IT HAPPENS IN ONE MONTH.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Welcome Chewy!
As promised, here is a post dedicated to our adorable new dog, Chewy!  |
| Earning his name ;-) |
Anyway, so we kept an eye out, and only about 10 days after we moved in, Chewy came to us via craigslist. I'd been watching posts on there, and it isn't always the most reputable site for getting a pet - people will post wonderful things about a dog for "rehoming" and then when it's picked up, it's emaciated or sick or something else tragic. But in Chewy's case, he was found out n' about by a nice young guy and taken in by his girlfriend and her sister. They had already posted about him once, and had also put up fliers in their neighborhood (he was found with a collar, but no tag or microchip. Gah.) Unfortunately they already had dogs AND cats, and were unable to keep him; basically they were giving him away as "free to good home," and were nice enough to include a leash, some food, and a few rawhide chews. So his temporary owner brought him over and we liked him right away! He's a very cute corgi/terrier mix, happy and full of energy - without being hyperactive. He's about a year old.
 |
| Note the wistful look in his eyes - he sees a treat! |
 |
| Doll baby! |
We have him mostly crate trained at this point, and he's getting better about walking on a leash. One of the most important things (especially with a smart, confident dog like him!) is to make sure he knows you're the boss. So in addition to setting the pace for his walks, we make him "work" for just about anything he wants - he sits before we go out the door for a walk, we're working on getting him to "wait" for his food, and when he jumps to greet us when we get home, we don't pet him until he's sitting. He's also been getting more and more responsive to his name, and even though it's a simple thing, it's one of my favorite parts of owning a dog (this is my first dog EVER, btw).
 |
| He does this more than you might think ;-) |
 | |
| Getting a bath from "Dad" :) |
In wedding-related news, MY DRESS ARRIVED! I tried it on and it's ALMOST perfect (there's a little bit of weirdness where some of the different fabrics join, but it looks like it will be a simple fix at an alteration place).
Devin is currently in Chicago until Sunday, designing for Core Project (dance company) and it's been a bit lonely without him...but I am glad to have Chewy to keep me company. Can't believe we'll be married in just over 2 months!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
The whirlwind, as of late.
WoooooEEEEEE it's been a crazy month!
Devin has started his new job as Assistant Electrician for Carmel's Center for the Performing Arts. Carmel is a well-to-do town directly north of Indianapolis. This place is kind of a big deal - there are 3 performance spaces, the largest of which is The Palladium, and everything is completely state-of-the-art. It's great for Devin because he gets to learn some new things and be a part of this place as it grows (it just opened in January and still isn't completely finished). He has a steady (weekly!) paycheck and a flexible schedule - their approach seems to be "as long as the work gets done, you can do it when you want." So some days he goes in at 9, others not til 10 or 11, and he's usually home by 5 (except, of course, on show nights).
And with him getting this job came the apartment search. It wasn't a huge deal because, if nothing else, we could have stayed in my apartment and renewed the lease with both of our names, but we looked around to see if we could find something closer to Carmel. Nothing was looking very promising (my old place had the extreme convenience of good square footage, affordability, and all utilities paid except electricity), but then we found a loft apartment at Woodlake on the northwest side! The ground floor (which is still 2nd floor of the building) has the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and a big bedroom with a walk-in closet, and the loft is a 10x13' space with a skylight, accessed by a spiral staircase. Yep, it's pretty sexy! We looked at it on Tuesday the 6th, applied for it on the 7th, went up to Wixom to rent a truck and grab all of Devin's stuff on the 8th, and signed the lease and moved in on the 9th. Whew! With the exception of a few leftover possessions at my old apartment and some remaining boxes of Devin's random stuff, we're all settled!
Another draw for us with this particular community was their pet policy - $150 refundable deposit and only $10 a month per pet, with no size restrictions (whereas one place we looked at had a $300 non-refundable, and $30/mo. This place also made you pay for all utilities, water, and trash pickup. The $710/mo rent they were advertising could have easily ended up over $900. No thanks!!). This was important to us because even though we didn't bring any pets with us, we have both wanted a dog or two for quite awhile. Which brings me to the next awesome thing, if you haven't seen on facebook - WE GOT A DOG. We named him Chewy and he appears to be a 1 year old corgi/terrier mix. Basically a big bundle of adorable. However, as this post is looking pretty lengthy already, I think I'll devote a separate post to his story :) I will be posting pictures of him and the apartment soon though!
