I have to applaud the way my mom has handled reserving the rooms at the hotels. I was doubtful at first, especially when she just could not get a meeting with the woman at the Hilton Garden Inn. The Hilton Garden Inn is fairly close to the reception and ceremony sites, but we wanted to block a set of rooms with them because they are right off of FM 1960, one of the major streets in the area, but it's also a nice hotel.
My mom had been having real problems getting in touch with the woman who was in charge of reserving room blocks, AND she kept getting misleading information from other sources. One person finally told her that to reserve the room block, she would have to put all of the rooms on her credit card, and if they didn't get picked up by someone else, she would get stuck with the bill. Just hearing about it ticked me off.
A month later she told me she had a meeting with the woman at the hotel. I told her that I thought she had given up on it. Later, she called me with the good news.
Not only would the hotel offer a group rate on the rooms without her putting down her own credit card, but they would offer us the use of the shuttle bus, as well. We had known that they had the shuttle bus, but we thought that one of the sites was just outside the range. The woman who helped us said that we could arrange the times that the shuttle would run, and they would even offer the guests a sign-in sheet when they checked in, and the sheet would allow them to reserve times for the shuttle run to the ceremony and reception.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Wedding Superstition
I have determined that the superstition that it is unlucky to see the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding is complete garbage.
I am sure that this tale was invented to console brides, because if all grooms are like mine, they just do not care about seeing the dress ahead of the wedding. It's a little weird, because it's one of the most important, certainly one of the most expensive, dresses I will wear; normally I would ask for his opinion. After picking it up from the bridal shop, I was worried about having it in my closet. I thought for sure he would want to take a peek at the dress, but he honestly has no interest in seeing it.
I am sure that this tale was invented to console brides, because if all grooms are like mine, they just do not care about seeing the dress ahead of the wedding. It's a little weird, because it's one of the most important, certainly one of the most expensive, dresses I will wear; normally I would ask for his opinion. After picking it up from the bridal shop, I was worried about having it in my closet. I thought for sure he would want to take a peek at the dress, but he honestly has no interest in seeing it.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
The Dress is Here!
Earlier this week, Belle Saison called and told me that my dress was in! I called my mom, who, despite the delivery date estimate, was surprised that it was already in.
Yesterday, I stopped by the shop after a meeting up at school and picked up my dress. I didn't think it would take too long, but I spent almost an hour there. "My" salesperson Kim was busy when I got there, but another woman sent me back to the dressing rooms, where my dress was set up. While I waited for Kim to come to the back, I looked at the dress to make sure that every thing looked ok. I saw a couple of threads that had come loose, but I didn't know if they had come from the beading or not, so I didn't want to pull on them.
Kim came in to the room and I tried on my dress. I had to try on a couple of different petticoats so that we could get the skirt to fall right, then different shoe heights until we got the skirt off the floor. There are satin bands at the bottom with embroidery, so altering the dress for length could have been difficult. I was very proud of myself, because I managed to decide on and order a veil and the hairpins, without anyone else's help. I'm usually much more indecisive than that.
Yesterday, I stopped by the shop after a meeting up at school and picked up my dress. I didn't think it would take too long, but I spent almost an hour there. "My" salesperson Kim was busy when I got there, but another woman sent me back to the dressing rooms, where my dress was set up. While I waited for Kim to come to the back, I looked at the dress to make sure that every thing looked ok. I saw a couple of threads that had come loose, but I didn't know if they had come from the beading or not, so I didn't want to pull on them.
Kim came in to the room and I tried on my dress. I had to try on a couple of different petticoats so that we could get the skirt to fall right, then different shoe heights until we got the skirt off the floor. There are satin bands at the bottom with embroidery, so altering the dress for length could have been difficult. I was very proud of myself, because I managed to decide on and order a veil and the hairpins, without anyone else's help. I'm usually much more indecisive than that.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The Cake is Doomed
I think that the cake is doomed.
