Red Flag?

Thursday, May 29, 2008

I haven't posted about this because I just haven't been sure if I'm over-reacting or jumping the gun on my reaction or whatever.

This involves the contract and the Emory Conference Center and Hotel which I will often refer to as Emory.

Let me break the timeline down for you.

We are given until Friday May 16, 2008 to confirm that yes we want the Silverbell for June 13, 2009 and that we want to go "under contract"

I call and speak to Uli Burgess, our Sales consultant on Thursday May 15th and tell her yes, we want the Silverbell, please send the contract. She says, no problem, I'll get it to you.

I don't hear from her for 4 days, so on Monday, May 19th, I send her an e-mail stating I just wanted to make sure you had the right e-mail address and check in just in case the contract was mis-sent to my spam file.
She e-mails me back on the 20th stating that she was off Sunday and Monday and that the contract is en route for her boss to sign. She then says her assistant will send it out the 20th or the 21st.
I again hear nothing, so I e-mail Uli again on the 21st at 2:00 pm to check on the status of the contract. She e-mails me back (at 5:00 pm) stating that her superiors will not sign the contract because at Emory they have two time slots. Daytime - anything finished before 5pm and Evening - anything after 6pm. Our event would begin at 3:30 and was basically smack dab in the middle of the rigid time slots. However, during our meeting and extensive discussion with Uli, this was not mentioned. EVER. She does state that it was her mistake and then tells me that she would have called me, however, she only has Oona's cell number.
I FLIP OUT!!!!
I tried to call the church, but they were already closed for the evening, so I waited until the next day, May 22nd to e-mail her back. Thankfully I was able to contact the church and change the time of our ceremony from 2pm to 5pm. I e-mail her back with my cell number, work number and obviously my e-mail address. She replies telling me that she will have the contract to me as soon as possible.
Two more days go by and I hear nothing. All of a sudden we get a phone call from Oona (May 24th) asking us why the contract was sent to her.
I AM LIVID!!!!
Honestly, what's up with that?
I just don't understand.
I e-mail her and request that she send the contract directly to me and again give her my contact information. She sends the contract (finally) and an apology e-mail stating that she sent it to the wrong person because her information was in the file.....ummmm......ok....weird.
I open up the attachment and my name and Al's name is spelled wrong, the address is Al's parents house and the phone numbers and e-mails for Oona are still listed.
I e-mail back on the 25th requesting her to change the information and provide the corrections.
She e-mails me back and tells me that she is off until Wednesday for the holiday weekend and will have her assistant take care of things.
May 27th we receive the "corrected" contract from Uli's assistant Jessica.
IT IS STILL INCORRECT!!!!
Even after multiple e-mails and multiple corrections, they still can't get the contract right.
I am so frustrated it's not even funny.
I e-mail Jessica today the 29th with a stern e-mail stating that we will print and sign the contract, but going forward, our names need to be corrected so as to not void the contract.
Jessica e-mails back apologizing and promising to change the information in the system and file.

I'm just hoping that this is not a sign of things to come.
If it is, I'm glad that I have Lara to deal with them on my behalf, because at this point, I'm really irritated.
I just want to sign the contract, put down the deposit and be done with it.
SHEESH!!!!

Spectrum Entertainment

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

I spoke with Charles Rutterbush of Spectrum Entertainment today.
Charles is a close friend of Shari and we've worked three weddings together thus far.

The last wedding we were at, we briefly talked about him being the DJ for my wedding. He mentioned that he would give me a discount because I worked with Shari.
So finally I remembered to call him (yesterday) to find out if he would be available.

Charles was very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. He definitely has his game on.
I'm hesitant to hire Charles and Spectrum for a few different reasons.
The first wedding that we worked together, he played a version of the Electric Slide and tried to mix it or scratch it and it just sounded awful. Then he got out on the dance floor for some crowd interaction that bordered on cheesy.
The second wedding was a handful of technical malfunctions.
He burned a power strip and didn't have a backup (they had to use the hotels)
He was in the middle of a Mary J. Blige song and it just stopped (I guess the CD was scratched), but he handled it with poise and all was good.
Still, these things make me a little bit hesitant.

