Post Wedding Post :)
Hello All!
I've been away for a long time, haven't I? Things got very crazy for a while there between wedding stuff, school stuff, flying back and forth finalizing things, pinching a nerve in my back (yeeouch!) planning to move again soon... internet time kind of took the back burner for a while :)
So, here's the info again:
Lynna and Joe, legally married Feb. 14 2010 in Las Vegas, and then had a big family wedding in my hometown (Erie, PA) on October 17, 2010. We met in the Army and currently reside in Bat Country, CA. He is a lab tech and I am a history major. Colors: purple, pewter, dark pink and ivory. Theme: laid back and cozy :)
Now, onto the wedding stuff! (I warn you, it is a bit of a novel, so feel free to skip to the pertinent stuff like pictures!)
Wednesday I started getting frantic calls at 6am (time difference) from my mother and reception venue because the payment had been due a week before and we had no menu selected. My coordinator had never gotten back to me with the menus and prices, and I (being naive and clueless) had assumed we still had some time. It took me three hours and a lot of phone minutes to smooth over the crisis, and I figured we would have smooth sailing from there on out. Wrong! So we flew Southwest into Cleveland, and they were great about letting me put my dress of doooom in the back of the plane- It arrived without so much as a crease in the skirts :) I started getting calls from vendors trying to figure out what was going on as soon as I turned my phone back on after the flight, and that was the second portent of doom to come... but I wasn't too worried yet so we had dinner and drove into Erie and got everyone situated for the night. That was the last peaceful moment I had until around 1AM Monday morning!
The craziness really got started in earnest on Saturday when I got a call from my wedding coordinator at around 9AM asking how we were going to get into the chapel to decorate and have the rehearsal. Long story short, everything quickly unraveled from there. It became apparent that nothing had been checked up on by said wedding planner (I won't name names yet because I'm in the process of talking to her about what the heck happened), and we had no way to get into the chapel. My husband had to start using his mad computer skillz to track down someone from the school that owns the chapel to get the key, and in the process missed breakfast with my family, and some were from out of town and he'd never met them before. After that we wound up being a half hour late to the rehearsal itself and even then had to do the practice outdoors because we couldn't get inside yet (lol). We then had to clean the place out as they don't use it very often, get the chairs set out (the delivery guy waited an hour for us to get everything ready), and start decorating. Coordinator obviously didn't have a plan on the decorating (despite having seen the place and having pictures of the interior for over a year, and assuring me all the time that she was making plans for it), so my awesome family and wedding party stepped in and took over. There were many errands run and random supplies gathered, and my bridesguy Nick took over as "creative director." Eventually the place came out beautifully. Unfortunately, we were over an hour late to the rehearsal dinner venue, and Nick never made it at all because he was still decorating. Coordinator was MIA four four hours looking for an arch that was never found and therefore never used. I don't get mad often, but I was seeing red, let me tell you!
Rehearsal dinner was a near complete bust with my family and his family eating at different times four hours apart (therefore not getting to meet and mix at all) and me winding up in the bathroom crying for a good half hour. The food and staff were great, however, and very understanding once things were explained to them. But again, my awesome family and friends stepped in and took care of everything. My mom, who can be a bit of an overbearing momzilla when she wants to be, completely came through and was just wonderful. She was totally sweet to me the whole time, put on her General's helmet and started writing lists and making calls, and everyone wound up with a designated task to make Sunday run smoothly (even the out-of-towners). One of my maids got hopelessly lost on the way from the Cleveland airport to Erie, and I strayed up to try to help her get in safely (she is a night nurse and only had two hours of sleep before traveling out!!) We wound up not getting into our various hotel rooms or back to my mom's place until way after midnight, and even then I couldn't sleep because I was freaking out about Sunday.
Sunday morning my groom woke up with a fever and chills, so my uncle and I made a run to the local grocery to get him medicine, a good hearty breakfast and some hot tea. It was then I realized we had no music for the ceremony. (I know, facepalm, right?) I'd completely forgotten about it. Luckily, however, I have an ipod! So between my hair and make-up appointments (which I was running late for) I picked some nice music, put it on my ipod, and stopped at Radio Shack to grab an ipod dock with speakers (my computer isn't loud enough). In between all of this I was trying to field texts and calls from the coordinator asking questions about things like who was getting the cake and what time the make-up artist she had scheduled was arriving (!?). Things that I had thought were already taken care of and organized long before the wedding weekend. I was getting ready to cry again when Nick took my phone away so he could deal with it and my maid-of-honor and bridesmaid (the one who'd gotten lost) took care of me with an Orange Julius at the salon and some mini booze bottles on the way back. Such wonderful friends and people in general, seriously!
