Well, the big day has come and gone and I want to do it again! The
stress and craziness all paid off in the end and it was almost perfect!
Since
neither my HUSBAND(!) nor I are from Pittsburgh, it was kind of
difficult planning everything by ourselves. I relied on word-of-mouth
and pure guessing to get everything we needed.
CEREMONY: Old Stone Church, Monroeville A+++
H and I toured a few places before we saw the church. We gave them the
deposit before we left. It's the most adorable, old church ever! The
entire party waited downstairs (in separate rooms) and the groom and
groomsmen walked up a hidden staircase next to the alter and the ladies
and I walked up the stairs in the back of the church. The caretakers
meet you at the church on the night of the rehearsal, show you how to
lock the door and leave you to do whatever! Then they meet you before
the ceremony and remind you to lock the door when you leave. It's nice
because you don't have someone there, bored, waiting for you to leave so
they can go about their day! The only downfall is that there is no
on-site parking. The guests have to park across the street. We
contacted the Monroeville PD to have someone assist in crossing, but
from what my guests said, the officer sat in his car and didn't really
do anything.
MINISTER: Rev. Mark from A Simple Vow A+++
I
don't even remember how I ended up finding Rev. Mark and his wife,
Jeanie, but I'm so glad that I did! H and I knew from the second we met
them that he would perform our ceremony. The four of us sat around and
talked about everything in life for a couple of hours! They are both
geeks, just like us! Rev. Mark cracked some jokes during the ceremony
that had everyone in the church laughing. He really helped calm me down
and help me to enjoy myself, instead of freaking out. Jeanie kept
everyone in line and directed the bridal party on how to enter, where to
stand and how to leave. They are such a great team to work with!
RECEPTION: Comfort Inn, Rodi Road A+++++
I cannot even begin to say how wonderful everyone there is! My contact
was Cheryl and she put up with all of my emails and questions. She
explained everything that I needed to know...sometimes multiple
times...and didn't seem like she minded! We got a buffet package, open
bar, champagne toast, cake, centerpieces, chair covers and sashes, hotel
room for us with a chilled bottle of champagne all for less than
$80/person (including tax and tip). The food was amazing! I've had
wedding buffet food before that wasn't so great, but this was soooo
gooooood!!! The server at my parents' table was Adrienne and she was
the best! She knew everyone's first name and what they were drinking in
the first 2 minutes of the reception. She took me by the hand and led
me to the buffet and loaded up my plate and carried it back to the table
so I didn't spill any on my dress! Best. Server. Ever. The guys at
the front desk knew H and I on sight and greeted us every time we came
in. They were so nice!
CAKE: Fenoglietto's, Lower Burrell A+++
The cake came in the package from the hotel, so we didn't have to worry
about finding one ourselves! We got a vanilla bean cake with raspberry
filling and white icing. They made it exactly how it looked in the
picture they had. It wasn't anything fancy...if we wanted to jazz it up
some, we could have, but we didn't want to spend more money if we
didn't have to. The cake tasted delicious! I did only get one bite,
but Adrienne made sure to send extra home with my parents!
PHOTOGRAPHER: Butch Miller A+++
I originally had photography from David's Bridal, but they canceled it,
so I had to scrounge around a month before the wedding to find a new
one. I ended up going with a family friend who would have been invited
to the wedding anyway. He's based out of Lock Haven, Pa, but, since he
is a friend, came out here. I haven't seen my pictures yet, but I know
his work is awesome and he'll do it up right for me!
DRESS: David's Bridal
I can't really grade them, since I worked there up until a month before
my wedding. They were my friends, so I knew they wouldn't lie to me. I
got my alterations done there as well. And they did have to let my
dress out on the sides, but you can't even tell! I should have quit
smoking AFTER the wedding! (Just kidding)
TROLLEY: Vogue Limousines A+++
I didn't see the trolley in real life before the day of the wedding,
so I was a little worried, but I shouldn't have been! The trolley was
super cute! They put some fake flowers along the inside and the driver
wore a nice tux. He even told me a joke as I was getting out to calm me
down some! You can take a cooler of beverages on, just no glass. The
trolley was perfect since there was no parking at the church and the
entire party was from out of town.
FLOWERS: Ordered from Sam's Club and had a friend put them together A+++
We only needed bouquets, boutineers and wrist corsages and I didn't
want to spend too much on flowers. We got sunflowers and fillers. I
ordered them from Sam's to be delivered on Thursday, but I wish I would
have gotten them on Wednesday, because they leftovers looked really nice
on Sunday! I got all of the supplies from Michael's and my MOH put
everything together for me. I watched! (Her mom is a florist and
showed her what to do for me!) They looked totally professional and no
one believed that she had done them in just a couple hours!!
All in all, everything was wonderful and I wouldn't have picked anything differently.