Small bits of news: one of my good friends is having a baby and just found out it's a boy. She wants me to be one of the godmothers (two godmothers as opposed to mother and father). :-D Even MORE happiness at being close by, now there's another kid that I get to see grow up.
I bought us our wedding insurance yesterday, as we're required by TACA to have a property damage/liability policy. $95 from Wedsafe.com.
My dress has been made and is now on its way here!
We're about to send out invitations - should be happening today or tomorrow.
Actively searching for an officiant.
Happy. :)
Amount spent: $1,008
Amount left: $3,992
Devin has started his new job as Assistant Electrician for Carmel's Center for the Performing Arts. Carmel is a well-to-do town directly north of Indianapolis. This place is kind of a big deal - there are 3 performance spaces, the largest of which is The Palladium, and everything is completely state-of-the-art. It's great for Devin because he gets to learn some new things and be a part of this place as it grows (it just opened in January and still isn't completely finished). He has a steady (weekly!) paycheck and a flexible schedule - their approach seems to be "as long as the work gets done, you can do it when you want." So some days he goes in at 9, others not til 10 or 11, and he's usually home by 5 (except, of course, on show nights).
And with him getting this job came the apartment search. It wasn't a huge deal because, if nothing else, we could have stayed in my apartment and renewed the lease with both of our names, but we looked around to see if we could find something closer to Carmel. Nothing was looking very promising (my old place had the extreme convenience of good square footage, affordability, and all utilities paid except electricity), but then we found a loft apartment at Woodlake on the northwest side! The ground floor (which is still 2nd floor of the building) has the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and a big bedroom with a walk-in closet, and the loft is a 10x13' space with a skylight, accessed by a spiral staircase. Yep, it's pretty sexy! We looked at it on Tuesday the 6th, applied for it on the 7th, went up to Wixom to rent a truck and grab all of Devin's stuff on the 8th, and signed the lease and moved in on the 9th. Whew! With the exception of a few leftover possessions at my old apartment and some remaining boxes of Devin's random stuff, we're all settled!
Another draw for us with this particular community was their pet policy - $150 refundable deposit and only $10 a month per pet, with no size restrictions (whereas one place we looked at had a $300 non-refundable, and $30/mo. This place also made you pay for all utilities, water, and trash pickup. The $710/mo rent they were advertising could have easily ended up over $900. No thanks!!). This was important to us because even though we didn't bring any pets with us, we have both wanted a dog or two for quite awhile. Which brings me to the next awesome thing, if you haven't seen on facebook - WE GOT A DOG. We named him Chewy and he appears to be a 1 year old corgi/terrier mix. Basically a big bundle of adorable. However, as this post is looking pretty lengthy already, I think I'll devote a separate post to his story :) I will be posting pictures of him and the apartment soon though!
Small bits of news: one of my good friends is having a baby and just found out it's a boy. She wants me to be one of the godmothers (two godmothers as opposed to mother and father). :-D Even MORE happiness at being close by, now there's another kid that I get to see grow up.
I bought us our wedding insurance yesterday, as we're required by TACA to have a property damage/liability policy. $95 from Wedsafe.com.
My dress has been made and is now on its way here!
We're about to send out invitations - should be happening today or tomorrow.
Actively searching for an officiant.
Happy. :)
Amount spent: $1,008
Amount left: $3,992
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Back in Indiana!
We are back in Indiana (that's right, the man followed me home!) and gettin' thangs done! We're just a little more than 3 months out, and things are pretty dandy. Here's what's happened:
Devin accepted a job with Carmel's Center for the Performing Arts! YAY! This means 1) we will have a steady income, and 2) we'll be close to family. All good things! It's been a busy couple of weeks between job stuff and apartment stuff - we're waiting on a phone call today that will determine if we move or renew my current lease. If we move it will be into a supersweet loft, so we're hoping for that one! Either way, we are DONE with any long-distance shenanigans. Whew! Now we can be excited about getting our first dog...not sure when exactly that will happen, but we love scouting our favorite pet websites.
