Bio

Please make sure to credit me if you use any of my pictures. Also, please credit StephCarson photohraphy for all wedding pics that you use.

Our Wedding

We had an amazing wedding day with freakishly cold weather for a Satruday in August. It was only 84 degrees. Everything was perfect and we couldn't have asked for a better day. All of our guests keep commenting that it was the best wedding they have ever attended. All of your hard work really does pay off.

Professional Pictures

All pictures were taken by Stephanie Carson. Please make sure to give her credit because she surely deserves it. I LOVE all of my pictures!!

RD bouquets for the BM’s

My toenails said, “I Do”

Joe gave me a bouquet of balloons instead of flowers. Too cute!!

We blindfolded Joe so he couldn’t see me. The entire bridal party went to the park beforehand to take pictures….you will see

Our moment that we shared together in the park by ourselves. I lead him back to a little park bench and then took his blindfold off of him.

That’s my big brother. He had no idea Joe was doing that.

I LOVE this one of my sister and I. She is only 12.

My very long train.

Stephanie couldn’t believe that I made all the little stick people on my computer.

The bridal party entered into the Price is Right theme. That’s why they are wearing large yellow name tags. They acted just like the people on the show.

Our favor boxes.

Our signing mat.

Here are some non-pro pics.

We blindfolded Joe so he couldn't see me. We all then traveled in the limo to the park for pictures.

Joe and I walking in the park sharing a special moment.

The girls waiting to get their pictures taken.

The bridal party.

Good shot of bouquet and bouquet ribbon.

My MOH and I.

The boys jumping in the air!!

My new family!!

My family!!

My girls and I!!

Cutting our cake

Our first dance to Good Morning Beautiful by Steve Holy.

More to come....

Our Honeymoon!!

Us in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. We visited San Francisco for a day since we went to Napa Valley.

I love this picture of DH!!! He is standing in front of Alcatraz.

Me in front of Postcard row. It was really windy that day!!

Us in front of Postcard row. I love this picture!!

A picture of us in Napa at the Sterling Vineyards.

Here we are in front of the grape vines!!

We are visiting the Francis Ford Coppola winery in this picture. It was Joe’s favorite winery. See below!!

The Couple

E-pics by Steph Carson. They were taken down at the Purple People Bridge and Newport on the Levee.

Preserved Flowers

I LOVE my preserve flowers. It was the best thing that I have ever done. I used Heirloom Flowers by Anderson. They were amazing!! I purcahsed a memory box and three x-mas ornaments for $230. Her prices were amazing and very cheap compared to other places. She is a sweet woman and is very passionate about what she doesn.

The outside of the box

The inside of the box. I am trying to show how it opens up. I am able to put my program, menu cards, etc of the wedding. Yeah!!

My ornaments. I wish the picture took better. They are sooo pretty!! I LOVE them!!

Invitations

Our custom thank you notes that I designed. I had them printed through Shutterfly. Great quality!! They were a little on the expensive side ($9.99 for 12), but I think it is worth the added expense. Let me know if you need help making these.

A close up of my STD magnets. I purchased magnet paper from Staples and printed them on my ink-jet printer.

The front of the STD Christmas card I designed.

This is the inside of our STD Christmas Card. Joe and I think they turned out good. The inside saying reads:

Not only does this card bring you good cheer
It also lets you know our wedding day is near
So, please save the date on your calendar for us
As we wish you Happy Holidays that are blessed and joyous

The inside of my pocketfold that I designed. I have gotten rave reviews on them from my guests.

The inserts read:
All Roads Lead to Love - Directions
Kentucky Hospitality - Accommodations
The Honour of Your Presence - RSVP
Dancing the Night Away - Reception

This is how we will seal the pocketfolds. We embossed our initial K onto a gold seal. The embosser was purchased from horchow.com.

The invitations addressed to the Pope and the President. I did them myself in the based on the Scriptina font on the computer. With a little practice, I think I have mastered this font.

