Honeymoon 2

That Thursday, we woke up and took a 45 minute flight into Iraklio (Heraklion in English) airport. We picked up our rental car and met a very nice woman on our flight who was nice enough to give us very good directions to our resort, about an hour or so from the airport in Elounda. The drive was somewhat scary since it was right along the coast line, but was quite beautiful at the same time. Here was a picture I took out the window:

We arrived and were pleasantly greeted by the front desk where we had a personal attendant walk us to our room that overlooks the ocean. We again were pleasantly surprised by the wine waiting for us from our travel agent. Additionally though, this time the hotel had given us champagne with this note:


The note read:
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ian,
The Management and staff of your Aquila Elounda Village would like to wish you a lifetime of happiness TOGETHER!

Once we arrived at this hotel we didn't leave until it was time for us to head to the next area of Crete. The resort was beautiful and felt the most exotic of all the places we stayed. This is also where I started my crazy obsession with reading. In total, I read 4 books while in Greece. It was nice to finally have the time to read. The food was AMAZING and the views were even better.


Here are some pictures and captions of our 3 nights there:

Our room:

View from our balcony:

We had room service for lunch when we first got there:

The view from our lounge chairs looking up at the resort:

The pool that overlooks the ocean:

From the restaurant that overlooks the little cove and water:

My regular activity if I was not people watching with the boy:

Before going on our honeymoon, we came up with the idea that we each would plan a romantic night. Ian was up first. He surprised me by arranging for a private table right next to the water, a 5 course meal, and champagne to start. The little papers with strings around them are the individual menus for our 5 course meal. the food was delicious and the point of the dinner, to have a romantic night was certainly accomplished!

At dinner:

And I swear this boat reminded me of the one in The Talented Mr. Ripley - creepy! But I liked the picture we took of it so here you go:

Next up on the honeymoon review - Platanias (in Crete)!

Signed

Saturday - we signed our new lease! It was a very exciting feeling to be picking a place of our own and feels more like our own place since it's brand new.

Sunday, we were busy furniture shopping. Our old couches were about 15 years old, a bit dirty, and just plain run down. We decided to head to Value City Furniture since they were having a big sale. It was a very successful shopping trip and we ended up with a new sofa, chair & 1/2 and a matching ottoman. Here's a picture of the three new pieces (actually I don't think this is exactly what we got but the color and shape are almost identical):

We then took a side trip to Ikea, where we purchased a couple new throws for the new couches, and Ian was desperate to get rid of the crappy old TV stand I had in college, and so we purchased this:

It looks black but is actually black/brown, and we bought 3 cute little baskets to go on the bottom shelf to hold stuff in - but got them home and realized we bought the wrong size - DOH! I hate when that happens. Oh well - looks like we'll have to go to Ikea again and get sucked into spending more money. Ikea has a way of doing that to me - part of it is I get a little confused as to where I am as a whole, and they have lots of cute things that I could always use. Do I need them - no. But I like them so inevitably we end up spending money on stupid stuff that we don't need.

I've been busy making lots of phone calls - calling the new gas and electric company to transfer the bill to our name as of the start of our lease, arranging an appointment time for them to come out to turn on the gas, booking the movers, and a whole other list of places to call before we move - Comcast to switch locations, alarm company to set up appointment to turn alarm system on, current electric company to close our bill on the last day we're in the apartment. Moving in one word: sucks!

We did find time to watch Fool's Gold - I don't recommend it. I loved Matthew and Kate in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (one of my fave movies), but their chemistry just wasn't there in this one. I think it mostly had to do with a poor storyline.

And I'm super delayed in finishing up our honeymoon recap! How was your weekend?

Who? What? Where? When?

I'll start with those questions to fill you in as to what we've been up to!


We happened to land us some box seat tickets to the Coldplay concert in DC and we are psyched!!

Since things were so hectic before the wedding and we felt like horrible friends, we've been trying to take time to catch up with friends. I also have been busy trying to get all of my school loans in order so that everything's set for my first day of orientation on August 25. I got my class schedule and got extremely excited. I couldn't fall asleep I was so wired. And I have to say, of the 10 or so schedules I could've had, I think I got one of the good ones. I'm finished with classes by 12 on Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays and on Monday and Wednesdays I'm finished by 3. I rather get up at the same time as Ian and go get classes overwith so I can come home, eat lunch and still have lots of study time before Ian gets home. I'm hoping this schedule will allow me to have a nice dinner with him every night but I have no idea what 1st year life will be like so we'll have to wait and see.

