The Officiant

We met with Tom Welch this past weekend about officiating our ceremony. He came highly recommended by several knotties and we were so glad to finally meet him in person, especially since FI and I had no idea what is supposed to happen in a ceremony. We've been to a million weddings, but when you sit down to think of your own, it's a whole new ball game.

Tom is very knowledgeable, patient and helpful. He worked with us to come up with a ceremony unique to our lives. We still have to look at readings and vows and iron out the details - but it was so great to get the ball rolling on this. 

I just hope I can get through the ceremony without turning into a blubbering, hiccuping mess. Anyone who knows me knows that it is just plain not cute when I cry... fingers crossed...

The Photobooth

Today, I put down a deposit on a photobooth for the wedding! We are so excited to have one. (This strip on the left is circa 2005, we have a more recent photobooth romp from the Halloween party at the ICA this past year - but you see... I was this busty pirate... and well... there's just no way I'm putting that online!). We're using the same company as the ICA did for their party, Boston Photobooth Rental. 

The photos come out in strips of six, so an attendant will take half the photos and pop them into an album for us that guest can sign. We also get a DVD of all the shots. 

This will be so much fun! I can't wait to surprise (most) of our guests! (The ones who don't follow the blog at least!). It'll be hilarious - I'm so excited!

*Andy, if you are reading this - you can't be a booth hog! :) 

The Piano Man

We've booked pianist Bruce Lewis for our cocktail hour. He is a former soloist with the Boston Pops and has played at Pine Manor before. We're lucky to have two pianos in the mansion at the college - a baby grand and an upright Sohmer piano. Since the cocktail hour will be upstairs in the Moncrief room, he'll play the upright. We're really excited to be able to provide live music for our guests during cocktails - now we just have to decide on a playlist!

A Change of Plans

After spending two hours with the lighting company, realizing that lighting a clear tent is akin to lighting up a black hole, we started reconsidering the whole tent situation. The tent itself was going to cost double because it was clear, and the lighting would cost double since they'd need twice as much lights. So, we'd spend a lot of money on this big, beautiful tent (that is, if it came out beautifully - we wouldn't get to see it until the day of!) - and chances are half our guests would end up back in the mansion anyways. So, Plan B.

We're moving the party into the mansion. Our guest list is only a hundred people, and we're having a cocktail reception (stations of food, no formal seating/dinner) - so we think we can make it happen. It'll be a little crowded at first, during our first dance when people have to get off the dance floor, but the crowd always thins after that. It's going to be very different from what people are used to - not very traditional.

This means - I get to have the ceremony outside! I've ALWAYS wanted to get married outside. We know the weather in October can be tricky (this past year it was in the 60s and I wore a t-shirt to work) - but weather permitting, it should be fine. By the week of, we'll know what the weather will be like and if needed, can get a topper tent to put over the guest chairs. The ceremony is also in the afternoon, so I'll probably be the only one who's chilly (guest will still be in coats most likely).

This also means I get to have a rose petal aisle (like above, found online) on the lawn. I LOVE this look - so natural. Mine will be with all white petals, and I'll have shepherd hooks with lanterns lining the aisle. We also have white garden chairs that we can use, and I'll still make the carnation topiaries (seen in a previous post). I'm starting to get really excited about this! 

The Flowers

I'm a fan of this monochromatic look (as you can tell from my previous post about centerpieces) - but I'm taking it a step further here by not only using one color, but only one flower. I'm in love with ranunculus. I even love the name (it means "little frog" because of the swampy locales they flourish in). I'm thinking for the bride and groom, an all-white ranunculus bouquet and boutonniere (exactly what I want, pictured above, from the knot).

But for the wedding party and family flowers - I think I'm sold on orange ranunculus! I love the pop of color, and they will look great against the black bridesmaids dresses (that I haven't looked for yet...).

Aren't these great little flowers? Similar to roses, but different, cheerier somehow. 