Pocketfold Costs

Here is a breakdown of the cost of 200 invitations since so many people ask this question:

Description	Company Used	Price per piece	Total Price
Envelopements Pocketfolds	Montage Invitations	$1.32/per pocketfold	$264
Inner and Outer Envelope	LCI Paper	5 boxes at $12.50 per box. Each box holds 50 inner and outer envelopes	$62.50
Invitations and Inserts	Classic Graphic and Printing in Alexandria, KY	$1.55 per set including invitation, 4 inserts, and printing on RSVP envelope they provided for me	$310
Ribbon	Hobby Lobby	5 spools of ribbon on sale for 50% off	$15
Seals	Horchow	Embosser for $25 and seals for $10	$35
		Total Cost	$686.50

Back To Top Something Old: My mom is taking lace from her wedding dress and making me a garter.
Something New: My dress
Something Borrowed: I will borrow an ankle bracelet from my MOH.
Something Blue: I will be carrying a monogrammed ribbon on my bouquet.
And a sixpence for my shoe!! I purchased the sixpence from www.exclusivelyweddings.com.

My UK Basketball garter. I ordered it from Morning Glory Garters on E-bay. I love it!!

DIY Lollipop Bouquets

I made these lollipop bouquets for the rehearsal. They were easy to make, but took way more lollipops that I had originally thought. I think they turned out cute!!

How to make DIY Lollipop Bouquet:

I purchased a foam bouquet holder from Hobby Lobby- the smaller one for about a $1.
I then placed a dab of hot glue on the bottom of the lollipop stick and then started placing them around the foam in the bouquet holder. Don't worry- the hot glue does not leave the lollipops in the bouquet permentantly.
I added fake leaves, flowers, and a bow to fill out the bouquet.
The entire bouquet took about one full bag lollipops per bouqet. Total cost per bouquet $5.

I made these lollipop bouts for the GM's at the RD.

How to make lollipop bouts:

1. I just took 3 lollipop together and wrapped floral tape around them. I then added fake leaves and wrapped more floral tape around the stem to secure them. Very easy!!

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Ceremony Details

Catholic Ceremony Program
Full mass order along with music selections

Prelude: (String Quartet)
Allegro from Brandenburg/Bach
Arioso/Bach
Air from Water Music/Handel
Various misc songs chose by string quartet

Grandmother’s Entrance: (String Quartet)
Air from Suite No 3/ Bach

Mother’s Entrance: (String Quartet)
Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring/Bach

Bridesmaids Processional: (String Quartet)
Canon in D/ Pachelbel

Bride’s Processional (String Quartet with Trumpet)
Trumpet Voluntary with Trumpet/ Clarke

Opening Prayer

Liturgy of the Word
First Reading: Tobit 8:4-9
Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife, “My love, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance.” She got up, and they started to pray and beg that deliverance might be theirs. He begun with these words: “Blessed are you, O God of our fathers; praised be your name forever and ever. Let the heavens and all your creation praise you forever. You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve to be his help and support; and from these two the human race descended. You said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a partner like himself.’ Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine not because of lust, but for a noble purpose. Call down your mercy on me and on her, and allow us to love together to a happy old age.” They said together, “Amen, amen.” And went to bed for the night.

Responsorial Pslam (Violin, Piano, Flute)
Psalm 128 – (Proulx)

Second Reading: 1 John 3:18-24
Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts befire him in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep his commandments remain him, and he in them, and the way we know that re remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us.

Gospel Acclamation/Alleluia (Violin, Piano, Flute)
Celtic Alleluia - O’Carroll

Gospel Reading: Mark 10:6-9

Homily

The Rite of Marriage
Declaration of Intent
Declaration of Consent
Exchange of Vows
Blessing of Rings
Exchange of Rings
Prayer of the newly married couple

Prayer of the Faithful
For Benedict our pope, Joseph our bishop, and all clergy and religious everywhere, that they may lead us to deeper faith in God and a stronger lover for others. We pray to the Lord.

For Joseph and Rebecca, now beginning their life together, that their love for God and for each other deepen with each passing day. We pray to the Lord.

For those who are sick or in need of healing, whether it be physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, that they may find comfort in the Lord’s healing touch. We pray to the Lord.

For those who have died, especially our family members and friends who have gone before us, that they may rest in eternal peace with the Lord. We pray to the Lord.

For all world leaders, that they may have wisdom to lead their people to an end of conflict and toward everlasting peace, and for those in areas affected by war, that God may watch over them and keep them safe. We pray to the Lord.

