Another Productive Day!

With 11 days to go:

• Ordered 12,000 ivory rose petals, 750 ivory roses (250 Amelia and 500 Vendela), and 80 stems of white hydrangeas!
• Finalized rentals!

I'm on a roll baby!

Checklists

Okay all you Future Mrs. out there!  How many of you are "list ladies?"  I know I am!

Let's go through my major to-do list:

Done:
Venue: Check
Officiant: Check
DJ: Check
Photographer: Check
Cake: Check
Order Wine and Champagne: Check
Order Favors: Check
Pick-Up Wedding Bands: Check
Wedding Dress/Suits: Check
Groom: Check!

Still To-Do
Rentals: Finalize this week
Flowers: Finalize this week
Follow-Up On RSVP's: Hunt down the stragglers this week!

Am I forgetting anything?

Save-On-Crafts.Com

Who loves Save-On-Crafts.Com?  I do!  I have used Save-On-Crafts for everything from floral foam spheres, to candles, flower girl baskets to centerpiece mirrors, and floral tape to natural branches.

As a premier site for catering, special event planners, wedding planners, and the DIY bride, they have everything you want, and a few things you didn't didn't even know you had to have!  They have pretty much everything you will need, minus fresh flowers, at a great price.

I just opened my shipment of floral supplies.  I can't wait to use my Oasis Mini Deco Holders to make the pillar arrangements for our family tables!  I'm even considering using one of their great DIY projects, a floral tree, for our sign-in table.

Everything ships from Watsonville, CA, which is great news for you west coast brides; I placed my order on a Friday morning and received it the following Monday.  Everything is packed with care, and shipped via UPS.

Have you found any great deals out there for DIY brides?  I'd love to hear about them!

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Hey Mr. DJ!

As many of you know, the only item on my checklist that I have seriously procrastinated on was hiring our DJ.  Part of the reason for my reluctance was my dread of having the now famous, "I know you're awesome and normally charge a gazillion dollars, but we are hoping you can work within our budget," conversation.

I finally started the process of making calls and sending out emails at the end of last month.  We had three promising leads;  two were referrals, and one that was on our venue's "vendor list."  None of them worked out (insert moment of slight panic here).

• The first referral did not return a single one of my calls over a three week time period; I made just enough calls to possibly be considered a stalker ;-).  
• The second referral passed me off to another person in his company, without ever even acknowledging that he had received my message.  That employee proceeded to tell me that he wanted to meet with me to convince me why we should increase our DJ budget by 400% because of their awesomeness. 
• The third DJ (who was on the vendor list) tried to over-sell me, then, when I wouldn't budge on our bottom line, agreed to "cut me a deal" that was still 40% over our budget.  The final straw was when he told me at 3:00 p.m that the "deal" expired by close of business that day.  No thank you.

Back to square one!  Luckily one of my friends at work asked me if I had hired anyone yet.  When I said "no" she reminded me of a DJ that we had used for one of our Company Events a couple years ago.  What a great reminder!

Ladies and gentlemen!   May I introduce, DJ Hustle!!!  He has been awesome to work with.  We signed the contract last night, and are really looking forward to him being our DJ and MC!

Ladies & Gentelman! Our Recessional Song

Mr. T has spoken!

Color Board: Mine!

Ladies and Gentleman!  I am proud to announce that I have finalized the color board for my own wedding!  Good timing, considering that we have just over a month to go!

Do you have your inspiration/color board finalized?  What has been your favorite part of the planning process?

The Rehearsal Dinner

Now that we are getting closer to the big day we have selected the restaurant for our rehearsal dinner.  Drum roll please!

We have selected Paul Martin's American Bistro!  With their mantra "Eat organic. Believe in sustainable. Buy local. Love fresh," the restaurant is one of our favorites in our area.  With two current locations, one in Roseville, CA, and one in El Segundo, CA, and a third opening in the fall in Irvine, Brian Bennett and restaurateur Paul Fleming have given us a restaurant that you want to come back to again and again.

We have always enjoyed the experience at Paul Martin's, whether we are popping in  for happy hour, a quick lunch, or a romantic dinner.  A few of my personal favorites off of the ever changing seasonal menu are the Catroville Artichoke, the Marinated Skirt Steak, and the Meyer Lemon Crème Brulee.  Don't forget to try one of their signature cocktails as well; the Red Pear Martini is a favorite!

We look forward to sharing the night before our special day with family and friends at Paul Martin's!

Paul Martin's American Bistro
Roseville, California
1455 Eureka Road
916-783-3600
Reservations

El Segundo, California
2361 Rosecrans Ave.
310-643-9300
Reservations

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Color Board: Spring!

I have to say that I am so happy that the sun is shining again. I love spring! The flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and love is in the air.

Here are two of my favorite spring themed inspiration boards; aren't the gorgeous?

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Signature Drinks

To host, or not to host, that is the question. Mr. T and and I will be doing a combination of a hosted and a non-host bar. We are starting off the day with a hosted wine and champagne bar. We are also hosting selected cocktails. We will be finishing off the day with a cash bar.

One thing to consider is having a signature drink. You and your future Mr. will can have fun finding the perfect drink that represents the two of you. Since we're going to Hawaii, we could call our signature drink a "Maui Sunset." What would your signature drink be called?