We were almost late to the ceremony because of our Radio Shack stop only to find out the chapel already had an ipod dock. I was SO MAD by that point, but from the moment we arrived at the chapel until the reception was over, pretty much everything else went perfectly and everyone had a great time! Even my husband's parents, who had never danced before, got out on the floor and boogied down! Given that the wedding itself went so well, I'm having a hard time being angry with the coordinator. I am still trying to find out what was going on, though.
So Here are my Pros and Cons:
Pros:
-My family and friends are beyond awesome.
-Almost every vendor I hired was awesome; professional, understanding, sympathetic, and a joy to work with.
-Everything turned out fine, and the wedding itself was gorgeous and wonderful.
-The weather was gorgeous all weekend, which is a miracle in Erie, PA!
Cons:
-Saturday should never have been as stressful as it was.
-We were woefully disorganized.
What I learned:
There is such a thing as being too laid back. Maybe if I'd been just a little more of a hard *ss with the coordinator the mess could have been avoided, or I could have realized something was up and gone with another plan long before things got so crazy. Oh well, live and learn :)
Reviews:
Kelly's Sugar and Spice (rehearsal dinner venue): A++ Food was great, staff was great, they made it easy for me to set everything up by phone, and even stayed open over an hour after their closing time to feed my husband's family because of the insanity that was Saturday. All in all they put up with us for over seven hours and did so graciously and kindly. They were a little annoyed at first because of everyone arriving late and at various scattered times and us being there so long, but once the situation was explained they went out of their way to be kind and helpful, which was really nice of them. They even kept my food warm in the kitchen while I was crying in the bathroom, so that I could come out to nice hot prime rib and fresh pie when I was done :)
Montessori In-The-Woods (ceremony venue): A++ They were wonderful. Strictly speaking the chapel is no longer an actual chapel but sort of like the school auditorium, but they let us use it in exchange for a donation to the school and cleaning the place up a bit. They were great about letting us go in to look around at the place before we agreed to use it, and had a nice form pre-printed as sort of an agreement that it was reserved for our weekend. Even with all the confusion they were gracious about everything, and one of the teachers even took time out of her Saturday morning to get the keys to us. Their letting us use the building that used to be our family church meant so much to me and my family. I may send them a little something extra for the school just for being so awesome!
Presque Isle Tent and Table (chair rental for ceremony): A++ Delivered and set up the chairs, also took them down when we were finished. They were flexible with us when the insanity struck and were great about returning my calls and following up on plans and questions. They're affordable as well, and very nice to deal with :)
Capers Reception Hall and Catering (reception venue): A++ I can't say enough good things about this place! As soon as we let them know what was going on with the coordinator, they stepped in and took care of everything, and I mean everything. They decorated for us, set out the favors and our Chinese cookie table, took care of the cake and champagne as soon as they were delivered, and even threw in a free appetizer! The food was beyond delicious, the staff and owners were friendly and helpful, and overall they just really went above and beyond. I would recommend Capers to anyone.
Barbara Brown (officiant): A++ I found Barbara and hired her less than a month before the wedding (don't get me started on the coordinator again...). She went over the entire ceremony by phone with me (as I was across the country) and even ran the risk of being late to a family member's wedding just to make sure we got everything down at the "rehearsal." She was so nice, jumped right in and took charge, and the ceremony was absolutely lovely. My groom cried during the vows. No joke. ;) Again, I would recommend her to absolutely anyone looking for a Christian officiant.