For our personal intention which we mention now in silence. We pray to the Lord.

Liturgy of the Eucharist
Presentation of the Gifts
Offertory
Preparation of the Altar
Prayer over the Gifts
Presentation of the Gifts (String Quartet, Piano, Flute)
I Have Loved You - Joncas

Eucharistic Prayer
Eucharistic Acclamations -Spoken
the Sanctus (Holy, Holy)
the Memorial Acclamation
the Great Amen

Lamb of God- Spoken

The Communion Rite
Lord’s Prayer: Spoken
Nuptial Blessing
Sign of Peace
Communion
Communion Song (String Quartet, Piano, Flute)
One Bread, One Body- Haas

Unity Candle Song (String Quartet, Piano, Flute)
Where There is Love - Haas

Dedication to Mary/After Communion (String Quartet)
Ave Maria with vocals/Schubert

Concluding Rite
Final Blessing
Dismissal
Presentation of the Couple
Recessional (String Quartet with Trumpet)
Wedding March with trumpet/Mendelssohn

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OOT Bags

My mock-up OOT packet.

Welcome Letter
It means so much to us that you have traveled this far to be a part of our Wedding day. We hope the next couple of days are as memorable for you as they will be for us.

Marriage is a beginning of a love that will grow and change in ways more wonderful than we can imagine. Understanding that life holds many momentous commitments, we thank you for sharing in our love, and this day, we will remember that flowers, music, and food were not what made this day so special. It will be our memories of sharing the beginning of our lives as husband and wife, with you, our family and friends.

Enjoy the “goodies” included in this welcome box. They are just a token of our appreciation for you being here.

We hope you enjoy your stay. See you at the church!!!

Love,
Joseph and Rebecca

Here are my OOT gable boxes. I will fill them with the water bottles,chips, pretzels, granola bar, chocolate bar, and some other misc items.

Labels for water bottles for OOT bags!!

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Reception

Reception Music Selections

Bridal Party Entrance
They entered to the theme song of Price is Right. I had made them the yellow name tags to wear. I don’t have pics yet, but everyone at the reception was cracking up!!

Bride & Groom Entrance
On On U of K!!

First Dance
Good Morning Beautiful by Steve Holy

Father/Daughter & Mother/Son
Because You Loved Me

Cake Cutting Song
Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Bouquet Toss:
Wishing and Hoping

Garter Toss:
Let's Get It On-Marvin Gaye

Dinner Music:

She’s Got A Way by Billy Joel	You Are the Sunshine Of My Life by Stevie Wonder	Unforgettable by Nat King Cole
What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong	My Girl by The Temptations	Lean on Me by Bill Withers
Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers	I’ve Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra	It Had To Be You by Harry Connick, Jr.
I Do by 98 degrees	Have I Told You Lately by Rod Stewart	At Last by Etta James
Anything by Frank Sinatra	Anything by Harry Connick, Jr.	Anything by Louis Armstrong

Dance Music:

Cha-Cha Slide by Mr. C The Slide Man	Electric Boogie (Slide) by Marcia Griffiths	Celebration by Kool & The Gang
Love Shack by B-52’s	Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison	Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex
Grease Megamix by J. Travolat & O. Newton-John	Shout by Otis Day, Isley Bros.	Swing the Mood by Jive Bunny
YMCA by Village People	Play That Funky Music by Wild Cherry	Stayin’ Alive by Bee Gees
I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor	Respect by Aretha Franklin	Amazed by Lonestar
The Dance by Garth Brooks	Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard	Twist by Chubby Checker
We are Family by Sister Sledge	Takin’ Care of Business by BTO	Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton
Mickey by Toni Basil	How Do I Live by Trisha Yearwood	Footloose by Kenny Loggins
La Bamba by Los Lobos	The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra	Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion
Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet	Wild Thing by Tone-Loc	Rock Around The Clock by Bill Haley & The Comets
Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks	Sweet Caroline	Sweet Home Alabama
Blister in the Sun	American Pie	December 1963 (Oh, what a night) - Four Seasons
Pretty Woman - Roy Orbinson	Rocky Mountain High-John Denver	Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw-Jimmy Buffet

Last Dance Song
I've Had The Time Of My Life-Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes

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Templates

Here are some templates from my wedding. I only have templates in the software that it is listed under. In order to view the fonts in many of the documents, you may need to download the fonts Scriptina and Calforian. Please go to dafont.com in order to download the appropriate fonts. If you have any questions, please page me on the Cincinnati board. Thanks!!

