First a re-cap on what I got lined up this month--
- A date: October 5, 2013. This date just felt right.
- A reception location: Tantalum Restaurant in Long Beach. Awesome views, awesome decor, awesome restaurant. No decoration required!
- A ceremony location: Seal Beach. I love Long Beach to pieces, but unfortunately its beaches aren't the prettiest. Oil rigs scatter the skyline and litter is sometimes a problem since this is where the LA River drains. But no biggie. We'll just hop across the Orange County border into Seal Beach. It's a very small, quiet beach town. Which is much better suited to our private, family only ceremony. Here's a photo I took from the Seal Beach pier last summer.
- An officiant: Alan Katz of Great Officiants. I learned about Great Officiants from an acquaintance while doing extra work over a year ago. They are a Long Beach based company specializing in beach weddings and their reviews are spectacular. I'm glad I made note of them in my planner that one day on set over a year ago. So thanks random extra whose name I don't remember! We haven't met with Alan Katz in person yet, but I've spoken to him on the phone. He is energetic, friendly, and fun. I know he'll be a great match for my fiance and me. :)
- This one I'm extremely excited about: We found our photographer!!! Jamie B Photography of San Clemente. As you may have guessed by my previous blog entry, finding a wedding photographer was really stressing me out. I searched the web extensively. All the photographers I loved were way out of price range and the photographers I felt indifferent about were still out of price range. Ugh. Last week I finally caved and got an account at The Knot. I kept getting referred here during my searches, but you have to be a member to use their site. Despite now having my inbox flooded with wedding emails, The Knot's vendor section is spectacular. Worth it. Price point, location, and reviews all on one page -- THANK YOU! And this is how I found Jamie B Photography. Jamie's photos immediately jumped out at me, even among the hundreds of other vendors on the website. She has a very naturalistic, laid back feel to her photos that I loved. Not only that, but the price was right and there wasn't a single negative review to be found. James and I met with Jamie in person earlier this week and instantly knew we'd found our gal. In our guts, we just knew it was right. I asked her to be our photographer the following day. I am now breathing a HUGE sigh of relief!!!
Now a re-cap on some things I've got the ball rolling on--
- A dress. I'm going on my first shopping excursion this weekend! My maid of honor Sophie set up two bridal appointments on Sunday, one at Bonny Bridal and one at David's Bridal. Both have dresses within my budget. Fingers crossed!
- Cake. I know I really don't need to be thinking about cake this early, but I am. Because I love cake. :) Costco is probably the most budget friendly option. But if I want something pretty as well as delicious, I will have to keep looking. There is a Ralph's Fresh Fare in the same shopping center as our wedding reception so that's a place I'll definitely look into. Have you walked down the Ralph's bakery aisle recently?! Grocery stores are really stepping up their game!
- Flowers. As far as I'm concerned the only flowers at my wedding will be my bouquet. And you can get gorgeous bouquets at Trader Joe's for under $10. Why hire a florist?
- A caricature of James and me. Sure, it's not necessary, but this is a wedding trend I love! Recently I've noticed lots of couples using cartoon versions of themselves on the wedding invites and whatnot. So we're doing it too! James has asked his artist friend Gino to do a caricature of us. Not only will this go on the invites, we'll have a larger version of the finished product placed on an easel at the entryway of our reception. I can't wait to see the finished product!
Sorry, long blog, I know! But there was a lot to update on this month. Aside from the minor photographer hiccup, wedding planning has been going incredibly smoothly. Let's hope this trend continues!
**Louisa**
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