I know I need to finish the honeymoon recap but am happy to say that we finished all of our thank you notes - woohoo!


We've been making multiple trips up to Baltimore to look at houses to find a place to rent. We're moving in less than 4 weeks and were getting anxious to findy the right place. I've been busy doing lots of looking on craigslist and also working with a realtor. By the way - we LOVE our realtor. She's very Baltimore but is such a sweetie.


In total - we looked at about 15 properties. We found one on the first day we looked and were ready to move forward when we got an email from the young owners (who also happen to be newlyweds) saying that their new house that they were moving into had a very bad inspection. They tried to negotiate with the owners of that house to get the issues fixed or to knock the price down, but they were unwilling to negotiate. So they pulled out of the contract. That left us going back to looking.


Sunday we visited a place and fell in love with it. It's a little more pricey than we wanted considering we'll be dropping down to one salary, but it's well worth the price. We went for a night time visit on Tuesday night to see it again, to make sure the area is safe for me to walk through at night, and moved forward with it yesterday! Say hello to our new place:






The pictures do not do this place justice whatsoever. It's a rowhome (similar to a townhouse) in a cute area of downtown Baltimore. The house has just been gutted and completely renovated. It's 2 bedroom, 1.5 baths with a patio, a deck off the 2nd bedroom, a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, and a fully finished basement. The part that is great about the finished basement part is that I need an office. So instead of putting the office in the guest bedroom, we'll have them as two separate rooms. The kitchen - oh how I love thee - I cannot wait to unpack our new kitchenware and cook in it. I told the hubby that the kitchen made me want to cook dinner every night - I think that just about sold him:)

"I'm a newlywed" - Oh have you changed your name yet?

Why is this the automatic question? We've been married almost 4 weeks, and I've had to answer this question more times than I can count. Doahleigh posted about the big name-debate. To change or not to change? That is currently a big fat question for me.

I grew up with the idea that I'd of course change my name. But then I matured a bit and realized that I had a choice. I also have seen and heard of women who go through kind of an identity crisis when something happens to the marriage or their husband. They were a Mrs. so and so and suddenly aren't. Not that I plan on that happening in any way, shape or form. However - I almost find myself having mini panic attacks at the thought of changing my name.

I know who I am. I am Katie [enter current last name]. My last name is actually not common at all, very unique, and quite a few friends call me by my last name. It is mispronounced all the time - but it doesn't annoy me. My husband's last name (sidenote - it feels very funny every time I say "my husband" - I kind of giggle when I type it) is an extremely common name. The fact that my first name is so common, and then possibly switching my last name to a very common last name makes my name sound so unoriginal and boring. Also, I have no association with Katie Smith [that is not the real name of my hubby- but just shows you how boring my name would be].

At the wedding, lots of his family members asked when I plan on changing my name. Upon hearing (gasp) that it wouldn't be happening soon, if at all, I got many horrified looks. You're not changing you're name? You don't want to be a [enter hubby's last name]? It's almost as if I don't love him as much, or I'm not proud to be his wife if I choose to keep my last name. I do love him - a whole lot - and I am proud to be his wife. But I am also proud of where I've come from, my family, my history. Just because I'm married doesn't mean I'm leaving my family and history behind, nor does it mean that I don't consider myself a part of his family. And I still am Ian's Mrs. - whether I have the last name or not.

I realize some people may argue that it's just a name, that it isn't who you are. That is a valid point. But why is it that it's automatically the woman who is supposed to change her name? If it was just a name, then women AND men would be changing their last names.

Ian would like me to change my name. I get that it makes life easier in terms of bills, traveling (we had to fill out extra forms and aren't considered a family when coming through customs - it was quite a pain), and kids. I do like the idea of having the same last name as Ian and our kids. But why do we have to use his? When he mentioned that he wants us to have the same last name, my response was "okay - you want to change your name?". The answer was a definite no. Now maybe he can understand my hesitation.

And if you know me - pressuring me to do something makes me want to run the other direction. I don't like being pressured into making a decision that is totally mine to make. So honey, if you're reading this, if you want any chance of me changing my name, better tell your family to calm down on those appalled expressions, and while you're at it, calm yourself down a bit too:)

What are your feelings? I would also like to say - I have absolutely no problem with people changing their names. In some cases, I think the new name sounds a whole lot better and the name just fits. And for those that don't care and change it - fine by me. What are you planning on doing? Is it an automatic thought process, as if you didn't have a choice? Or was it a conscience decision? And what helped you decide. Please HELP ME!