Today we spoke at length about what he could provide for DJ services and of course he mentioned videography from Spectrum as well.

I checked out their demo videos and honestly I just wasn't interested in what they have to offer.
It was shaky at best and the colors were dull. I just wasn't impressed. And because it was one huge montage, I couldn't really get a sense of what they were going for.
Needless to say, I will not be hiring Spectrum to video my wedding.

As far as Charles, I'm really excited to see what he has to offer. If it's a really good price, then most likely we will book with him. If not, it's back to Joel with Lethal Rhythms.
I'm also interested in talking to Charles about the possibility of lighting.
The thing to think about is that we will really only have 2 hours at most of darkness, so the lighting and gobo may be just a waste. I don't know. I really have to think about it.

I will send Charles my information tomorrow and hopefully he'll have a quote back to me some time next week.
I'll update with pricing in another post.

Old Glory vs. Moonrize Studios

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

I finally convinced Al to watch the Moonrize studios demo/wedding tonight and for the first time in this process he was genuinely stumped (though I'm sure that possibly had to do with distraction).
His response to the question, "which one do you like better, Old Glory or Moonrize?", was "I don't know". The truth is that coming down to these two videographers took quite some time and there are many variables involved.

It must first be noted that the original videographer that I wanted to hire, Indy Productions, met an unfortunate audience in my parents. They vehemently hated the final product. And, because part of their gift will be the video

Amount of editing:
Old Glory is very documentary but is obviously edited.

Moonrize is pretty highly edited and all action is accompanied by a song.

Cheesy effects:
Both companies are very limited on their use of super cheesy effects which is VERY important to me.

Post Production Influence:
Old Glory has not discussed this with me - TBD
Moonrize is completely open and we will have complete control during post production and can basically make our own video.

Pricing:
Old Glory runs about $2500 whereas Moonrize runs $1500

Deposit:
Old Glory requires about $900 and Moonrize only requires $375

So now it comes down to preference.

So far were are still in debates.

The Samson House

Thursday, May 22, 2008

NOT WEDDING RELATED

We had dinner tonight with my best friend Lindsay and her husband Phil out in Lilburn where they just purchased their new house!

I'm so excited for them!

Their house is gorgeous and absolutely huge and Al and I both had the same reaction.....
HOUSE ENVY

I'm so PROUD of them.
They've both worked VERY hard to get where they are and I'm so excited that I get to share this new chapter in their lives with them.

They're officially grownups.
:)

They have this beautiful brick house out in the suburbs with 4 rooms, bonus room, basement, pool....the list is endless.
It's an AMAZING house.

It makes me ache to have an actual house, but we really have to way our financial situation and figure out where we are.

We'll spend this weekend talking finances.....fun times.

I can't wait until July/August when Lindsay officially moves back to Georgia.
I'm so excited to have my best friend so close by again.

Chasing Time

Thursdsay, May 23, 2008

So I frantically called Jerry (yes were are now on a first name basis) at the Shrine with fingers crossed hoping that the 5pm ceremony time slot for June 13th was still open.

Miraculously it was and I officially moved the time.

So....that's it...no more updating, moving, adapting etc.
This is it.
We are getting married June 13th, 2009 at 5:00 pm.

Which is what I wanted all along.
This way Al gets his whole tree house fantasy as it will still be light out when our guests arrive AND I get to have my candlelight, special lighting and twinkle light decor.
YAY!!!!!

SO FREAKING EXCITED!

It's REAL!!!!!!
This is really happening.
OH MY GOSH....I'm getting MARRIED!
*squeal*

I promise to never do that again....well, at least I'll try not too.

May Monthly Meeting with Cameo

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

I met with Lara tonight to talk about "wedding stuff" at the Vortex in Little 5 points.
She had gotten back from the wedding on the beach (she got married at a castle on the beach) and a honeymoon in Ireland.
So freaking cool.

