Photographer
We have put in our deposit and have secured our photographer for the big day. Brian and Vita seem like they will be a perfect fit for our wedding. Brian had a great calming presence that I think will be invaluable on the day of the wedding.
Dress
Growing up I was never a little girl who planned out her wedding -- I do remember having a really cool wedding cake toy from Fisher Price, but I digress. The whole week leading up to dress shopping I was anxious and nervous. Everyone said I should be so excited and it would be fun, but I couldn't help but worry about not finding a dress or being disappointed or discouraged. We had 2 appointments set up for Saturday, February 9th. One at Trudy's and one at BB Bridal. I went with my mom and 2 sisters. We got to the store early and everything went really smoothly. Jess and Sam surprised me with cute score cards that they used to rate the dresses.
Trying on dresses at Trudy's was so much fun! I was so surprised after putting on the first dress how amazing I looked and felt. (And that was just the first dress.) Honestly there weren't any dresses that the stylist (Lisa) put on me that I hated. If anything, towards the end of the 2 hour appointment, I felt like I might have a hard time choosing. That is until she showed me the dress she was saving for the end. I tried the dress on and Jessica saw me through the cracks of the fitting room curtain and I told her no peeking. (She later told me that she started to tear up when she saw me because I looked so beautiful.) I came out of the fitting room with the dress on and stood up on the pedestal and looked at myself in the mirror. Everyone was oohing and awwwing and I started to get teary eyed because the reality of the wedding was starting to hit me. I could SEE myself walking down the aisle in that dress. I could SEE myself saying my vows... I could SEE myself dancing at my reception. I look behind me and my mom is crying. Needless to say all 3 of their scores were "3's" because they unanimously loved it. Then Lisa came and put the veil on me and a belt. It made the whole look even more breathtaking. I was in love!
Despite me being 95% sure that the dress was the "one" we had another appointment that I had to go to. We went to BB Bridal and it was a small shop with one owner who my bridesmaid Irene and my friend from the MBA program Casey both recommended and got their dresses from her. I told the owner, Soni, that I was in love with a particular dress. I showed her photos. She knew the designer and let me know she didn't carry that designer. I was bummed because I would have liked to go with Soni -- she was a hoot and very down to earth. She suggested a different dress/designer that she thought was similar but would look even BETTER on me. She didn't have that particular dress in my size so she suggested we call around to other places to see if they had it. We ended up calling New Things West/Bay Area Bridal and they happened to have the suggested dress in my size. They were accommodating and allowed me to beeline it over there before they closed to try it on.
Once we were at Bay Area Bridal at Vallco, we were greeted and they brought me the dress I requested. I tried it on. Immediately I knew it wasn't for me. I went out and showed my sisters and my mom and they agreed. The other dress just had that something that made it so me. I was ready to go back to Trudy's and say yes to the dress. Of course things are never that simple. The sales person at Bay Area Bridal told me that they also order from the designer I was considering. They pulled me aside and offered to "beat" Trudy's price and throw in money towards veils etc. I was torn -- my experience at Trudy's was so magical and my experience at Bay Area Bridal was just... not. I felt like I was dealing with used car salesmen.
I'm not going to lie -- I had a mini freak out. My mom could tell you. It took me a week of debating with myself and follow-up appointments with both bridal boutiques one more time to make a decision. I ended up going with Trudy's and I couldn't be happier! I'm so excited to try on the dress again. I wish I could just wear it all day long and never take it off. Haha.
Menu Setting
Over the President's day weekend we went up to Napa to set our menu with Jason (the manager at Vintner's). It was great seeing him again -- he always makes me feel at ease and that our wedding is going to go smoothly. We were in for a treat that day, we got to taste all of the food that we could consider for the wedding. Needless to say, we were stuffed by the end, but are now SO excited for everyone else to eat at our wedding. Let me just say that no one is going hungry at our wedding and the food is EXCELLENT. You guys will not be disappointed. :)
Videographer
This is the most recent thing we have checked off the list. We just booked and paid our deposit for the videographer. We went with Urbane Wedding Company and 1) they fit in our budget and 2) their highlight videos look amazing and fit in line with our style. Chris the owner was so understanding and patient with my thousands of questions. He was also super receptive and communicated constantly. I really appreciated that about him.
Next on our list is the DJ. We are considering Urbane Wedding Company for the DJ services as well since they fit in our budget, but we still have a couple more questions for Chris before booking. Val also interviewed a bunch probably a month ago or so. There was one in particular that we were considering on booking but wanted to do a little more research beforehand -- who knew a month would pass by and we still wouldn't have made a decision??
Overall the planning process has been pretty smooth. I'm super excited that my good friend Rachel Fino has agreed to be our day-of coordinator for the wedding. :) I know she will do a great job and value my wedding as much as if it was her own! She wants to help even before the day of so I'm glad I'll have even more help with the rest of my planning.
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