The one where we choose our photographer

So, who did we pick? We'll get to that in just a minute but first let's discuss our options a little nit.

Both Red Apple Tree and R. Schindler Photography have styles that we really really love and would like for our wedding day. They are also both on the lower end of the spectrum price wise in comparison with the other photographers we checked out (but still far out of our original budget). Red Apple Tree is a two person operation which would mean we would have a second shooter while Russell is a one man show, although he mentioned he could find someone to shoot along side him if need be. Red Apple Tree is local while Russell isn't but we know Russell personally which would be a big plus.

In the end though, we decided that we would rather have Russell in the wedding instead of working at the wedding so Kyle instead asked him to be a groomsmen and we met up with Red Apple Tree at a local coffee shop to make sure we meshed. You guys, we ended up talking to them for two hours and it was natural and fun, exactly the feeling you want with a vendor. We decided to sign the contract that day and sent in our deposit later that week.

We just had our engagement photos done last month and I'll give you a little teaser before I post about our experience:



Coming up soon: gorging ourselves on cake and engagement picture extravaganza!!

A picture is worth...thousands of dollars? Oy.

Photography is one of the most important components of our wedding in our minds. While we originally budgeted low, we ended up blowing that out of the water and splurging because we knew that we would have these pictures forever and great photography is well worth the sacrifice to us. That being said, we did not have unlimited funds and had to stay within a certain price point. I'm confident that even if this wasn't the case we would still have ended up with our photographer.

I started my search by looking at the photographers listed on our venue's preferred vendor list but while the photos were great, they didn't make me feel anything. We really wanted someone who was going to capture moments and emotions, not just pictures. Next I turned to my good friend WeddingWire to browse through vendors on their site. We really wanted two photographers and to stay below $3000 so this helped somewhat in our search. After pouring over pages and pages of vendors and reviews and vendor websites/blogs, we finally narrowed it down to just one studio to meet with. Before I reveal who, I'll show you two of the stunners at the top of our list.

First up, R Schindler Photography:

R. Schindler Photography

R. Schindler Photography

I love love love all of his work. I'll also let you in on a little secret: Russell, the photographer is a friend of Kyle's and one of our classmates from college. His work is phenomenal and I love his style of photography.

Next, we looked at Red Apple Tree Photography

Red Apple Tree Photography

Red Apple Tree Photography

These guys are awesome. We loved their style and how great they were at capturing details and emotions at the weddings they shot. They're a two person operation which was also a plus.

What was your wedding splurge? Who do you think we chose?

Have your cake and eat it two

Yes, "two" as in we are having two cakes. I will regale you all of the cake tasting and how we chose our vendor later but I thought I'd kick off by showing you what our cakes are going to look like. As you all know we are having an October wedding and are really planning on embracing the season and incorporating it into our wedding. Early in our wedding planning (and by that I mean when I used to browse all things wedding before rocking this bling on my finger) I came across two cakes that I fell absolutely head over heels for and immediately bookmarked them.

Source

Source

When it came time to actually choose which cake we wanted, we just couldn't. So what did we do? We decided to get both! Now, these won't both be served at the reception. Instead, the first one will be our actual wedding cake and the second one will be served at the rehearsal. The only thing we're really changing will be the color of the birds on the wedding cake and the sign on the rehearsal cake. 

I cannot wait to tell you guys all about our amazing baker and fill you in on all of the delicious details of the tasting.

Are you having cake, or two cakes even? Or are you more of a cupcake or pie type of gal?

Bad Blogger, Bad!

I am so so so sorry. I know it has been almost a month since my last post but I had somewhat of a mental breakdown and just couldn't deal with it. However, I've realized quite a few things and I am getting ready to kick back into high gear. We are traveling this weekend but I will be back on Monday with a brand new post. I'm also finally starting on some DIY projects next weekend so I'll have plenty to talk about.

Hope you didn't miss me too much.

<3

EDIT: I lied :( I'll be back Thursday. Woopsie!

Operation: Bride Body

Let me start this by saying that I have never been a big girl. I danced from the time I was a child through college doing kick line, pom, and jazz dance. Since graduating and getting a full time job though I've packed on a few pounds. That is not to say that I'm overweight but I am definitely not in shape and about 10 pounds heavier than I want to be. I have just over 7 months until the wedding so it's time to get my butt into gear!

