HONEYMOON
Honeymoon: Regal Beach Club, Grand Cayman Grade = A We went to Grand Cayman for our honeymoon. We were there for a week and a half and it was amazing. We spent most of our time lounging on the beach and snorkeling. I would recommend Grand Cayman if you want a gloriously lazy laid back honeymoon. We had a condo at the Regal Beach Club with a full kitchen which was nice because we had the option of dining in. We did go out quite a bit though, and I highly recommend Deckers and Cimboco. If you go, you must try some of the local fare - conch fritters, fish tea, turtle and, of course, rum.
Honeymoon album: snapfish.com Grade = C The album was easy to create and the the layout program is very user friendly. We were disappointed in the quality of the images and the binding of the book. We prefer shutterfly albums over snapfish albums.
Location: Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art Grade = B I've always wanted to get married at Cheekwood. I grew up in Nashville and I spent many summers at Cheekwood taking art lessons. We were married in the Wills Perennial Garden. It was absolutely gorgeous and everything we hoped it would be. We had our reception in Massey Botanic Hall. While there were other locations on the property I would have rather had the reception, we had to go with this one due to the time of year we were getting married, the number of guests attending, and regulations they had about music (we wanted to break it down all night! :-)). The grass terraces outside the hall are beautiful, but the inside took a little more work. All in all, we were happy with it. I'm giving Cheekwood a B because the service wasn't the greatest. The coordinator is very friendly and when you meet with her, face to face, so helpful. She really knows what she's doing. But if you have any questions or concerns and try to contact her via phone or e-mail, she is extremely difficult to get a hold of. This was very frustrating being a long-distance bride. Also, the representative that was there on the day of our wedding caused some unnecessary stress due to her not being aware of everything in our contract with Cheekwood.
Caterer: Anne Clayton Grade = B Anne is the in-house caterer at Cheekwood. We started with passed appetizers: cheese straws, cherry tomato canapés, and mushromm duxelle pastries. We had a seated salad (Spinach salad with mixed greens / poached pears / spiced pecans / dried cranberries / goat cheese / champagne vinaigrette). The buffet had a roasted vegetable display with olive oil and sea salt, oven roasted lemon pepper salmon with dill hollandaise sauce, vegetarian lasagna, tarragon roasted chicken breasts with Dijon veloute sauce, and assorted breads. We also didn't have a wedding cake and opted for a dessert bar instead. It consisted of: cheesecake, Triple chocolate layer cake, carrot cake, and petite sweets assortment. Unfortunately, I didn't really get to eat much food. I had hors d'oeuvres (which were delicious) and the salad (sounded better than it actually was) I had a couple bites of things here and there, but I have to really go by what people said, and they said it was great. The staff was excellent. One thing we weren't pleased with was that the bar ran out of gin!!! I've never heard of a bar running out of gin. I think they were ill prepared.
Photographer: Josh Reeder Grade = B Ok, so we love our photos. Josh is incredibly talented. Everything he shot was completely photo journalistic and candid. We didn't pose for a single shot (except for our family portraits) and we LOVE that. Unfortunately, he commited one huge error. He arrived an hour late! (We'd give him a A if this hadn't occurred.) It was quite distressing. So, we don't have any getting ready shots, and felt kind of rushed through the portraits.
*** I highly recommend finding a photographer who gives you all of your wedding photos hi-res and color corrected and on disk. It will save you so much money and you have access to them forever.
Florist: Brandy Davenport Grade = B Brandy was so great to work with. We loved the centerpieces, bouts and corsages. She also did the lighting on the outdoor railing and the candles throughout the reception hall. Unfortunately, I have to give her a B because the bouquets were the wrong color. It was very important to me that our bouquets be orange -- they were what everything was based off of. Mine had some orange it in, but my sister's didn't have any (and our bouquets were supposed to match). They were pretty, but not what we discussed. It was disappointing.
