{Tiaras} Looking For Venues Is Hard

So, we started looking for venues almost immediately. In fact, I was looking for venues while John was asleep at the hotel in DC, if we're being honest. But I think we as a nation need to address A Couple of Things when it comes to this process.

First of all, there's no consistent or easy way to look for venues. There's Google, of course, and weddingwire.com, The Knot's website, there's Yelp.... but so far I've yet to find one place I can type "wedding venues" in and get a map or even just a list that's semi-comprehensive.

Second of all, you know what they don't have on their stupid sites? PRICES. Do you think people like me have time to email every single venue in the tri-county area and say HEY, HOW MUCH DOES THIS COST? I'm already on your website. This shouldn't be hard. How many people can say "Oh, this looks nice. Book it. What do you mean how much does it cost? Who cares how much it costs!"

THIRD of all, why is every single detail itemized? AND NO ONE TELLS YOU ABOUT IT? Oh, $50 a plate? That's not bad! Oh and $10 a chair? And $5 for a chair cover? And $2 for the sash? And HOW MUCH for tables?! Which brings me to probably my biggest beef:

Point four. Minimums. $50 a plate. $10,000 minimum.

John and I have friends, but we don't have that many friends. We're circling around 110 guests right now as our mothers add in last minute names to our guest list that we may have forgotten.

We've never planned a wedding--how are we supposed to know that if we don't ask for the price of the napkins, or the drink swivel sticks, they won't tell use but they WILL charge us? Do none of you seriously have an itemized price list? I get that it's a business tactic, I do, but we're trying to plan a small wedding, not evade an army in the jungle. Clarity is key.

So in the meantime, I guess we're looking for venues the old fashion way....we'll have to ask our mothers. *Shudder*

-E

{Tiaras} But, Guess What?

I realize our blog didn't get updated over the winter and there was a good reason for that. Because of our schedules, John and I only got to see each other if I could make the drive up on Saturdays. There wasn't a lot of wedding talk. In fact there was barely any wedding talk or regular talk because the time we were actually together we were so exhausted we usually took naps or watched movies or started with the latter and ended up with the former.

But we made it.

We celebrated our fifth year anniversary in December, Christmas, and then our first New Year's together:

It was great. We hung out with the Franklin Gang and played some games. It was nice! We celebrated Valentine's Day (which was on the weekend this year, yikes!): 

And my 22nd Birthday!(John got me wine glasses ;) ) I successfully launched an independent winter guard:

And then John decided we should plan a vacation! A little trip to celebrate finishing this awful semester. (And COLD)

So after a lot of planning, money saving, and schedule re-arranging, we went to Washington, D.C. It was amazing!! We drove (10 hours, ughhh!) the last week of April for six blissful days of nothing but vacation and quality time. Like all our adventures, it didn't go as planned, exactly. It rained a lot: 

They decided to tear down the hotel we're were saying at down WHILE WE WERE STAYING AT IT... but, John and I know how to "make it work", so we made it work. We found fun inside things to do (or carried around pretentious umbrellas), and we found a new (nice!) hotel to stay in. We saw and did amazing things and basically found ways to amuse ourselves all week:

But then John suggested something else--let's go to the wilderness in the middle of the city. 

It was muddy, swamped, but beautiful. And despite getting temporarily lost....pretty cool. We stopped on this beautiful bridge to watch the sun start to set over the city and to catch the cool breeze off the water. We tossed our last two "wish" pennies into the river, and then John asked a very important question....

....and I said yes.

--Emily

{Tiaras} Don't Tell John

I probably shouldn't put this where he can see, but given my earlier comments it seems fair to share with the class. Even though it's over a month early, John gave me my anniversary present on Sunday. I wish I could tell you I was shocked and surprised, but instead I was reduced to giggles and faux-indignant looks as I locked it around my neck. Let me show you:

 

It's a little gold turtle surrounded by diamonds. ("That diamond junk that you like" as J put it.) Clearly the threat of hidden turtles in the wedding has already started.

 

 

But we have a deal, John. I'm wearing it. 