We had dinner (they have the BEST sweet potato fries there EVAH!!!) and drinks and chatted about where we were with things.

The hot topic was the fact that I got an e-mail from Uli saying that her superiors wouldn't sign the contract for Silverbell because they separate their time blocks into events finished before 5pm and events after 6pm. So, that left us in a bit of mess due to the fact that we were planning on guests arriving at 3:30ish and leaving at 8:30 or 9:00 pm.

So of course this sent me into a tizzy and unfortunately, I received this e-mail after 5 pm and I couldn't reach Al on the phone to ask what I should do and I couldn't reach anyone at the church to see if I could change the time, or if it was even available.

DRAMA!!!!!

So basically the options were:

Change the ceremony to time to 5pm (if it's available).

Hold the ceremony at 2pm and just have a break in between but risk guests leaving and not coming back.

Hold the ceremony at 2pm and find a place to have an interim cocktail hour before leading guests to the Silverbell.

To me, the only logical option is changing the ceremony time to 5pm, but I need to get approval before forging ahead.

We also talked about the budget, needing to set up a time to visit Hall's for decor (though honestly I'm becoming less inspired about messing with centerpieces), the DJ issue and the videographer issue.

I'm in a bit of a conundrum with the DJ. Joel Rabbe of Lethal Rhythms quoted me a price of $1695. I have no doubt that he will do an amazing job and I completely trust Laura's opinion. However, I don't think I can afford that and I think Charles from Spectrum will do my wedding for easily half the price.

The conundrum is that a majority of our guests are older and thus we won't necessarily need my version of a "party" which is what Joel does.

We need more of a traditional DJ, but still one who is not a big cheeseball. We'll do a lot of traditional things and I'll definitely be anal about a timeline. So, I think I may just go with Charles. Still trying to figure out what I want.

The videographer contestants are now Old Glory Productions, Moon Rize Studios and Atlanta Media Group.

I'm going to make Al watch the Old Glory demo tonight and compare it with MoonRize Studios.

So, after watching the ENTIRE demo of Old Glory, Al formed opinions on two things.

First, he really likes Old Glory's style because it is truly a documentary and if someone couldn't make it to the wedding, we could send them a copy of this and it would be a true representation fo the day. He like the coloring, the steady hand and the fact that the videographer got EVERYTHING, all the details, etc.....

I've always had Old Glory on my radar because they really are good at the particular style they do and their highest package is $1800 and then the love story is an additional $300 (which I may shop around for becuase I would like that to be more of a cinematic thing then a documentary thing, so we'll see).

Secondly, Al thinks that the bridesmaids dresses should be floor length and formal, but with no annoying sashes that drag and something that might not necessarily be strapless......I just never know with him :)

I hate to say it, but I'm now in agreeance with him on this one. Since we moved the ceremony time to 5pm, it will be a more formal evening wedding, so...yeah, bridesmaids should have floorlength dresses. On the demo the poor girls had strapless dresses (which they proceeded to pop out of, hike up and generally mess with all night) and very long sashes that acted like trains. However, when the ceremony was over, they all had to loop and tie them so that they didn't trip on them for the reception and they looked very odd.

So...note to self. So as to not annoy my bridesmaids - v-neck or some type of neckline that is not strapless dress and absolutely no streamer sashes.

Trust me, you will thank me for this ladies.

PHOTOBOOTH

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

So I've decided that pictures and video are DEFINITELY the two most important things to me and after being in a photobooth at Lisa and Scott's wedding, I'm excited to book a photobooth for the reception.

I had considered going the route of renting a vintage classic photobooth, but they are super expensive, a really tight fit, and you don't get the type of quality pictures that I want.
In addition you only get the vintage looking strip (which is really cool) with no options of adding names or logos or getting copies.

So keeping that in mind, I went on an internet hunt. I found partybooths quite some time ago, but had never gotten any reviews on them.

So today, while getting my daily weddingbee.com fix, lo and behold, one of the bloggers booked partybooths and other people commented on how they had booked them as well and had used them before and were very pleased. I took it as a sign so I went ahead and contacted the company to request information.

