Say Cheese!

You may recall that we had Mr. Potion's friend Emile shoot our engagement photos- I've only mentioned how amazing they are about a million times.

photo courtesy the AMAZING Emile Frey

So clearly choosing a photographer for the wedding day was easy, right?

Wrong.

As I said, Emile is Mr. Potion's friend.  They survived engineering school together- a friendship like that runs deep.  Their bond cannot be broken.  To paraphrase the immortal words of Lady Gaga, they have a Rad Bromance.  (They even LOOK like brothers!)

Emile and Mr. Potion learning to SCUBA // {Mr. Potion's personal photo}

We can't hire Emile for our big day!  We want to invite him to the party!  And he is so important to Mr. Potion that he'll be standing up with him as a groomsman- so his only duties that day should be to show up, look nice, dance with a bridesmaid or two, and enjoy the food and booze!

Soooo a photographer.  Hmm.

We budgeted what we feel is a reasonable amount for photography- and what feels like a lot of money, to me, anyway- but it is admittedly below the national average for wedding photography.  However, we're not interested in the usual photography package.  In fact, our list of what we DON'T want is longer than the list of what we DO want:

We DON'T Want:
-a pre-wedding shoot (we've already done the e-shoot and I don't have time for a bridal session)
-an album (I'd rather assemble my own, less expensively, from a photobook site)
-prints (ever heard of Wal-Mart photo?)
-we don't necessarily need all-day shooting- as in, the photographer doesn't have to stay until the end of the reception


We DO Want:
-pre-ceremony shots, ceremony coverage, and then a limited amount of post-ceremony "formals"
-a cd of digital images
-A PRINT RELEASE so we can print as many copies of we want into albums or large prints (and so I can put them on the blog, of course!)


Most professional photographers have a list of packages, and while they say they can "customize" one for you, what they really mean is you can re-arrange the features of one of their pre-set packages- you can do an engagement shoot instead of a bridal shoot in the "Diamond" package or you can have 4 5x7 prints instead of 2 8x10's in the "Romantic" package.  Add to that our seemingly modest photography budget...we really didn't feel like professional photography was in the cards.


Enter: college students!


A great tip I picked up from a wedding blog- probably Budget Savvy Bride- is to scout out local art schools for photography students starting up their own businesses.  In exchange for professional experience, portfolio filler, and, well, cash, a student is more likely to accept lower prices than a professional.


Remember how I said my sister is an artist?  She goes to this tiny school, University of Montevallo. 

Go Falcons! // {personal photo}

The school is very close to Alex City, so, naturally, I started sniffing around their website!  I found the professor who runs the photography department and shot her an email with some details about our big day and what we were looking for in a photographer.  I asked if she had any students that would fit the bill, and crossed my fingers.


Well, she got back to us...with exactly one candidate.  A candidate who had apparently graduated a couple of years ago, and the only email address she gave us was his school email.  Nonetheless, I shot off an email with the details and our offer, then moved on to the other items on our never-ending to-do list. 


And then it was May, the school year was over, and he had still not replied.  I tried emailing the professor again for other suggestions, but apparently she doesn't check her Montevallo email address, either.


What's a bride to do?!


You'll have to tune in next time to find out!


How did you find your photographer?  Did you have any "friendors"?  Would you ever consider hiring a student?

Be Our Guest(book)

Hive, I'm not gonna lie- at the past two weddings I've attended, I...don't think I signed the guestbook.  I don't remember SEEING a guestbook, so maybe there weren't any, and that wasn't a mistake on my part.  But it's more likely that the guestbook was, in fact, there, and I just missed it or otherwise forgot to sign.  Apparently a lack of guestbook signing is not uncommon in weddings nowadays- as documented recently by Mrs. Unicycle.

So it's gotten me thinking:

Do we really need a guestbook?

This looks like a job for a Pro-Con List!

