I was looking forward to the week following the last post since I figured we had the two big things booked and locked away, so I could relax a bit, enjoy being engaged. Sadly, southwest Ohio weather had another idea. I started getting a bit of a sore throat by Sunday night which progressed to a full-on sinus infection by Thursday. That made for a miserable week with barely any sleep, lots of coughing and a Z-pack.
While I haven’t been up to par, that doesn’t mean we didn’t make any headway on the wedding plans. We decided to do our own invitations to save some money. I’m excited and have been brainstorming ways to make them fun and creative without going overboard. Matt met me near my work place on a half day to have lunch and hang out a bit before going in to work the afternoon. We stopped into Michaels to peruse. I’m glad we did. They were having a fantastic sale on paper and stationery. We got an amazing deal on the blank card stock and envelopes we need for invitations including some card stock for embellishments and our separate reception invitations. When I say, “We got an amazing deal…,” I mean, we got everything paper that we needed for under $50, plus some fun red/yellow flowery things that we can use to decorate for the reception. I can’t wait to start experimenting with designs and trying out different things. I will post some of the outcome on here for you all when I get them going.
After chatting with my sister one night, I decided I should go ahead and schedule my wedding dress shopping date. There has been a great summer sale going on at David’s Bridal this week, but it seems too soon to go get my dress already. We’re planning to go on Labor Day weekend, hoping for a sale, and also hoping that I can get myself in a little better shape by that time. There are going to be 10 of us there if everyone can show up! It’ll be so much fun though, and I want to try on the truly awful dresses too, so I’ll have some pictures for you.
Well, here’s hoping that this week is much better than the last!
—————————–
I’m getting married to my, you guessed it, best friend on June 1st, 2013! Matt and I are super-excited and since we have quite a bit of time to plan this thing, I decided it’d be fun to blog about it. Well, maybe not always fun, but at least informative and it might give me a welcome distraction. You can find all the posts by clicking the “Getting Married” tab on the right of this page, or by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!
There were just two things that I have been stressed about to get booked for this wedding, yes, even 11 months before the aimed-for date: a reception venue and wedding photographer.
This week’s post is to let you know that we have them booked! I am so confident about my vendors so far, that I’m going to do a quick review/plug for them.
Both Matt and I have been to wedding receptions here, so when we found out how economical the place was, we knew we had to get it. Located in Trenton, OH, a very farming-heavy community in Butler County, OH, this venue is ideal for weddings and receptions. Barn weddings/receptions have become super popular in the last few years and this 1893 barn is definitely up for the challenge.
The owners, Bev and her husband (Tom, I believe…I did meet him, but it was for a split second), have been doing this for years. their granddaughter works in one of the shops. You can tell that the whole place is a labor of love. During the growing season, the fields surrounding the barn are filled with a variety of vegetables and beans. They have a farmers’ market and a slew of community activities throughout the year.
What amazed me was how excited Bev was about our future marriage. I’m thinking that she must see about 52 weddings a year and yet she was still so thrilled that we are getting married and having our reception there.
Here’s the breakdown of the deal:
For 200 people, we were quoted a price of $3200. This includes catering for those people of a hot buffet (there are two other buffet options available) with three meats (sliced ham with pineapple, turkey breast in gravy, and roast beef au jus) and four sides or salad options. We chose mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans with ham chunks, tossed salad with dressings, and applesauce. Matt hasn’t insisted on too much so far, but he pretty much said it was a deal breaker if we didn’t get those mashed potatoes. Naturally, I accommodated. I love potatoes too. They also provide iced tea, lemonade, water, and coffee.
Any guests above the 200 is an additional $11/person, which is a very good price based on what I’ve gathered from friends and family who have planned weddings before. We can also bring in pop, if we want, but we would be responsible for clean-up and monitoring of that. They will allow alcohol, but again, you are completely responsible for organizing that. They do have china dishes and silverware available, but they typically use Styrofoam plates and plasticware. This is where I expressed some concern. We have plans for repurposing things for this wedding – reducing our waste and lowering cost. I asked her if we could buy thick paper plates instead of styrofoam, so that the material would at least be biodegradable. Bev is in a recycling mode so she was very glad to help out and said that she would price-check for us and if it wasn’t much more than the styrofoam plates, then she would just consider it in the original cost. Just a testament that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask about something that is important to you – you may not get the answer you want, but you also just might.
I will probably do another review of the place after the wedding, but for now, I leave you with the above. I’m very hopeful for what our special day will be like.
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER – Images by Sadie – Sadie Hodge
Just about every one of my friends have commissioned Sadie to do photos for them. She runs the gammut of Senior pics, engagement shots, weddings, mom-to-be photos, baby and kid photo, and full family shots. She first came into our lives when my matron of honor (who will be doing our engagement photos) married her super-cool rockstar hubs. I believe that he and Sadie knew each other from school, but regardless, she did some promo shots for his band and then she did their engagement and wedding photos…then my other bridesmaid had her do mommy-to-be shots, then it seemed like just about every other of my friends had her do their engagement shots and weddings. Most recently, she has done pics of friends’ new baby boy and she was brought in for a surprise proposal session at a Cincinnati Reds game.
