By Lauren Gibaldi
Contributing Writer
Staff Page
I know it’s been a while since the last wedding update, but honestly, there wasn’t much to announce. After an action packed first month, the wedding took the back seat to other things (gasp, I know).
As mentioned earlier, I was most picky about the photographer. I researched around 80 different ones (seriously) and narrowed my list down to the 15 who all met my requirements: a) Excellent photography b) Not staged, more real pictures c) Not too photoshoped d) A person, not a big company e) gives us a CD with full images afterwards to print as we’d like. I used the expertise of a friend who knows a bit more about photography than I do, and together we narrowed the list down more. I ended up meeting with four photographers and, in the end, we chose Photography & Design by Catherine White, Inc., who is not only absolutely fantastic, but also extremely sweet. Also, she likes dinosaurs, which judging from our location, sealed the deal.
Florists all seem the same to me. I mean, how many different ways can you make a bouquet? (Hundreds, I know, but I think I missed that lesson in school). We’re going with Jonathan’s Flowers in Winter Park. His prices are reasonable, he’s amazingly crafty, and his displays are beautiful. He took my “I want an autumn themed bouquet” request and made it beautiful. That’s all I told him. Seriously, he’s fabulous.
We also had a very small engagement party for parents, grandparents and bridal party (all four members who live in town) at The Wine Room on Park Ave. Michael, the manager, was great with creating a platter for our guests. Instead of renting the downstairs room, we just used the main room (no extra charge!). We had it on a Sunday afternoon, so it wasn’t super crowded, as it typically is on Friday or Saturday nights, and there was no corkage fee (which I learned was a thing).
Next – caterers . From what I’ve learned, the big three are Arthur’s, Puff n’ Stuff and Big City. Anyone have any experience with any of them?
I think what I’ve learned most from this experience is to trust your instincts. Each vender we’ve chosen so far I’ve liked from the start, even after interviewing others. For instance, each photographer I interviewed was amazing (if you need suggestions, let me know!), but I felt most comfortable with Katie from our initial “hello.” Sometimes you need to put facts and research aside and just trust yourself.
Contributing Writer
Staff Page
I know it’s been a while since the last wedding update, but honestly, there wasn’t much to announce. After an action packed first month, the wedding took the back seat to other things (gasp, I know).
As mentioned earlier, I was most picky about the photographer. I researched around 80 different ones (seriously) and narrowed my list down to the 15 who all met my requirements: a) Excellent photography b) Not staged, more real pictures c) Not too photoshoped d) A person, not a big company e) gives us a CD with full images afterwards to print as we’d like. I used the expertise of a friend who knows a bit more about photography than I do, and together we narrowed the list down more. I ended up meeting with four photographers and, in the end, we chose Photography & Design by Catherine White, Inc., who is not only absolutely fantastic, but also extremely sweet. Also, she likes dinosaurs, which judging from our location, sealed the deal.
Florists all seem the same to me. I mean, how many different ways can you make a bouquet? (Hundreds, I know, but I think I missed that lesson in school). We’re going with Jonathan’s Flowers in Winter Park. His prices are reasonable, he’s amazingly crafty, and his displays are beautiful. He took my “I want an autumn themed bouquet” request and made it beautiful. That’s all I told him. Seriously, he’s fabulous.
We also had a very small engagement party for parents, grandparents and bridal party (all four members who live in town) at The Wine Room on Park Ave. Michael, the manager, was great with creating a platter for our guests. Instead of renting the downstairs room, we just used the main room (no extra charge!). We had it on a Sunday afternoon, so it wasn’t super crowded, as it typically is on Friday or Saturday nights, and there was no corkage fee (which I learned was a thing).
Next – caterers . From what I’ve learned, the big three are Arthur’s, Puff n’ Stuff and Big City. Anyone have any experience with any of them?
I think what I’ve learned most from this experience is to trust your instincts. Each vender we’ve chosen so far I’ve liked from the start, even after interviewing others. For instance, each photographer I interviewed was amazing (if you need suggestions, let me know!), but I felt most comfortable with Katie from our initial “hello.” Sometimes you need to put facts and research aside and just trust yourself.