It's no wonder that you don't usually see too much of the wedding reception dancing shenanigans in wedding pictures. Unless you hire a photographer for 8 hours there is only so many events you can fit in and it seems the standard time frame that is offered is 6 hours and it's usually a couple hundred extra per hour over that. Couple shots, bridal party shots, family shots. I want detail shots and candid shots too. I want them to be good and I don't want to rush through dinner and cake cutting just so we can get to the bouquet toss before the photographer has to leave.
I got the sign that I was looking for to help me make my photographer decision. Patrick called and left a very nice follow up message and also offered to add an extra hour onto his services. His portfolio originally caught my eye first and then I kept going back and forth second guessing myself. He captured some really great moments in his pictures. He has a photojournalism style that I was looking for. Very artistic and candid. I will get the basic posed group shots but everything else should be candid. That extra hour will help us to fit more shots in with hopefully less rushing. This is a special day and I don't want to motor through it.
For $1495 the package includes 2 photographers which will be great for maximizing time. We get four 8 x10's, ten 5x7's and a DVD of all images with reproduction rights. I don't even want to buy an album because I think it will be way fun to do my own with Walmart or Snapfish. I created one already as a gift to Mj that documented our first nine months together before he fled the country. I had a great time doing it although it took me forever because I wanted to get everything just right.
I don't really think "engagement" photos are necessary. I have tons of pictures with Mj. None professional, but we are about to have a bunch of professional pics so maybe it's something we can save for a year when we are not already spending thousands of dollars on a wedding. Do we really have to have that poster size shot engagement shot of us sitting on an easel at our reception? I think it might be just as nice to have some candid shot of us during the time we were dating and falling in love with each other. I have such fond memories of that time so why not?
I am thinking of doing our couple shots before the ceremony starts. It means that he will see me before I walk down the aisle. I am not sure that I like that idea but I think we might get better shots if we have the chance to do those without all eyes on us . We will feel more comfortable and relaxed. This way we can go straight into bridal party and family shots right after the ceremony and hopefully make at least some of our cocktail hour. That's when the drinks are free and unlimited [well, we are paying for it but you know what I mean] and I would like to mingle and enjoy it.
Huge sigh of relief that this decision is made. I was about ready to lose my mind. I am still on track budget wise too! Now that the DJ and photographer are booked I can relax a little bit.
All that is left cake and It won't be too hard for me to decide on that. I want to order and get the invitations out and THEN deal with that. I am hoping that a co worker can do the bridal party flowers. We probably will not be using flowers elsewhere as they are just too expensive. If I can come up with something creative for centerpieces that involve flowers I will but I will likely be buying them wholesale and just kinda doing it myself. We shall see. I have decided not to hire an officiant. Instead I will enlist the services of one of our friends for that. I think it will be more special that way and of course save us about $200-300 dollars.
Dress shopping tomorrow! One of my bridesmaids will be there and my mom is coming down to help me decide.
Choosing A Photographer Is Rough
1.14.2010
The only thing worse so far then agonizing over location is agonizing over a photographer. I am literally paralyzed with indecision over who to go with. Originally, I was going to use Studio Blue. It seems to be a fairly new company but is the little less expensive sister of Bella Pictures. Bella's packages start around $1800 for bare bones. When Studio Blue is having a sale you can get a 6 hour package with 1 photographer(no prints) for about 1k. They basically work as a photography agent and assign you a photographer about 60 days prior to your wedding. You do get an opportunity to review the portfolio and the pictures on this website look good but the more I thought about it the less sure I was of going that route. I guess I just didn't like the idea of not really getting to pick. It could be hit and miss. I was just about ready to book them when I decided not to. I can't find any information on them and can't seem to find any reviews on the net from anyone who has used them. I'm all about saving a buck but this is one area that I really dont' want to take any chances with.
When I started looking elsewhere I found that for about $500 more I could get 2 photographers and some prints included.