{Tiaras} I Do, To Dos

I decided to do a call in list of all the things we'll eventually need to do. After the suit (sport jacket coat things) fiasco, I'm starting to get anxiety about how much weddings cost. We can probably update as we go, like a master post.

Date
Venue(s)
Pastor Jay
Announcements/Invites
Engagement Pictures
Wedding Pictures
DJ/Music List
Wedding Party
Wedding Party's Ensembles/Gifts
Wedding Dress/Whatever John plans on wearing
Flowers (Decoration, Bouquet, Corsages)
Center Pieces
Gifts for our moms
Catering
Wedding Cake
Place Settings
Favors
Thank You Cards
Honeymoon
Somehow Getting Kitty Here
License/Name Change
Getaway Car
Rings (this one almost didn't make the list, oops)

....I'm going to need another job.

Mens suits. [Top Hats]

So, Emily learned that things can be expensive at weddings. 

We stopped at Joseph A bank, a mens store that sells relatively nice suits and sport jackets. A couple of things. At the mall they are an outlet store; that mean low inventory and high turn rates. [That's business talk for sell things quickly to bring in more to sell quickly again.]  

How you do this is by taking a suit, lets say this one;

That suit is listed at 795 dollars. but wait a minute, it says its been marked down to 275, and if I buy two of them, I only pay 500. Thats a 65% price cut, what a deal! I need to get in on that. 

Thats the whole point. its the same with furniture. The prices are whatever number we want, then they get marked down to whatever is actually reasonable, and hey! look at all that savings!

here's what i actually need; 

that's a 500 dollar jacket.

I don't need a full suit. I have a set of dress shirts and pants, what I really need is just a sport coat. 

Hey that's nearly the same one, and its been marked down to less than half! 225. how can they do that? 

Cause their cost for that suit is about 145. If i go to a main store, id have to pay the full price, because they have a lower rate of inventory turn. I can have that same suit ordered into the outlet store and then get it at the 65% price reduction. cause again, the whole point is turn over. 

Lets talk about things that are expensive now. 

here's a mens suit from twenty years ago; 

here's one from now; 

nothing is really different huh? so I can get away with having one that cost a pile of money, since doing so means it'll last for longer. 

cause nothing has really changed in my entire lifetime.

just sayin

{Tiaras} I Don't Know How To Prompt This

Our five year is in December. [And the fact that we finally came up with what day it was is an entire other story. I'm sure our facebook friends were confused.] John bought me a gift when he was in Turkey and it's been SITTING ON THE MANTLE EVER SINCE HOW CAN YOU BE SO CRUEL. It's also wrapped in the bag because he knows me so well and he knows I can't take it.

It's in this little silver bag, and in the past few months I've deducted:

It's jewelry
It's nice jewelry
It's not a ring
It's probably a pendant
John's very serious about whatever it is
It's not a ring
It is not a ring (Stop making eyes at me, Allie)

I would just like to point out the ABUSE that is taking place considering our five year is still THREE MONTHS away.

Edit: I just found this. I might be getting it early. Stay tuned.

{Tiaras} Suits

I don't even have a funny title for this because, oh my God, do you know how much suits cost?!

John and I went shopping because we need dress clothes for fundraiser. I received a scholarship and now the university has invited us to a swanky fundraiser to help ...raise funds for next year. Our tickets are free, and there will be wine and beer tasting and other fun things. John's suit is about a decade old so he needs a new one (and who doesn't want a new dress right?)

So we end up in a dress store that's fancy dresses in the front, and as it turns out, a whole bridal section in the back. I really didn't know this initially but it was there. So, John suggests after I poked around for a bit that we actually go look in "the aisle of bad decisions" or something. I, of course, thought this was a great idea. I really think he was curious about the price tags and didn't want to go alone and knows that I'd never say no to looking at white poofy dresses---regardless.

Then we found a suit store. Like a big nice one that apparently is the "factory" store of it's big brother. The sales guy gave us a bunch of great info and then tells us the entry level suit is NINE. HUNDRED. DOLLARS. For a SUIT. Not even a TUX. A SUIT. Let me just say this, that is easily more expensive than the dresses that we saw.

I had no idea they'd cost so much--how expensive is this wedding really going to be?