Professional Pictures!

While we were away on our honeymoon (!) our professional pictures arrived! I was obviously so excited about them and they're perfect and exactly what I imagined. So I really want to post some - not all - there are 1,600 of them. Here are some shots from when we arrived at the venue. :)

We arrived with our hair and makeup done so all we had to do was get dressed!

 

 

 

Our pictures were taken by Damien Gaudet.  

More tomorrow :)

Winner? Not so much...

Yesterday my mom and I went to that bridal show I was talking about. Do you remember?

Well, I was really excited because they had a raffle... and the prize was $10,000 toward your wedding!

Amazing right? It sounds perfect? Well....

What they failed to mention to me (through email, or in person) was that you could actually only WIN the raffle... if you HAD NOT yet booked your wedding!

UHM?! WHAT? I read the fine print... and that wasn't anywhere in it.

We spent wasted our Sunday afternoon (3.5 hours to be exact!) because they were pretty clear that to be entered you had to arrive early and be present for the drawing at 3:30 (which ended up being more like 4PM).

So we waited around... and waited... and waited... and right before the woman chose a name she said, "of course, if you're already booked here with us you're not eligible to win this prize".

haha. [completely sarcastically].

No, honestly all we could do was laugh. Because, of course, that would happen.

But it wasn't all bad... because my cake bakery was there -- so we ate cake, and my florist was there:

And I got free stuff! Like makeup (great colors... which is rare!), and "his" & "hers" t-shirts! I'm sure they'll be making an appearance on the blog on some point.

All in all... I was disappointed but was able to laugh it off -- the entire ride home.

My last bridal show

I've been to a number of bridal shows and wedding expos since we've been engaged. In the beginning of our engagement actually, I was going to them every weekend AND sometimes on weeknights. I was crazy. But then after we chose our venue there didn't seem to be a need to continue going to them so obsessively.

However, today at OUR venue where we are getting married (in 97 days) -- there's a bridal show.

I just found out about it yesterday and at first I was like "ehh..." but then I found out they are raffling off $10,000. Yes, ten thousand dollars. Imagine? Winning $10,000 towards your wedding... that would be amazing.

So even though the chances of winning are pretty slim... and I have all my vendors which means I really have no reason for spending a few hours there today... my logic is that someone is going to win. And why couldn't that be me?

;) Thanks for all your kind words about my invitations. They're growing on me. I swear.

Dinner plans

For my birthday, my parents got me a gift certificate to the restaurant affiliated with Christina's [our venue].

The restaurant menu is not exactly the same as their wedding menu but it's pretty similar.

So last night, we went to dinner there!

It was beautiful! I loved it! Another good thing is because we're having our wedding there, they've offered us their private room for our rehearsal dinner. Usually it costs money to rent the room, but they waive the rental fee because of our wedding. =)

The food was great and just look at that cake! It's the biggest piece of cake I've ever seen in my life.

Oh, and, I enjoyed a cotton candy martini. Yum.

Our venue is BOOKED!

It's official!

July 16, 2011 at Christina's in Foxboro!

Our wedding planner is so helpful! She's completely open about how to save money, what looks good and what doesn't look so good, the best vendors to go with... I'm so excited!

Although I've been an avid reader of The Knot and Wedding Wire, I've now joined Martha Stewart =)

And on HER website, I found an adorable task "she" recommends the bride and groom give to any children at the reception:

"Keep your littlest guests occupied with this photographic scavenger hunt. Who knows? One of them might even snap your favorite shot of the night.

Place a card, a disposable camera, and a pencil at each child's setting, and see which kid can photograph all the items on the list first. You won't need an incentive to get the kids playing, but a small prize for the winner is a good idea."

The list is full of picture-taking tasks such as: two people hugging, a group of people dancing, a gold shoe, etc,. I think it's soo cute! My problem: We won't have that many kids there. The youngest being 7 or 8 (I think!). But hopefully, I can figure out a way to incorporate this. I just LOVE it.

Our next tasks are to secure our DJ, officiant, photographer and limo (if we chose to have one).