I bought Holi paint powders (a $25 splurge), to be used kinda like this for our engagement shoot. Not only is this pure awesome, it also ties in wonderfully with our unity paint pour for the ceremony and the prints of famous paintings we plan to have at every table. Yes, ours is an artists' wedding. Ahhh...
I bought my dress ($220, including the fabric swatches I also bought to help me decide between white and ivory). I went through JJ's House, and was even able to give them my exact measurements - hopefully the only thing that MIGHT need adjusting will be the actual length of the dress itself. It should be here in about six weeks, and I can't wait! My bridesmaids are also ordering through this site, so when all is said and done I will be sure to post a review of how everything turns out. Money saver: I've decided to wear a pair of shoes I already own. They're stylish and since I've already worn them for another wedding, I know they won't totally kill my feet!
I also went on Etsy and bought wraps for me and my girls to wear for any outdoor photos that we take ($62). Indiana in early December can be kind of a crapshoot - it might be 25 degrees, or it might be 65. I'm certainly hoping for the latter...
We've decided on a honeymoon location (HAWAII!) and are hashing out the details thereof.
We officially booked our caterer (MCL) after a very tasty tasting. Having never done anything of that nature before, I wasn't sure what to expect, but basically it was a free meal. Score!
We scouted photo locations. This was an especially important step for us because a) we are both photographers, and therefore quite picky about what our photos will look like (more on my philosophy later), b) Anderson is a small town, and so the cool, unique little spots are not always obvious/marketed, and c) with the wedding in December, we won't have any added beauty from flowers and other foliage. This was where Google Maps' street view was very helpful! I looked at their regular map of Anderson and found the names of businesses that seemed photo-friendly, then switched it to street view to get a good look at them (and visited in person, of course). We came away with a few spots that will look amazing, even in winter. It just takes a little bit of vision and creativity to know where to look ;-) And so, I give you a few wintry/grungy/urban wedding photos to serve as eye candy, and a lesson that things don't always have to be "pretty" to be positively gorgeous. Thanks for reading!
Devin accepted a job with Carmel's Center for the Performing Arts! YAY! This means 1) we will have a steady income, and 2) we'll be close to family. All good things! It's been a busy couple of weeks between job stuff and apartment stuff - we're waiting on a phone call today that will determine if we move or renew my current lease. If we move it will be into a supersweet loft, so we're hoping for that one! Either way, we are DONE with any long-distance shenanigans. Whew! Now we can be excited about getting our first dog...not sure when exactly that will happen, but we love scouting our favorite pet websites.
I bought Holi paint powders (a $25 splurge), to be used kinda like this for our engagement shoot. Not only is this pure awesome, it also ties in wonderfully with our unity paint pour for the ceremony and the prints of famous paintings we plan to have at every table. Yes, ours is an artists' wedding. Ahhh...
I bought my dress ($220, including the fabric swatches I also bought to help me decide between white and ivory). I went through JJ's House, and was even able to give them my exact measurements - hopefully the only thing that MIGHT need adjusting will be the actual length of the dress itself. It should be here in about six weeks, and I can't wait! My bridesmaids are also ordering through this site, so when all is said and done I will be sure to post a review of how everything turns out. Money saver: I've decided to wear a pair of shoes I already own. They're stylish and since I've already worn them for another wedding, I know they won't totally kill my feet!
I also went on Etsy and bought wraps for me and my girls to wear for any outdoor photos that we take ($62). Indiana in early December can be kind of a crapshoot - it might be 25 degrees, or it might be 65. I'm certainly hoping for the latter...
We've decided on a honeymoon location (HAWAII!) and are hashing out the details thereof.
We officially booked our caterer (MCL) after a very tasty tasting. Having never done anything of that nature before, I wasn't sure what to expect, but basically it was a free meal. Score!
