How the Hall Won't Look Next Year

I just uploaded overdue pictures from my camera and realized I never added the pictures of the hall that I took when we booked it all those weeks ago to the blog. For historical purposes, here's what the hall won't look like on April 14 next year, because by then it will be done!

#1: The dance floor they'll have to refinish after our guests tear it up.

#2: A bigger view of the reception hall.

#3: Dad saying, "Only one daughter."

#4: What will be the bride's room. Invitation only!

#5: The "big" stall. Important for making sure the bride can use facilities despite a large dress.

Priscilla Should Stay in Boston

My Mom and I stopped into the Priscilla of Boston bridal boutique on Butterfield last weekend while shopping around for Melissa’s bridal shower. We figured we might as well stop in and see if there was anything I would even want to try on before we made an appointment to come back.

We walked in and got the usual “you need an appointment” response – although usually no one is busy when we get that. Hmm. We explained that we just wanted to view their collection to decide if we wanted to make an appointment. They let us browse. Very unusual!

We started pawing through the few racks of white, ivory, pearls and lace. There were some really pretty dresses that combined a lot of the elements I’m hoping to find in a dress, which made us pause and do the dreaded deed – check the price tags.

WAY out of range.

We had fun looking at the rest of the dresses, but both agreed that trying on anything out of range was an awful idea for fear it might look good on me. No garment that is worn for one day of your entire life is worth $5,200 no matter how gorgeous it looks on the hangar. (My dream photographer and dress alone would set me over $10,000. I’d rather keep shopping… or buy a house.)

We made a beeline from the back of the store toward the door and kept hustling when the woman behind the desk, now fully alert, called out “did you make an appointment?”
“We’ll call later,” I responded without another look back.

Cool Digs, Photo Man

We met photographer #2 on Tuesday this week and had a mutual “this is it” moment. It’s not exactly it, but he’s definitely in the running.

On a recommendation from Maggie and Hans, we headed to the (far?) north side of the city to meet Thomas Slack, a self-owned photographer transplant from Michigan. His “studio” is his minimalist apartment where he lives with this girlfriend and adorable cats. (All necessary details. Not really. I just liked his apartment and cat.)

He was really personable and easy to get along with, and didn’t seem upset that we were 15 minutes late after already rescheduling on him once. Bonus to the photographer that puts up with the schedule I cause us to take – late as a rule. We got along with him really well and actually got off topic a lot because we were all enjoying the company. We’re not sure if he was really enjoying the company or just selling his services, but we’ll take it.

This section of this post is as dictated by Gavin to Laura on their drive to RELAYS on April 27.

Relays. 2006. Nearly 30 miles due east of Iowa City.

Ahhhh. Goulet! Is this machine on?

Great, let’s get started.

First, I must say that my heart goes out to all of those in IC impacted by thet severe storms that washed through the region only a few weeks ago.

“What about the wedding photographer?”

Oh that’s right. Wedding photographer.

I too enjoyed the apartment, but I cannot say that I too enjoyed his cats. I had to lie in order to reduce any awkward feel to our appointment with the photographer when he asked ‘Oh, neither of you are allergic to cats?” To which I responded “oh no, we’re fine.”

The appointment went well as we both enjoyed his relaxed attitude and dedication to the craft. He truly seemed to know what he was talking about. For the third time in recent weeks, a wedding service provider seemed to have way too much fun with us during an appointment. You can usually tell the fake laughs like you get at a bridal expo, but when they’re really laughing you know it’s for real.

This was the case when Laura and I invented a new style of wedding day photography. Normally, the photographer will begin his day approximately an hour before the bride slips into her wedding dress.

In an attempt to truly document the WHOLE wedding experience, we suggested that he (the photographer) should follow the bride from her first waking moments of her wedding day to… I’M DONE DICTATING. I have to drive. It’s the man’s job.

Long story short, we joked about him busting out of the closet, taking shots of Laura hitting the snooze bar and putting her contacts in.

West Branch. One mile.

The rest of this post is being written by Laura. As the crazy truckers go flying by at 90 on I-80, we decided it would be best if Laura finishes up for our safety.

