Take a picture it lasts longer!

http://www.amorestudios.com/

We are meeting with these people tomorrow. Hopefully they will like us and want to take pictures of our wedding and quite possibly some engagement pictures too! I absolutely love their style...anyone who is not afraid to use a fish eye lens is alright by me.

***Update 10/21/08
Andy and I met with Bryan from Amore Studios and thought he was awesome. He was really honest with us and seemed to like a lot of our ideas. It is going to be a lot of money, but in the end I think it is a good deal. We get 2 photographers for 9 hours, 200 pictures in an album, and all the pictures on a CD that we can take anywhere and make copies for family. Included with our package is an engagement session which is something Andy and I hadn't really thought of doing.

Next up catering!

One ring to bind them all

This is my engagement ring. I think it is beautiful and I am proud that Andy and I saved up enough money to buy it. It may not be the biggest, but it is all ours.

There is no need to complicate

All this craziness in wedding planning has made me, well….crazy. There are so many things that are in my head and I seem to be having a hard time separating what is needed right away, and what can wait for a few weeks. Luckily for me, Andy volunteered to take on the catering aspect of things. We are thinking of going with Renton Technical College’s culinary program’s catering service. Their menu looks pretty tasty and they seem to be right in our price range, plus I like the idea of supporting people in school. Andy is going to call them next week to get an estimate on price and to figure out what exactly comes with their packages. One thing that didn’t even occur to me until I researched the caterers a bit was that, potentially we would have to rent flatware, plates, glasses, etc. Some caterers provide this service, others contract out, and others say you are on your own. CRAZY.

Don’t even get me started on beverage service! To make things simple on me, Andy, and our family and friends, we are thinking of having pop, water, wine, and beer (sorry no hard a unless you supply your own). We will buy these things at Costco and put them on a table for people to serve themselves. We also hope to offer coffee, tea, hot chocolate (Swiss Miss packets) and hot apple cider. For toasts (if people feel so inclined) we will have cider and champagne. Hopefully that is simple enough.
Right now I am trying not to spend too much time worrying about things like what shoes I am going to wear ( I am thinking of venturing into the world of high heels) or if I want to be married in front of lanterns or an arbor of some sort. That is all stuff I have months and months to worry about. Right now the things I need to get set up are;
• Photographer (have on in mind, waiting to hear back on their availability)
• Caterer
• Party rental stuff

When those things are straightened out, I think I will be able to breathe a bit easier. This weekend, Andy and I hope to have my dad take some pictures of us so that we can put an announcement in the local Burien newspaper. As stupid as this may sound, it actually makes me smile a bit. Except for the 5 years I lived in Bellingham, I have spent my whole life in Burien; it just feels fitting to put something about my life in the newspaper.

Reception Headache

Andy and I have been engaged for 9 days and our original wedding plans have already had to change. The changes are for the best (repeat this mantra as much as you need to). In the end it will save us money and stress. But right now it is causing more stress because since May, Andy and I have been talking about doing our wedding a certain way and within a few days that has all had to change. It is okay...breathe Carly breathe.

Above is a picture of (keep your finger crossed) where we plan on having our wedding/reception. It is the Golden Gardens Bathhouse. It is perfect for Andy and I because it is right on the water and sort of rustic feeling. Additionally it can fit something like 180 people which will probably be what I am looking at attendance wise. I thought I would be able to take some time off from planning, maybe like a month, but again I was wrong. From what I have been reading online, I should already be talking to photographers and caterers! My wedding is not for a freaking year!

Secretly I love the stress though. I love keeping myself up at night wondering what my tables are going to be decorated like and how I am going to fit everything I want to do (make-up, hair, photographer, set-up) all in one day. Right now, I like to pretend that I can do it all on my own (with a little help from Andy), but I know realistically in the end that I am going to have to ask my friends and family for help.

***The wedding/reception will officially be held at the Golden Gardens Bathhouse! Yay!