Image via Ashley Running

What am I doing to make this happen?
-Eat less, eat better
-Drink more water, drink less soda
-I, I, I, I work out

Now these things seem like pretty easy tasks but when you're used to eating fast food every day and have a slight soda addiction, it's no piece of cake (Mmmmm, cake). Working out is another issue because between work, grad school, and planning a wedding I barely have any time to myself and the time I do have I do not like to spend getting sweaty and gross.

Source

The eating less/eating better part of the plan has actually been a lot easier than I thought though I have fallen off the wagon a few times. I was doing really well with drinking more water and cutting soda almost completely but within the last few weeks I've gone back to my soda chugging ways.

Working out has been the hardest part of my plan but just last week I tried:

jazzercise

Now I know what you're thinking but it's actually a lot of fun and not at all awesomely 80s. No scrunchies, leotards, or neon tights and most of the girls are around my age. It's also loads cheaper than any gyms I've checked or even the YMCA where I was planning on trying Zumba and step classes.

Not even close to this

So, starting tomorrow I am back on track with Operation: Bride Body and I'll keep you guys posted on how it goes!

What are you doing to get in shape and stay in shape?

Hey Mr. DJ

When it came to music at the reception there was absolutely no question as to whether we would have a live band or a DJ. If you should know anything about me it's that I love love love to dance. Let's just say, girl got hips and she ain't afraid to use 'em. I think live bands can be great but it's just not the feel we're going for. I want to drop it like a hot potato all. night. long.

 Check me out at BM Crown's wedding: All photos personal 

Yes, I did dance in 3 1/2 inch heels all night

At a high school friend's wedding - I'm behind the guy

I even dance in the middle of Waffle House

Even easier than choosing between a live band and a dj was our choice for who would be working at our wedding. In order to narrow it down I looked at WeddingWire (aka my Bridal Bible) and cross referenced with our venue's preferred vendor list. I got it down to two different companies. When I went to their respective websites one was very professional with generous info and one was a very bright neon graphic with only a phone number.

The other thing you should know about me is that I live by email. I have my personal account and my wedding account both linked to my blackberry and I feel lost without them. I hate talking on the phone so having to call someone to discuss prices and such was just not what I wanted to do.

In the end we decided on Life of the Party for our DJ services. They were rated very highly and had all important information on their website. We met with Ric Larson and clicked immediately. On top of being a DJ he also has his own radio show on one of my favorite local radio stations. We met with him during our lunch break one day and signed the contract on the spot. This actually became a pattern with our vendors which I have loved so far.

Warning: The bride will be cuttin' a rug (Source)

Next time I'll share our vendor search philosophy but until then, what kind of entertainment are you having at your reception? Do you like to dance or are you more of a wall flower?

Money, money, money...

...MONEY!

I'm not sure if you guys are aware of this, but weddings can be expensive. Like, crazy expensive. Now it's not like I didn't know this going in. In reality, Kyle and I started researching how much we would need to have to have the wedding of our dreams before we were even engaged. Even with all of this research though it was hard to be motivated to save without a little bling a bling bling, if you know what I mean. So when Kyle finally popped the question we had something saved for the wedding but not nearly as much as we wanted.

Luckily, my mom and step-dad are making a small contribution and Kyle's parents are willing to as well. Kyle and I both make good money for being recent (ish) grads and we've been much better about saving since getting engaged. Our wedding budget isn't small by any means (at least in my mind) but it sure ain't unlimited.

Unfortunately we do not have one of these in our yard (Source)

Because we aren't loaded we have had to make some sacrifices. For instance, videography. It absolutely breaks my heart that we can't work this into the budget. I am over the top in love with wedding videos and am super impressed at how far they've come. However, there are more important things to us like having a venue and feeding our guests (or maybe they don't actually need food...hmmmm. Kidding!). Something else we had to sacrifice was a photobooth. I love photobooths. I love props. I love seeing my friends act stupid. I do not love the extra grand we would need to blow on something that is not absolutely necessary (or is it? Oh, Kyyyyyle).

One of the biggest reasons we are having to make these sacrifices is the guest list and how it snowballed out of control, but that's a horse of a different color.

Source

Are you having to make any sacrifices? Do you have a money tree you would like to get rid of?