Microsoft Publisher
Escort Seating Chart
OOT Packages
Reception Menu Card
Altar Line-Up
Processional Line-Up
Reception Music Checkist for DJ
Day of Timelines
Ceremony Program Cover
Ceremony Program Inserts
5 x 7 Vertical Pocketfold Invitations Main Invite
5 x 7 Vertical Pocketfold Invitations Inserts
STD Magnet
STD Christmas Card

2x2 Box Favor Tags

Microsoft Excel
Guest List Chart

Timelines

Gifts

These are the BM gifts all together. I hope they like them!!

I etched my BM's names onto glass vases. These will be used at the head table to hold their bouquets.

Here are the GM gifts all together. We are getting them a cooler with a six pack of their favorite beer, a beer mug etched with their name, a handheld Texas Poker game, and a pack of cards to play poker while waiting for walk down the aisle.

I also etched beer mugs for all of the GMs.

The etchings on the beer mugs and vases was very easy. Make sure you purchase the Armour brand etchings cream at any local craft store. I bought mine at Hobby Lobby, but Michael's has it also. At first, the jar seems expensive and small, but you get a lot out of it. Trust me. It is a white bottle with purple writing.

Beer Mugs:
1. Clean beer mug using windex

2. I bought regular sticker letters at the craft store and placed them on the beer mug in the position I wanted. The possibilities are endless here.

3. I then took masking tape and created a box around the letters.

4. I brushed on the etchings cream. Make sure you use a lot of cream. I brushed it on and then globbed it on.

5. Wait 10 minutes. I always wait longer than the directions.

6. Wash off the cream using regular tap water. Don't be scared if the letter stickers wash away or the masking tape starts to come undone. Wash it off until you can't see anything anymore. It takes about 5 minutes for everything to come off. Remove any excess stickers, labels, that didn't wash off with the water.

7. Using windex again, clean the beer mug. When the mug begins to dry you will see the etch. Whenever an etched product is underwater it becomes clear, so that is why you won't see the design until the mug is dry.

Vases

1. Same directions as above, however instead of using letter stickers, I created my own stencil. You can buy full-sized sheet labels at any office product store. (I used the left over sheets to create labels for my OOT water bottles)

2. Selecting any fonts, play around with what you like on the computer. Print a few pages out and place inside the vase so you can see what it looks like. Once you have selected the size of font and style, print it out on the full-size sheet label.

3. Using an exacto knife, cut out the word. It doesn't have to be perfect. Mine wasn't. Block fonts are easier to cut out than a script font which I did. This was the most difficult part of the whole process.

4. Peel off the label and place on the vase and repeat the process.

These DIY projects were great to work with my FI on. I placed the stencils on the mugs and vases and then my FI placed the cream on. He then was able to wash them off while I was working on my next stencil. Honestly, it took us two nights to create 6 beer mugs and 6 vases. He really enjoyed helping me with these. It was fun for both of us.

If you have any questions, please page me on the Cincinnati Board.

We are giving our moms and grandmas these photo bracelets. For the parents we are placing picture of all the siblings. For the grandmas, we are placing an e-pic of us, a pic from our parent’s wedding, and a pic from their wedding.

We got these for our dad’s. We also purchased them a set of monogrammed handkerchiefs.

We got my grandpa a pocket watch. Pretty traditional.

These tiny gable boxes are going to be our reader gifts. We are placing a gift card inside.

These are the hostess gifts for my bridal showers. I used a wicker basket, potpourri, a candle, bookmark, chocolate, and a picture frame. I think they turned out pretty good!!

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Showers

We had our first shower on May 7, 2006. It was such a fun time!! Here are some pictures.
These are scanned in, so the quality isn't that great.

Everyone was requested to to bring a tacky gift. We are standing behind all the tacky gifts we had to take home with us.

