PICK IT (not your nose...)

INVITATIONS!

samples have arrived! take a look and let me know which one you like best, or what you like/dislike.

hoping to have something final so we can have these suckers ready to go in the mail in the next few weeks!

(sorry images are crappy bc they were originally pdf's. let me know if you want to see originals and i can email them!)

new one!

(1)


(2)


(3)


(4)


(5)


(6)

i got scammed!

after reading all the horror stories of brides getting duped by shady vendors, i swore i would never fall prey to it…but stupid me!

i wanted to get a photobooth for the reception, but most booths are so expensive! a couple months back i stumbled onto this vendor who does photobooths but for half the price (i should have realized then something was fishy….) basically because it's not like a real photobooth, but one that they set-up and break down (yes it looks a little ghetto but it supposedly still takes perfectly fine photostrips!)

anyhow i talked to the guy a few times, who didn't seem the most professional, but i kept easing my worries with the money i thought i would be saving….but when he didn’t send a contract after multiple requests, yet still took the $ off my credit card for the deposit, i got worried. he never replied to any of my emails [shady] but every time i called we would talk and he would promise to get it to me. so i finally emailed him asking him to cancel everything and refund my deposit. no response…

finally, i decided to do a google search of him and his company (which i should have done to begin with!) lo and behold, there is complaint after complaint about his poor service, never responding to people or sending them their photo's, ripping people off (including the people he employees to run the booths at the events!) and apparently he is ranked #6 worst businessman in NC, has multiple complaints with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and is pending investigation. lovely.

well i jumped on the phone w/ good 'ol american express (it pays to have debt) to file a dispute. i explain to the super-nice lady what's going on, she takes some information and assures me that amex stands firmly behind their cardholders and their disputes/claims. unfortunately, i'll take me a good few months before i know whether i'll get the $ back. eeeep!

moral of the story- plan a simple wedding.

the end.

T minus 4 months!

happy new year! 2008 was a blur eh? sometimes it's hard to believe that we got engaged all the way back in 2007. and before you knew it, it's already 2009 and the wedding is just around the corner...

i won't lie- these days i've been wanting to throw myself into oncoming traffic with the insanity of everything....but i have resisted mostly at the thought of leaving happy motherless

so a few quick updates! we are FINALLY in our new apt (well as of Jan 1) slowly we are buying new furniture and getting settled. there are still boxes everywhere, clothes strewn about, piles of messes here and there- it is driving me crazy every time i see it! my mattress is finally arriving this weekend and i will now get to sleep in a bed! we have a few short- term house guests with us (LiNK interns...haha) so until they move out, john feels we cannot fully unpack and get "settled." in the meantime, john lives downstairs with his friends (gene, aaron and sam), and i get the whole apt to myself (plus the intern, for now). happy likes the new place but he definitely doesn't like being home alone all day while we're at work...he let's us know that with the secret piece of poo he like's to put somewhere different every day. *sigh* maybe he really is stupid?

all in all- how come no one told us moving (starting from scratch) was SO MUCH WORK?? i ain't gonna lie- it's been hard to graduate from ikea..

so onto wedding things. you will be so proud to know that i have finally accomplished all of the major "to-do's" as of today (more or less....haha). on top of that, my mom now calls me at least once a day to talk about "wedding stuffs" and to stress me out. jowah jowah.


finally gots me a photographer!! her work is so beautiful and i'm super excited because she will be shooting the majority of the wedding in film rather than just digital!

karen wise [site] [blog]

wedding invitations: samples coming soon- i will post them as soon as i get them....but in the meantime i just thought i'd tell you that truly smitten is truly awesome! i'll share pictures from her wedding next time (her color scheme was black + yellow)....seriously beautiful wedding! cannot wait to see our invitations....

cake: liking these-

shoes: check out these badboys....i decided to return the other ones and go with these!
flowers: met a florist over the holidays and sat down with her for 15 minutes- she was able to work within my budget [cheap] so i booked her right away and told her i'd just email her pictures....hope it turns out ok (oops oops oops). how pretty are ranunculus, peonies and hydrangeas! i'm hoping to use these for the bouquets and centerpieces. keep it simple... like my life.

guys: go for gray (light or dark?) or just stick to the simple black?

that's all for now! it's crunchtime now so i'll likely update more frequently for my 1 reader (jane :P) haha

homework:
1) yellow dresses for bm's- where are you all hiding??
2) any tips on how to cut down the guestlist? (mama song decided to invite 100 people!)

