Monday, January 10, 2011

The Maids, Music, and Saving the Date

Well, the wedding plans took backseat to the holidays and related travel for a while, but now we were back in the saddle again.

We had been able to tick off quite a few things on our wedding planning checklist over the preceding months, but it was still pretty overwhelming how much is left to do.

Over Thanksgiving break we noticed Amanda seemed awfully tired and run down...the Fall semester of her Senior year took its toll on her with a few tough classes, trying to negotiate through the post-college job offer process, and of course this little wedding thing hanging over her head. Thankfully, she was blessed with multiple job offers for after she graduates and was even able to play one employer against the other for more money!

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas she was able to design and get her Save the Date cards sent out, using one of the best shots from the Engagement photo shoot. (Yes, they finally were able to get those taken in October and they are awesome photos by Abigail Criner of Waco.) Here is a link to Abby's blog featuring a few of their photos:
http://abigailcrinerphotography.wordpress.com/2010/11/03/ian-and-amanda/amanda/

My daughter did a great job with the Save The Dates - they are postcards with "You are invited to our wedding; formal invitation to follow" on the back. She designed a custom logo incorporating the first initials of both their last names, and was able to bring in her wedding colors, light blue and ivory on the framing of the photo. She found a great company online (OvernightPrints.com) that not only prints the cards but mails them out for you for a decent price. Here's a link to their website: http://www.overnightprints.com/

I did a little preliminary research of DJ's online, and also during the Fall Amanda and Ian met and contracted with Johnny Bradshaw, who had been in the DJ business in Waco for many years. They described him as "rough around the edges" but a really nice, down to earth guy. I had a few concerns that he tends to dress down at weddings. Oh well...could be worse I guess. I put my faith in his many years in the business and reputation-- just about everyone of the vendors I checked with had at least heard of him if not worked with him. And his prices were not bad considering. Here's a link to his business, Central Texas Talent: http://www.centraltexastalent.com/index.htm

Oh yes.. a word of advice -- do some snooping online of the DJ's name (or any vendor you are thinking of hiring), and see what comes up besides what's on their official website.   Googling one day, I found out that one of the other DJ's who was actually on our final list of choices turned out to be currently serving time for possession of kiddie porn. Why his DJ website was still up on the Internet, I don't know.

Anyway, Amanda really needing the long Christmas break from school to rest and recuperate. I tried to not bug her about the wedding too much, but she did finally have the time to go pick up her wedding gown which had been sitting at the Bridal store in Denton for over a month. Alterations weren't going to work out there, so we opted to bring the dress home and look for a more convenient alteration person, after she picks out her shoes and borrows a petticoat to wear under the dress. Luckily I found out there was a lady at work who does alterations that everybody raves about. Done deal!

We were really getting down to the wire on ordering bridesmaids dresses. When we picked up the wedding gown, the bridal store manager in Denton fussed at us a bit that we were needing to make a decision SOON! We had a few more expeditions during the holidays, and Amanda finally decided on the dress for the girls. Despite my reservations about David's Bridal stores, that is where we found the dress. And we were pushing it...they were to arrive around the end of March/first of April...and there would likely need to be alterations before the wedding in mid-May. I think even my fussy younger daughter (the Maid of Honor) was OK with the final selection -- It was a simple but flattering style for all body types, and it actually had hidden pockets! It was mostly chiffon but the waistband is satin. Can't see it too well in the photo, but there were some fluttery petals on one of the straps.

Speaking of attire, I had been on the hunt for my dress, too, and if I ended up having to order one from one of the bridal designers, I was down to the wire myself. No pressure or anything.