It's a tradition that at every couple's shower the groom must place the bows on his head. Joe didn't like it that much.

Here we are in front of all the gifts

These are all the gifts that we received. We were overjoyed by everyone’s kindness.

Lil’ Tig playing in the Bed Bath and Beyond boxes. They were so cute when we were unwrapping everything at home.

This was Tayshaun trying to find Lil’ Tig in the Bed Bath and Beyond box.

My third shower was on July 9, 2006. It was hosted by my aunts. We have a blast!!

The toilet paper wedding dress game. Everyone did a great job!!

The best gift of the day!!

Me and the MOB of MOG

Would you pay??

MrsAllymer, MrsGeorge, and Tinytot_924 found this great deal at DSW. We just had to pass it along.

Would you pay that for shoes?? THESE SHOES!!!

The saying on the bottom of the shoe was the kicker. We just wanted to pass this information along in case anybody was interested in these shoes!!!

Cincy GTG

GTG Christmas Cookie Swap on 12/14/06.
Back Row: Lesile&Prakash, Miami62406, Brougham7-15-06, Sara040106, JenandCarlos, Cresentchic, Novemberbride12.
Front Row: Brooke701, IAM4UK, STBMrsAllymer's sister/MOH, STBMrsAllymer, Tinytot_624

Knottie GTG on 11/5/05 at The Mad Potter. Back Row: Lesile&Prakash, HeatherandJason, Asphire, IAM4UK, Sara040106, Kineticwardrobe, Ermsc88. Front Row: Jamie0703, Ashlynn2432, Grrarrgh)

The Bling Shot!!!

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Furbaby

Our new kitten, Tayshaun!! We adopted her on April 22, 2006. She is only 4 weeks old in this picture. Isn’t she cute??

Our other kitten, Lil’ Tig!! We adopted her on April 22, 2006. She is only 6 weeks old in this picture.

Aren’t they sooo cute?? They are sleeping in the basket that I am using for the programs. They got tired of looking at every paper that was shooting out of the printer.

Engagement Party

Our Engagement Party Cake.

A picture of us after we smashed cake in each other’s faces. We have agreed that we will not be doing this at the wedding. It was really fun to do and I recommend doing this before the wedding.

Our Entire Wedding Party!! What a huge bunch!! There are 14 of us total!!

The Mothers. My mom is on the left and Joe’s mom is on the right.

The Fathers. Joe’s dad is on the left and my dad is on the right

Joe playing cornhole. Notice the lovely UK cornhole sets in the background. Joe and I made those by hand. Our first project involving tools. It wasn’t pretty :)

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Here are my 2005-2006 University of Kentucky Men's Basketball season tickets. Aren't you jealous??

Star Wars Wedding

Joe's cousin gave her groom the star wars characters as their wedding present. They came during the reception. It was hilarious to watch. Plus, my husbands mouth dropped when they came out since he is a huge star wars fan.

The Ten Commandments

I found this with my planning papers and have no clue where I got it from.

1. Thou shalt not second guess thy choices once they are made-move on-whether it’s your dress or your invitations or the type of flowers for a bouquet. Your sanity is much more important!! Second quessing whether or not to get married, however, is a whole other story… :)

2. Get up on the morning of your wedding day and tell yourself: If things do not go exactly as planned today, there is nothing I can’t handle. But I’m ready to have the time of my life and savor every moment!!

3. Best decision I made was to get a massage the morning of my wedding- I was so relaxed and calm. Definitely worth every penny!

4. If you are not hung up on superstitions (and you don’t have a huge time gap between your ceremony and reception), get your photographs taken before the ceremony. Arrange to have a special moment to see your soon-to-be-husband for the first time. It was one of the most emotional and moving moments in my life, and it was still unbelievable to see him waiting for me at the end of the aisle at the ceremony.

5. Your wedding party consists of your friends and loved ones who support you. Don’t treat them like servants. Don’t separate them from their spouses and dates at dinner. Don’t keep them from the reception by having tons of pictures taken. They have worn the garments you chose for them, spent extra time and money grooming themselves, and possibly travel/hotel/babysitting accommodations in order to support you on your special day. Let them enjoy the reception, they have earned it!!