They were VERY quick to resond via e-mail, asked for my information which I quickly gave them and 45 minutes later they sent me a contract and a credit card authorization to pay the deposit.

VERY AWESOME service so far. I am very impressed.

So, that being said, I plan on booking a contemporary booth (larger - can hold up to 6 people) for 6 hours (which I may rethink and decrease to 3), plus the add on of a scrapbook and double prints for a total of $1545.00. They require a signed contract and a deposit of $500.00 to hold the date with the balance being due 30 days before the event.

I'M SO EXCITED!

I plan on randomly collecting props such as outrageous sunglasses, feather boas, cowboy hats, plastic tiaras, etc. to use in the photobooth. I CAN'T WAIT.

This will also double as a favor for our guests as they will receive a 4x6 printout with 4 images that has our names and wedding date on the bottom.

SO COOL!!!!!

This is one thing that I'm so excited about having to make our wedding stand out.

House Hunting

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Part of the getting married process for us also involves house hunting. We both want to find a new place that can be "ours". So we decided that we would just start looking at options that would be available to us.

So, today after church we decided to drive up to the Alpharetta area to have lunch (at Steak and Shake) and then meet up with a real estate agent.

The first house we visited was on Karen Drive and was a COMPLETE fixer/upper. After traipsing through the house, we decided that we wanted to choose a place that was move-in ready or would only require minor cosmetic work. Either way we concluded that there was no way we had time to undertake such a huge project no matter the deal we could get.

Our next stop was Briargate which was a swim community in Alpharetta. These were townhouses with 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. The only downside- the "bedrooms" were TINY and for 150K, we needed more.

We then checked out a neighborhood that turned out to be Alpharetta's ghetto. I was scared to touch anything in the house.

From there we went to Stone Manor and it was one extreme to the other. Stone Manor is an apartment conversion and was my absolute DREAM TOWNHOUSE. Of course for $189,900 it better be spectacular. Then one we looked at was 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, lush carpet, hardwood floors, tile kitchen, chef designed kitchen, etc. The agent then took us to Highgate which is another conversion that is less pretty but for the same price.

After being let down by all the townhouses in the area, Al suggested we up our price a little and hunt for an actual house. The agent took us to Martin's Landing which is a very prestigious neighborhood in Alpharetta. We found an amazing ranch style house that had undergone VERY recent home improvement and made some amazing upgrades. We admired the beautiful granite countertops, tiger hardwood floors, cherry cabinets and new fixtures. There was a beautiful fireplace in the main living room, a sunroom off to the side, and 3 large carpeted bedrooms and 3 decent sized bathrooms. The house also featured a newly poured driveway, a two car garage and a natural landscaped yard that requires little to no maintenance. The back yard is crescent shaped and about 15 feet wide. Beyond that is again that natural landscaping and trees.

Unfortunately, after working a spreadsheet we realized that this house would be out of our means, especially with the cost of the wedding that we are already shouldering.

Regardless, I'm glad that we took an opportunity to check out houses that are out there and see what is in our range of possibility. It was such a productive day and really made me look foward to a future and actually raising a family in such a cute little house.

DeCamp's JD

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Although not wedding related, I wanted to post this because I'm so proud of Mary and I think it's awesome when someone sets and then acheives their goal.

Today Al and I drove down to the dark side (aka Athens) to attend Mary DeCamp's graduation from the UGA School of Law.

Here's Mary in all of her Grad School regalia. This was taken right before she walked across the stage to receive her (empty) tube representing the degree...those silly Dawgs....anyway.

We asked permission in advance if we could yell and scream like crazy.

So we screamed like idiots and gave Mary some graduation love!

It was a pretty nifty ceremony. I had never been to a law school graduation before, but it had your standard graduation formula. Various speakers, commencement speech, handing out of degrees, official decree, etc.

After the ceremony, we got to meet Mary's family. Her mom, dad and brother all attended and it was really great to hang out with them.