Now, I just need to find a florist. I have a call in to Stapleton Florist in Boston, the FI gets all my flowers there and they are always so beautiful - put together wonderfully and last for days.

I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that since I only need personal flowers for the day (since I'll be DIY'ing the centerpieces) that it won't cost an arm or a leg...

The Website

So, it's the digital age, and wedding websites are pretty much a given by now, right? It is a great resource to inform your guests who need to make travel plans, and notify everyone of important details like start times. They even have these great companies that use website wizards that walk you through setting one up - picking a template, inserting your photos and text, etc. Easy.

Do I go to one of these sites that will hold my hand and guide me? Oh ho no! I have to create one from scratch! Because planning a wedding isn't enough, I really need to throw coding HTML into the wee hours of the morning on my plate. If being a designer is a mixed blessing, being a designer with impossible standards is most definitely a curse. And this was a challenge - given my color palette. I tried my best not to make it look like one of Tim Burton's nightmares.

Anyway, after nearly pulling my hair out about cross-browser issues (darn you IE7 and your bugs!), I (mostly) finished the site. The URL will be listed on our save-the-date cards, which will be going out in the next couple of weeks, so I'm glad I knocked this out at least. 

The Cake

Today we braved the snow and went to our cake tasting at Konditor Meister in Braintree. I never questioned even looking at other bakeries - KM has done many cakes for my family and friends' weddings. I knew going in exactly what I wanted, since it was a design already in their portfolio. I also went in with a photo of the cake printed out, along with our wedding date, ceremony time, and contact information. What can I say? I'm a planner.

Since I got to pick the outside, I let FI pick the inside. After far too much sugar, he decided on gold cake with lemon mousse for the top (my favorite!), black forest with raspberry jam and white mousse for the center, and strawberry grand marnier for the bottom. Now it's off to eBay for a cake stand!

The Photographer

Today I booked the amazing, awesomely talented Lisa Rigby. I'd been drooling over her photos and blog even before I got engaged. Her images evoke an ethereal, dream-like state - and since this whole wedding experience will likely be the most surreal moment of my life, her vision is a perfect fit for my day. I had secretly been dreading certain things about a wedding - I'm finding out that I'm sort of an anti-bride. Among my top woes - the dress, the flowers and the photographs. I'm hideously awkward in front of a camera. But after meeting with Lisa - I'm now incredibly excited - I know she'll do an amazing job capturing this moment in our lives. I strongly urge undecided brides to check her out - but be quick - she's booking up fast!

The DJ

We have booked my good friend Steve as our DJ! I've known Steve for more than 10 years, and I'm hoping he'll be able to work it as a guest and the entertainment. 

I'm really excited that he'll be doing the music service, I'll be honest and say I'm not a huge DJ fan - I've been to weddings where the DJs have been terrible - mispronouncing names, spinning bizarre music, hogging the microphone, and being just plain wacky. Won't have to worry about any of that with Steve! 

The FI and I don't like traditional wedding fare, so I'm really looking forward to working with Steve on a playlist that will include our tastes, but also get people dancing. Our goal is to throw a great party - and music is such an integral part of an event. For anyone else out there interested in booking a great DJ who'll work closely with you to meet all your needs - I highly suggest you check out JT Stevens DJ Service!  

Any requests? ;)

Other Decor

Roughwood Estate (@PMC)  has a couple large, old fireplaces. I love the idea of placing these candles in cylinders on the mantles (photo from the knot). I'm not completely sure if we're allowed to have candles yet (after all, we wouldn't want to burn down a historic mansion) but this would be a good (and safe!) solution.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I originally wanted to do Manzanita tree centerpieces. I thought that look might get a little too overwhelming, but I HAVE to include at least one! We're going to build one large tree (similar to left, from Krislyn Design), but I may leave the branches bare. This will sit on our escort card table - or - the escort cards may hang from the branches!

I was also thinking of making a card box, BUT, my cousin had a great monogrammed basket at her wedding. Love this one (right, from Personalization Mall) with the dark wicker.