We scouted photo locations. This was an especially important step for us because a) we are both photographers, and therefore quite picky about what our photos will look like (more on my philosophy later), b) Anderson is a small town, and so the cool, unique little spots are not always obvious/marketed, and c) with the wedding in December, we won't have any added beauty from flowers and other foliage. This was where Google Maps' street view was very helpful! I looked at their regular map of Anderson and found the names of businesses that seemed photo-friendly, then switched it to street view to get a good look at them (and visited in person, of course). We came away with a few spots that will look amazing, even in winter. It just takes a little bit of vision and creativity to know where to look ;-) And so, I give you a few wintry/grungy/urban wedding photos to serve as eye candy, and a lesson that things don't always have to be "pretty" to be positively gorgeous. Thanks for reading!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Having a Charitable Wedding
Here's one of those long-and-involved posts that will cover several aspects of our wedding. I hope readers can get useful information and good ideas...please feel free to share any thoughts in the comments!
It's always been important for me and Devin to have a wedding that we can afford, that doesn't waste a lot of resources and that can actually accomplish some good in the world. For almost a year I canvassed for Grassroots Campaigns to raise money for the ASPCA and Save the Children, two very reputable and amazing organizations. This line of work opened my eyes to all the world problems around me (even more so than usual) and how effective it really can be when many people just give a little of what they have. As a couple, we have a goal to give 10% of our monthly income (similar to an expected tithe at a church), and we plan to begin our charitable giving with our wedding. It's actually very easy to help the world and give back with a little bit of research and creativity.
General Purchases
We all know that weddings cost a ton of money. We will be spending more on this than on anything else thus far in our lives. So why not try to spend it in places where profits are donated to charity? Just today I purchased all of my bridesmaids' gifts (their jewelry for the wedding, plus some body stuff and some food stuff) as well as my (possible) bridal jewelry on thehungersite.com. I spent $194 and with that, funded FIVE HUNDRED cups of food. This site is amazing because you can shop for just about anything you could ever want - they have GORGEOUS jewelry, cool clothes and accessories, and some great deals - but you can also make donations for specific purposes and just click on a link to fund food for Africa. Pretty sweet! And if you have another issue that's close to your heart, they're part of a network that supports things like education, animal rescue and autism research. Mmmm, are you feeling more virtuous yet?
Another way we're being charitable that I've mentioned before is buying from Goodwill. It's super cheap and supports a good cause! I've bought several centerpiece items there, and once the wedding is over, all remaining centerpiece items will be re-donated. Who needs that stuff lying around anyways? ;-) I like to go there to shop for clothing and other household items pretty regularly as it is. Depending on the area, you can get barely-used brand-name stuff, and even some fabulous surprises. My favorite Goodwill find is a huge framed print of one of my favorite paintings, Kandinsky's "Yellow, Red, Blue" for $20. It made my heart sing! So the moral of the story is that Goodwill is awesome all the time, and you should probably shop there once a week. Just sayin'...
Gift Registry
Okay, so not only do YOU spend a lot of money, but when you get married there is a lot of money that is spent ON you, for gifts. So I'm glad I heard of this one before we were engaged - the I Do Foundation. This site allows you to create a registry for charitable donations. You can choose the organization(s) so that your guests know what charities are important to you, and they can donate in lieu of purchasing yet another blender or duvet cover or towel set. But the awesome thing is that if you do still need stuff, you can register with several of their partner retailers (like Target! Heck yes!) and a portion of purchases will also be donated to charity. Win-win, I'd say, and there's pretty much no reason NOT to do this. Give me one, I dare you!
Favors
If you want to physically give something to your guests, then by all means do so. My favorite favors that I've seen are made of plantable paper. It's creative, meaningful, and good for the environment, and anything else along those same lines gets a big thumbs-up from me. However, what's even better IMHO is making a donation on behalf of your guests, which is what we're doing. The hardest part is choosing a charity - whether you want to give to an organization that you've personally been involved with, one that has a huge impact in a lot of areas or something that is significant for many members of your family (a donation to the American Heart Association in memory of a loved one who suffered a heart attack, for instance). Bonus: it might take a total of 10-15 minutes to do an online transaction and print and frame a note stating where you've donated. Compare that to all the time (and tedium) of stuffing 200 bags of jordan almonds... ;-)
THE DRESS
Unfortunately I'm not able to use my own recommendation on this one, but Oxfam actually runs an online store that includes designer wedding dresses - the bummer for me was that they only had one of each, and nothing under size 12. But hey, it will work for some people. Again, wedding dresses also tend to end up at Goodwill. Usually they're straight out of 1984, but you never know when something amazing could appear (I might even end up donating mine...we'll see!).
