Our Married Life

Ok, I agree it’s pretty ugly, but I did it on a whim in like 10 minutes. I stopped by Office Depot yesterday during lunch to buy printable magnet paper. I thought it’ll be nice to make Save The Date magnets and give em to our families during the Thanksgiving holiday. We’ll also mail them out to any of the guests that will be invited. This will definitely force us to finalize the guest list. Click here for other samples of save the dates….

I did run by Romano’s Bakery and set an appt on November 19th for cake tasting and consultation.

And you know, the more cakes I look at, the uglier they get. I think I know what I want, and I’ll stop looking from now on.

I just got back from an appt with Mockingbird Lane Florist. It was very uneventful and useless. The owners had an emergency so they weren’t there to talk to me, and I had to talk to a different consultant. Basically all we did was sit there while he asked me what all I needed. 3 bouquets, corsages and boutinnieres, etc. That was all he asked. Nothing. No samples. I asked if I could see pictures of flowers just so I know what kind of flowers I want. Instead he showed me samples of arrangements.

It was kinda frustrating and I didn’t want to sit there and ask too many questions since I was on a lunch break. He said he’ll get me a quote for all the arrangements I asked for. Seriously, how the heck are you supposed to give a quote on something that you dont even know what it’s going to look like. Quotes vary by flower types, size, and the types of vases, etc. Maybe it’s just the preliminary quote, but that makes it pretty useless. I wanted to discuss details like should I have ribbons on my bouquet, or what kind of minor details I want on the centerpieces, leaves or berries or fruit.

I guess maybe this is how the process really is.

I think as far as arrangements goes, I’m gonna make it a DIY project. I’d have to get the bouquet from a florist but everything else will be made my moi.

We’ll see what the quote says first….

I figured since we both have nothing better to do this Sunday, we can go have brunch at Brookhaven and sample their food. Suprisingly enough they exceeded my expectations. It’s not a 5 star meal by any means, but it was very good. The presentation was nice, and wait staff was nice, the food was good. Brian had some sirloin steak with demi glace sauce and chicken with some tomato ragout sauce on it. The garlic mashed potatoes he had was good too. They also had a salad bar with regular salad and pasta salad I think. There was a cheese tray display with sliced fruit and crackers which we’re getting. I had salmon with lemon sauce and bbq glazed pork chops and mixed vegetables with brussel sprouts :-O

We shouldve been dorks and taken pictures of what we had. The buffet presentation was nice. Dessert was good. They also had breakfast on the other side of the room, but since we were there sampling real food, we didn’t have any of that. They had waffles and an omelet station plus other stuff. I did get a glass of mimosa which tasted too much like champagne to me, but Brian seemed to like it. All in all, I think we should be ok with the menu. We just need to pick the food items….

I’m leaning towards the following items:

Cocktail Hour:
Spicy Crab Dip
Crudite Display with Ranch Dip
Fruit and Cheese Display
Coconut Shrimp
Bacon Wrapped Oyster
Asian Style Chicken Salad in Phyllo Cups
Spanakopitas

Entrees:
London Broil with Bearnaise or Flat Iron Steak with Cabernet Demi
Blackened Chicken with Andouille Cream
Pan Fried Trout with Pecan Butter Sauce

Sides:
Green Beans
Lemon Pepper Broccoli or Corn on the Cob
Roasted New Potatoes or Rice Pilaf
Garlic Whipped Potatoes
Leaf Salad
Composed Salad

Beverages:
Open Bar
Coffee
Iced Tea
Punch
Deluxe Coffee for after dinner cordials

Dessert:
Wedding Cake

It’s a lot of food….We may cut the appetizers and add more guests…We’ll see.

I’ve also registered at Crate and Barrel (without Brian’s knowledge). So check it out. Most of the stuff we’ve registered for is rather boring considering we don’t have a house yet. Sure I’d like to have some of it, but particularly at Crate and Barrel, I wasn’t so excited about the stuff. It’s nice to give guests the options though. We’ll of course willingly accept cash, it’s much needed to help pay for the wedding and honeymoon!

Anyway, so I’ve been checking out The Knot boards and some of these women are just crazy. 80% of them are ALREADY married yet they still come to the site. It’s nice however to look at profiles and get ideas from these people, especially since it’s a local board and they have reviews for some of the vendors here.

We’re going to our first tasting at Brookhaven on Sunday. It’s not really a tasting of any one item from our menu, but more so to see what quality and kinds of food they make. We’ll probably have to go back at a later date and do a tasting of real wedding food.

I have an appt with Mockingbird Lane Florist next Tuesday with the wedding designer there. I think next to the dress and cake this is the most important piece of the whole concept of the wedding. I also need make an appt with some other photographers, particularly Bella Pictures. I finally emailed the woman back and asked for her availabilities.

Once we get photography settled, we’ll work on makeup and hair people. All the Knotties are raving about Stephanie Dubose but her rates are going up from 300 minimum to 400 next year. Sucks. Her portfolio looks great though. 400 is hair and makeup for 5 people or less. It’s actually alot cheaper than what I’ve seen. I wonder if a salon is cheaper? But anyway, I’d like to in and do the hair and makeup trials for the engagement and bridal sessions once we book a photographer.