6.22.2009

Wedding Planning

Fred and I have ramped up our wedding planning in these past couple of weeks. Things we've recently gotten accomplished, or nearly so:

  • Fred's ring! We met with an Etsy jeweler. Al was amazing, and made us feel so much better about picking the ring Fred will wear every day for the rest of forever. It just came in the mail, and we're both thrilled with it. You know it's right when you kind of just want him to wear it already.
  • My ring! Another Etsy jeweler. She's too far away to meet with her, but I'm glad to have found her and I love the ring we've come up with. I can't wait for it to arrive.
  • A day-of-coordinator. Someone on board who knows more about weddings than I do. And as always, a neat person who we'll be glad to have around us that day.
  • A band. A totally kickin' rockabilly band, a band that wears cowboy hats and boots. My reception is made. Nuff said.
  • Patterns for my sister's dress (the halter version below) and my niece's tutu. Because my sister is awesome, and nothing says joy like a 2 year old in a puffy tutu.
Butterick 5029
  • Our reception location. We've had it picked and set for a while now, but we actually went to look at it again and meet with the people there. I'm even happier with it now than I was before, and it was good to put a face to the person on the other end of the phone. As much as wedding mags make the whole process feel a bit like a giant factory-produced slide show, I always feel better when I remember that ours will actually be personal.
Northampton Center for the Arts
  • Napkins! My Aunt Judy and Uncle Ed came over the other weekend to help me crank a bunch out, and Judy even took a pile of fabric home to keep working on them. Last year Judy and Ed came over to help finish my sister's wedding dress in the 11th hour. Not only are they lifesavers, obviously, but I love having them around to share in the wedding process. And now my sister is going to help too!
  • Wedding blocks, wedding website updating, etc. Not exciting, but necessary and crossed off the list. Love that.
  • And finally, fabric for my dress. I picked it. It's ordered. Holy cow.

3 comments:

Stephanie said...

Yay! I've also been in wedding mode lately. That space looks beautiful.

What are you thinking about doing for your dress? Do you already have a pattern in mind? Unfortunately I'm at a standstill with my fence and might end up buying one. We'll see...I feel like I need to decide this week since time is running out!

Marcy said...

I hope your wedding was lovely--how did you like the Noho center for the arts? We're thinking about having our wedding there next year. Any advice?

Kristen said...

Hi Marcy,

Congrats on your engagement! The Noho Center for the Arts turned out really well for us. I assume you've seen the space - it's beautiful and doesn't require much decorating at all. It's also plenty big. We had 90 people, and there was tons of room for people to move around and dance. We arranged it so that people walked through the first gallery before going into the ballroom, and we set up the guest book table and photo booth in there. It was great to have a separate space for those things, and it was nice to have a more quiet room where we could greet or say goodbye to people who were coming and going.

There are a couple of tricky things, though. The first is that you have to rent everything, from tables to tablecloths to dishes, everything. For us that added about $10 a head to our cost. They do have a relationship with Northampton Rentals, so it wasn't hard, but do keep it in mind when you're thinking about the budget. And they don't really have a kitchen. They have a sort of kitchen space with a fridge and a couple of counters, but there's no stove or range. That means your caterer either has to arrive with food hot or get creative. Chafing dishes (rented) keep food warm, but won't get it hot if it isn't already. My husband and I borrowed a portable electric range and purchased a butane camping stove. Our caterer was the bomb for navigating that set-up. And certainly there are other caterers who can make it work too, it's just worth noting.

But really, besides the rentals and the lack of stoves, we were thrilled. It turned out very well. Feel free to email me with any more questions. I'm happy to share any more thoughts if it's helpful! And good luck in planning!!

Kristen