THE SEARCH GOES ON....

did some additional searching for some other potential photogs.... and found a few.

HOWEVER got dissed today by my other top choice.... he is truly good and truly booked!
cliff mautner- amazing pictures, and honestly just talking to him on the phone, sounds like an amazing guy. he was nice enough to give me referrals, and then say that if none of them worked out, to call him back and he would help me until i found one!

so here are the other one's i'm considering (if they have blogs, i'll list them instead since those seem to show more work)
susan stripling (this was the reco from cliff)
karen wise
christian oth studios (christian + shawn are too expensive for me, but the others are possibilities)

(extensive list here from wedding bee but based on various locations, budgets and styles)

if you have anyone else you'd like to throw in there, lemme know!
otherwise of those listed above- who do you like?


are you sick of looking at wedding photogs now too...?? :(

*SIGH*

i'll leave you with my color inspiration- compliments of esther, except the real thing (thanks!)

pain in the arse!

i never thought that booking the photographer
would be such a pain in the ( | )
(yup that's a butt)
i guess since this is the one thing that you absolutely don't want to compromise on and certainly want to splurge on to ensure great pictures (as everyone says, they're the only thing you'll keep to remember this one expensive, and special day).

so all that said- we have met with over 10 different photographers. everyone with their own style, their own sales pitch and their own "packages." some edit + some don't, some give you the negatives/files+ some don't, some give you 7 hours and others give you 9, some are worth what they charge- and most (quite honestly) probably aren't...

where does that leave me then......?

everyone we met with that i really liked is not available- except 1 whom i met with this past weekend (art of love). we met, her stuff was great (even in albums), and i had a good feeling! i especially liked that she actually edits ALL of the photos. THEN-i call her to follow-up and see if i can negotiate a package, and one of the major wedding planners that brings her a lot of business, ends up needing her now on may 2nd. of course she has to take that wedding and not burn the bridge with the planner....

so back to square 1

help
please...

- - -

fortunately everything else is coming along nicely...

thanks to everyone for voting on hair styles....i think i'm going to go with the 3rd style with a lower poooof-although my mom keeps trying to convince me that i should wear my hair down (EEEK!)

also my super awesome cousin sarah has agreed to be my day of coordinator. this is excellent for two reasons. 1) i won't go crazy now and i absolutely trust her 2) she runs her own catering + event planning business (Hanuri) in chicago so she is the perfect person for the job!
too bad the wedding's not in chi-town....it could have been amajing ;]

she also recommended Truly Smitten for the wedding invitations. i've been checking out her stuff and it's great! i bet she could come up with something super-fab with the color theme/style....so i really hope it works within the budget! also when i was blog-stalking her, turns out her own wedding colors were yellow + black! (the banner at the top of her blog was the design for her own wedding i think...)

bridal party....i know i am lagging on this like a gimp
this is going to be done in the next week of so. john and i were just trying to figure out # (4 or 5 or 6??) and also trying to decide how family would play into everything too.... we finally decided we're going to just go w/ 4 to keep it small and simple. but that also means there are a lot of friends/family we aren't going to get to ask :(


IN OTHER NEWS

john + i bought our first car together last week! it was so weird making such a big purchase, but definitely a good step towards realizing that we are actually a real (almost married) couple!
now if only i could get him to give me his credit card..... haha jk!

finally, CONGRATULATIONS to my favorite biotech Jaymin on getting engaged! if anyone has any cute pictures of farm/outdoor weddings, send links this way so i can pass along to her...

decisions decisions

soooo i finally met with all the photographers and had narrowed it down...