****
So other than giving to charity, another way to just help out on a smaller scale is by making purchases on Etsy - for awhile I actually considered having a dress custom-made by someone, but then I decided there wasn't really time - but you'll get great handmade items, usually at a lower price than what you'd find in stores, and of course you're supporting a small business owner. Ka-chow! If you've never visited Etsy before, go now. So much great art stuff! Clothes-jewelry-housewares-decor...and PIE.
Well I think this has gone on quite long enough. Thoughts, feedback and other ideas are welcome in the comments. There's billions of dollars in the wedding industry, why not send a few of them to those who need it most?
It's always been important for me and Devin to have a wedding that we can afford, that doesn't waste a lot of resources and that can actually accomplish some good in the world. For almost a year I canvassed for Grassroots Campaigns to raise money for the ASPCA and Save the Children, two very reputable and amazing organizations. This line of work opened my eyes to all the world problems around me (even more so than usual) and how effective it really can be when many people just give a little of what they have. As a couple, we have a goal to give 10% of our monthly income (similar to an expected tithe at a church), and we plan to begin our charitable giving with our wedding. It's actually very easy to help the world and give back with a little bit of research and creativity.
General Purchases
We all know that weddings cost a ton of money. We will be spending more on this than on anything else thus far in our lives. So why not try to spend it in places where profits are donated to charity? Just today I purchased all of my bridesmaids' gifts (their jewelry for the wedding, plus some body stuff and some food stuff) as well as my (possible) bridal jewelry on thehungersite.com. I spent $194 and with that, funded FIVE HUNDRED cups of food. This site is amazing because you can shop for just about anything you could ever want - they have GORGEOUS jewelry, cool clothes and accessories, and some great deals - but you can also make donations for specific purposes and just click on a link to fund food for Africa. Pretty sweet! And if you have another issue that's close to your heart, they're part of a network that supports things like education, animal rescue and autism research. Mmmm, are you feeling more virtuous yet?
Another way we're being charitable that I've mentioned before is buying from Goodwill. It's super cheap and supports a good cause! I've bought several centerpiece items there, and once the wedding is over, all remaining centerpiece items will be re-donated. Who needs that stuff lying around anyways? ;-) I like to go there to shop for clothing and other household items pretty regularly as it is. Depending on the area, you can get barely-used brand-name stuff, and even some fabulous surprises. My favorite Goodwill find is a huge framed print of one of my favorite paintings, Kandinsky's "Yellow, Red, Blue" for $20. It made my heart sing! So the moral of the story is that Goodwill is awesome all the time, and you should probably shop there once a week. Just sayin'...
Gift Registry
Okay, so not only do YOU spend a lot of money, but when you get married there is a lot of money that is spent ON you, for gifts. So I'm glad I heard of this one before we were engaged - the I Do Foundation. This site allows you to create a registry for charitable donations. You can choose the organization(s) so that your guests know what charities are important to you, and they can donate in lieu of purchasing yet another blender or duvet cover or towel set. But the awesome thing is that if you do still need stuff, you can register with several of their partner retailers (like Target! Heck yes!) and a portion of purchases will also be donated to charity. Win-win, I'd say, and there's pretty much no reason NOT to do this. Give me one, I dare you!