We all went to lunch afterwards at a local pizza place and it was so much fun to get to see how they interact as a family. They're such a great family unit.

Here's Al and the brand new graduate!

CONGRATULATIONS MARY!!!!!

Al and I are both so proud of you and so excited that you're moving on to the next chapter (and also that we get to say our friend the lawyer.....muwahahaha)

A second or third photographer?

Friday, May 16, 2007

Tonight we had inner with Scott and Alden and got a change to look at their wedding pictures.

It was cool to see all the formal pictures and getting ready pictures that we didn't get to see as guests.

Alden also had a second photographer that she hired (Sara) who did pretty amazing work and even brought a photo printer to give out photos as favors to guests. Alden suggested I look into having/hiring Sara as a second shooter for our wedding. I plan on talking to Shari about it and then contacting Sara for her rates. I'd rather hire Sara as a second shooter then Sam or Andy.
We'll see how everything goes down.

Where oh where is my ring?

Thursday, May 15, 2008

I just received the not so good news that my ring is STILL not finished.

I talked to Josh and he told me that the ring is 99.9% finished.

He said the jeweler was trying to set the center stones and two of the diamonds were not fitting correctly. One diamond (the one with the chip that was known about prior to this whole fiasco) could not be fit into the configuration without the chip showing.
The other diamond had been cut lopsided and again would not fit into the configuration.

So basically, they were recommending that the diamonds must be cut to fit together correctly.

I was given 2 options:

option 1: Have the diamonds sent out to another vendor to be cut correctly in order to fit into the configuration.

or

option 2: Trade the diamonds out for two that are comparable (which in my mind was completely unacceptable).

I called mom to make sure that it would be ok to cut the diamonds and she gave her approval.

I authorized the diamonds to be sent out to be cut (he said they would ship that day). I asked Josh how long it would take and he told me that it should take a week (or 5 business days) - give or take a few days for shipping. Once returned, Josh said that they would be able to finish the ring that day.

Josh also said that my ring was one of his favorite pieces that he's worked on in the last 4 months. Apparently that is quite the compliment as he followed it up with the fact that he does about 3 rings a day. He told me that it's quite an extraordinary piece and he knows that I will love it.

IT'S ALMOST READY!!!!

I'm getting so antsy.....I'm just ready for the ring to be ready.

Update:
Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Still no call from Reuben Bros. I can't take this much longer. I made Al promise me that he would call them tomorrow and find out what's going on. I hate to say it, but I'm really disappointed. I understand that things take time, especially when it involves a custom ring, but GOOD LORD....

Update:
Thursday, May 29, 2008
I asked Al if he called and he said nope, and that from now on it's his problem to deal with....so ya know what....fine. It's now out of my hands, and I'm not stressing over it ANYMORE!!!!!

It's Official.....we're moving the date

Friday, May 16, 2008

After touring Emory and seeing the difference in the Silverbell and what we could envision the Jr. Ballroom to look like, we realized that we would have to make some serious decisions fast.

After talking to Al our options were:

A. Move the date to June 13, 2009 in order to get the Silverbell

B. Keep the date, but have the reception in the newly built Jr. Ballroom

We decided that although we would have to spend an additional $1,500.00, it was worth it to us to have the reception at the Silverbell like we wanted.

I called the Shrine as soon as I got into the office and was greeted by the voicemail system, so of course I go into hyperventilation/worry mode.
What if?
UGH!

I called back after 10:00 am and was able to get through and spoke to Jerry Bryant. I sheepishly told him the situation and apologized for having to change our information again.
He was very nice about the whole situation and THANKFULLY the time of 2:00 pm was still available, so he moved date to June 13, 2009

So I called Uli at Emory to officially confirm, so now we are going under Contract for Silverbell Pavillion for June 13, 2009

Update:

Uli will get the contract to me by May 20th or 21st.