1) belathee

2) Anja

BUT- then my friend just referred me to this photographer this morning, who turned out to be....just.......amazing!

GH Kim

MOVING ON....

i know everyone is sick of the color and theme- i am too. so this is the last time i'm changing it and i'm sticking with it!!

......yellow + grey......
and vintagey look & feel to focus around the photobooth theme.
(some of you initially voted for this color scheme back in the beginning.....i shoulda just listened then!)

HAIR/MAKE-UP
did my hair/make-up trial this past weekend in queens with reiko utsugi. i had originally heard good things about sachiko yanase, but when she was booked she recommended reiko. turned out be great too! with make-up i realized there wasn't much to do....but for hair there were 3 styles we tried out. (some of the pics are hard to see because of the lighting and also bc i realized it's hard to notice details with all black hair! also didn't have front shots of some but you can use your imagination :D )

1) grecian updo






2) low side bun w/ bangs




3) poof and chignon




which hairstyle do you like....?


TIPPING?
so i've been thinking about this lately and was hoping some of the married people could offer help....do you have to tip your vendors on your wedding night (ie: photographers or florists, etc). we end up paying a lot for each vendor, but for some that are service based, i'm not sure if we're supposed to tip- and if so, how much is appropriate? (for example, at the reception hall, we are given a "recommended" amount to tip the "Captain" who runs all of the logistics for the wedding the night of...)


ok that's all the updates for now....

PS- i ended up getting the jcrew shoes with the side bow bc they were a little more fun and colorful, and i know i would probably never get to wear the pretty ivory ones again....

PPS- can anyone help me find cute yellow dresses for the BM's (that won't break the bank?)

6 months to go!

after a nice hibernation, i'm back and ready to start plannning! (sorta)

so some major decision planning ahead of me in the next 2 months (before i move to cali)... wanna help? :D here's where things are at, and also a few updates....

NEW DATE
i know i mentioned this already (but people have been saying they didn't know the date was changed)- wedding will now be on o5.o2.o9. see you there! (unless you're not invited...haha jk!)


DRESS
arrived!!
good news: turns out i did order it in ivory
bad news: jjom tight. i get serious back-ass (you know when the back folds into a butt-looking shape squeezed into the dress as you try to zip it up....)
it's cute. i think i'll keep it this way...


PHOTOGRAPHER
here are the folks i've met with (or will be meeting with in a few weeks)

1. Scott Lewis
2. Heather Waraksa
3. Jenny Ebert
4. Kenny Kim
5. Belathee
6. Cappy Hotchkiss
7. Anja Hitzenberger

Heather was my top choice, but was booked on my new date....and i'm meeting with #5-7 in the next few weeks. so far i'm hearing that Anja seems to have the "cleanest" or "sharpest" looking pictures, whereas the others are not as consistent with clarity, shakiness, focus, etc. unfortunately i never took photography in my pratto9 curriculum so any photographers out there with advice on these folks- it would be greatly appreciated! (and on pricing, unfortunately they're all pretty pricey, but around the same price range so that probably won't be the determining factor)

COLOR SCHEME
i think i'm going to move forward with the ivory/sage-olive scheme. it's seasonally appropriate, and well- i know everyone is doing that color combo these days but i think it'll be easy to do...


THEME?
well john has been getting really into golfing lately, so some wonderful friends had the great idea of incorporating a golf theme in little subtle ways- maybe something with the place cards and table numbers...still brainstorming on this so send ideas this way!

BOOKED:

• music
• videographer
• church

TO DO:

• florist
• BM dresses
  
• hair and makeup (trial in november- any ideas for hair??)
  
• invitations (maybe try to make these with my good 'ol pratt colleagues)
  
• book honeymoon (greece!)
  

ok what else am i forgetting to do....??


i leave you with two final things...

1) please vote for the shoes you like better:


(a) (b)



2) can someone help me make/find this birdcage-ish veil?