Basically, Thomas had a great photography style that we both agreed captured the way we envision our wedding being photographed – a mixture of photojournalism, traditional posed shots and artistic frames.

(Gavin wants me to mention: Now entering Johnson County.)

He has proofs printed and to you 3 weeks after the wedding, and you get a full DVD of the best 500 photos he took and edited from the day within two weeks of the fete. He’s not too big on albums, which was his one major downfall for us. (Gavin says just for me.) Why pay thousands of dollars for a photographer just to hang a couple pictures on your wall. I want the album from the day to show to children, etc. in the future. (Just wait for our kid blogs!!! In the next edition of Susy Q takes a bath…)

Very laid back and loosy goosy compared with Artisan Events or many of the other photographers we are looking into, but that may be a good thing. We’ll see!

(Iowa City. Next 2 Exits.)

You Shouldn’t Have!

One of the best parts of our one-year reverse anniversary, aside from the perfect 80 degree weather – an anomaly in April in Chicago – was the surprise waiting at my house for Gavin and I that afternoon.

We had gone to the Arboretum to scope out the flowers in full bloom in hopes that our wedding day might look something like this year’s April 14 and have similar weather leading up to the date. The daffodil field and Magnolia trees were in full bloom, and the tulips were at that perfect point before the slow decline over the coming weeks.

In good spirits already (me because of the flowers and weather, Gavin because we were going to Sox game that night), we arrived at my house to a surprise from my parents. They had searched high and low for a couple of Easter/reverse anniversary gifts for us that they knew we would hold on to forever. Accompanying a holiday-appropriate engagement card with bunnies on it, we opened the following:

• The cake knives for our wedding. Pretty Lenox pieces with a classic heart design at the bottom. They match the toasting flutes my Aunt Mary bought us immediately following the announcement of our engagement. We’re set for dessert on our wedding day!
• A frame engraved with our engagement date – February 14, 2006. It’s adorable – two interlocked hearts with one opening for a picture. Very fitting for a Valentine’s Day engagement!
• A photo display box from Hallmark that I saw months ago when shopping for my cousin Melissa’s wedding. Very classic and simple, it has slots for pictures on the outside, and hanging albums inside marked for the dates that lead up to a wedding – showers, rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception, etc.

Who knew you get gifts for your reverse anniversary? My parents are so great.

Our high was dampened that night at the Sox game when they were creamed 13-5. Ouch. It was a great day telling of great things to come in the future nonetheless!

Happy Birthday Gavin!

Today is Gavin's GOLDEN BIRTHDAY. Wish him a happy day if you have a chance!

If We Can't Afford their Pictures, Can We Afford their Furniture Instead?

The pitch. And she hits it…

Todd is the photographer we liked most today at Artisan Events, a great photography company based in the city. We had appointment set up for bright and early Saturday morning to find out about my personal favorite based on the Web sites.

We got to the company’s Lakeview studio a couple minutes behind schedule thanks to traffic, but it was worth the trip up. The studio manager, Tina, took us into the back “room” divided from the boutique up front by curtains. We sat on the plush teal, beige and brown couch with matching adorable pillows in front of a the biggest flat screen Apple makes while Tina ran us through the portfolios of the photographers still available for our wedding day.

Of those, we both liked Todd better.

In reality, we probably can’t afford Todd.

The package offered was great, except for the price and the fact that we don’t get to have our negatives until one year after the wedding. Other than that, the album, lots of time and a double team are included. That price though…

This place was partially my favorite because of the selection of albums. They have some very unique options that are actually going to last (some studios have really cheap binding) and are unique. A couple options are nice enough to plunk down right on our coffee table until we have rug rats running around that could potentially destroy our wedding album. Ha!

The other part I love is that every time I’m looking through local wedding magazines and reading about “real weddings” (maybe I can sell our wedding to a magazine?) I look at the photos to see if I like them, and then look at the photo credit to find out where I can find that person. All of my favorites have been this company’s principle, Amanda Sudimack. Sadly, she makes $1,000/hour. If I win the lotto, she’s in.