Check out Doahleigh's post and comments. She goes into a lot more detail and the comments add some excellent points!

Honeymoon 1

I'm going to break up the honeymoon into a few parts based on how many places we stayed. I have lots of scenic pictures as well as food pictures!

On Monday after our wedding, the day we were leaving for Greece, I woke up with a horrible pain in my lower back. I panicked. After a quick trip to the doctor where I was given antibiotics for a kidney infection, we were finally on our way! We arrived extremely exhausted at about 9:30am Athens time on Tuesday. By the time we got to the hotel, I was ready to collapse from the back pain. I began searching for the advil I just knew I had packed, only to realize I must not have. So our first trip in Athens - the pharmacy. Everyone in Athens spoke very good English, but somehow the words for "I need something to take for headaches or muscle aches" doesn't translate. The pharmacist took me over to give me the samples of different hair colors I can get there. I speak with a different pharmacist who asks if I'd like shampoo to scrub my head. I wasn't sure I was going to make it out of there with something that would help, but a different pharmacist came to my rescue and handed me a box of pills for about $1. We go home, I take 1 pill (hoping that's the right dosage since I can't read Greek) and 5 hours later, wake up for dinner. Never again on the trip did I have kidney pain. That stuff is great! I even brought the extra medicine home so next time you have cramps or a headache, I've got you covered.

Our hotel was in an area called Plaka and close enough to walk to just about everything we'd need to see. Here are some pictures of our 2 days there with captions:

Our beautiful hotel: Electra Palace

Our balcony overlooked the beautiful Acropolis:

We had a suite (regular rooms in some parts of Europe are big enough to fit a bed - this basically equates to a regular room):

We had amazing salads just about everyday. Here's a picture of Ian eating one of these at our first meal in Athens:

And a picture of the two of us after dinner:

After our first dinner, we opened the bottle of wine that our travel agent had sent us and sat outside on our balcony to write postcards:

The next day, after lots of sleep, we decided to suck it up and deal with the heat (about 105 degrees). We took the 10 minute walk to the Acropolis through streets and shops:

Then, we began our very hot hike to get to the top of the Acropolis. I continually had to take breaks because I was sweating so badly (if you don't know already, I have a serious sweating problem). Here's a picture of me taking a break and not very happy:

We finally made it! Here are some pictures of me being happy to be at the top, of the sites, and of the view from the top:

After a very long shower, we got ready and headed to dinner at the hotel's rooftop restaurant overlooking the Acropolis, the pool and the city. The food and service were fantastic and we had some good wine - but nothing quite can beat the view we had:

My delicious lamb entree with herbed potatoes and a spinach in phyllo side:

Next up: Elounda in Crete!

Interruption

I'm taking a quick break in between the wedding recap before going into the honeymoon recap. Since we've been home from Greece, I am seriously loving being married. I didn't think it would feel different since we lived together before getting married, but it does in some ways. I have a feeling it's just because it's new, but I don't care - I'm loving it!

We've been super busy getting our house organized. The hubby doesn't think we need to start packing until about a week before we move. Umm - yeah not so much. I've been trying to get rid of things - and am now realizing how much crap we've accumulated since living here - and we've only been here 2 years! It feels good to get rid of stuff!

We went and visited three places in Baltimore this past weekend. One was extremely cute, but in a sketchy area, one was in a great area but not worth the price and had a very bizarre layout (as well as not having updated anything), and our favorite of the three is in an okay area and is absolutely beautiful. We have a few questions to be answered from the owners and then we're ready to move forward. I'm hoping this falls into place - although somehow knowing our luck, it won't be that easy. If you live in the Baltimore area (Canton, Federal Hill or Fells Point) and know of any places available for rent, send them my way! We are working with a realtor, plus checking craigslist, and have only come across a handful of options.

We also are busy getting our place ready so that the owners can come in and show it. This is creating quite an issue because we don't want random people coming in our house while we're not home because Tessa's anxiety will go through the roof. She already can sense that something's going on because we have tons of stuff boxed up and we're constantly bringing in boxes and moving stuff around and we're in and out of the house. But somehow my landlord doesn't really understand how things work when you have a pet. So our solution is to have our dogwalker take Tessa out of the house for a few hours every MWF, and then on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Ian will take Tessa to and from my mom's house to spend the day there. Oh Mom - if you're reading this, yep Tessa will be staying at your house two days per week. I swear - one of the first few people to look at the place better freaking like it - this is a pain in my butt!