Having a Guest List

Pro:

-it's another way to use our beautiful engagement pictures, aside from posting them on Facebook and using them to decorate our website

-it will keep a nice record of everyone who attended

-it will be a nice keepsake of well-wishes from everyone who attended

-it's tradition

Con:

-it's ANOTHER project that has yet to be started

-if no one actually signs it, it's kind of a waste of money

-how many people actually write anything heartfelt in a guestbook?  most people scribble their names and get on with the dancing

-having one opens the door for giggling, drunken boys to write inappropriate things that will last a lifetime

-"it's tradition" is not a good reason to do anything you don't otherwise feel strongly about

Hmm.  Well, let's operate under the assumption that we're going to have one.  If we do, there are two possible options I'm looking at.  (Yes, I know there are a million different guestbook options out there, but I'm only attracted to two of them.)

A Good Old-Fashioned Scrapbook (with removable note cards for signing)

image via Scrapbooking Pleasures

Pro:

 -Scrapbooking is really fun!  This could be a chance to get creative- I haven't done a scrapbook since my senior book I put together for high school graduation

-Filling the book with blank note cards scattered throughout could solve one of the reasons nobody signs guestbooks- they have to wait in line for the book!  We could have blank cards stacked on tables, along with pens, and then a collection box for them, and I can go back after the honeymoon and stick the signed cards in the empty spots.

-This could be an inexpensive option- all we'd need to buy is the scrapbooking materials and then prints of our photos

Con:

-This is a rather labor intensive option

-People STILL might not sign the cards, and that means a lot of gaps/empty cards

-Define "inexpensive".  When I put together my senior book, I spent most of my time and Bojangles paycheck at The Scrapbook Store buying pretty knick knacks for the pages because IT'S SO PRETTY.  It might end up costing just as much as option 2 (and obviously the cheapest option is forgoing a guestbook entirely...)

A Printed Photobook (with matte pages)

image via Picaboo

 Pro:

-Much less work!

-Should people forget/otherwise neglect to sign it, we could design the book such that empty spaces don't look quite so awkward

-Basic photobooks are offered from tons of companies for not-very-expensive

Con:

-...ok but there's still SOME work involved- you have to design the page layouts, which means more decisions...

-Again with the "define inexpensive" route- the nicer ones come with a pretty hefty price tag

So, Hive, I need your help!  Should we go with:

-The scrapbook option

-The photobook option

-Neither.  Who has physical photo albums anymore?  Besides, as noted above, nobody will sign it.

Do you use pro-con lists to make big (or not-so-big) decisions?  Do you ever sign the guestbook at weddings you attend?  Did you use a more creative option for your guestbook?  Do you still have the guestbook from your wedding, or did it turn out to be not quite the keepsake you had hoped?

PRESENTS!

No, we haven't gotten anything off our registry yet.  (Does it sound bratty to say I can't wait until we do?  Does it sound Bridezilla-y?)

But we did get a present!

Okay so it was intended as a birthday present, but still.  Presents is presents!

Remember our amazing engagement session?  We ended up with some beautiful shots.  One of those shots really stood out to my younger sister and MOH:

photo by Emile Frey

My sister is an artist- and an amazing one at that.  One of her art school projects was to enlarge an image using a grid, and to create it using only dots and hash marks.  The result?  An AMAZING birthday present / early wedding gift!

{personal photo}

Eeek!  Isn't that gorgeous?  This beauty is framed and hanging on the wall in my (soon to be our!) apartment so that when you open the front door, it's one of the first things you see.  She's told me she may have to steal it next year for her senior show as it's one of her proudest pieces...I may be able to part with it momentarily, but only if she promises not to sell it to anybody else!

I love my super talented sister! // photo by Mr. Potion

Did you receive any handmade wedding gifts?

A Place to Party, Part 2

Previously, on Miss Potion's Blog,

-My mom is awesome
-The internet is your friend, especially when researching wedding stuff
-Did I mention my mom is awesome?

