the label, I looked into it and its actually a LOT cheaper then I thought it would be. I went to http://www.bottleyourbrand.com/ and its only like $1.00 for a bottle with a custom label. NICE. This link is for a water bottle template I found..not sure yet if I'll use it but I def. wanted it saved for later-- http://www.mediafire.com/?x4rwwfg6hmh .I also want monogrammed coasters and napkins as well, I think I'm going to go with http://www.napkinspersonalized.com/ for the napkins. I got a sample in the mail today and I like the colors. As for the coasters, I still have to check into those.

I also got a sample of a fan wedding program from http://www.custom-programs.com/ and I know it's the type of program I want. I'm definitley going to make them myself but I ordered a sample from them to use sort of as a template and to get ideas on what to include on them. I def. also want to do the two toned papers as well. I really like the look of the darker one with the lighter one and the design on them as well. I'll probably emboss some sort of design on them, I like the flowers that are there so I'll probably try to do something like that, that's a LLOOOONNNGGG time away though :)

I've also been looking into invitations and save the dates too. I plan on doing both myself as well. The invitations will definitley be pocketfold invitations. I've been looking around for people that can custom cut paper as big as I need it and that have the right color paper that I want. These are the PERFECT pocketfold invitations which I took from a knottie, whose web bio is http://www.roadtotheaisle.blogspot.com/ She made everything by herself, she's a complete DIY'er and her stuff is always amazing!

I can't wait to get started on all of my own DIY projects! Pretty soon!

More Flowers

I've been looking into flowers more and I've found some gorgeous arrangements for the ceremony that I like that just so happen to include lilies and a lot of greenery.

I definitly like all three of these arrangements so I'm giong to take them in when I meet with the florists, whenever I choose one that is, to find out how much something like this costs.

I've also been checking out ideas for corsages and have found a couple I've liked. I'm all about the plain look with greenery. I'm not quite sure if I would actually want to put lilies on the corsage though, I think a lily might be to big but I like all three of the flowers on the pictures below. I wanted three seperate types of corsages though, one for my mom, one for his mom, and one for all the grandmothers. I kind of wanted to do two seperate corsages for the grandmothers two, one for the real grandmothers, and one for the two step grandmas but I'm not sure if that would be to mean or not. Oh well, its my wedding. But having just one for all the grandmothers would probably be a lot cheaper and less complicated.

Decorations

So I've been looking around for decorations and accessories I'm going to want at the ceremony and reception. I'm having the ceremony outside and I know I want those white folding wooden chairs. I think that will look so pretty, especially compared to metal black ones or something. ha I'm having another knottie make me a custom aisle runner as well so I'll have that which I plan on lining with flower petals and then I plan on putting some sort of flower arrangement on the side of the chairs that are facing the aisle as well. The custom monogram the knottie is making for me to go on the aisle runner will also be attatches to the unity candle too (I love custom things ha) I definitley also plan on having those wand bubbles, which I already have ordered and just started tying bows onto, and birdseed in tulle that I want people to blow and throw after we get married. Other than that I haven't decided to much for the ceremony.

For the reception I know I want to order those straws that have the extra long flex neck so you can tie them into love knots, I know its nothing huge but its cute. I also plan on ordering customized napkins as well from the same monogram that I'm going to use on the aisle runner and unity candle. I've been shopping around for napkins and places that will print them for me but so far theres not to many choices, and I love choices. I also plan on having sparklers that my guests can light as we're getting ready to leave the reception. I've seen pictures of this before and think its BEAUTIFUL :) Although I've been checking around for sparklers and they're actually quite expensive. What do you expect though when you dont' want them to be red and blue like the ones around the 4th of July. ha I've also found some candles I like that I plan on putting somewhere. The first ones I've found were molded into the shape of cakes and I plan on putting them probably somewhere around the cake. The other ones are four seperate hearts, each that say a letter l-o-v-e and they're really cute to, although I'm not sure where I'll put them. Since I'm having the reception in a pavillion as well I plan on covering the posts with tulle and then putting some sort of flower piece in the middle of each one (I need to find a picture though, its sort of hard to imagine) and then stringing icicle lights all around the perimeter as well. I love lights, especially icicle ones :) Hopefully more ideas will come, I know I dont need to many things becuase I'll have a lot of flower arrangements and stuff but I just love decorating so I want to do more. I guess I'll just have to decide on everything else later though...hmm...

Thousands of dollars to dance the night awayy? Crazzzyyy

So I'm on a hunt for a dj. I have a list and I'm slowly making my way down it and calling everyone to find out prices and options. I seriously have to find every dj around my area and call each and everyone of them (which is like twenty), just like I was with the photographers. I'm always scared I'm going to miss out on a great deal or something ha.

I think I've underbudgeted for dj's though, I figured right around five hundred dollars for about five hours of play time. The closest I've found so far was $600 but I've had dj's that have gone up all the way to $1200. Thats a lot of money to have someone play songs for you! Good thing I still have half of the list to get ahold of!

I still have some major decisions to make though, my ceremony and reception are going to be at the same place and both are going to be outside, just different areas. So I'm not sure if I should have the dj play during the ceremony as well or if I should hire a pianoist or violinist or something. I think having a dj playing during the ceremony would look terrible (even though they'd be playing the same music its supposed to be a elegant thing and there will be a dj rockin out..ha) but I'm not sure how expensive it would be to hire someone else. Hmmm...decisions decisions.