6. In lieu of or in addition of the receiving line, consider stopping my each table and talking to your guests. It is more personable, and we really enjoyed the opportunity to chat one-on-one with people.

7. Ivory shirts…white shirts…who cares??

8. At least a week before the wedding, compile a DETAILED timeline of the weekend for yourself, the wedding party, and your vendors…it will keep everything running smoothly.

9. Repeat #2 to yourself if anything doesn’t go exactly as planned.

10. Enjoy, enjoy, enoy!! It is truly YOUR day, so eat that food, drink that champagne, get out and dance and SMILE!! It warms a guest’s heart to see you happy, radiant, newly married couple totally in love with each other!!

Vendor Review

I can’t say anything bad about my vendors. Everyone was great and there were no issues that anyone has told me about. I stay very organized throughout my planning and always made sure that my vendors stayed in the loop. They all thanked me after the wedding for being so organized. It truly does help and makes a difference.

Receptions- South: A+
I cannot express into words about this reception site. They were having deals and specials while we booked so we got all of our alcohol for free. There staff is wonderful to work with and always responds to e-mails very quickly. They take care of everything for you. The food is AMAZING. We were able to go too many tastings before our wedding to narrow our choices. The night of the wedding everyone in my bridal party felt pampered. Our captain always had drinks on the tables for us and everything was set-up perfectly. We didn’t have to do a thing!!

St. Agnes Church: A+
This is the parish that I grew up in. They have a beautiful church with a very long aisle. They were great to work with. We have both Deacon Bob Stoeckle and Father Mark Keene perform the ceremony. They were always there to answer any questions. It’s funny because Deacon Bob said that he is using my wedding packet as a guide for all his future brides. He said I was the most organized bride he has ever seen.

Garden of Park Hills: B+
This is where we had our rehearsal dinner. It was okay. We had a very small party of only about 50 people. They have room dividers and it wasn’t being used for our group. There wasn’t anyone on the other side, but it was set-up for a different group. The food was great and one of the servers serenaded us with a love song. It seemed like they didn’t have enough staff to accommodate our group. The person at the open bar was also serving the food.

Stephanie Carson Photography: A+
What can I say about Stephanie. She was great to work with on the day of the wedding. Her assistant Steph K. was also great!! We had so much fun!! I feel I may have rushed her at the church. I wanted to get out of there and go party at the reception. I can’t wait to see the professional pics.

True Reflections Videography: A+
I hired them 3 weeks before my wedding and boy did they come through!!! OMG!! My video is AMAZING!!! They captured everything!! They got shots of my wreaths on the door, Joe's fist pump at the end of mass, and other things that my photographer missed. Listening to my speeches again, the homliy, see reactions of my guests is PRICELESS!! If you are looking for a videographer, definitely check them out!! They were very professional and I didn't even realize they were there. I could rave on and on about them, but I will stop for now. I am trying to put a section of my video in my bio. I will let you know if I can get it in there. Oh, I forget, they were very affordable!!If you have any questions, just let me know!!

Gabby’s European Cakes: A+
OMG…the cake was amazing!! I just love her cake. We had four different flavors of cake and everyone at the reception raved about them. We didn’t have ONE slice of cake leftover, which is what I wanted. Everyone either ate a piece or took a piece home in our cake boxes. Before the wedding, she came to my house to work on the perfect color of blue icing. The cake design was perfect!!!

DJ Butlers: Rhett Frambes: A+
I knew Rhett from grade and high school. Right when we got engaged, I knew I had to have him for my reception. He is AMAZING!! He is fun and very easy to work with. He also commented on my organization. I had everything ready for him in a packet. The dance floor was packed all night long. My mom loves to do line dances so he taught all of my guests. He even had everyone get in a big circle with us in the middle. At the end of the song he made everyone do a group hug. It was great!!!

The Secret Garden: A+
They were great to work with. I showed them pictures of what I wanted and it came out exactly the way I expected it to be. There shop was robbed the night before the wedding, but luckily all of the wedding flowers were not destroyed. Their prices are unbelievable. I got all quotes of flowers at other shops and their quotes was almost $500 less.