Favors
If you want to physically give something to your guests, then by all means do so. My favorite favors that I've seen are made of plantable paper. It's creative, meaningful, and good for the environment, and anything else along those same lines gets a big thumbs-up from me. However, what's even better IMHO is making a donation on behalf of your guests, which is what we're doing. The hardest part is choosing a charity - whether you want to give to an organization that you've personally been involved with, one that has a huge impact in a lot of areas or something that is significant for many members of your family (a donation to the American Heart Association in memory of a loved one who suffered a heart attack, for instance). Bonus: it might take a total of 10-15 minutes to do an online transaction and print and frame a note stating where you've donated. Compare that to all the time (and tedium) of stuffing 200 bags of jordan almonds... ;-)
THE DRESS
Unfortunately I'm not able to use my own recommendation on this one, but Oxfam actually runs an online store that includes designer wedding dresses - the bummer for me was that they only had one of each, and nothing under size 12. But hey, it will work for some people. Again, wedding dresses also tend to end up at Goodwill. Usually they're straight out of 1984, but you never know when something amazing could appear (I might even end up donating mine...we'll see!).
****
So other than giving to charity, another way to just help out on a smaller scale is by making purchases on Etsy - for awhile I actually considered having a dress custom-made by someone, but then I decided there wasn't really time - but you'll get great handmade items, usually at a lower price than what you'd find in stores, and of course you're supporting a small business owner. Ka-chow! If you've never visited Etsy before, go now. So much great art stuff! Clothes-jewelry-housewares-decor...and PIE.
Well I think this has gone on quite long enough. Thoughts, feedback and other ideas are welcome in the comments. There's billions of dollars in the wedding industry, why not send a few of them to those who need it most?
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Still here!
Hello, friends and family...
Posting will be at a minimum for the next couple of weeks...zoh noes! Last week Devin and I were moved out to the cabins to finish up our contracts - so we have more space, but no internet. We've been having a great time the last few days with a light work schedule, so we've been going through music, finding possible ceremony selections and having random dance parties...not to mention lots of cuddling :) His parents were actually able to come up this weekend, and we talked about many details of the wedding. His mom happily agreed to take on the task of assembling centerpieces - she had just bought a lot of pieces from garage sales that fit with the vibe we're going for, and she's crafty like that - so that's a big weight off my shoulders! When we're up here all by ourselves it's easy to forget that there ARE people that will take care of these things for us.
One idea that I just came up with yesterday that I'm totally stoked about is how we're doing the "unity" portion of the ceremony. Of course, the tradition is to light a candle. Others I've seen are pouring sand and braiding pieces of rope. All wonderfully symbolic for sure, but none of them really seem to be right for us. Then it came to me - let's pour PAINT! YES! Totally fits! We'll be in an art gallery, we're both artists (though I am more so in the traditional sense, while Devin's art of choice is lighting design), and now this can be the central element that inspires the motif for the invitations, programs, and whatever else we choose. AH. I love finding things that make sense like that.
In other news, Devin had an interview yesterday that went VERY well (it was a phone interview so I got to hold his hand the whole time :-p) and he's working on getting another one lined up. Hooray for progress and hope and change!
That's all for now, as my time on the internet is about to come to an end...stay tuned for more updates!
Posting will be at a minimum for the next couple of weeks...zoh noes! Last week Devin and I were moved out to the cabins to finish up our contracts - so we have more space, but no internet. We've been having a great time the last few days with a light work schedule, so we've been going through music, finding possible ceremony selections and having random dance parties...not to mention lots of cuddling :) His parents were actually able to come up this weekend, and we talked about many details of the wedding. His mom happily agreed to take on the task of assembling centerpieces - she had just bought a lot of pieces from garage sales that fit with the vibe we're going for, and she's crafty like that - so that's a big weight off my shoulders! When we're up here all by ourselves it's easy to forget that there ARE people that will take care of these things for us.
One idea that I just came up with yesterday that I'm totally stoked about is how we're doing the "unity" portion of the ceremony. Of course, the tradition is to light a candle. Others I've seen are pouring sand and braiding pieces of rope. All wonderfully symbolic for sure, but none of them really seem to be right for us. Then it came to me - let's pour PAINT! YES! Totally fits! We'll be in an art gallery, we're both artists (though I am more so in the traditional sense, while Devin's art of choice is lighting design), and now this can be the central element that inspires the motif for the invitations, programs, and whatever else we choose. AH. I love finding things that make sense like that.
In other news, Devin had an interview yesterday that went VERY well (it was a phone interview so I got to hold his hand the whole time :-p) and he's working on getting another one lined up. Hooray for progress and hope and change!