Floral Fantasy Erie, Pa (florist): A++ (noticing a trend?) Phyllis and her staff were great. I stopped in barely two months before the wedding (no florists had been recommended to me...) on the basis that they were located near my mom's house. They were kind and accommodating and even sat down with me then and there for a consultation. I told Phyllis my wedding colors and the flowers I was hoping to use, and she put together gorgeous bouquets and corsages for my wedding party, mothers, reader, and myself. They were understanding about the confusion as to who was picking up the flowers or if they should deliver them (coordinator never called to coordinate like I asked her to), and Phyllis even called me while she was putting the bouquets together just to make sure I was okay with her using freesias (she wanted to make sure the purple color of them was okay to use). Very nice people with lovely flowers, and incredibly affordable as well. (six bouquets, three corsages and a wreath for the flower girl to wear for under $200).
Autumn Harvest Pumpkins (decorations): A++ We decorated with mini white pumpkins that I ordered online. These people were great to deal with and called right away when I put the wrong zip code on my order (headdesk). The pumpkins got there quickly and in great condition, and the pricing was reasonable and even shipped free!
Mason Farms ( more decorations): A++ My mom set about accumulating pots of mums and large white pumpkins for about a week before the wedding, and she said Mason Farms was by far the best place she stopped at. Again, everything was lovely and affordable, and they have a great selection of things like this for decorating in the summer and fall :)
Wegman's (cakes): A++ Delicious cakes done up exactly as I asked, fresh and ready on time (even with a sheet cake being ordered three days before the wedding). What more could one ask for? A grocery store yes, but I got four cakes with fruit filling for under $100. Considering the bakeries we talked to wanted between $800-$1200 for a lot less, I am beyond pleased with them.
Sugar Rush Cakes on etsy.com (toppers): A++ Toppers were lovely and delivered much more quickly than I expected considering they came from Australia. Also, they are pretty enough to keep around the house and not overtly wedding-y.
David's Bridal (Victorville, CA and Erie, PA) (gown and flower girl dress): A+ While one of the sales associates I worked with in CA could have been less bored and acerbic, everyone else from the manager to the seamstress were wonderful (even when I changed my mind four times about my dress, lol!). My gown was ordered online and had a huge black spot right in front of the skirt and some snags elsewhere on it when it arrived, and the alterations woman took care of them on the spot. She listened to all of my questions and made pertinent suggestions, and even put a permanent bustle on my train (because I hate trains). They were great about calling my Aunt (who does not use internet) when the flower girl dress was ready any very patient about two hyper little kiddos being in the store, one of which was less than thrilled to be surrounded by dresses (ring bearer) and the other who was way too excited to be surrounded by dresses. I recommend them to anyone who doesn't feel the need to spend thousands on a dress to be worn for five or so hours, but I do know that service can vary by location
Steven Stallsmith (make-up): A++ He was awesome with my make-up and flexible with my screwed up schedule. He made my skin even and lovely, and that was my biggest concern for the day! (I have awful skin). He was also very nice and friendly and thought nothing of finishing up my lips as we were getting inline to enter the chapel. Also, my make-up stayed on all night, even the lips. He was so good to do this for me at the last minute, too. I recommend him as well :)
Pat Martin Mobile DJ (dj): A++ This guy is wonderful. He sat down with me two months before the wedding and went over the timeline of events, songs we liked, songs we didn't like, you name it. The day of the wedding he was completely in control and everything went off with no glitches, all the music was perfect, and didn't even blink when we handed him a CD with the cut version of our first dance (literally as we arrived at the reception). He kept the dance floor packed the whole time, took requests, and was a great MC. Also, he is a really nice gentleman as well. Would definitely recommend him to anyone!
Penny Photo (photographer): A++ Now I haven't seen the photos yet, but I have confidence in her. Penny is wonderful, professional and very friendly. She also has a great sense of humor! She took all of the craziness in stride and was great at keeping control of my camera-happy relations :) She took the craziness in stride and kept in contact with me, listened to everything my husband and I wanted and delivered it. A sweet woman and an excellent photographer, and I would definitely recommend her!
The round cakes were supposed to be on stands and decorated with champagne grapes, and the sheet cake was supposed to be cut and served in the back. Guess who was in charge of that? Yeah... I was upset again for about two seconds until I thought to myself that we were just going to eat them anyways, and we did and they were delicious!
What Nick with a completely empty stone chapel, potted mums, pumpkins and tulle while I was crying in the bathroom at the rehearsal dinner, lol!