Decisions Decisions

So last night Jerry and I started talking about wedding stuff. I wish he was more into it then he is. I get so excited and could talk about it for hours and he looks at some of my stuff and is just like..wowww...Not impressed at all. I did get him to help me set a budge though which was something I've been wanting help with for awhile. We've only started planning the budget, but hey thats a start! I guess I have to give him credit becuase the other night we did agree on the venue and the photographer together, although basically I chose them and then just asked his opinions and he agreed they were good choices. I can't wait to go home together at christmas time so we can actually meet with florists and cake decorators and everything together, I think it'll be much more fun when we get involved together!

I started looking into flowers and have printed out things I've liked. I showed it to him and we agreed on some flower arrangements we liked for the side of the chairs that will line the aisle, not really a specific flower but the size and type we like. The picture below is one of our favorites. I think we're going to go with some sort of lily so we'll use that and I love the look of a lot of greenery rather than a lot of flowers so the picture below is a perfect example of what we'll use.

We disagreed on boutonnieres though. I had looked through the knots pictures and picked ten out that I liked and he didnt' like any of them. The other ones on the knot though were like roses and carnations and I dont want those. So we'll wait and see how that goes. We didn't really look at anything else in terms of flowers though. I would like to look into some bouquets and then some centerpieces for the tables and stuff but other then that we're just going to wait till we meet with a florist. I know for sure I want some type of lily but we'll see when it gets closer.

Picture Perfect

So while I was home on break I also met with six photographers. I am VERY picky so I had to meet with everyone I looked into that were in my price range to guarentee I got the right one. After meeting with Ada Kyser I knew right away I wanted her. She showed us an engagement setting she had done a little while ago of two people from our town and it blue me away. It was the most romantic thing it made me want to cry and just get married right there. It was a video of the couple together adn stuff and then by themselves and then it had commentary from both of them about their love...and it was just...perfect.

The package I've chosen is $1500.00. It includes the engagement setting, the bridal setting, six hours of coverage (I can always buy more hours at $100 per extra hour if needed) two albums with fourty five pictures which I can give to both my parents (they're divorced) a wedding slide show with music, three seperate pictures, and then a album with 100 pictures in it for us. We're thinking about getting rid of that album though and upgrading to those new storybook albums they've come out wtih so it will cost an extra $370 (its $500 by itself but since i'm getting rid of the other album I get a $135 credit-i think, i'll have to verify that with her but I thought thats how she explained it) but I just HAVE to have the better album! Then I can choose to have them video the wedding as well for only an extra $400. In order to get a copy of all the proofs on a cd with a print release though it is an extra $200 so I guess its adding up qickly. Thats $2070 just for the photography (without any extra seperate prints that we'll have to wait to order at the end) plus $400 for the video. For a grand total of $2470. I guess thats not tooooo badd....haha I haven't booked them yet either, it is still over a year away, but I do plan on booking them in June. YAY its almost that time!

Just Starting

So I've just started planning the wedding. Its actually a lot harder then I'd thought it would be but definitley a lot of fun. I've chosen the colors of yellow, green and white which I think will be gorgeous!(Hence the colors of my blog) I was for sure on the yellow color, like a pastel, but I was a little iffy on the green. I just didn't really know what went with yellow. I liked blue, but blue and gold were my high school colors, so no. Then I liked the color orange, like a peach but I just wasn't sure. So then I chose green, and like a bright summery green to not like an olive or anything, although I like olive, but I'm having a summer wedding, so I figured it would be better if it was bright and fun.

On top of choosing colors I got to go home over spring break to look at actual sites where we could have the ceremony and reception and I think I've found the perfect place. Well, almost perfect.

I looked at TONS of venue sites while I was home from hotel ballrooms to country clubs to gardens. I ended up visiting a place called The Grande View. Its in Ellington, Ny and I've wanted to visit it since I saw the pictures on the internet. Its every bit as gorgeous in real life as it is on the internet. The gazebo, the pavilion, the pond, the other wooden thingy...it was all just perfect. The only bad part is, like everyone from around the area should know, is that there are farms everywhere, and there just so happens to be a farm on either side of the Grande View. That is probably the only problem I keep thinking about, what if it smells, what if we see cows and they accidently get in a picture? ha That wouldn't happen...I'm just saying.

This is the pond, which their adding a water fountain thing to this summer, and then the wooden thing is where I think i would actually want to get married under. They have a gazebo on site but I'm not a big fan of those at all. I think if I just spruce up the feature a little bit with tons of flowers and stuff it could be really pretty.

This is the pavillion, where I want to eat at. I think it could be really pretty if I string icicle lights from it along with tulle where the posts are and put flowers on it. Thats kind of confusing but I have a beautiful picture in my head. ha We'll see.

But I've contacted the lady at the grande view a couple times through email but everytime I seam to call her she can't call me back. Weird. She gave me the site fee for the day which is $800 but I still need to talk to her about menu prices and stuff. As well as that I would like to have the ceremony and reception outside. She said though that to have the reception outside (in the pavillion) that it would cost extra just beacuse she'd have to move everything outside, which is no big deal I dont mind paying extra but when I got there and saw that the pavillion was literally two feet from the side of the building where the inside reception would be..i was like what thee??? Oh well...I haven' t decided for sure yet or not, that'll come when it gets a lot sooner, depending on the weather I guess. We'll see. First I guess I'd have to book the site huh? Hopefully that will get done next month, she wants five hundred down and then the remainder thirty days later so I'll have to call my poppa for some money :)