Our move to Baltimore is getting me very excited. Excited for new restaurants, being close enough to walk to go get food/coffee/bagels, new neighborhoods, a bigger house, new adventures, being closer to some of our friends (mostly Ian's close friends), and new adventures. I can't wait!

Wedding Advice: Take it or Leave it

Okay I think this is my last wedding post!

Anyone planning a wedding is bound to get a ton of advice. Some of it about budgeting, traditions, what to do, what not to do, flowers, band vs. dj, cake flavors, cake designs, dress styles, hair styles, makeup, details, details, and more stinking details. Some of it is great, some not so great. My feeling throughout the process was, I was open to hearing all advice, but had the authority to take it or leave it. Here is some advice that I took to heart and truly believe it made a difference:

• Kim gave me some advice that truly helped me from day one. Do not settle for any vendor. There are tons of vendors out there and do not be pressured to book them just because they encourage you to do it quickly. At first this was hard for me - I'd find someone I liked a lot and think, I need to book them now, NOW! Omigosh what if someone else books them before me - I will DIE to not have this vendor - they're the best I can get! Okay - that's how crazy the thought process goes. Take a deep breath - you always have time. I planned our wedding in 8 months and as you can see from my reviews, I loved the majority of my vendors. So, keep shopping. Even if you think you've found the right vendor, go to one more, compare prices, and get reviews of that vendor from at least a couple people. Then go for it. But calm yourself down and don't buy into the idea that you have to rush and book someone.


• Bargain! Staying on budget was imperative for us. I refused to go over - my feeling was, we had a very good budget and no matter what, we'd make it work. I accomplished that (and have a bit of money leftover!) simply by bargaining and not settling. You can always get more for your money, or get them to throw in some deals. And if I wasn't happy with a price, I walked away and explained to the vendor that I couldn't do that. More often than not, the vendor will try to work it out with you - they want your business. That gives you a lot of power - you hold the power!


• Pick your top 3-4 priorities for the wedding with your fiance. Our top priorities were: photography, location, music and my dress. These were things that we were willing to go over the budget on. If you don't pick your priorities, it becomes very easy to think that every single part of your wedding has to be "perfect" or the "best". For us, setting those few priorities made us compromise in other areas. We went with the best priced videographer we could find because it wasn't as important to us as photography. Instead of having all tall centerpieces, we split it and did some short ones and some tall onces - just to save a little there. Little things make a difference.


• Do what you want to do. We got mixed reviews on our favors - we donated money to the Washington Animal Rescue League where our adorable pup came from instead of giving a favor. It was important to us to do something meaningful. We got a ton of positive responses. We also opted not to use ANY flowers at the chapel. We felt the chapel was absolutely stunning by itself and that the flowers really wouldn't have added much. We wanted the chapel to stand alone. People noticed it but instead of being appalled by it, the majority of responses were positive - they noticed that we had done it on purpose and loved it. Another thing we did that people had mixed feelings about - having our dog at for a couple formal pictures. Everyone (including me!) was worried that she's put a dirty paw on me and ruin my dress. It was a risk I wanted to take - it was something we really wanted. So - if you get a feeling about something that you really want to do - do it.
• A note about your registry: I would recommend registering for things you absolutely need prior to your shower, then after your shower, add the things that aren't necessities, but that you want. We did not do it this way and I wish we had. Now, we don't have towels or our bedding but have a ton of fun things. It's going to be a big pain for me to return the fun things that we want - but we're going to have to because we didn't get a lot of the stuff we need.
• Do not be afraid to speak your mind. I was a little nervous about this in the beginning in terms of speaking up to vendors. I felt bad for some reason asking for certain things - I thought I was being picky. But when it came down to it, I reminded myself that we're allowed to have our day, exactly how we want it and that we are paying to have things how we want them. Just remind yourself that you have every right to stand up for what you want. I was blatantly honest with a couple vendors about my dissatisfaction with the way something was handled and they (I hope) appreciated it. It meant that they could fix things and really pay attention and make things wonderful for the big day - and in return, I am able to rave about how professional they are.
• Check the knot boards or ask around. It sounds very bridezilla - but before I booked any vendor, I wanted to get a few positive reviews beforehand. So I'd post for opinions about that particular vendor and see what happened. I really think it helped me and as a result I ended up with an awesome team of vendors who made our day incredibly special.
• Use other people's weddings for inspiration. I looked at people's photos, or thought about weddings I've been to, and the details I loved. If I liked someone's cake, or DJ, or makeup, I asked them for the information. I know you want to feel like your wedding is unique from any friend's wedding - but it's okay to go with a vendor that a friend used. I think it actually helps - then you know their experience, and can reference their wedding when inquiring.
• I already mentioned this one - but skip the cameras in the middle of each table.
• Someone mentioned to me that during the last few weeks before the wedding, to take some quiet time to sit back and realize what an amazing time this is in my life. I did that - and on the wedding day I took about 1/2 hour by myself on the balcony with my journal. I sat and reflected and it really helped slow down the wedding day. Everyone says it flies by - and it does go quickly - but for me it wasn't a blur. I remember so many details of that day, words someone spoke, and the feeling I had that day I will never forget. Take the time to appreciate it - it's an incredibly special feeling!