But a good time was had by all, and the happy memories far outweigh the stress and frustration. As far as I'm concerned, that's all that matters :)
I've been away for a long time, haven't I? Things got very crazy for a while there between wedding stuff, school stuff, flying back and forth finalizing things, pinching a nerve in my back (yeeouch!) planning to move again soon... internet time kind of took the back burner for a while :)
So, here's the info again:
Lynna and Joe, legally married Feb. 14 2010 in Las Vegas, and then had a big family wedding in my hometown (Erie, PA) on October 17, 2010. We met in the Army and currently reside in Bat Country, CA. He is a lab tech and I am a history major. Colors: purple, pewter, dark pink and ivory. Theme: laid back and cozy :)
Now, onto the wedding stuff! (I warn you, it is a bit of a novel, so feel free to skip to the pertinent stuff like pictures!)
Wednesday I started getting frantic calls at 6am (time difference) from my mother and reception venue because the payment had been due a week before and we had no menu selected. My coordinator had never gotten back to me with the menus and prices, and I (being naive and clueless) had assumed we still had some time. It took me three hours and a lot of phone minutes to smooth over the crisis, and I figured we would have smooth sailing from there on out. Wrong! So we flew Southwest into Cleveland, and they were great about letting me put my dress of doooom in the back of the plane- It arrived without so much as a crease in the skirts :) I started getting calls from vendors trying to figure out what was going on as soon as I turned my phone back on after the flight, and that was the second portent of doom to come... but I wasn't too worried yet so we had dinner and drove into Erie and got everyone situated for the night. That was the last peaceful moment I had until around 1AM Monday morning!
The craziness really got started in earnest on Saturday when I got a call from my wedding coordinator at around 9AM asking how we were going to get into the chapel to decorate and have the rehearsal. Long story short, everything quickly unraveled from there. It became apparent that nothing had been checked up on by said wedding planner (I won't name names yet because I'm in the process of talking to her about what the heck happened), and we had no way to get into the chapel. My husband had to start using his mad computer skillz to track down someone from the school that owns the chapel to get the key, and in the process missed breakfast with my family, and some were from out of town and he'd never met them before. After that we wound up being a half hour late to the rehearsal itself and even then had to do the practice outdoors because we couldn't get inside yet (lol). We then had to clean the place out as they don't use it very often, get the chairs set out (the delivery guy waited an hour for us to get everything ready), and start decorating. Coordinator obviously didn't have a plan on the decorating (despite having seen the place and having pictures of the interior for over a year, and assuring me all the time that she was making plans for it), so my awesome family and wedding party stepped in and took over. There were many errands run and random supplies gathered, and my bridesguy Nick took over as "creative director." Eventually the place came out beautifully. Unfortunately, we were over an hour late to the rehearsal dinner venue, and Nick never made it at all because he was still decorating. Coordinator was MIA four four hours looking for an arch that was never found and therefore never used. I don't get mad often, but I was seeing red, let me tell you!
Rehearsal dinner was a near complete bust with my family and his family eating at different times four hours apart (therefore not getting to meet and mix at all) and me winding up in the bathroom crying for a good half hour. The food and staff were great, however, and very understanding once things were explained to them. But again, my awesome family and friends stepped in and took care of everything. My mom, who can be a bit of an overbearing momzilla when she wants to be, completely came through and was just wonderful. She was totally sweet to me the whole time, put on her General's helmet and started writing lists and making calls, and everyone wound up with a designated task to make Sunday run smoothly (even the out-of-towners). One of my maids got hopelessly lost on the way from the Cleveland airport to Erie, and I strayed up to try to help her get in safely (she is a night nurse and only had two hours of sleep before traveling out!!) We wound up not getting into our various hotel rooms or back to my mom's place until way after midnight, and even then I couldn't sleep because I was freaking out about Sunday.
Sunday morning my groom woke up with a fever and chills, so my uncle and I made a run to the local grocery to get him medicine, a good hearty breakfast and some hot tea. It was then I realized we had no music for the ceremony. (I know, facepalm, right?) I'd completely forgotten about it. Luckily, however, I have an ipod! So between my hair and make-up appointments (which I was running late for) I picked some nice music, put it on my ipod, and stopped at Radio Shack to grab an ipod dock with speakers (my computer isn't loud enough). In between all of this I was trying to field texts and calls from the coordinator asking questions about things like who was getting the cake and what time the make-up artist she had scheduled was arriving (!?). Things that I had thought were already taken care of and organized long before the wedding weekend. I was getting ready to cry again when Nick took my phone away so he could deal with it and my maid-of-honor and bridesmaid (the one who'd gotten lost) took care of me with an Orange Julius at the salon and some mini booze bottles on the way back. Such wonderful friends and people in general, seriously!
