The lanterns for the centerpieces just came in two humongous boxes and they are soooo cute. They’re even better than the photo! I love them so much!!! The more wedding stuff I keep getting, the more I’m wondering where to store it all until the wedding…
Yesterday I went and met with one of the MCs from Variety (Ray). In addition to everything I learned at the show on Monday night, I found out about some other great options. They also have strings, a jazz trio, and lots of video options. I think I would really like strings for the ceremony. Between that and the Sinatra singer, I think I would feel like I have enough live music to make me happy, and then we could have a DJ for the rest. We also talked about the fact that Pete and I have 4 songs that are potential first dance songs, and Ray had some great suggestions for incorporating all of them throughout the night.
As far as the video, it’s interesting to know that they can have plasma TVs which show a picture slideshow and then photos and live video throughout the night. It would be nice for people who aren’t close enough to see the action, for example when everyone gathers around for the cake cutting. I’m not sure how I feel about the look of the large TVs at the reception though. Does anyone have opinions?
Tonight, Kristin and I went to a bridal expo in Uniondale. I didn’t set out with this intention, but it ended up being all about the music. First, Kristin had a fabulous idea. She is an amazing composer and musician and she came up the the idea of playing piano at the wedding! I’m so excited to get such a personal gift from Kristin.
At the expo, we saw a 9-piece band called Nightflight and sample performances by Variety Music (DJs and entertainers). I am totally impressed with Variety’s Frank Sinatra singer. He was so perfect! We are strongly considering booking him asap. I also really liked Harry’s MC style. The best part is if we do decide to go with Variety, I won a coupon at the expo. While they were performing they called some of our names to come up to the stage and we had to dance in front of everyone to get our prize!
Then the band performed, which was really fun. The male lead singer was amazing at imitating different singing voices. I’m having a hard time deciding if I would prefer a band or a DJ. Pete is leaning toward DJ. One of the songs that Nightflight performed tonight completely captured my attention. It is a great song to dance to and I think everyone knows it. It’s going to be perfect for the last song at the wedding! When I got home, I downloaded the last song on iTunes, and Pete and I danced to it in our bedroom!
After Laura was fitted for her dress, we rushed home and drove out to Atlantica for the hors d’oeuvres tasting – 52 hors d’oeuvres in all! We also got to try all the options for the stations, the champagne & wine and the cakes & fillings. Read the rest of this entry »
On Friday, I had picked out a dress for Laura that was different from the other bridesmaid’s dresses in cut, but the same in every other way. I really like the idea of the maid of honor having a unique dress. Today Laura came to the store with me to get measured. The dress I picked was okay, but we found an even better one. I think it’s going to look amazing on her once we get the alterations done. I’m pretty excited about the dresses, and now we are half way done with the measurements!
The dresses we picked are by Jim Hjelm. They come in a fabric called “satin faced taffeta” which I am in love with and they are a soft oceany blue-green (they call the color lagoon) and there is a taupe accent fabric. I just love the look of it. Here’s a sample of the color on another dress:
I met Stacy at Penn Station this afternoon and we walked to the bridal shop where we are getting the bridesmaids’ dresses (RK Bridal). We both tried on a bunch of dresses that came in the fabric I had picked out. Once Stacy found the best one, she practiced her walk, dancing and her entrance! I thought it was really cool to have someone brave enough to do this in the store, so I could see how the dress moves etc. One of the other customers took it the wrong way and thought Stacy was the bride. She said she was scared for me because she thought Stacy was demonstrating what I had to do at her wedding!
While we were there, I talked to the staff about the fact that the bridesmaids are all from other places and we can’t all come in at once and they had the perfect solution for our situation. I filled out a sheet with each bridesmaid’s information, and which dress she should be fitted for. Then they keep the sheet there and hold it until everyone is measured and then order all the dresses at once. That way we make sure they are all from the same dye lot and the color is identical on each dress.
Tonight Pete was surfing the internet and said to me, “What does I’m feeling lucky [on the google page] mean?” I said, “Don’t know.” He decided to click it (after typing in his own name) and this is what he found.
I have been struggling to come up with a concept for the table centerpieces at the reception because neither Pete or I have loved any flower arrangements we have seen. I finally found an inspiration photo that we both really like! I love the lanterns, and the sand and starfish fit perfectly with our theme. As far as what goes in the vases, we still have some work to do, but at least we love the rest of the tablescape!
Last night I finished printing envelopes, attaching stamps and sealing up all the save the date cards. Today we dropped them in the mail, so keep an eye out for yours! We really love them and had to admire them one last time before we sent them. We hope you like them too. There are a few stragglers who haven’t given me their mailing address…so if you’re one of those people, get with it!
I know it’s probably a little early, but I was so excited to pick out something special to thank my bridesmaids that once I found the perfect gift, I just couldn’t wait. I’m beginning to find it a little hard to keep a blog about the wedding planning because I don’t want to spoil any surprises for anyone! Well, I guess all I can say is that I decided to get a gift that is personalized for each bridesmaid, just like most of the recommended gifts are! But I tried to get something that everyone will really love, not a silly pink flask or anything like that…