Last time, I hinted that our venue hunt ended a la Goldilocks- one venue was booked, one venue was just not our style, and one venue was juuuuust right.  So exactly how did things pan out?

photo by Micah Jones

Sterling Castle, while beautiful, was already booked for our date :(  That's probably for the best, however, as initial inspection of the packages offered on their website suggested they are slightly out of our price range.

photo by BM BabySis

photo by Mom Potion

CreekSide Lodge was really cute on the outside, but on the inside...meh.  I don't know, between the carpet and the generic "Italian bistro" paintings, it just didn't have that charm we were going for.  Plus, it seems that the main room is so small that you really have to host most of the reception outside- and we didn't want to bank on an outdoor reception in case the weather is crazy.

For those folks playing along at home, you'll know that this means...

photo by Mom Potion

SpringHouse is juuuuuuuuuuust riiiiiiiight!  I mean look at this place- the exposed stone walls, the wood floors, the comfy-yet-modern chairs...it's charming, it's kind of casual, and best of all- it's within our budget!

photo by Mom Potion

 Normally, when renting a place for a reception, you pay a fee for the actual rental of the building and then pay for food and beverages on top of that.  When renting a restaurant, you pay the rental fee, and then the contract entails that you have to purchase a minimum amount of food and beverage- to ensure that the restaurant doesn't actually lose money by hosting your wedding.  However, we're having a daytime wedding-and SpringHouse makes most of its profit in the evening.  As such, we don't have to pay any rental fee at all, just a minimum amount of food and beverage- at the very reasonable price of $3000.  With a planned ~200 guests, it definitely won't be hard to hit that minimum- we'll probably go over that and still stay within our budget.  Plus, they have an on-site baker that will make our cupcakes- a fee which can be factored in to the food and beverage minimum.  Plus they have a well-stocked bar, built-in sound system, wait staff, dishes, silverware, and plenty of room...all built in to the food and beverage minimum.  Score!  So my mom headed back out to SpringHouse, put down a deposit, and signed the contract.


Was it difficult to choose your reception venue?  Did you go with an all-inclusive option?

A Place to Party

Previously, on Miss Potion's Blog:

-This wedding will be comprised of mainly out-of-town guests.  Including us.
-So I need my mom's help to meet with vendors, like our florist
-We're having a lunch-time reception that is slightly to the casual side of the casual-formal spectrum

This whole planning-a-wedding-from-afar thing is kind of difficult sometimes, but it's those times when my wonderful mom steps up and helps me out in any way she can- most of the time, that has meant meeting with vendors, signing contracts, and putting down deposits.  Like when we were looking for a reception venue!

I think maybe my mom was even more excited when we got engaged than I was- well, almost, anyway.  The moment Mr. Potion and I presented the idea of holding the wedding in Alex City, she got straight to work, looking around for suitable reception venues- before I even asked!  She gathered the names of a few places, and I looked them up online, in addition to doing my own research.  Based on what I could pull from a few websites, Mr. Potion and I settled on three potential locations and asked her to check them out for us.  She grabbed her camera and my sisters and set off to interview these places, then reported her findings.  I compiled the following list of questions for her to ask each location:

1.  Our date is 10 Nov 2012; we're looking to do a reception from about 1pm-5pm.  Is this date/time available?
2.  Our vision is a laid-back cocktail party.  For food, we're thinking 'heavy hors d'oeuvres'...finger food that you can get full off of if you want.  Definitely no sit-down, 5 course meal.  Do you have a package like this?  Can we see a menu?
3.  We also want to provide an open bar, but not necessarily anything too expansive.  Wine, beer, champagne for toasting, and one, maybe 2 'signature cocktails.'  Do you have a package like this?
4.  We really want to take care of the decorating ourselves- basic table linens will be fine, and we'll provide everything else...if that's allowed.
5.  We envision an 'iPod reception'- that is, no formal dj or band, just our own music player hooked to a sound system.  Do you have a sound system that can be hooked up with an mp3 player or computer- one that includes a microphone?  Are these things included in your package?
6.  We're hoping for 100-200 people; how many people does your biggest room fit?  Is there room for a sizeable dance floor?
7.  Do you have an on-site baker, or do you recommend one?  We're looking to have cupcakes instead of a traditional wedding cake; if you have an on-site baker, is this a possibility?  If you have an on-site baker, is the price included in the package or is it extra?  If we choose not to use your on-site baker, is there a penalty fee for bringing in someone from the outside?
8.  Finally, I need prices for the package that would accommodate the vision I've described above.  Would this package include a "day-of coordinator" who can set things up and take things down the day of the wedding?