We’re looking at other photographers before making a decision.

I should go buy a lotto ticket.

Homerun!

Drum Roll Please

Entry #2 from the groom in the wedding blog. Wedding date 04.14.2007. We have traveled far and wide on the world wide web and traversed through the treacherous tables of wedding expos to the north and east. Last weekend, Laura and I completed another task on our Knot checklist. We booked a DJ. His name is Darryl Johnson and he'll be our chauffeur for the evening. Haha! See that was a joke throwing you for a loop because you were probably expecting a Dee Jay, a person who plays records or CDs, and I gave you the name of a person whose initials would be D.J. I'm hilarious. Anyways we didn't get a DJ who plays records and cds last weekend. We went one better and booked a DJ whose entire music catalog is digital and operates through a computer system. Now we weren't completely blown away by this due to the fact that we've seen Soren and Stu do it before at numerous events. But this company was the only one we had seen who promoted this concept at any of the shows.
The company's name is Admit One DJs. You can take a peek of what they have to offer at www.admitonedjs.com. The two managers we met were pretty nice guys with good senses of humor. They currently have 14 DJs in their stables and they feed them a diet of wheat and oats. Occasionally they'll give them a sugar cube, but never before a wedding. Once again, I'm hilarious. Ahem... long story short, we'll be able to update our preferences online (i.e. definitely play and do not play lists, we're taking suggestions for both). If you have any suggestions please post. I don't want to scare anyone but we will not be doing the Chicken Dance due to the fact that some of our guests will have spent time in Asia and the chance of contracting Avian Bird Flu is magnified during the performance of the Chicken Dance. Also, for those from Iowa, we will not be playing the Black Eyed Peas' hit song, "My Mumps". Just too risky.
Anyways, we'd like to thank Tony Lorino for his offer to DJ the wedding. Both Laura and I agree that Tony would've been the best DJ we could find in terms of bringing us the Great Hits from the 50's, 60's, and 70's while delivering us pothole reports in Central Iowa. At the same time, these guys are right down the road in Lisle, and we won't have to worry about them finding equipment and transporting it from Des Moines.
Ok, well that pretty much covers the DJ for right now. Remember send us your requests!!! I believe Laura may post about our encounter with a photographer this morning on the North Side. It was truly delightful. Ok I'll give you a spoiler. We liked Todd. Tune in to hear who Todd is, and why we liked him, even though we've never met him.

ONE YEAR AWAY!

Today is one year away from our wedding date.

Considering that it’s beautiful outside and a paid holiday for Laura, April 14 feels like a damn good decision.

It’s cool to think that on this day next year, we’ll finally Mr. and Mrs! Also notable, we’ve been engaged for exactly two months. Happy reverse anniversary to us!

Asia Stole our Friends

We have gotten some sad news, half of which we learned through comments on the blog. (If you’re not posting, get busy!)

Two of our favorite people and best friends won’t be able to make it to our wedding next year because they have decided to extend their teaching contracts in the communist, dirty land of China. (We can say mean things about said filthy country because we’re fighting and it’s our blog. OUR country lets us post what we want.)

Katie and Steve are both teaching English until summer 2007, and won’t be able to see us get hitched. We are really, genuinely sad about both.

Gavin, ever the thinker, suggested cardboard cut-outs. Steve and Katie could still be in the pictures technically with nary a hair out of place all night. We could pre-record greetings and bits of awkward wedding conversation to make it feel like they are there.
“Yes, um, this Humpty Dance song really was a good choice for their first dance.”

After the wedding, we can even send them both an update on all the funny, witty things they said and did that evening and what our relatives thought of them.
“They thought you were a little stiff, but just loved your joke about the tank engine.”

Katie, how did you make Kyle2 that summer he was at camp? Anyone “know a guy?”

What Time are YOU Available?

DJs and photographers. Both can make or break your wedding memories.

The same can be said about every aspect of the wedding when you’re detail-obsessive like us, but for now we’re just focusing on these two.