I have wanted her to do my wedding pics for a long time, years even! So I was so excited to hear that she was available for our wedding date. She has some different wedding packages which are on her pricing page. I have had too many friends who didn’t get a very good photographer and their groomsmen ended up with a mullet from the shadow, or heads chopped off, or missing whole segments of the night because the photographer sat down to eat his meal during the dinner. I do not plan to be a picky bride, but a top-knotch photographer is one thing I am not willing to compromise on. Sadie is the best and has very reasonable pricing for the quality of her work.
Another really great photography couple that I would have used had Sadie not been available is her friend Tammi Harris and hubs Rudy. You can find their website here. I really like the stuff that they come up with and as a husband/wife team, they work super well together.
Thanks for stopping by!
—————————–
I’m getting married to my, you guessed it, best friend on June 1st, 2013! Matt and I are super-excited and since we have quite a bit of time to plan this thing, I decided it’d be fun to blog about it. Well, maybe not always fun, but at least informative and it might give me a welcome distraction. You can find all the posts by clicking the “Getting Married” tab on the right of this page, or by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!
On June 26th, 2012, my boyfriend’s parents renewed their vows on the beach at Gulf Shores, Alabama, after 30 years of marriage. I was floored when they invited me to come with the family on vacation, but I was even more excited to be part of their special ceremony. It was lovely, at dusk, and we were all dressed up for it. I was the designated photographer, trying to get photos of everyone from different angles. It was really sweet.
My boyfriend and I have been together, officially, since mid-January 2012, but our second first date was December 2, 2011.
I know. I know. That sounds weird. It’s true though! Here’s the gist:
About 5 years ago (sadly, neither of us can come up with the specific date), we were set up on a blind date by a friend and her mother. We went on it, seem to remember having an ok time, but neither of us really being that interested. I’m blaming myself, really. He might have been more interested, but my priorities were completely different back then. It took a trip across the world to teach me that I desired a husband with a servant’s heart rather than a ministry job title.
Regardless, it didn’t go anywhere. We became friends on Facebook, but that was the extent of it. Over the next five years, both of us went in and out of other relationships, I finished college and traveled to Japan, came back to work in a couple different fields. We casually observed each other over that time and didn’t think much of it.
In November, we began talking again and then talking some more. We decided to meet up for a second try at a first date. After all, so much can happen to a person in 5 years, it’s almost like meeting a brand new person. We had a great time. Chose an art festival-type event called “First Friday” up in Middletown, OH. It’s a fledgling art community, but we had a great time and there was plenty for us to talk about and see.
We decided to keep dating, just to see if it really was going well. It was and we decided to become an official couple in January of the next year. I’ve loved our relationship so far. I have never felt so comfortable or at ease with someone else. I felt like I could tell him anything and I wouldn’t face any judgement. When I have an important decision to make, he lets me work it out on my own, giving me his opinion, but not hounding me with it. I respect him for that. Also, I can be the most silly thing with him and it just makes him love me even more. I try my best to return the favor and really, I’m so glad that he can cut up and be goofy without apology. With my family, that is a necessity! None of us really take ourselves seriously.
So, after the vow renewal was over, Matt and I decided to walk down the beach while the sun slipped further below the horizon. His brother needed something out of his car, so I didn’t think anything of it when he returned with Matt’s keys before we really took off on our stroll (he was really grabbing the ring from a secret hiding place). We walked a good way down the beach, the sky getting darker around us. I was just getting tired enough to decide to walk back to the condo when I heard Matt call out my name from behind me. When I turned around, he was down on one knee, holding out what I could just make out to be a ring, saying something about “love, heart, life, would you, me.” He had to repeat to me what exactly he had said later because I was too tickled to really comprehend the actual words. I just knew he was asking me to be his and plopped that ring on as fast as I could.
Let me tell you that I am so glad I was miles away from most everyone during the first few days after being engaged. We waited to become FBO (Facebook Official) about half a day until we could make phone calls to the necessary people and send out pictures of the ring. Once we did, though, our Facebook profiles went quite a bit crazy. But, being that far away from home (southwest Ohio), it was easier to ignore the phones and just enjoy being engaged to each other. Of course, it was super fun coming home and seeing all the special people in our lives for the first time and celebrate the event over and over.
I’m going to try to be diligent and blog about each week as we prepare for the wedding. We are shooting for June 1st, 2013 (pending reception venue), so as of right now, we have 48 weeks to go. I’ve not been very good about keeping my blog the last year, but that’s because my creative writing reservoir was being used up elsewhere. I hope that I can be more proficient at this. We have an official “Wedding Website” set up, but it’s not completely finished yet, so you will have to wait a little while until we can get that put together. Until then, you can hop over to my Wedding Bells board on Pinterest and see what fun things I’m scoping out. Be sure to click on the “Getting Married” category for more posts about my wedding prep and process.
Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah ><>
—————————–
I’m getting married to my, you guessed it, best friend on June 1st, 2013! Matt and I are super-excited and since we have quite a bit of time to plan this thing, I decided it’d be fun to blog about it. Well, maybe not always fun, but at least informative and it might give me a welcome distraction. You can find all the posts by clicking the “Getting Married” tab on the right of this page, or by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!
I’m getting married to my, you guessed it, best friend on June 1st, 2013! Matt and I are super-excited and since we have quite a bit of time to plan this thing, I decided it’d be fun to blog about it. Well, maybe not always fun, but at least informative and it might give me a welcome distraction. You can find all the posts by clicking the “Getting Married” tab on the right of this page, or by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!
Xapa to the World 