Aside from venue the pictures are the most important thing for me in this wedding planning process. When all is said and done aside from your memories and your actual marriage that is what will linger the longest. My photography budget is $1,500. I found two local ones in that range with great portfolio's and similar package pricing but am having a super hard time making a decision. I have e mailed a couple of friends asking their opinion and it is literally split 50/50.
Hubby got tired of hearing me wine about it last night and he looked at both portfolios one more time and has stuck with his original opinion. He is leaving this decision in my trusty hands and says it's up to me. I guess the problem I am having is that he liked Fritz and I liked Patrick. Part of me wants to just go with my gut and pick the one that appealed to me most but the other part of me wants to pick the one he liked because I really do like them both and actually he does too! I don't want to make the wrong choice!! These photos are going to be precious to us both and I want to get it right.
I have looked at their portfolios over and over and over. Not helping. I spoke to both photographers and have got an idea of how they work but I am still stuck. Help! What do I do?
When I started looking elsewhere I found that for about $500 more I could get 2 photographers and some prints included.
Aside from venue the pictures are the most important thing for me in this wedding planning process. When all is said and done aside from your memories and your actual marriage that is what will linger the longest. My photography budget is $1,500. I found two local ones in that range with great portfolio's and similar package pricing but am having a super hard time making a decision. I have e mailed a couple of friends asking their opinion and it is literally split 50/50.
Hubby got tired of hearing me wine about it last night and he looked at both portfolios one more time and has stuck with his original opinion. He is leaving this decision in my trusty hands and says it's up to me. I guess the problem I am having is that he liked Fritz and I liked Patrick. Part of me wants to just go with my gut and pick the one that appealed to me most but the other part of me wants to pick the one he liked because I really do like them both and actually he does too! I don't want to make the wrong choice!! These photos are going to be precious to us both and I want to get it right.
I have looked at their portfolios over and over and over. Not helping. I spoke to both photographers and have got an idea of how they work but I am still stuck. Help! What do I do?
Getting Pre Approved
You'd better not have any secrets from your significant other when you go into a meeting to discuss a home loan. If there was anything about your credit, income, debts, bank accounts or finances that you were keeping on the down low it will be exposed with a quickness to your significant other and some random stranger who will punch your digits into a computer and decide your fate.
In our case, there are no secrets but it is kind of odd to be sitting there so exposed. Things that you may not normally talk about even with people you are very close to is fodder for discussion. Nothing is off limits. Income, job title, bank account balances, who you owe, and what you owe. You can't run and you can't hide.
You may have an idea about what kind of house you want but as you divulge all of your financial matters you are about to find out what kind of house you can get.
Gone are the days where you could walk in there unemployed and be approved for $500,000. The banks actually seem to care about whether or not you can actually make your mortgage payment or not now. We went in there hoping for a certain amount and it turns out we may not quite get that but we are hopefully still going to be in a good position to find something decent within our budget. That is actually OK by me. I am fine with being "forced" into a house that we can afford rather then being ushered into something that may overextend us. From the get go that has always been my primary concern. I want a nice house but I am not willing to push the limits of our monthly income to get it. If that means we get a little bit less house then so be it. We will make it our own, be together, and be much better off in the long run by playing it safe.
We actually got pre approved already by our bank for exactly what we wanted but this home lending service works with the real estate agent we are hoping can get us into a foreclosure and he requires that we at least get pre approved with his preferred lender.
We have great credit and few debts. I wish I earned more money. Don't we all? There is no point in playing the blame game but I know that would help A LOT. I regret that I already own a property which will count against me with a lender.
What I regret even more then that is an old student loan debt that I co signed on for my Ex Husband. It's this black cloud over my head that won't go away. I hate it that even in divorce he is still dragging me down. I take pride in my credit and I hate that what happens to it is not 100% in my control. I paid my student loan debts off but I still have his lurking in the shadows of my credit report. If I had been smart I would have insisted on him figuring out a way to refinance and get my name off before finalizing the divorce. Lesson learned the hard way on that one. Don't EVER co-sign for anyone on anything. Just don't.