I also talked to Lara (wedding planner) and Shari (photographer) to let them know that we had moved the date and to confirm their services for June 13, 2009

I also had a lengthy conversation with my parents about how much they hate the videographer (or at least their style) that I had chosen. So, even though it's a video I will watch over and over again, I wanted them to at least like what they would be seeing. So now I'm back to the drawing board with the contenders now being Old Glory productions and the Atlanta Wedding Media Group. I'll have to get demos of both and send to the parents to view and approve.

*sigh* it never ends......who knew my parents would be so darn picky :)

What's in a Name?

Friday, May 16, 2008

“By any other name would smell as sweet;So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,Retain that dear perfection which he owesWithout that title. Romeo, doff thy name,And for that name which is no part of theeTake all myself.”
Act 2, Scene 2 Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

I can't lie, in the beginning I was so excited to give up my last name to take Al's, despite the insanity I know I will endure becoming a Przygocki.

And then, I kinda started to have this sadness over losing my identity. I started to realize how much I use, write, state, acknowledge my last name on a daily basis. For the last 26 years I've been Alicia Jeannine Benson and despite the emotional disconnection I have chosen with my last name, the practical side is mourning. I mean, I'll have to completely change my signature, my name won't just "flow" anymore, I'll have to legally change my entire "on paper" identity with various legal and personal institutions. It will just be a complete hassle to say the least.
I wish I could avoid pulling the feminist card and making the argument of why do I have to change MY name. To be honest, I really do wonder about this and thus can understand the increasing popularity of hyphenating. However, with the new last name of Przygocki, I'm thinking I've already got enough on my plate.
When our friends Scott and Alden got married, they broached this same subject.
Luckily for them, the last names were easily "hypen-atable"....or something

So Al and I got to talking about the concept of women taking their husband's last names and the cohesiveness it creates for the family. I think that's a pretty good argument, but the feminist in me still wants to buck tradition. Even though I'm absolutely taking Al's last name, a part of me is sad for the loss of an old identity.....but incredibly grateful for the start of a new one.

The Rennaissance Waverly Hotel

Thursday, May 15, 2008

After work today, Al and I went to check out the Rennaissance Waverly Hotel as our last hotel venue option.

The hotel is in the Galleria area in Cobb County. It's a little out of the way for everyone, but we wanted to visit just to make sure to rule it out. It's about an hour away from the airport, 30 minutes away from the church and 45 minutes from our house.

Today was such a yucky day and the weather was absolutely miserable. It rained all the way to the hotel and didn't look like it was going to let up. I had left my umbrella elsewhere and had no shelter, so I had to run for it. I ended up starting off the appointment looking like a wet dog.

I met with the bridal coordinator, Tammy Guthrie and we instantly clicked. She's a lovely lady and definitely gives off a professional vibe. We had talked prior to meeting and she seemed very much on top of things. As she gave us a "tour" of the hotel, I could totally imagine holding an event here.

The cocktail hour would be held in the hotel's atrium and kind of sanctioned off from the public.
I was kinda on the fence about this. I like the idea of privacy, but at the same time it gives that sense of awe to your guests when you enter into the atrium. It's beautifully decorated inside the hotel with greenery everywhere.

We then walked over to the Kennessaw Ballroom which is the smallest ballroom and a perfect size for our party. I know this sounds a bit picky, but the carpet in the ballroom had a super busy pattern and I kept being distracted by it.

Overall, I was really impressed with the hotel and confident that I would be able to host a fantastic party in the venue.

However, I think the major con of distance to the rest of the events will be this venue's major downfall. And, unfortunately, unless you plan very carefully, you could be nickel and dimed to death in a setup such as this. To add x,y, or z is of course an extra cost of $5.00 here and $10.00 there, but it really adds up.

I would definitely recommend this venue to any bride getting married on the north side of town.

And the Reception Venue Winner is.....

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Ok, so after visiting the Carlos Museum followed by putting together a spreadsheet of our venue contenders listing pros and cons, the winner is......

The Silverbell Pavillion at the Emory Conference Center and Hotel


After talking everything through and getting both Oona's approval and my mom's, I think we're pretty confident that Emory will offer us everything we want and need to create the wedding of our dreams.