I can't wait.

I also have the cutest bridesmaid craft that I'm working on =) more on that later.

So exciting!

We went to Danversport Yacht Club today, but we weren't too impressed. Although the ballrooms and the outside space are absolutely gorgeous (right on the water!) the inside of the building wasn't so glamorous.

So! I've put a date on hold at Christina's.

July 16, 2011!

We'll probably bring a deposit to them next weekend! =)

Christina's

Hour by hour, I'm leaning toward my venue choice of Christina's. I can't fully decide and Sean doesn't want to put a deposit down anywhere until I'm 100% positive (in fear, I'll change my mind and blame him - WHAT? haha....)

I just love the package deal, how it includes EVERYTHING minus a photographer which is just SO convenient.

In the beginning, I wanted to do everything myself. But the more I get into all of this, I'm finding more and more things that you need to do/find/pay for! Insane. I think it would be so hard to do it all myself.

Another thing I love about Christina's is APPARENTLY they pay their staff at a higher rate (because ALL they do is functions, they are able to do this) so that there are no additional gratuities necessary - whereas many other venues, in this state, require an additional 20% PER PERSON. Which is pretty steep! I think.

I can't decide if I want to put a 10 day hold on a date at Christina's (no deposit necessary) while I contemplate and possibly still visit other venues, or if I want to end my search now and just book a date.

I don't want to make a mistake, but I also don't want to miss a great opportunity... or the date I have my heart set on.

But, if I'm not sure does that mean I don't LOVE it? I mean, my choice of dress came so easily... shouldn't everything else as well?

Oh, dear.

Tiffany Ballroom

Today we went to The Tiffany Ballroom, and I wanted to LOVE it. I thought I would love it, but unfortunately it wasn't all that I thought it'd be.

There's no place to have an outdoor ceremony, which I'm interested in. And the indoor ceremony location isn't very nice. There was no "wow" factor for me there. The cocktail room location was nice, but because it's in a hotel, guests would be walking through during the hour - I'm not a fan of that. The space itself was beautiful. There was plenty of room, comfortable chairs to sit in, and plenty of tables to put drinks on - but random people walking through - definitely a turn-off.

The ballroom was very nice. It wasn't as gorgeous as I think the pictures make it seem - but still beautiful. The price, although a little bit higher, is pretty comparable to Christina's.

Except, Christina's includes more things in their package like a 10-person limo, invitations, uplighting, videographer (for 7-hours), floral centerpieces, all the decor, 2 full bars inside the ballroom, a bridal and a groom suite (available up to 5 hours before the start of the ceremony), etc,.

We actually ended up going back to Christina's today, so that Sean could see it. He really liked it and said it was more aesthetically pleasing to the eye than The Tiffany Ballroom.

So I think it's safe to say that Christina's is looking like the best possibility, as of right now. Despite the lack of "wow" factor for me... I know that once it's all set-up, any ballroom will look beautiful.

I like that they cater to your every wish and really make you feel like you're the only person in the world... that's always a plus =)

Pretty in Pink

This is a Priscilla of Boston dress. I like it more in pink or purple and of course black. But the blue was the only picture I could save on to my computer.

I cannot wait to see The Tiffany Ballroom on Monday. =)

I'm also waiting to hear back from Lake Pearl with a potential proposal!!

Such excitement.

Spontaneous Open House...

Today my mom, Barb and I went to an Open House at Lake Pearl Luciano's in Wrentham. There wasn't an enormous "wow" factor for me, but the outside grounds were beautiful. The ballroom could be dressed up with cute white lights (for an additional fee) and that may add a little bit more elegance into the room. It's a little tacky... so anything to make it more like a fairytale wedding and less like - what it is now, would help.

The prices are similar to The Tiffany Ballroom (which I have SUCH high hopes for - I can't wait to see it!); however, it doesn't include one hour open bar, hotel accommodations with breakfast the next morning and some other things I was interested in that The Tiffany Ballroom offers.

I almost feel like I don't want to look or think about another place until I see that venue. I just hope I love, love, love it. And if I don't, I think I'm going to be really disappointed.