We won't have any problem getting a home loan. It's just a matter of how much.
In our case, there are no secrets but it is kind of odd to be sitting there so exposed. Things that you may not normally talk about even with people you are very close to is fodder for discussion. Nothing is off limits. Income, job title, bank account balances, who you owe, and what you owe. You can't run and you can't hide.
You may have an idea about what kind of house you want but as you divulge all of your financial matters you are about to find out what kind of house you can get.
Gone are the days where you could walk in there unemployed and be approved for $500,000. The banks actually seem to care about whether or not you can actually make your mortgage payment or not now. We went in there hoping for a certain amount and it turns out we may not quite get that but we are hopefully still going to be in a good position to find something decent within our budget. That is actually OK by me. I am fine with being "forced" into a house that we can afford rather then being ushered into something that may overextend us. From the get go that has always been my primary concern. I want a nice house but I am not willing to push the limits of our monthly income to get it. If that means we get a little bit less house then so be it. We will make it our own, be together, and be much better off in the long run by playing it safe.
We actually got pre approved already by our bank for exactly what we wanted but this home lending service works with the real estate agent we are hoping can get us into a foreclosure and he requires that we at least get pre approved with his preferred lender.
We have great credit and few debts. I wish I earned more money. Don't we all? There is no point in playing the blame game but I know that would help A LOT. I regret that I already own a property which will count against me with a lender.
What I regret even more then that is an old student loan debt that I co signed on for my Ex Husband. It's this black cloud over my head that won't go away. I hate it that even in divorce he is still dragging me down. I take pride in my credit and I hate that what happens to it is not 100% in my control. I paid my student loan debts off but I still have his lurking in the shadows of my credit report. If I had been smart I would have insisted on him figuring out a way to refinance and get my name off before finalizing the divorce. Lesson learned the hard way on that one. Don't EVER co-sign for anyone on anything. Just don't.
We won't have any problem getting a home loan. It's just a matter of how much.
We Don't Have to Commute
1.13.2010
It's a darn good thing the fate of where we intend to buy a house and live for the next chunk of our lives didn't depend on me getting a new job. If it did I am not exactly sure how that would have turned out. But it just so happens the burden of such a task rested on Mj who thus far has never had any problem landing awesome jobs. He did it again. My little hot shot found a new job and just in the nick of time. Just when we really needed to figure out the work situation so that we could begin some serious house hunting.
He says the whole situation was stressing him out a bit. Not that I could even tell the cool cucumber that he is. Him stressing looks no different then usual while I am prone to mini breakdowns. I so needed someone like him to balance me out.
The job he left when he went overseas for Eleven months is about 158 miles away. That is about a two hour and 10 minute commute without traffic. Which of course would never happen so it would probably take close to 3 hours. Impossible!! Crazy. I mean, how many years of your life will a commute like that take away? Not to mention the money spent on gas. We couldn't move way up there because the cost of living is way too high and then of course I would have to find another job. So, to compensate our original plan was to move about 45 miles North which would then mean we were both commuting although mine would not have been as far. We would have been closer to my family but further from both our friends and my work. We really love being where we are right now and it was a bummer to think we'd have to leave. We did NOT want to do that but there weren't really too many other options until Mj ran out and got himself another job.
We will both be working in the same area now. Close enough that we could even meet for lunch or carpool if we wanted to.
I was so excited and proud of him when he called me with the news yesterday. It pretty much solved all of our immediate problems and is allowing us to take the next step in house hunting. Turns out his company actually eliminated his position while he was gone. Worst case scenario he would have collected unemployment and job searched or taken this other independent contractor position he was offered. But the bottom line is no job, no mortgage loan, no house and now we don't have to worry about that. Win-win because provided the company doesn't find another position for him by Tuesday not only have they been paying him the whole time he's been gone but now they will have to pay a severance which is just fine because he already found a closer job.