Al fell in love with the place and I could really see the excitement in his face as we continued to tour through the property and get a look inside the Silverbell Pavillion. The sticky situation was that it would require us to change the wedding date, as the Silverbell is already booked for June 6th. I called the church to make sure that our date would be transferrable and after getting the green light I called Al to share the good news.
He said that all the signs meant that this was the right place. Today is the 13th day of the 13th month before our wedding. So I called Uli (the event manager at Emory) and officially placed a hold for us at the Silverbell Pavillion for June 13th, 2009.
Even typing that makes it seems so real.
Wow.
I now feel like a huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders.
That was by far the most extensive (and expensive) decision that we will be making throughout this process.
Now we have until Friday, May 16th to confirm at which point we will receive a contract.
We will then have a few days to review the contract, ask questions, sign and then put down the deposit.
I'm SO looking forward to that.
At that point, we're pretty locked in because it is a HUGE deposit (about $4,000.00).
So, barring death that will be our place.
OH MY GOSH!!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!

Mother's Day happenings....at the Silverbell

Saturday, May 10, 2008
We decided that we would celebrate Mother's Day with my mom on Saturday and then celebrate with Al's mom on Sunday. Since I live my life in the name of efficiency (and I happened to have the weekend off from shooting weddings), I was eager to kill two birds with one stone and make a day of checking out the venue that was the top contender for our reception site. Since Al's mother had found the place, I wanted to give my mom a chance to see it before we made any solid decision.

So Al and I picked up my mom and headed over to the Emory Conference Center and Hotel to tour the Silverbell pavillion.

Since I had visited a few times already, I decided to play the official tour guide. We walked through the hotel and out past the waterfall and pool to get to the Silverbell Pavillion which is a stand alone building that is secluded up on a hill on the grounds of the hotel.

This is a view of the stone terrace outside of the Silverbell Pavillion. This is where the cocktail hour will take place.

The current view is of construction of the Emory Hotel's new wing that will be completed by March of next year, so the ugly fenced part will be gone by the time the wedding rolls around next year.

A view from the terrace looking towards the front of the Pavillion.

I love how the Silverbell is a stand alone building that seems to be surrounded by trees like a little tree house.

I'm also very fond of the two sided fireplace as you will see in the next picture.

The cake table will go in front of the fireplace

We'll probably set up the mantle with a large framed picture of one of our engagement shots.

I'm hoping to line the mantle with candles and greenery (ivy) and flowers of some sort.

A view of the outside of the building from the back/side. I'm loving the windows!

And while they're not in the picture,

A shot of the room, set up for an evening event including the dance floor.

A close up shot of the chairs. I'm still debating as to whether I should spend the money to have them covered. They're a rust color with a gold checkered pattern which kinda fits in with the decor. However, the back side of the chair is pure black and my look odd in the overall room shot. In addition, on some of the chairs - the black legs are scraped and bruised and while they aren't glaringly obvious, they are noticeable if you look.

This shot shows how crowded these tables can get, so I've decided to have 8 to a table in order to avoid people literally rubbing elbows.

This is the little alcove corner for the staff with an entrance to the kitchen area. It's hard to see, but I'm holding one of the centerpiece pieces that the Silverbell provides free of charge for use at the reception. It's made of glass and wrought iron and is kind of like a lantern in the shape of a star. It's holds a tealight and glows from within providing a beautiful effect in the evening.

Another shot of the backside of the room.

The band will be set up in the middle of this wall.

This is the side view of the building. It will be so beautiful at night with the lights inside

I love that they added rocking chairs to this outdoor "patio".

This bridge is located behind the building and will most likely serve as our exit/getaway area. We'll have guests line the bridge and blow bubbles for pictures. Just across the bridge is a parking lot (that backs up to the Emory alumni house) where we can exit to the getaway car.

Our next stop was the courtyard of the hotel. This spot is so beautiful and I've usually seen it used for actual ceremonies.

I'm observing the waterfalls and searching for the fish in the pond.