House of Brides Couture Salon Chicago, IL: A+
I purchased my gown and BM dresses through them. They were wonderful to work with. My consultant Melissa was on the ball with everything. She even made a fake wedding date for me when she found out it was going to take 9 months for them to make the dress. We had personalized service with our own fitting room and the overall experience was wonderful. She took over $500 off of my dress and didn’t charge me any sales tax since I was out of state. I would highly recommend them. They are only about a 5 hour drive away and worth every penny.

String Celebrations: A+
Wow!! What a great ensemble. I never even met Lisa and just talked with her though e-mail and everything turned out beautiful. They worked with my three other musicians and it seemed like they were playing together for years. I got so many compliments on the music for the ceremony. They brought tears and goosebumps to one of my guests who sent me an e-mail after the wedding. Worth the splurge here!!

Greg Cerimele-(trumpet, flute, clarinet): A+
Greg used to be my orchestra leader back in high school. He is so talented. I just talked with him through e-mail and everything worked out. I even had a song change an hour before the ceremony and he coordinated with all the other musicians. Highly recommend. He is also the leader of a band that plays at many wedding receptions.

Tom Haber-(piano) : A+
No complaints. He is also a member of Greg’s band. Very professional and highly recommend. I didn’t here one slip at all the whole time he played.

Paula Chal- (soloist): A+
Paula sings up at the Holy Cross Immaculata regularly. We went to church there to here her sing and booked with her on the spot. She called a week before the wedding to go over everything. Very professional. Highly recommend.

A Limousine Associates: A+
The limo driver was very nice and curterous. He showed up early to my house and was very patient as I was getting in and out of the limo (I had a 5ft train). He took us wherever we wanted to go. There was a red carpet as we came out of the church. The limo was clean and very nice. Highly recommend.

Margaret Oldfield: A+
She did my alterations along with some of my BM alterations. Her works speaks for herself. Her prices are very reasonable and she was very patient with my sister. My sister, who is 12, had to go through 4 fittings because she was having growth spurts like crazy. Margaret also fixed my veil after my kitten chewed a hole into it. Very nice and professional. I also purchased my wedding day jewelry from her.

Stafford Jewelers: F
Page me with your e-mail address and I will go into detail about how they damaged my e-ring beyond repair and created the worst custom wedding band ever. Awful customer service. Do not shop there!!!

Online Vendors and Local Shops
Eden Bridal: A+
I bought my tiara through this vendor on e-bay. They were wonderful to work with. The tiara looked ten times better than it did over the internet. They had really fast shipping.

Hobby Lobby: A+
I purchased most of my paper from hobby lobby. They are always having a sale on items. I bought 12x12 paper for 0.16 each. If they were out of stock, they would always order it for me. I did many DIY paper items. PIB.I also bought all of my framing needs from them. They are always having a 50% off open back frames. I got my signing mat/frame, seating chart frames, parents frames, and so forth from them.

Arvey Paper: A+
I bought all of my linen paper from this company. They are located in downtown Cincinnati. The paper is good quality for really cheap. You can buy reams of linen paper for under $20. Very reasonable. They have samples of everything so you can feel the texture and weight of the paper before you buy it.

Now-and-Forever.com: A+
I purchased my BM totes through this company. They were perfect and better quality than I expected. Very fast shipping.

Theknot.com Wedding Shop: A+
I purchased my BM trinket boxes, cufflinks, flask, and other various items from them. Great quality and really fast shipping.

Horchow.com: A+
I ordered all of my embossers from this company. I highly recommend them. They even called me because they thought I made a spelling error, which I did. I was very impressed with their customer service. The embossers were very reasonably priced.

Montage Invitations: A+
They were the cheapest price for Envelopements brand pocketfold invitations. Only $1.32/piece. I was able to get free shipping due to a promotion they were running. She has great customer service and was really quick on the shipping.

LCIPaper.com: A+
This is where we purchased our envelopes for our invitations. They were very affordable and very fast shipping.

Other Helpful Information
Ron Carroll Photography: F
I fired them. Used car salesman tatics. Never wrote anything down. Just wanted the check in hand and didn’t seem to care about you after that. Luckily, I found out about all his sneaky ways before the wedding.

Page me on the Cincinnati Board if you have any questions. Happy Planning!!

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