To celebrate last night, I brought home Strawberries with Dolce Frutti chocolate sauce and champagne. The chocolate hardens as it sits so you can make your own Chocolate covered strawberries. We ate as we dipped them but you have to be careful because the chocolate gets too hard to dip. Next time we'll dip them all then eat.
He says the whole situation was stressing him out a bit. Not that I could even tell the cool cucumber that he is. Him stressing looks no different then usual while I am prone to mini breakdowns. I so needed someone like him to balance me out.
While we jumped right into wedding planning when he came home we had to wait on the house hunting until this job thing was sorted out. We are getting that much closer to getting out of this tiny studio and Mj being able to get all of his things out of storage. In fact, we just got back from the home loan office not too long ago.
Everything seems to be falling into place. Exactly where we want it to be.
Everything seems to be falling into place. Exactly where we want it to be.
Hey Mr. DJ
We really lucked out with our DJ. Not only are we getting a great deal but Ralph and Jeremiah were referrals and seem like really nice and professional guys.
At the end of last year a girlfriend of mine hosted a small bridal event at a hair salon. She makes custom bridal jewelry (really beautiful by the way but not in my budget). Mj was still out of the country at the time but I went anyways to support my friend and gathered some information from some of the vendors. As soon as I got my date I called them up and luckily they were available. The prices they quote on their website are much higher then what we are getting.
Mj and I met them at Starbucks last night. They are only charging us $500 for the first hour and $50 for each additional hour. They are going to get there nice and early and not charge for set up. They are also willing to play for about 30 minutes after free of charge. We need them for 5 hours so that is a total of $550 for basic package and lighting which is basically a steal considering that some of the other prices I've seen range from $600's to $1,000's. They did offer us up lighting and our name in lights on the dance floor at an additional charge. Having our names displayed in lights would be a really nice effect and make me feel a little bit like a star but I don't think we will pay extra for that. I am considering the up lighting though. They said it helps set the mood and darken the area a bit which might get more people on the dance floor which means more fun for everyone.
You have to be careful if you are getting a low price because sometimes you get what you pay for but my girlfriend has basically vouched for them by having them at their event so I feel comfortable with them. We got another huge packet in addition to the one we already got from our venue so that means more homework! We have to come up with some must play songs and sort out a timeline for announcements etc.
Whoo hoo! I am under budget on my DJ. I couldn't be more happy about that. Next vendor to tackle: The all important photographer. I found 3 online that are in our price range, available and with portfolio's that I like so I will be making some decisions about that this week.
At the end of last year a girlfriend of mine hosted a small bridal event at a hair salon. She makes custom bridal jewelry (really beautiful by the way but not in my budget). Mj was still out of the country at the time but I went anyways to support my friend and gathered some information from some of the vendors. As soon as I got my date I called them up and luckily they were available. The prices they quote on their website are much higher then what we are getting.
Mj and I met them at Starbucks last night. They are only charging us $500 for the first hour and $50 for each additional hour. They are going to get there nice and early and not charge for set up. They are also willing to play for about 30 minutes after free of charge. We need them for 5 hours so that is a total of $550 for basic package and lighting which is basically a steal considering that some of the other prices I've seen range from $600's to $1,000's. They did offer us up lighting and our name in lights on the dance floor at an additional charge. Having our names displayed in lights would be a really nice effect and make me feel a little bit like a star but I don't think we will pay extra for that. I am considering the up lighting though. They said it helps set the mood and darken the area a bit which might get more people on the dance floor which means more fun for everyone.
You have to be careful if you are getting a low price because sometimes you get what you pay for but my girlfriend has basically vouched for them by having them at their event so I feel comfortable with them. We got another huge packet in addition to the one we already got from our venue so that means more homework! We have to come up with some must play songs and sort out a timeline for announcements etc.
Whoo hoo! I am under budget on my DJ. I couldn't be more happy about that. Next vendor to tackle: The all important photographer. I found 3 online that are in our price range, available and with portfolio's that I like so I will be making some decisions about that this week.