As I have posted before (http://catholicweddinggirl.blogspot.com/search/label/Wedding%20Cake), we have not been having the best luck with the cakes. This week, I thought that our luck had turned. I was able to get an appointment, though the groom will not be able to attend, with the bakery that had seemed impossible to get an appointment with. I was also able to set up a day that would work with the woman who worked with my sister, but also makes cakes.
At this point, we were trying to cover all of the bases, so we stopped by the Central Market in Houston while we were in town last weekend. I had talked to someone earlier, and they said to just stop by anytime and ask to talk to the baker. We stopped by right after the store opened on Saturday morning and asked to talk to the baker. She apologized, but told us that she was too busy to talk to us, could we come back Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday? Yargh.
She was able to give us a price list for the cakes, which listed each layer, the number of servings and price. I was shocked - I thought that the cake would be somewhat less than the wedding bakeries; Central Market is just a grocery store. I broke down the prices by serving, and it was $3.50/serving for a buttercream, but $6.50/serving for a cake with fondant. Central Market was the same price for buttercream as the other bakery we had been trying to get an appointment with, but it was $2.00 more for a serving with fondant.
As I have posted before (http://catholicweddinggirl.blogspot.com/search/label/Wedding%20Cake), we have not been having the best luck with the cakes. This week, I thought that our luck had turned. I was able to get an appointment, though the groom will not be able to attend, with the bakery that had seemed impossible to get an appointment with. I was also able to set up a day that would work with the woman who worked with my sister, but also makes cakes.
At this point, we were trying to cover all of the bases, so we stopped by the Central Market in Houston while we were in town last weekend. I had talked to someone earlier, and they said to just stop by anytime and ask to talk to the baker. We stopped by right after the store opened on Saturday morning and asked to talk to the baker. She apologized, but told us that she was too busy to talk to us, could we come back Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday? Yargh.
She was able to give us a price list for the cakes, which listed each layer, the number of servings and price. I was shocked - I thought that the cake would be somewhat less than the wedding bakeries; Central Market is just a grocery store. I broke down the prices by serving, and it was $3.50/serving for a buttercream, but $6.50/serving for a cake with fondant. Central Market was the same price for buttercream as the other bakery we had been trying to get an appointment with, but it was $2.00 more for a serving with fondant.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Wedding Seating Assignments
Alright, I know that we all hated to be told where we were sitting in class, but I really think that it helps at wedding receptions.
Over the weekend, my fiance and I attended a wedding, which was wonderful - more on that in a later post. The one real point of confusion was over seating at the reception. A friend of mine and I were in the wedding party, and as we walked into the reception hall, the groom's aunt told us that we were supposed to sit in the small section of tables near the dance floor. We made our way over there, which was easy to find as most of the "family" was milling around the section.
We looked for placecards, but all we found were table cards denoting "reserved." We weren't sure if that meant for family, or just the wedding party, but there it did not appear there would be room for both. Our dates came up to us and asked where they were supposed to sit, but we clearly didn't know what to do. Then, like the true gentlemen they are, they started complaining because the few tables that had people they knew at them were full.
My friend and I finally decided to tell the guys to sit with us, and if there was a problem, someone would come tell us. Luckily, no one did, so we assumed it was OK.
We will have assigned tables at our reception, if for no other reason than to prevent our friends from having to talk to my crazy relatives.
Over the weekend, my fiance and I attended a wedding, which was wonderful - more on that in a later post. The one real point of confusion was over seating at the reception. A friend of mine and I were in the wedding party, and as we walked into the reception hall, the groom's aunt told us that we were supposed to sit in the small section of tables near the dance floor. We made our way over there, which was easy to find as most of the "family" was milling around the section.
We looked for placecards, but all we found were table cards denoting "reserved." We weren't sure if that meant for family, or just the wedding party, but there it did not appear there would be room for both. Our dates came up to us and asked where they were supposed to sit, but we clearly didn't know what to do. Then, like the true gentlemen they are, they started complaining because the few tables that had people they knew at them were full.
My friend and I finally decided to tell the guys to sit with us, and if there was a problem, someone would come tell us. Luckily, no one did, so we assumed it was OK.
