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.