What Color Should I Be?
1.12.2010
I am really struggling with what colors I want to have for my wedding. Me being the practical person that I am really want my bridesmaids to have a dress that they will actually be able to wear again for some other occasion. It feels strange even talking about bridesmaid dresses at all. When this whole concept of planning a wedding started I was only planning on having my two sisters in it and was just going to have them buy dresses on their own in a certain color or basic black or even wear something they already had in their closet if it was appropriate. Then, as the wedding machine rolled along I started to feel like I really wanted my oldest friends to be a part of it also. The number of bridesmaids has grown to 3-5 depending on availability. I didn't want to make a big to do about everything but now it just makes more sense to coordinate.
I love pink. It is absolutely my favorite color. But how will Mj's groomsmen feel about wearing pink accents on their tux's? I already know Mj doesn't want to wear any pink but that's OK because he can be in black and white. The pink bridesmaid dresses look funny online on the David's Bridal website. Almost garish. Making me think it might be better to go with black and maybe do a pink sash to compliment the dresses. Should my color just be pink or pink and black? Black and white is always so classic and so beautiful but I feel like I want that splash of color in there too. I thought about jade green at first because I know the drapes in the reception room are going to be that color and thought about putting brown with it but brown just seems so drab. Other then the bridesmaid dresses I am not sure how else I can coordinate my "color" into the wedding anyhow. Our wedding package includes white or off white linens for the table and one choice of colored napkin. The chairs are gold ballroom style which I have decided not to cover in order to cut costs considering that they are decent chairs although white would be a better color. I still haven't decided on centerpieces yet. Flowers are so expensive that I am trying to come up with some other alternative that might incorporate whatever color I choose.
I need to see and try on the bridesmaid dresses myself. If I don't think the color and the dress is cute and re wearable then I don't want to put my bridesmaids in it. It will also make it easier for me to decide on invitations once I get the colors nailed down.
Guess I better get my butt over to David's Bridal after all and get on with the whole wedding dress shopping thing while they are still having their sale. I was trying to put it off for financial reasons but I don't know when their next sale will be and I don't want to find myself pushing it too close. It will also help me nail down my colors which will help me make decisions about everything else.
Who ever thought deciding on a simple color could be so complicated? That's wedding planning for ya.
I love pink. It is absolutely my favorite color. But how will Mj's groomsmen feel about wearing pink accents on their tux's? I already know Mj doesn't want to wear any pink but that's OK because he can be in black and white. The pink bridesmaid dresses look funny online on the David's Bridal website. Almost garish. Making me think it might be better to go with black and maybe do a pink sash to compliment the dresses. Should my color just be pink or pink and black? Black and white is always so classic and so beautiful but I feel like I want that splash of color in there too. I thought about jade green at first because I know the drapes in the reception room are going to be that color and thought about putting brown with it but brown just seems so drab. Other then the bridesmaid dresses I am not sure how else I can coordinate my "color" into the wedding anyhow. Our wedding package includes white or off white linens for the table and one choice of colored napkin. The chairs are gold ballroom style which I have decided not to cover in order to cut costs considering that they are decent chairs although white would be a better color. I still haven't decided on centerpieces yet. Flowers are so expensive that I am trying to come up with some other alternative that might incorporate whatever color I choose.
I need to see and try on the bridesmaid dresses myself. If I don't think the color and the dress is cute and re wearable then I don't want to put my bridesmaids in it. It will also make it easier for me to decide on invitations once I get the colors nailed down.
Guess I better get my butt over to David's Bridal after all and get on with the whole wedding dress shopping thing while they are still having their sale. I was trying to put it off for financial reasons but I don't know when their next sale will be and I don't want to find myself pushing it too close. It will also help me nail down my colors which will help me make decisions about everything else.
Who ever thought deciding on a simple color could be so complicated? That's wedding planning for ya.
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