Ok, so I’m not the only crazy bride out there.  In my “The Knot” magazine, there is a whole section dedicated to Wedding Nightmares!! Other brides who had wedding nightmares…

Mine was so funny, and so vivid.  Our wedding was going perfectly, the cocktail hour was great, I still remember the music… and we were talking to our guests and having a great time, until I realized, this is our cocktail hour! We are supposed to be taking our photos… so I rushed Nick towards our photographer to get our photos taken and as I walked by our reception ballroom I peaked inside and was horrified at what I’d seen…  my beautiful pintuck table covers had been replaced by multi-colored table covers from another party!! I was so upset!!! I became frantic and made the staff change the table covers, and then for some reason Nick got involved in helping them change the table covers.  I remember yelling at the hotel’s coordinator and thinking, “this is why I should have hired a wedding coordinator!!”  I felt my blood pressure rise and the dream felt so real I remember my mind racing and I remember the frantic feeling I got.

SO the moral of this story, #1, I am hiring a day-of wedding coordinator to deal with this kind of crap, #2, I am NOT the only bride who has nightmares.  The Knot magazine has a list of them!

Also, I visited a florist today, she was incredible and so helpful.  She has been featured on Platinum Weddings too!! Yet, there is a huge benefit of going with someone who is seasoned–while other florist may have to ‘rent’ their tall candelabras, this lady would not have to as she owns them, she has been in business long enough.  It’s really great.  Also, her prices are NOT Platinum, she is actually significantly more affordable than the $300/centerpiece guy my cousin recommended me to.

I still want to shop around and find the best deal and the best look though!

That’s all for now!

So maybe they are not “the devil” but it’s so easy to waste away 2 hours of your time on websites like WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and the like.  It all came about when Nick suggested we have an afternoon wedding… not a bad idea, but I’m not 100% sold on it.   I always imagined an evening reception.  Then I got to thinking of the beautiful Brookside Equestrian Center in Walnut… it’s this amazing equestrian center right up the street from my house, but it’s so isolated and insulated by trees and greenery; it’s amazing!  I had initially crossed that venue off my mental list of venues because events had to be over by 10pm… but for an afternoon affair this venue is perfect.  Who knows!!!  They film TV shows and Elizabeth Taylor even filmed a movie here back in her day.

My comp won’t let me show you guys a pic, UGH.  It’s amazing.  do a google search.  who knows, next June or July you might be at my wedding at this location.

Also for those who have requested… you have to see my ring in person! I won’t post a pic on the blog bc my camera doesn’t do it justice.  It’s so sparkly and it’s a beautiful diamond… I am truly blessed to have such an amazing ring and an amazing fiance!!    Can’t wait to show it to you guys in person!!

Also, I think the bridesmaids are going to wear turquoise, what do you ladies think? (Only Sophia + April read this blog of the bridesmaids, so what do you two think?!)

So I am proud to announce that I am no longer a ringless bride… that only took a few days!  The fiance is so sweet and so great at surprises… I really was NOT expecting it that soon!  When I opened the box, I saw a beautiful ring and my first thought was, “OMG it’s so sparkly!!” and the second was “it’s not what I expected, but I still LOVE IT!”  and what’s funny is when he and I went browsing for rings earlier this year, this style is not the one I wanted… however my ring is SO MUCH BETTER than the other ones I looked at!! I love it, I am so blessed.  🙂

On Sunday, I also went to my first bridal show with Nick.  We had a really great time looking at all the booths and speaking to all the vendors.  Some of them were a little cooky, but many of them were really great and helpful.  We got some great venue recommendations from some of the vendors.  One vendor (a photographer) summed it up pretty well–a hotel ballroom is nothing more than 4 walls and patterned carpet… and she is SO right.  I just want to find a hotel ballroom that looks well-maintained, has high ceilings, and that WON’T make my guests pay some ridiculous fee for parking.   My parents and I find that extraordinarily tacky… please buy me a gift AND pay $8+ for parking to attend my event.  and by the way I won’t warn you before hand because I’m embarrassed that you have to pay for parking, so if you don’t have cash you have to use the hotel ATM and pay an extra fee for taking out cash to pay for your parking.  That being said, if we end up loving a hotel that charges parking, we will probably pre-pay for our guests.  It takes away from my floral and decor budget, but I just don’t think it’s in good taste to pay for parking when you are a guest at a wedding.

Ok off my parking rant.  Now, the bridal show!!! SO MANY PHOTOGRAPHERS I was like WTF there are so many of you.  One was so nice to talk to but then her photo-album had photos that put the groom’s face in the seam of the album… like I learned in yearbook not to put faces in the “gutter” so she’s an out.  But anyways, I got some nice ideas and was actually hoping to meet more florists but I really only met DJs and photographers at the show.

There is another bridal show on Sunday that I am excited to go to.  This time I have my ring so people might take me more seriously!  I just cannot talk to any more photographers!! They all seem the same to me right now.  There are only a few that are significantly better than others.  Anyway let’s just hope there are more florists at this one, I need to set my floral budget.

Also…. venue visit 1 with my family was a TOTAL FAIL.  Not going with them at all.  😦  waste of time.