So there's my two-cents! And of course, take it or leave it! Any advice you other ladies can offer that I may have missed??

Next up - HONEYMOON REVIEW!

Wedding Recap 3

I forgot to mention that the disposable cameras on each table for guests to take pictures - skip it! The amount of useable pictures (and I am one to think useable pictures could be some of the hilarious ones), I could probably count on 2 hands. It's expensive to develop them considering how few pictures are decent. There were a lot of pictures that people took that were of Ian and I - and they were terribly far away. The purpose of those cameras is to take pics of your table. About 2-3 tables did a great job with them. But, in my mind - a waste of money. But that's just my humble opinion.

Today's topic will be the reviews of each of my vendors:

• DaVinci's Florist: B+ I loved, loved, loved my bouquet. It was the perfect size, shape, and the flowers used were absolutely fresh and beautiful. My bridesmaids flowers were also absolutely beautiful. The color of the hot pink had more purple in it than we had discussed, but wasn't off enough to really complain about. The reception centerpieces - loved them! As I mentioned yesterday, the only mistake was that the 2 MOH bouquets should've been all hot pink and green (no white). Here are some pics:

My bouquet:

Tall centerpiece (this picture makes them look purple - they were fuschia or hot pink):

Low centerpiece:

• Upper Crust Wedding Cakes: A+ I LOVED working with Liz. I am not a huge cake person, but have to say I am addicted to her cakes. She did our rehearsal dinner cake and wedding cake. The rehearsal dinner cake was a vanilla cake with buttercreak and wild blackberry jam. We had two flavors for our wedding cake - Vanilla cake with buttercream and fresh strawberries in grand marnier; and devil's food cake with vanilla buttercream. YUM to both! The design was very fun as well. Delivery was on time and she was very professional. Would HIGHLY recommend her! Here's a picture:

• Cherry Blossom Weddings & Events: A++++ I CANNOT RAVE ENOUGH ABOUT ERIN! Seriously - she was freaking amazing. I'm super sad she's taking a break from weddings for a bit but am so grateful I was able to have her be my DOC. Kim was also there on the day of and she rocked as well. Things went extremely smoothly and I really didn't worry about a single thing on the day of. A couple problems arose and I didn't even know about them. I swear I was as calm as I was because I knew she was on top of things. She was not only an awesome DOC - but she was the sweetest person - truly a pleasure to be around. She even bought a hot pink shirt for her suit to match my wedding colors. Love her! I don't think I have a picture with her - but she's in the background of lots of pics.


• Chris Laich: (Ray) A+ Our dance floor was packed and when the hotel was ready to close things up at 12:00 and the dance floor was still packed, we kept it going until 1:00am. It was truly a party. It was super important to me to dance the night away, and that's precisely what I did which explains why I am sweaty in lots of late night pictures. Seriously - he rocked. I would hire him again in a heartbeat. The music was perfect for our entrances, dinner time and dance time. All ages of people were dancing, from my little goddaughter who's almot 7, to Ian's grandmas who are in their 80's. And his announcements were completely professional. Would HIGHLY recommend you to hire them!


• Sairra Lax: A Sairra was so professional and really listened to what I was looking for. She made every single one of my girls and both moms look absolutely amazing. And I felt absolutely beautiful and elegant and fresh and didn't feel like I was wearing a ton of makeup. She doesn't have a website so message me if you'd like her contact info. She was wonderful.


• Michael Perez: A Michael has been doing my hair since I was 5 years old. He did not do what I consider "typical" bridesmaid hairstyles. Each person had a different style and he really worked to make sure it fit with their faces and hair types. They were fresh and looked fabulous on every single one of them. He also added a few touches - gave my MOH bangs, trimmed my Dad's hair, and gave two girls side bangs. He was awesome. Very expensive - but worth it to me. I really liked my hair as well - it fit me perfectly. It wasn't loose and pulled back and made me feel very elegant. And it stayed very well until 1:00am!