Hair: Adam at Elan Grade = D I know several knotties have had good experiences with Adam. Unfortunately, I had a bad one. I had originally been booked with Dawn and had a hair trial with her that was awesome. Elan called me 2 weeks before the wedding and said that she was on tour and couldn't do my hair. So, they booked me with Adam and let me have a free hair trial with him. My trial with him was great. I loved it. I was so psyched to have him do my hair for the big day. I don't know what happened. We showed up the day of the wedding and he did my sister's hair first. It looked nothing like the picture she brought in, but she liked it so that was good. Then it was my turn. I told him to do it just like he had done it the previous day with the bottom being a tad larger. When he started pinning my hair, it felt really high (it was supposed to be a loose low updo -- see my hair trial pics in my planning bio -- kateaudplan). I told him it felt higher than when he did my trial and he told me not to worry about it. After a while he started yanking at my hair pulling some pieces down and out of the pins. He was being shadowed by another hairdresser and she asked him what he was doing. He told her that I was right and he was doing it too high. Then he continued and it wasn't taking the shape it had previously. I apologized, but said I had to remind him of what we had discussed. He laughed it off. When it was done it was lopsided, I pointed that out and he said he did it intentionally because of the flower I had in my hair. (I'm sorry but that was total B.S.) I was upset when I left. When i got home my wonderful mom went to work with some bobbypins and some TLC and evened it out. It was pretty, but wasn't really my style or what I wanted, I had to just go with it.
Pashmina: Ebay seller "zenjen" Grade = B+ Arrived promptly. Looked fine. A bit thin, but did the job.
Suit: Macy's Grade = A+ We got a chocolate charcoal pin stripe Calvin Klein suit on sale for an amazing price at the Macy's at Downtown Crossing in Boston. The sales person, Leger, was so nice to work with and helpful. We told him what we wanted and he didn't stop until he found us the perfect suit. He wasn't pushy or overwhelming either which was really refreshing (this was the 4th place we'd visited in our search for the suit). We were really happy with it.
Tie: Filene's Basement Grade: A Great tie for a great price. Gotta love Filene's.
*** Matching suits always seem to be a concern when picking attire for the men. My mister's suit was chocolate charcoal pinstripe, and his brother (and best man) wore plain charcoal. They didn't match exactly, but they looked great and were comfortable! :-)
Kipahs: yarmulkes.com Grade = C The yarmulkes were fine, but the service was awful. The sales person was extremly rude to my husband over the phone. We would have cancelled our order but we had time constraints.
*** I would recommend ordering yarmulkes for 1/3 of your guest list. Most brides (like me) tend to over order. We're still trying to figure out what we should do with 40 yarmulkes imprinted with "Kate & Scott 10.21.06" . . . :-)
Accommodations for OOT guests: Holiday Inn Express, Nashville-Downtown Grade = F This place was a nightmare to work with. They basically just didn't care. (And we had 30 rooms booked with them!) We were kind of forced into using them because all of our first choice hotels were booked the weekend of our wedding due to Vanderbilt's homecoming. And we were stuck with them after we had signed the contract. They were constantly messing up room assignments. And they refused to pass out our guest bags (after they said they would -- my sister-in-law went room to room and delivered them.) Stay away from this hotel.
Wedding Night Accommodations: Sheraton Music City Grade = D- The rooms were nice and the airport shuttle very convenient (that is why they don't get an F) but the service was atrocious. We arrived at the hotel around 11:30 dressed in our wedding attire with 3 large suitcases. Our chauffer (from the wonderful Matchless Limo) unloaded our bags and he couldn't find a bellhop so, he found a cart and wheeled our luggage in for us. (The bellhop showed up after he had already taken care of the bags.) Then, we go to check in and they seem be having problems. We said we have our reservation number if they need help, and they said they have our reservation, but that it is something else having to do with moving around rooms?? We sat in that lobby waiting for 45 minutes -- on our wedding night! It was ridiculous. I started falling asleep in in one of the lobby chairs. Finally, they cleared things up and gave us a key. We looked for the bellhop and he is no where to be found (he wasn't waiting around for 45 minutes. :-)) We asked for him, and they said they didn't know where he was. So, we end up lugging our luggage up to our room in our formal attire. There were 3 people behind the desk just watching us do this, and no one offered to help. We filed a complaint and never heard anything back. I don't have the time or energy to hound these people. I would not recommend this hotel.
Photo Developing: mpix.com Grade = A+ We got all of our wedding photos on disk and had them developed at mpix.com. We were very impressed. The print quality is amazing and the prices are great for professional quality prints.