The hardest part is coordinating our schedules to find a time when we are free – at the same time. We’ll be throwing a good-bye party for our free time at the Sox game tomorrow night. The party will involve hot dogs, beer and the lesser of Chicago’s baseball teams.

Gavin is heading up project DJ. Members: Gavin and Laura
He has been researching and contacting DJs in the area all week trying to find a few good men (there aren’t any female ones so far) for us to meet that seem like a good fit according to Web sites. We’re passing on the one that offers a free meal to get to know your DJ (what’s in this meatloaf?). Gavin is still considering the Chris Farley sweat-alike.

We’re meeting with Greg from AdmitOne DJs on Saturday morning. Greg is the guy we met at the Bridal Expo that we liked instantly. He seemed… normal. Maybe even funny. He played the Humpty Dance for us and gave Gavin trouble about choosing a song for the traditional mother/son dance. (To Greg’s credit, when he asked us to come up with a song, any song, to prove their digital database was top-notch, I came up with this tune thanks to a hilarious article I had read earlier that day. We probably won’t be playing the Humpty Dance at the wedding.)

If all goes well, we get a discount for signing up with AdmitOne before the end of the month. We’re not giving in to their sly tactics if they don’t seem to be on top of their stuff, however.

Laura is heading up project photography. Members: Laura and Gavin
Taking Gavin’s suggestion to line up appointments with the expensive photographers first as a point of reference for the process, we have meetings set up with two photographers in the city next week. Neither is convenient, but if hired, they’ll have to come to us for the wedding.

The list of photographers definitely needs to be narrowed down further before I drive Gavin mad with a hunt to find the best in 10 appointments with photographers. There should be a medal for the groom that endures that, and we can’t afford medals so we’ll just have to make some cuts.

We’re looking for someone who offers a smart mix of photojournalism, artistic shots, the ability to take portraits that don’t make people look contorted and uncomfortable and someone who can show the big picture of the day all at the same time. It sounds like high expectations, but they’re out there. They just cost a lot. Recommendations of fabulous photographers who deliver on time are welcome! Maggie’s list gave us an amazing start.

Updates will be posted soon since these appointments will probably lend themselves to a lot of material.

While waiting for said updates… this is your chance to do the hump. Do the humpty hump. It’s like a poetic throwback to high school dances. You’ll have it in your head all day.

Le David’s Bridal

I visited the power house of marriage, David’s Bridal, this weekend with Mom, Nancy (Gavin’s Mom) and Colleen. I tried on about 10 dresses and got an education about what I do and don’t like on me.

Disclaimer: These are the posts where I can’t give away too much!

The silhouettes I originally liked are still my favorites on me, but seeing the tops of the dresses was educational. I found a couple styles I hadn’t considered that were very flattering, and also found that the style of my senior prom dress was spot on for a good-looking top on me. (Yes, the prom picture where we look like we’re getting married. I’m sure it’ll make more appearances as the date approaches, and I’ll post it here if I find time to scan it in.)

The funniest ones were those w/ the long trains and ballgown silhouettes. It was like an out of body experience. You look down to see fabric everywhere. Then you look behind you and it just keeps going for so long it looks like a gorgeous rug. You don’t even register or feel like you’re wearing that!

It was a fun time. Every time you come out of the dressing room you look pretty because it’s always a wedding dress! You can’t look bad in those big white puff balls.

The trouble is that I fit into everything just fine and have a figure that looks alright in whatever. It’s a curse and a blessing – no strong feelings against any of the dresses also meant nothing too strong toward any of them. They all started to look the same after awhile and I couldn’t even remember what I’d tried on and which I liked best. Obviously, I didn’t find anything that struck me, but that’s ok because it means I get to try on more!

I knew going in that I wouldn’t consider buying anything, so no disappointment there. The funny part is that the dress I thought was prettiest at the time ended up being only $99 because it’s on clearance since it’s from “last season.” They always look the same. How can you tell what’s out of season!?

Ohhh. Ahhh.

That sound may be heard a lot tomorrow as I try on dresses for the first time at David's Bridal in Lombard. We'll see...

Did I mention? I'm trying on wedding dresses tomorrow!