Tomorrow there's a Bridal Show in Natick, we MAY attend. I have tickets, but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the plethora of information I have collected and feel like I need a good filing system so as not to miss out on anything.

Today's Possibilities!

I spent my morning looking at two potential locations. Both are in Foxboro, and neither have hotels on their grounds but there are hotels nearby (about 1 mile)... still not exactly what I want though.

Christina's, was very nice. Although there's no outdoor area with lots of open grass space or water close by, there are very nice flowers and trees that surround the small outdoor area that is available. The ceremony pictures they were able to show us looked fantastic. The cocktail area is nice and the actual ballroom is definitely a standard wedding facility. There's no immediate "wow" factor but ficus trees with white lights as well as uplighting is available at no additional cost - which means we could dress up the room to make it look more like us and less like a banquet hall. The package deals are simply amazing. Everything we would need - food, dj, perks for the wedding party, flowers, videography, one hour open bar, etc., etc., etc. [Literally!]. The list keeps going on and on and it's all very reasonably priced. It's a place that I will bring Sean to [he decided to opt out of today's festivities] just to get his thoughts on the venue.

From there we attended an open house at Lake View Pavilion. There was a definite "wow" factor but the practicality of the venue just isn't there. There's no bridal suite so they expect the bride to arrive at the venue ready - which just isn't possible, and I wouldn't want to try to work it out. We walked all around the [GORGEOUS!] ballroom and still couldn't locate the bathrooms. It's very pricey and everything that allows the ballroom to have its' "wow" factor is an additional cost.

Now we have a little bit of a break from visiting venues. The next planned date is a road trip [!] to New Hampshire on February 27th. We will be seeing three different locations which I'm very excited about! To me, that just screams "destination wedding" and I loooove that =)

New Venues!

On Wednesday, my mom and I, saw Tewksbury Country Club. It's absolutely beautiful! Definitely a place that I want Sean to see. The inside is gorgeous and the outside space is just what I'm looking for. The only thing I see as a problem is the distance between the venue and hotels. I really want people to stay over, and feel like the best way to make that happen is to pick a venue that has hotel rooms on the property. But we'll see!

Today, Sean and I saw Publick House! It's very cute. It has the hotel space I'm looking for and has an old time charm we haven't seen in a venue yet. It's very "New England" and I'm sure in the summer the grounds are absolutely beautiful. Even though, some people think I won't enjoy an outdoor/tent wedding (heat, bugs, bees, etc.) that's what I would want at this place. So, in May (once the tent is set-up) we are going to go back.

They have really good prices and lots of different things are included in their package - which is a plus. It's definitely a possibility.

Also, got my dress! It takes up a lot of space... let's just say the back seats had to fold down in order for it to fit in the trunk...

Tomorrow - we see even MORE venues!




These shoes are on Sean's wish list. Along with a mohawk, and a Sean John suit. Oh, dear lord.

The next few days!

So, we've gotten our first potential budget proposal for The Villa and unfortunately, it's a little out of range. Unless, of course, we want to continue living on (only) pasta for the next ten years. Literally. And probably live on the street. Seriously.

So, even though it was absolutely beautiful, we'll keep looking. Unless we come into lots of money, very quickly. [Doubtful].

So, I have a very busy next few days!

Tomorrow, immediately after work, my mom and I will be driving to Tewksbury Country Club, where an open house will be happening from 6-8. I basically want to see the grounds and check out the most important things [to me]... carpets - or lack of one preferably, ceilings, amount of windows (for picture purposes), and bathrooms - because let's be honest, that's a necessity.

This weekend, I have more to do!

Saturday, Sean and I will be looking at Publick House in Sturbridge, which I'm hoping I will love enough to bring the parents back to. And in the afternoon, I will be picking up my wedding dress!

Sunday, my mom, Barb [I think] and I will be going to Christina's for a tour followed by an open house at Lake View Pavilion.

Maybe, I'll LOVE one of these venues, but if not... there's plenty more!

Busy, busy! But lovin' it!