Floral Fiesta

Many brides are empowering themselves by taking on DIY projects.  Some because they love the challenge, some because they are crafty, and some for budgetary reasons (like me!).

If you have decided to go DIY for your wedding floral, the question becomes, where to begin!

• Create a Concept
• Google Images is your friend!  If you are unsure of what you are looking for, type in "wedding floral" into Google, click Images, and then select a color to start your search.  The possibilities are endless!
• Look through wedding magazines and start your own "look book" of ideas you like.
• Do Your Research
• Youtube is a great resource.  Search for DIY wedding bouquets and centerpieces (see below for an example video).
• Look-up what flowers will be in-season around your wedding date for cost cutting!  Nothing is worse than falling in love with a flower and finding out that it is triple the cost because it is out of season.
• Try out  your concepts on Designed by The Bride, which allows you to create virtual bouquets, centerpieces, and cakes.
• Decide Where to Buy 
• There are several options when it comes to purchasing your own fresh floral.  
• You can purchase directly from a florist.  Some florists will work with you, allowing you to use their tools/shop to create your arrangements.
• You can purchase wholesale locally.  This is more cost effective than purchasing from your local florist.  It can be a little overwhelming if you've never been in a flower market before.  If your town does not have a flower market, search online for "wholesale florist" in your area.
• You can purchase wholesale online.  This is my favorite option!  There are plenty of online wholesale florists, including my personal favorite, Global Rose.  I have used Global Rose many times and can highly recommend them for both their quality and pricing!
•  Get the proper tools.
• Craft stores are a great place to get the floral tools and supplies you will need to make your own arrangements.  Remember! Always check for coupons!
• Buying your supplies online, from a supplier like Save-On-Crafts, is a great way to save money.  They will also have items you cannot find in your local craft store.
• Get Your Team Together!
• You don't want to do this alone.  Ask around; you will be surprised how many of your girlfriends have experience with DIY floral.
• Have pictures of sample arrangements and instructions printed for your team to use.
• Order pizza and block out at least a half a day (time needed dependent on the total number of arrangements.
• Remember To Have Fun!

Destination Weddings

As we went through the process planning we considered having a destination wedding. It was tempting! The only thing that stopped us is the thought that the people we wanted to stand with us on our wedding day would not be able to attend.

Can you imagine getting married on a beautiful beach in Tahiti, or Hawaii. Or, why not think out side the box and look into getting married on a glacier in Alaska, or in a villa in Italy?

No matter where you decide to join your lives together, make it your own!

Unique Centerpiece Ideas

Have you picked out your centerpieces yet?  I know that I am going for a soft, romantic look, with fresh flowers and candles.  Traditional, I know, but I love it!

There are so many non-traditional ideas out there that I just love.  Maybe I can talk Mr. T into having a reception ever five years so I can try them all out? (Just kidding honey!).

Here are few of my favorites:

Purple Passion

I am on a color board kick lately!  Don't get me wrong, I love my wedding color combo of chocolate brown, ivory, and moss green, but I keep coming across beautiful color boards and I just have to share!

The color of the day is.... Purple!  Look at how different these three boards are, while all keeping with a purple color scheme.  I love the shoes from the first, the decor from the second, and the flowers from the third.

Do you have boards that you've come across that inspire you?

The Guest Count

I am a planner.  I come by it honestly, as my mother is a planner, the same as her mother before her. As soon as I said yes (okay, maybe a little before then! ;-)) I was in full planning mode!

I already had a guest list started; we were at 144 people before he sat down with me to go over the list to make sure I hadn't missed anyone.  Now, with our budget, we were under the impression that we should lower our guest count to the point that we would have about 100 attendees.  We thought that this would not be a problem.  We were wrong!

By the time everything was said and done (major cuts had been made!) our guest count settled at 185 people!  With this count we are figuring that we will end up with approximately 150 guests.  And yes, I did use my spreadsheet to track who I thought would come for sure, who was a maybe, and who we knew would not be able to make it.

This made us completely re-think our entire wedding plan (more on that later!).

How many of you had your guest count go up instead of down when you actually sat down and wrote you full guest list out?

An Introduction to My Wedding Planning

Let me start by saying that through this blog you will continue to get to know me.  Now through the planning of my wedding!

I am an Excel junkie, I love my fiance, my family and (luckily for me!) event planning.  I think this will be a good way for me to share ideas, share praise when things are going great, and, hopefully not too often, vent when things are getting frustrating and I am having a "moment" :-).

For friends and family I have planned baby showers,  birthdays, bridal shower, bachelorette parties, a quinceanera, and even a wedding that was not mine!  Being on the other side of the planning is a new experience for me.

I have tons of help from family and friends, for which I am eternally grateful! I am doing a lot of DIY, although I would not say I am crafty ;-).  I love finding new ideas online and am looking forward to sharing some of my favorites.

I hope you all will enjoy the ride as much as I do!

All the best,
The Future Mrs. T

(172 days to go, not that I'm counting!)

Happy 4th of July!

To say that I love this Fourth of July inspired color board is an understatement.  You can see that every detail pays tribute to this holiday, from the drinks and beautiful bridal shoes, to the cake and fireworks send off.

Doesn't this just get you in the mood to have a Fourth of July party?