• Freed Photography (Russell): A Russell and Glen were so professional. Guests commented on how they didn't really notice our photographers which made me very happy. They blended in well and were super polite. I haven't seen all of our pictures, but from the brief slideshow, I am already very pleased. I can't wait to see the rest of them! Would totally hire them again!
• Atlantis Imagery: A (so far) Vince was very easy to work with. I didn't really notice him much at the wedding (except for the light he uses at the reception). I will have to repost about him after I receive our video!


• RMA: A- We rented 2 buses from RMA - one for the bridal party, and another for the guests. Considering how many horror stories we've heard about wedding day transportation, I am very happy that everything went very smoothly. They were on time and offered us the best price out of all the places we looked into. The only mishap was that the guest bus kept going in circles - was clearly lost. Luckily one of our guests is very familiar with the area and went and directed the driver.


• Alabaster's Limousines: A- Our driver was on time, very professional, and we loved the 1959 Rolls Royce. The cost was a little less than what a limo would've costed us and we loved the idea of taking this car instead of a limo - it just worked better for us. Only negative was that the limo kind of conked out on us halfway there. He got it started within about 30 seconds and it was fine the rest of the trip. I think he was new to driving this particular car.
• The Westin Grand: C+ I have mixed feelings about the Westin. Our experience in terms of planning was not very positive. The actual night went off amazingly - but a ton of things happened before then that really left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. I think that things would have gone more smoothly had their transition of new employees been better. I've expressed lots of my issues with them up until this point. But the actual wedding week/weekend had some screw ups as well - The suite not being ready, not handing out many valet cards (we had provided them with little thank you notes to hang from each rear view mirror - but the majority of our people who valet parked didn't receive them), changing the price of something 2 days before the wedding, not serving both flavors of the cake, and who knows what else. Robin is their coordinator and while she seemed to do a great job, the hotel establishment as a whole was not up to par for the amount of money we were spending there. That being said, I loved the feeling of our evening, the food and they did try to compensate us in some ways.
• Men's Warehouse: A From all of the horror stories I've heard about tuxes being wrong, I am happy that everything went very smoothly. Every single tux was right! And I think the boys looked pretty handsome if I do say so myself.
• Boone & Sons: B+ We got both of our wedding bands from Boone & Sons (Chevy Chase location). Their service is great - very personal and they are incredibly kind and helpful, which is a rarety at most businesses. They also gave us the best deals we could find - and we shopped at several different jewelers. The reason I'm giving them this grade though is because the rings weren't engraved on time and I had to take 2 trips back there to get them. Any bride knows that the last few weeks before your wedding are incredibly busy, so it was inconvenient for me to have to go back a few times. The engravings were incorrect the first time so they had to redo them. They did however, knock off a bit of the price for the mishap which was nice of them. I would certainly use them again though!
• Distinctive Designs: B- I loved, loved, loved my dress. The day I went to try on dresses there was wonderful. I really liked the people I worked with. And it was not "stuffy" like I found several bridal stores to be. I special ordered an extra 12 inches on my dress which was going to require more money and more time for the hand beading. Also, my veil was custom ordered to end right past where the train ends. I went to my first fitting and my instinct told me that something wasn't right. The veil was WAY too long and my train didn't seem quite long enough. It turns out that the designer made a mistake and didn't add the extra lengthn (not DD's fault whatsoever). I was reimbursed for the extra length, and DD fixed my veil to be the right length. We could've requested the designer to make a new back panel but by the time it would've gotten to us, the alterations woman would've only had a few days to remove the current panel, put the new panel in, and do the rest of the alterations. It was a risk I wasn't willing to take. My issue with DD is that I basically had to fight them to call the designer because I just knew it wasn't right. They tried to tell me that I was wrong. Also - we would've had enough time to have ordered the new panel if they had checked the dress when it first came in. It worked out fine in the end, but was irritated that I had to fight them that much just to get to the bottom of the situation! Additionally - I think they need a new alterations person. She did a great job - but she had trouble understanding me and was tried to cancel an appointment 5 minutes before I was scheduled to be there - just not the most professional in my opinion.
• An Elegant Invite: D I would not recommend this company. I loved my invitations, but considering how many vendors carry similar (or sometimes the exact) invitations, I would get them from somewhere else next time. She happened to be out of town when our invitations came in. They were supposed to be delivered to my mom's house, but were delivered to the vendor's house. Because she was out of town, I was delayed in getting them (and also had to go pick them up from her house which is about 40 minutes from our house - not convenient whatsoever) Also - she was terrible with communication. She told us she would email us when our credit card would be charged. She never did that which startled us because we didn't recognize the company name that it showed up as on our statement. Also - the price ended up coming out to a lot more than she had quoted us. When I inquired, she gave me various reasons why - and I couldn't argue with her, but I wish she would've given us the full detail of the price when we first met with her. Additionally, we were supposed to have gotten clear stickers to seal our invitations but they weren't in the order. I wrote to the vendor expressing my dissatisfaction, and she never replied. To me, that is horrible business practice. I have several friends who are engaged who wanted me to refer them to our invitation vendor, and I refused to recommend her. Would not use her again.