We were almost late to the ceremony because of our Radio Shack stop only to find out the chapel already had an ipod dock. I was SO MAD by that point, but from the moment we arrived at the chapel until the reception was over, pretty much everything else went perfectly and everyone had a great time! Even my husband's parents, who had never danced before, got out on the floor and boogied down! Given that the wedding itself went so well, I'm having a hard time being angry with the coordinator. I am still trying to find out what was going on, though.
So Here are my Pros and Cons:
Pros:
-My family and friends are beyond awesome.
-Almost every vendor I hired was awesome; professional, understanding, sympathetic, and a joy to work with.
-Everything turned out fine, and the wedding itself was gorgeous and wonderful.
-The weather was gorgeous all weekend, which is a miracle in Erie, PA!
Cons:
-Saturday should never have been as stressful as it was.
-We were woefully disorganized.
What I learned:
There is such a thing as being too laid back. Maybe if I'd been just a little more of a hard *ss with the coordinator the mess could have been avoided, or I could have realized something was up and gone with another plan long before things got so crazy. Oh well, live and learn :)
Reviews:
Kelly's Sugar and Spice (rehearsal dinner venue): A++ Food was great, staff was great, they made it easy for me to set everything up by phone, and even stayed open over an hour after their closing time to feed my husband's family because of the insanity that was Saturday. All in all they put up with us for over seven hours and did so graciously and kindly. They were a little annoyed at first because of everyone arriving late and at various scattered times and us being there so long, but once the situation was explained they went out of their way to be kind and helpful, which was really nice of them. They even kept my food warm in the kitchen while I was crying in the bathroom, so that I could come out to nice hot prime rib and fresh pie when I was done :)
Montessori In-The-Woods (ceremony venue): A++ They were wonderful. Strictly speaking the chapel is no longer an actual chapel but sort of like the school auditorium, but they let us use it in exchange for a donation to the school and cleaning the place up a bit. They were great about letting us go in to look around at the place before we agreed to use it, and had a nice form pre-printed as sort of an agreement that it was reserved for our weekend. Even with all the confusion they were gracious about everything, and one of the teachers even took time out of her Saturday morning to get the keys to us. Their letting us use the building that used to be our family church meant so much to me and my family. I may send them a little something extra for the school just for being so awesome!
Presque Isle Tent and Table (chair rental for ceremony): A++ Delivered and set up the chairs, also took them down when we were finished. They were flexible with us when the insanity struck and were great about returning my calls and following up on plans and questions. They're affordable as well, and very nice to deal with :)
Capers Reception Hall and Catering (reception venue): A++ I can't say enough good things about this place! As soon as we let them know what was going on with the coordinator, they stepped in and took care of everything, and I mean everything. They decorated for us, set out the favors and our Chinese cookie table, took care of the cake and champagne as soon as they were delivered, and even threw in a free appetizer! The food was beyond delicious, the staff and owners were friendly and helpful, and overall they just really went above and beyond. I would recommend Capers to anyone.
Barbara Brown (officiant): A++ I found Barbara and hired her less than a month before the wedding (don't get me started on the coordinator again...). She went over the entire ceremony by phone with me (as I was across the country) and even ran the risk of being late to a family member's wedding just to make sure we got everything down at the "rehearsal." She was so nice, jumped right in and took charge, and the ceremony was absolutely lovely. My groom cried during the vows. No joke. ;) Again, I would recommend her to absolutely anyone looking for a Christian officiant.