The pictures do not do it justice, this place is so lush and green and such a beautiful spot. If the weather is not sweltering, I'm hoping we can use this spot for group pictures before the ceremony.

This will also be the spot where we will hold our handfasting (second ceremony). I love the idea of this ceremony taking place with this beautiful back drop.

I was enthralled with the Koi, so pretty.

My mom was observing the courtyard, and taking it all in.

Views from the opposite direction, looking towards the "forest"

After poking around the grounds, we decided to have lunch in the restaurant. We had the lunch buffet and were suprised at how good the food was.

It was a great Mother's Day outing and I was so glad that I got to share this with my Mom even though it was her special day. Of course she just wanted the big "P", but still I'm glad we had the experience of checking out this amazing venue.

Back to the Drawing Board.....

Friday, May 9, 2008
Well, I checked in with my wedding planner (she just got married and got back from her honeymoon ) and updated her on the whirlwind of things that has happened in the last two weeks.

After explaining the financial situation with her and presenting her with the venues that are now in the running for the reception she said "wow, that's totally different from everything we looked at and considered before", my reply....."yup, we're back to the drawing board".
I pretty much had to start over and let go of what my expectations were for decor in order to come in around the $12,000.00 - $14,000.00 mark. Which is still over the budget of the $11,000.00 originally alloted. So yeah, I'm having meltdowns and anxiety and I'm still not even ENGAGED yet.
UGH!!!!!

I mean, sheesh, I know I do everything backwards, but I did not realize it would be like this.
At this point I'm trying to get the most bang for the buck since most of it will be mine.

I'm hoping that the Carlos or Emory will be the two that we ultimately choose from.
I LOVE the idea of having the reception at the museum.....lots of cool things tied with that.
We'll see.

The Carlos Museum

Thursday, May8, 2008

So I FINALLY heard back from Jim Warren at the Carlos Museum. Apparently Emory is graduating on Monday and he's been completely covered up. I'm kinda miffed, but at least I finally heard from him.

We spoke briefly and decided to make an appointment for a site visit next week so that I can see the space.

I'm REALLY excited about it!

Update:

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

I went to the Carlos Museum today for a site visit.

It's overall a very beautiful space.

The Carlos Museum is located on the main Emory campus and can be reached by going through the campus gates located off of North Decatur Rd. and Dowman Drive (near Everybody's pizza at that funky intersection). It's near the Methodist church on Emory's campus.

It seemed pretty easy to get to, though I could see where parking might be just a slight hassle.

For the event, guests would park in the parking deck (which would be free) or we could offer a valet and just have guests dropped off on the back side of the museum.

The museum is located on one of the sides of Emory's main quadrangle, so it overlooks a beautiful green space, but is also surrounded by other (beautiful) academic buildings.

When you enter the museum, you take the elevator to the third floor which houses the event space as well as a cafe that is operational during normal hours.

The space seems very small yet quaint.

It is beautifully decorated with Greek artifacts inside the lobby and the space itself.

The room has two walls of windows. One side has floor to ceiling windows and is the focal point of the room. The second wall has half-floor to ceiling windows.

The walls are done in a blonde brazillian wood that lends a warm ambiance to the space. The carpet is a two tone blue with a fleur pattern that is not too feminine.

The chairs are wide and sturdy and covered in a gold fabric with blue flecks.

I just wasn't sold on the space or flow of how the event would go.

The venue is definitely beautiful, but I just don't think it's "the ONE".

The Great Return

May 7, 2008
Ok, so the one thing I learned is that I will change my mind a MILLION times over the course of this planning process.
Part of this is due to venue location and my vision of wedding decor....well, it simply just doesn't work.
In order for my vision to come true, we would have to be in a place that is slightly dark that would allow for lighting, candles and twinkle lights.
However, the venue where we most likely will have the reception is filled with windows and thus natural light.
And, since our wedding is at an awkward time in the summer, it will not be even remotely dark outside.
So.....I have to take some things back.
I'm off to return items to both Michaels and Hobby Lobby tonight and in order to kill 2 birds with one stone, have dinner with my parents.