I didn't want her to start the conversation by announcing our budget; I preferred to hear a quote for what we were asking for and if it was out of budget, move on to the next choice.  This way I figured we would get an honest assessment of what it would take to achieve our vision without having to choose a package off a menu based solely on how much we are able to spend.


First on the list was Mom Potion's suggestion: SpringHouse.

photo by Frank Couch // image via AL.com

 SpringHouse is a restaurant described by critics as "upscale-casual" in the scenic area of Lake Martin.  It kind of looks like a large house on the outside, and the inside feels "rustic" without actually being a barn.  My initial research showed that they have experience with cocktail party receptions and that our vision probably wouldn't seem too foreign to them.

Next was CreekSide Lodge, also on Lake Martin.

image via OpenTravel.com

CreekSide Lodge is basically a bed and breakfast and is very quaint.  The website boasts an onsite caterer AND coordinator, which was definitely a plus.  Also, the option to spend the night on-site was certainly attractive!

Finally, there was Sterling Castle.

image via Panoramio

...IT'S A CASTLE, YOU GUYS.  I rest my case.

So how did the meetings go?  Which site did we pick?

One of these was already booked for our date...One of these was cute on the outside but stuffy on the inside...One of these was juuuuuuuuuuuuuuust right.

Tune in next time to find out!

Did you have to send someone else to choose a venue for you?  Would you have been able to relinquish control and allow that to happen?  What sort of questions did you have for potential venues?

A Cry for Help

No, seriously.

I'll get straight to the point:

I'm designing our invitations from scratch and I cannot WAIT to show them to you, but they're missing one tiny, nearly insignificant piece:

words.

What's that, you say?  Words are important?

Whoops, my bad.

The good news is that the wording is not the problem here- we're going super-duper traditional so I know exactly what they're going to say.

It's the font that's the problem.

If you're reading this and you're not actually a bride, you probably think I'm insane.  (Or maybe other brides think I'm insane, too.  I'M TOTALLY SANE, YOU GUYS.)  It's not that hard to pick a font, right?  Just go with anything but Comic Sans and you're good.

EXCEPT NO.

I am incapable of making decisions simple, no matter how hard I try.

Here's where y'all come in:

I need suggestions from you for a font which meets the following requirements:

-FREE, first off.  I ain't payin' for a font.  It's not in the budget.
-Whimsical.  Interpret that as you wish.
-Not too busy.  It needs to be able to stand out against a patterned background which is, well, busy(ish)
-The lowercase letters need to be, well, lowercase.  As in not tiny-uppercase.  Does this make sense?

Please help!  Mah brain iz fried and I need to outsource this decision, so please...suggest away!

What's the Worst that Could Happen?

Wedding nightmares are apparently a pretty common phenomenon with stressed-out brides near the end of the engagement.  Night after night, the frazzled bride's subconscious plays out every possible scenario of things that could go wrong on The Big Day, from the slightly improbable to the completely absurd.  For some brides, this serves merely as fodder for a funny story over coffee with a friend, and for others, it convinces them make sure they are prepared for the worst in the off-chance that the dreams are their third eye seeing into the beyond.

Emma Thompson as Professor Trelawney // image via Stellar Path

I have yet to fall victim to these sorts of nightmares.  Sure, I'm crazy stressed out about all things wedding right now, but my stress originates mainly from The List and from rational fears, such as the worry that I won't be able to finish everything on The List.  I haven't quite ventured into the territory of the myriad of other things that could go wrong.

This weekend, Mr. Potion and I made the trip down to Blacksburg for my friend (and bridesmaid) MrsF's wedding.  You may have heard that a slightly interesting series of thunderstorms made its way across the state and the rest of the East Coast on Friday, causing minor problems along the way.  The wedding reception was supposed to be held at the Blacksburg Country Club.

image via jrandlesley.com

Like millions of other Virginians, guess who didn't have power on Saturday?