Floral Fantasy Erie, Pa (florist): A++ (noticing a trend?) Phyllis and her staff were great. I stopped in barely two months before the wedding (no florists had been recommended to me...) on the basis that they were located near my mom's house. They were kind and accommodating and even sat down with me then and there for a consultation. I told Phyllis my wedding colors and the flowers I was hoping to use, and she put together gorgeous bouquets and corsages for my wedding party, mothers, reader, and myself. They were understanding about the confusion as to who was picking up the flowers or if they should deliver them (coordinator never called to coordinate like I asked her to), and Phyllis even called me while she was putting the bouquets together just to make sure I was okay with her using freesias (she wanted to make sure the purple color of them was okay to use). Very nice people with lovely flowers, and incredibly affordable as well. (six bouquets, three corsages and a wreath for the flower girl to wear for under $200).
Autumn Harvest Pumpkins (decorations): A++ We decorated with mini white pumpkins that I ordered online. These people were great to deal with and called right away when I put the wrong zip code on my order (headdesk). The pumpkins got there quickly and in great condition, and the pricing was reasonable and even shipped free!
Mason Farms ( more decorations): A++ My mom set about accumulating pots of mums and large white pumpkins for about a week before the wedding, and she said Mason Farms was by far the best place she stopped at. Again, everything was lovely and affordable, and they have a great selection of things like this for decorating in the summer and fall :)
Wegman's (cakes): A++ Delicious cakes done up exactly as I asked, fresh and ready on time (even with a sheet cake being ordered three days before the wedding). What more could one ask for? A grocery store yes, but I got four cakes with fruit filling for under $100. Considering the bakeries we talked to wanted between $800-$1200 for a lot less, I am beyond pleased with them.
Sugar Rush Cakes on etsy.com (toppers): A++ Toppers were lovely and delivered much more quickly than I expected considering they came from Australia. Also, they are pretty enough to keep around the house and not overtly wedding-y.
David's Bridal (Victorville, CA and Erie, PA) (gown and flower girl dress): A+ While one of the sales associates I worked with in CA could have been less bored and acerbic, everyone else from the manager to the seamstress were wonderful (even when I changed my mind four times about my dress, lol!). My gown was ordered online and had a huge black spot right in front of the skirt and some snags elsewhere on it when it arrived, and the alterations woman took care of them on the spot. She listened to all of my questions and made pertinent suggestions, and even put a permanent bustle on my train (because I hate trains). They were great about calling my Aunt (who does not use internet) when the flower girl dress was ready any very patient about two hyper little kiddos being in the store, one of which was less than thrilled to be surrounded by dresses (ring bearer) and the other who was way too excited to be surrounded by dresses. I recommend them to anyone who doesn't feel the need to spend thousands on a dress to be worn for five or so hours, but I do know that service can vary by location
Steven Stallsmith (make-up): A++ He was awesome with my make-up and flexible with my screwed up schedule. He made my skin even and lovely, and that was my biggest concern for the day! (I have awful skin). He was also very nice and friendly and thought nothing of finishing up my lips as we were getting inline to enter the chapel. Also, my make-up stayed on all night, even the lips. He was so good to do this for me at the last minute, too. I recommend him as well :)
Pat Martin Mobile DJ (dj): A++ This guy is wonderful. He sat down with me two months before the wedding and went over the timeline of events, songs we liked, songs we didn't like, you name it. The day of the wedding he was completely in control and everything went off with no glitches, all the music was perfect, and didn't even blink when we handed him a CD with the cut version of our first dance (literally as we arrived at the reception). He kept the dance floor packed the whole time, took requests, and was a great MC. Also, he is a really nice gentleman as well. Would definitely recommend him to anyone!
Penny Photo (photographer): A++ Now I haven't seen the photos yet, but I have confidence in her. Penny is wonderful, professional and very friendly. She also has a great sense of humor! She took all of the craziness in stride and was great at keeping control of my camera-happy relations :) She took the craziness in stride and kept in contact with me, listened to everything my husband and I wanted and delivered it. A sweet woman and an excellent photographer, and I would definitely recommend her!
The round cakes were supposed to be on stands and decorated with champagne grapes, and the sheet cake was supposed to be cut and served in the back. Guess who was in charge of that? Yeah... I was upset again for about two seconds until I thought to myself that we were just going to eat them anyways, and we did and they were delicious!
What Nick with a completely empty stone chapel, potted mums, pumpkins and tulle while I was crying in the bathroom at the rehearsal dinner, lol!
But a good time was had by all, and the happy memories far outweigh the stress and frustration. As far as I'm concerned, that's all that matters :)