We will have assigned tables at our reception, if for no other reason than to prevent our friends from having to talk to my crazy relatives.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
The Tuxedo Hunt
This past weekend was my future husband's dream - we went out to look at tuxedos.
Don't let me confuse you; the day was not without its issues. Friday night we talked about going and he suggested that we go to a men's store where you would purchase tuxedos, then worry about his groomsmen. I suggested that we go to a rental store to look for the groomsmen's attire, then find his tuxedo at the menswear store (OK - I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, but it did in my head), and he never said anything else about it. Which means, we both thought that we were going with our own plans.
We decided to go to Capra & Cavelli, as they had come highly recommended to my fiance via numerous menswear blogs on the internet. The store is smaller than I thought, but they had just the right selection of tuxedos, as my fiance had determined that a shawl collar dinner jacket would look best on his body type. I don't think it hurts that Casablanca is one of his favorite movies and Bogart wears a shawl collar. The tuxedos there were not that expensive, if you think about it. I think the least expensive was around $600, but the most was only around $1200, which means that it would pay for itself in about 5 events (at the low end).
Our salesperson, Casey, was great; he really understood what my fiance was looking for in a tuxedo. He found a book of reasonably priced accessories that even matched the colors of the wedding, if we decided to not go with a more neutral vest/cummerbund combination. Casey even advised my fiance that instead of buying the traditional patent leather tuxedo pumps, he could purchase a very nice pair of black shoes, and make sure they were shined well the day of the wedding.
Don't let me confuse you; the day was not without its issues. Friday night we talked about going and he suggested that we go to a men's store where you would purchase tuxedos, then worry about his groomsmen. I suggested that we go to a rental store to look for the groomsmen's attire, then find his tuxedo at the menswear store (OK - I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, but it did in my head), and he never said anything else about it. Which means, we both thought that we were going with our own plans.
We decided to go to Capra & Cavelli, as they had come highly recommended to my fiance via numerous menswear blogs on the internet. The store is smaller than I thought, but they had just the right selection of tuxedos, as my fiance had determined that a shawl collar dinner jacket would look best on his body type. I don't think it hurts that Casablanca is one of his favorite movies and Bogart wears a shawl collar. The tuxedos there were not that expensive, if you think about it. I think the least expensive was around $600, but the most was only around $1200, which means that it would pay for itself in about 5 events (at the low end).
Our salesperson, Casey, was great; he really understood what my fiance was looking for in a tuxedo. He found a book of reasonably priced accessories that even matched the colors of the wedding, if we decided to not go with a more neutral vest/cummerbund combination. Casey even advised my fiance that instead of buying the traditional patent leather tuxedo pumps, he could purchase a very nice pair of black shoes, and make sure they were shined well the day of the wedding.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
The Helpful Groom
According to the ever arbitrary "to-do" checklist on TheKnot.com, when the wedding is 5 months away, the happy couple should begin working on planning the rehearsal dinner. Although I would guess that The Knot would really want the groom's parents to start planning the dinner, and the bride and groom nag them mercilessly until they have been assured that the planning is complete.
Planning the rehearsal dinner has actually fallen on our shoulders so far, at least in that the groom's parents are not from Houston, and know little about the area where the wedding will take place. We've given ourselves the task of pulling together a few different options (with different price ranges) so that his parents can choose which one they like.
Luckily, work has been slow this week for the groom, so he's been able to research several different options. We have three options at three different price points: a steak place, an Italian restaurant, and a barbecue place.
I love it when I get to check something off, but have done minimal work to accomplish the list item.
Planning the rehearsal dinner has actually fallen on our shoulders so far, at least in that the groom's parents are not from Houston, and know little about the area where the wedding will take place. We've given ourselves the task of pulling together a few different options (with different price ranges) so that his parents can choose which one they like.
Luckily, work has been slow this week for the groom, so he's been able to research several different options. We have three options at three different price points: a steak place, an Italian restaurant, and a barbecue place.
I love it when I get to check something off, but have done minimal work to accomplish the list item.
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