We're Live on The Knot

For those of you who haven't yet noticed, we set up our Knot page this week. It was a great feeling since you're not really engaged until you have a page on The Knot and join the myriad of couples who have gone on to weddingdom before you. Seriously. That makes it official. You know because you start to get lots of e-mail from The Knot in your inbox. Luckily, I'm interested in most of it.

The link to the page is also listed under our "Links" section to the right.

Leave us some sugar in our guest book if you visit since most of you seemingly refuse to post in the blog, but tell me you're reading it. There's no shame here, only love and online friendship.

Follow Up to the Trade

To answer a lot of questions I have gotten recently, I haven't heard anything back from Arrowhead about whether they'll accept my proposal and barter for a discount on our chosen date. Honestly, I don't even care anymore! I'm just glad we have a date, and I've overloaded my to-do list in and out of work on top of planning the wedding, so either way they swing, I'll ride along and accept it.

The Wait is Over: The Bridal Expo

We survived “Chicagoland’s ultimate bridal experience.” We’re the stuff wedding legends are made of…

…or not.

We attended the Bridal Expo on Sunday in Hoffman Estates. The drive up was on the long side, but you have to go the distance for wedding excellence.

Seriously, this show was not the one we had to gear up for like we thought. It might actually prove to be a good move in the end. We found a DJ and a possible photographer that we liked, got free cake (in multiple flavors!!) and they actually gave out a good wedding magazine at this expo. (The Knot's is by far the best, for those curious.) We got some good leads and ideas in the end and had fun with it all around.

The huge contrast between the two shows was the level of intensity. At the first, out-of-curiosity show, vendors literally jumped into our path to give us their spiel. It was hilarious, but intimidating, purposeful, but stressful. We didn’t want to look at booths after a while. We wanted to get the heck out of the evil maze.

At this show, the vendors were laid back and genuine. We took our time, visited the tables we wanted to and were able to soak in ideas and get some quality contacts. Score.

They still set the show up like a maze, played the ridiculous vendor bingo game and had a fashion show at the end, but at least you could exit from the fashion show without having to retrace the entire gamut of booths. We even stayed for part of the fashion show and criticized/complemented the dresses with a friend from high school that we bumped into while they were perusing the goods. (This friend happened to be my first ever boyfriend from 7th grade – my days as a wild woman. I was looking at wedding attire with my first and my last boyfriends. Ironic? Ok.)

We were tired after the show, but admittedly had a good time and might see some savings and leads come out of the trip. We pick the Bridal Expo, and pan the crazy show at Drury Lane.

The real "treat" was a live performance by an American Idol contestant no one had ever heard of. The grand prize for the day was a free wedding, and this guy would sing at your wedding. People actually started laughing while he was still on stage. You could see people making hypothetical hilarious situations and asking "What if?" while he stood there, looking like a wierd grand prize.

Also notable was that the DJ doing the lighting and sound for the fashion show blew the ballroom's fuse twice (maybe even three times?). The Bridal Expo's president - a male - was in a tizzy each time. Visibly FREAKING OUT. We joked with the girl next to us that there's no way that DJ was going to get any leads from the event...

The Little Things

Basic info about the wedding:

Church: St. James the Apostle Catholic Church in Glen Ellyn
Reception: Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton

Now on to actually planning the wedding itself. The details. The exciting stuff. The stuff you see in your head and can't wait to pick out. Now all I'm worried about is that we're going to move too fast with our killer organizational skillz. Yep, we're so on top of things so far, it's skillz - with a "z."

Game On

It's official. You can actually mark it on your calendar.

April 14, 2007

That's our wedding day. No fooling this time! We (my parents) put down the money today and sealed the deal.

We also took another spin around Arrowhead to see what improvements have been made since we last saw it about a month ago. It's turning out GREAT. The dance floor is in, and is looking good for all those first spins around the floor that will happen that night. It's going to be pretty darn near perfect.

Good choice, us. Thanks, us.

One warning about this date: Make sure you get your taxes done early next year! And if you haven't already done your 2005 taxes... I'm glad I'm not you next weekend.