Now, never fear- this story has a happy ending.  Turns out the country club did some leg work, and called up The Inn at Virginia Tech to see if they could hold the reception there, with the country club staff doing the work.

image via The Inn at Virginia Tech

The Inn was cooperative, and the phone call that the bride received the morning of her wedding was not, "So...what do you want to do now?" but instead, "We have a back-up plan!"  Apparently the bride originally wanted to host the reception at The Inn anyway, so everything worked out for the best.

the happy couple, thankful to be dancing in an air-conditioned room // {personal photo}

Of course, as Mr. Potion and I are the next in line to the altar amongst our group of friends, dinner conversation at the reception began with the question, "So, Miss Potion, what would you have done if this were your wedding?"

We all generally agreed that I would've freaked out, spent most of the day crying, and sent out an announcement to the guests generally stating, "Just kidding, we'll try again next week."

Thus began a rousing game of Let's Name Everything That Could Possibly Go Wrong on the Potions' Wedding Day.

Let me tell you, this was a super fun game.  It's my new favorite game.  I'm pretty sure I won.  I mean, I'm the only player who nearly hyperventilated and tried to change the subject several times before announcing rather abruptly that it was time to go dance.  And I've found myself practicing my skills at this game by making my own list of disasters in my head and freaking out about them.

Want to play?

Things That Could Go Wrong on the Big Day

-the Atlanta airport closes, and a majority of our out-of-town guests can't get to the wedding at all, including the groom
-a hurricane tears its way inland and destroys the reception site
-the kitchen at the reception site catches fire and the entire place burns down before we get to eat any cupcakes
-my dress catches fire while being steamed/pressed and I have to wear jeans instead
-I never actually find a good pair of shoes to wear and just go barefoot
-all of my hair falls out and I have to wear a wig even though I am so very against using extensions
-the invitations don't get sent to the printers on time so they get mailed out late, and by the time people receive them, they've already made plans for November 10th
-my fabric flower boutonnieres/corsages look stupid and everyone refuses to wear them
-a bridesmaid forgets to order her dress and has to wear jeans instead
-the florist covers the church in $1 million worth of white roses and when I can't pay in full the entire parish brings a lawsuit against us
-the sound system dies at the reception site and I have to sing loudly, else there will be nothing to dance to
-my makeup causes an allergic reaction that doesn't show up until after months of use, and on the morning of the wedding my entire face is red and swollen
-the photographer wrote down the wrong day and doesn't show up
-something is wrong with the seafood in the po'boys and every single guest is struck with immediate, violent food poisoning, causing them to vomit all over the dance floor
-they run out of Maker's Mark before I get a drink
-the sound system works just fine, but the only music my computer is capable of playing is the Nyan Cat song on a loop for 4 hours and we can't make it stop
-I receive the Blood of Christ at Communion and proceed to spill it all down my front
-the ring bearer does indeed throw his little book down the aisle, and while we've thought ahead and not actually given him the rings, it knocks over a candle on the altar, sending the whole church up in flames
-my dad decides he knows what's best and will be driving us to our honeymoon and then back to NOVA rather than letting me drive my own car
-Mr. Potion farts really, really loud when he's supposed to say "I do"
-I come down with laryngitis and am incapable of saying anything, much less "I do", but I mouth the words anyway.  Years later, the topic comes up in the form of a funny story in an audience with the Pope and he declares the marriage invalid because I never actually made any vows.  Mr. Potion is so horrified that I had never realized this was the case and so decides to not re-marry me officially.
-Mickey and Minnie actually accept our invitation, show up at the wedding, and terrify our two tiniest attendants (my baby cousins).  They proceed to shriek in terror for the entire Mass, refusing any comfort, just standing in front of the altar rigid in shock and wailing at the top of their lungs.

*Phew* I'm really good at this game, y'all.  It's actually quite fun.  At least I'm laughing at the ridiculousness my imagination is capable of instead of sobbing in the corner in sheer despair.

Your turn!  What are some absolutely terrible things that could happen at your wedding, probable or otherwise?