That's all for now, as my time on the internet is about to come to an end...stay tuned for more updates!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Time for an update!
Hello, all! Sorry for the temporary absence, things get pretty crazy here for the first week of August! But we have been able to secure our hotel and took the first steps toward booking our caterer.
The hotel we chose for our group is actually 20 miles from our ceremony/reception site; that's quite a bit further than what I was hoping for, but it was by far the best deal at only $50/night (and our jacuzzi suite will only be $80, or FREE if we get 30 rooms booked!). I used a priceline service called FindGroupDeals, something that I just happened to find during a Google search, and it took about 5 days but then this hotel finally came through. The way it works is similar to priceline's Name Your Own Price. You enter your location, the number of rooms you want for the specific date, and the max price you're willing to pay. Your request gets sent directly to hotel managers in the area, so if you want to follow up on any offers, you know where they came from and already have that line of communication started. Added bonus: Once you book a hotel, they give you your own page online where guests can add themselves to the rooming list. From there, they only need to call to confirm!
Just so ya know: The first 4 or 5 bids I got really didn't fit my criteria - they were too far away, cost too much, didn't have the amenities I requested. That was a bit frustrating, but obviously it did pay off eventually! Patience seems to be key with this service.
To get the ball rolling on catering, we looked at a few of the caterers on our venue's preferred list. Without going in-depth on all of them, MCL seemed to be the best fit for us. They offer buffet service and their most expensive package is $15.95/person. After seeing some other caterers listing prices at over $30/per, this seemed more than reasonable! I will need to meet with the manager once I'm back in Indiana, but after the initial phone call we have been penciled in to their schedule. Yay!
If our venue hadn't required that we use one of their preferred caterers, we would more than likely be using Gordon Food Service. This is a great way to feed lots of people for a relatively small amount of money, exponentially cheaper than professional catering, and they have tons of options. If you're into DIY food, this is definitely the way to go.
We've also been considering a splurge on a ceremony musician...if we do book him I want to keep it a secret, so I won't really go into detail, but it is difficult deciding if we can really afford him or not :-/ I will also be purchasing (and blogging about) bridesmaid gifts and wedding insurance in the near future...so much to do! Stay tuned :)
The hotel we chose for our group is actually 20 miles from our ceremony/reception site; that's quite a bit further than what I was hoping for, but it was by far the best deal at only $50/night (and our jacuzzi suite will only be $80, or FREE if we get 30 rooms booked!). I used a priceline service called FindGroupDeals, something that I just happened to find during a Google search, and it took about 5 days but then this hotel finally came through. The way it works is similar to priceline's Name Your Own Price. You enter your location, the number of rooms you want for the specific date, and the max price you're willing to pay. Your request gets sent directly to hotel managers in the area, so if you want to follow up on any offers, you know where they came from and already have that line of communication started. Added bonus: Once you book a hotel, they give you your own page online where guests can add themselves to the rooming list. From there, they only need to call to confirm!
Just so ya know: The first 4 or 5 bids I got really didn't fit my criteria - they were too far away, cost too much, didn't have the amenities I requested. That was a bit frustrating, but obviously it did pay off eventually! Patience seems to be key with this service.
To get the ball rolling on catering, we looked at a few of the caterers on our venue's preferred list. Without going in-depth on all of them, MCL seemed to be the best fit for us. They offer buffet service and their most expensive package is $15.95/person. After seeing some other caterers listing prices at over $30/per, this seemed more than reasonable! I will need to meet with the manager once I'm back in Indiana, but after the initial phone call we have been penciled in to their schedule. Yay!
If our venue hadn't required that we use one of their preferred caterers, we would more than likely be using Gordon Food Service. This is a great way to feed lots of people for a relatively small amount of money, exponentially cheaper than professional catering, and they have tons of options. If you're into DIY food, this is definitely the way to go.
We've also been considering a splurge on a ceremony musician...if we do book him I want to keep it a secret, so I won't really go into detail, but it is difficult deciding if we can really afford him or not :-/ I will also be purchasing (and blogging about) bridesmaid gifts and wedding insurance in the near future...so much to do! Stay tuned :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)