DIY
If you have the time and energy for DIY, I highly recommend it. It really adds a unique and personal touch to your wedding. One thing I learned about DIY is -- know your limits! Wedding planning is stressful enough as it is. (My DIY list quickly shrank during the planning process :-)) DIY also provides you with a great opportunity to involve family and friends. If someone offers their services, take them up on it. (More DIY can be seen in my planning bio, kateaudplan.)
Invite Supplies: Paper Source Grade = A+ We got all of the paper, labels, and presentation boxes for our invites as well as our guestbook and all of the supplies for our programs at Paper Source. I've been a devoted Paper Source customer for years and highly recommend it. Ribbon: romanticflowers.com Grade = A+ Fast, affordable and exactly what I wanted.
The invites were designed using Adobe Illustrator on my computer and printed them on my ink jet printer. We lined the RSVP envelopes and and boxes ourselves. This was time consuming, but worth it.
I found the map bio to be very helpful when creating our map.
Program Supplies: Paper Source Grade = A+ See Invite Supplies.
The programs were made using the same software and printed the same way as the invites. I printed 2up on 8x10 sheets of paper, then cut them in half. The side was sewn on my sewing machine using a zig zag stitch. I used paperclips to hold the books together, then ran them through the machine. It was really easy and fun.
*** I would recommend making/ordering programs for about 1/2 of your guest list. People tend to share them.
Ketubah Supplies: Watercolors and watercolor paper can be found at any art supplies store.
These were a huge hit with the guests. Scott is an avid record collector so when we found these CDs that looked like records, we knew we had to use them.
They are pretty easy to make: 1. Take a 5 x 7.5'' paper merchandise bag (i used #5 from papermart.com). Turn it horizontally. (The opening to the bag should be on the left.) 2. Insert a 5 x 7'' piece of card stock in the bag. (I used the 5x7 cards from paper source.) This will make the sleeve sturdy. 3. Using your pinking shears, cut 5.5'' from the right hand side of the bag. 4. Trace a 3.5'' circle in the center of the sleeve. Cut out the circle. Your sleeve is done. 5. I personalized the CD by stamping it with the personalized stamp we ordered from vista print.
OUR CD FAVOR PLAYLIST EMBRYONIC JOURNEY • Jefferson Airplane (my uncle & cousin played this on their guitars as I waked down the aisle) MOVIN' ON UP • Janet Dubois + Jeff Barry (aka "The Jefferson's Theme Song" - this played when we entered the reception) AS • Stevie Wonder (our song) AIN'T THAT LOVE • Ray Charles (The song we danced to for our first dance -- since our song is 7 minutes long :-). We were so happy we picked an upbeat song. Our guests were really into it and got out of their seats and started clapping along. It was so unexpected and joyous. A highlight of the evening.) CANDY • Big Maybelle 'DEED I DO • Ella Fitzgerald I NEED YOUR LOVIN' • Don Gardner THIS IS A TRUE TRUE LOVE • Al Campbell SOUL SERENADE • Aretha Franklin C JAM BLUES • Duke Ellington AS LONG AS THE GRASS SHALL GROW • Jonny Cash + June Carter Cash IS YOU IS OR IS YOU AIN'T MY BABY? • Louis Jordan BANANA SPLIT FOR MY BABY • Louis Prima THE ABC'S OF LOVE • Frankie Lymon AT LAST • Etta James HALLELUJAH, I LOVE HER SO • Ray Charles SOMETHING HE CAN FEEL • Aretha Franklin HIGHER • D'angelo LOVIN' IN MY BABY'S EYES • Taj Mahal I BELIEVE • Stevie Wonder LET'S DO IT • Ella Fitzgerald
And Finally . . . October 21st was such a memorable day. We had an intimate gathering of ninety of our closest family and friends in my hometown of Nashville, TN. I have to admit that I was a reluctant bride. Not reluctant to marry my wonderful husband, but reluctant to do the "wedding thing". From day one, I wanted to elope. After much discussion we decided to have a wedding but keep it as small as possible. I have to say the I am SO glad we had the wedding. It is an amazing feeling to have all the people you care about most in this world share in your happiness. A special thank you to the Tennessee knotties who made my long distance planning much easier with their recommendations and advice. If you borrow any pictures, please credit our talented photographer, Josh Reeder. Feel free to page me on the Tennessee Board or e-mail me at knotkateaud@yahoo.com if you have any questions. Happy Planning!
I'm out. :-)