Those are my main vendors. I know I'm simply blanking on others - and I'll get to them another time!

More Photos!

Freed has a new blog and there's a short slideshow of pictures of us. Click here to view it!

Wedding Planning Websites

Here is a list of wedding planning websites that helped me during the process:

DC Knottie Reviews

DC Nearlyweds

DC Wedding Spot

Knot Bio List

Project Wedding

Unveiled Society

Washingtonian's Wedding Guide

Wedding Bee

Appointments for Wedding Planning

Ever wonder how many appointments it takes to go into planning a wedding?  Well I compiled a list, just for you, of the entire process from proposal to arriving home from our fabulous honeymoon in Greece.  Also, if you're interested in any of these vendors, I most likely wrote a review of what I liked/disliked about the particular vendor during the planning process.  Feel free to take a look.

09/29/07 - Ian Proposes!!


09/30/07 - The Planning Begins!

10/13/07 - Visit Reception Sites

10/14/07 - Register at Crate and Barrel

10/18/07 - Day off to Visit Reception Sites

10/20/07 - Hitched for Dresses and Dinner with Jeremy and Kim

10/21/07 - Creative Cakes for Tasting

10/23/07 - Bridal Images for Dresses

10/27/07 - Distinctive Designs for Dresses

10/28/07 - Absolute Entertainment for DJ

11/01/07 - Cherry Blossom for DOC

11/05/07 - Carl Bower Photography

11/06/07 - KIAD Creations for DOC

11/08/08 - Jan Michele Photography

11/10/07 - Bridesmaid dress shopping with Maggie

11/12/07 - Elaine Studley Photography

11/13/07 - David's Bridal with Maggie for Bridesmaid Dresses

11/14/07 - Freed Photographery

11/16/07 - Lauren Arrives! and Meeting with Russell from Freed Photography

11/18/07 - Photo Session with Kim and Jeremy

11/21/07 - Engagement Session with Freed Photography

11/29/07 - Meeting with Chris Laich

12/09/07 - Interview Marc Wilner - DJ

12/12/07 - Deadline for all Bridesmaid Dresses to be Ordered

12/31/07 - Bed Bath & Beyond Registry

2/02/08 - Wedding Band Shopping

2/06/08 - DaVinci's Florist

2/12/08 - Normandie Farm Restaurant

2/16/08 - Cakes in Style Cake Tasting

2/17/08 - An Elegant Invite and Custom Cake Design Tasting

2/24/08 - Attendant Gift Shopping

3/02/08 - Upper Crust Cakes Tasting

3/04/08 - Westin Grand Tasting

3/08/08 - Pre-Cana Day 1

3/15/08 - Pre-Cana Day 2

3/17/08 - 3 Year Anniversary

4/07/08 - Pick out Flower Girl's Dress

4/18/08 - Sairra Lax for Makeup Trial

4/19/08 - Perez Salon for Hair Trial

4/22/08 - Meet with Priest

5/05/08 - First Fitting

5/10/08 - Quick Makeup Trial with Sairra and Shopping for Hair Piece

5/13/08 - Meet with Priest

5/17/08 - RSVP Deadline

5/19/08 - 2nd Fitting

5/20/08 - Meet with DOC - Erin!

5/27/08 - 2nd Tasting at Westin Grand

5/28/08 - Get Nails Did

5/29/08 - Meet with DaVinci's to go over Flowers

5/31/08 - Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party!

6/03/08 - Meet with Russell from Freed

6/04/08 - 3rd Fitting

6/06/08 - Walk-through at the Westin and Sex and the City Movie with Girls

6/07/08 - Ian's Bachelor Party

6/10/08 - Final Fitting

6/11/08 - Nail appointment

6/13/08 - Meet with Music Director

6/14/08 - Hair Appointment and Ian's Family Arrives

6/15/08 - Last minute details

6/16/08 - Last minute details

6/17/08 - Last minute details

6/18/08 - Hand over Materials to Erin

6/20/08 - Get nails done, Rehearsal and Dinner

6/21/08 - WEDDING!!!!!:)

6/23/08 - Leave for Honeymoon in Greece

7/06/08 - Home from Honeymoon

A List of Our Wedding Vendors

Here is a list of all of the wedding vendors that made our day so special.

Alabasters Limousines - Bride and Groom's transportation
Atlantis Imagery - videographer
Cherry Blossom Weddings and Events
Chris Laich - We used Ray
DaVinci Florist - all flowers and centerpieces
Distinctive Designs Bridal - wedding dress
Freed Photography - Russell Cosner
Georgetown Prep's Chapel - Our Lady of Lourdes
Perez Salon and Day Spa - Michael Sr. for hair
RMA Limo - buses for guest and wedding party transportation
The Westin Grand - for the reception
Upper Crust Wedding Cakes
Vista Print - for save-the-dates printing

Wedding Recap 2

We're back from Greece after a fabulous 13 days there! I'll get into details about that later on but want to get back to some wedding weekend details. I think my wedding recap posts will last me quite some time!

First - I received a preview slideshow from our photographer. Take a look: Preliminary Slideshow.

Also - Kim did a review of the wedding weekend here and posted a few photos here.

No wedding is perfect. And ours wasn't perfect either. But the little things that went wrong were very little and probably not noticed by most people. Here is a list of the little things that weren't quite so perfect or that we wish we had done differently in retrospect:

• We arrived the Friday before the wedding to the hotel with a ton of food for lunch for all of the girls. We arrived around 2:30 and were supposed to be able to check into our suite by 2. I was then informed that the hotel had made a mistake and that the previous nights guests were still in the suite. By the time they got us into a temporary room, we had less than an hour for a few girls to shower and get ready for the rehearsal dinner - plus no time to eat lunch. So I was hungry, cranky and rushed for the rehearsal and dinner.
• The flowers were absolutely gorgeous - however, our florist made a mistake. The matron-of-honor and maid-of-honor bouquets were supposed to be only hot pink with a little bit of green. He accidentally added white in there. Not a bit deal but I had hoped their bouquets would be different than the bridesmaids.
• I didn't find out until the day after the wedding about this one: Ian and I got into our beautiful classic car and poured champagne - warm champagne. I was quite confused why suddenly our mini champagne bottle that had been on ice all day was now a gigantic bottle that was warm. It turns out that a couple of my bridesmaids thought it would be a wise idea to take it and drink it themselves in the bathroom of the ceremony site before the wedding. I think it's funny in retrospect but felt badly for one of our close friends who had bought us the original nice bottle. Also was a little disappointed to hear that my bridesmaids would be drinking in the bathroom before I'm about to get married. Are we in high school? I'm glad I didn't know about it at the time. Just a mix-up but certainly a story that's funny. And girls - I know who you were - dorks!
• The hotel didn't serve one of the flavors of cake. We had a chocolate cake (that was delicious!) and a white cake with fresh strawberries and vanilla buttercream icing. We had tons of cake leftover and I'm upset that they didn't serve anymore than a few pieces of the strawberry shortcake kind considering that's the one that won't freeze. Plus - I wanted people to have a choice of cake - that's why we ordered so much!
• Our car carrying me, my mom and dad on our way to the church conked out. The driver was able to restart it within a minute or so but we were getting ourselves ready to cab it! Surprisingly, I started laughing when this happened. I was not really worried about it!
• 4 people that came to the ceremony never showed up for the reception! Of all parts - come for the party! I don't really understand it - but oh well. Those were the only 4 people who didn't show up.
• Our music people didn't sing all of the songs we asked for. We knew ahead of time that our soloist had to leave right after singing Ave Maria in order to get to a 6:30pm mass that she had to sing at. I just wish she would've told us ahead of time that we'd have to limit our songs. Instead, I was surprised during the ceremony that they skipped several songs. Why wasn't I told about it beforehand!
• My dress buttons ripped big time - oh well - it's not like I plan on wearing it again (unless we do a trash-the-dress shoot with K&J - you interested??)

Considering all the things that could go wrong - I consider ourselves very lucky that we had just a few minor things happen. To me, it was pretty close to perfect:)