* Roll Call *

Carebear62584

I know I'm not the MOD but I feel like there are so many new names on the board and I can't keep anyone straight and when their wedding dates are.  I'm sure there will be more additions after Valentine's Day, but let's just start with this:

Name:
How you met your FI:
Wedding Date and Location:
Length of Engagement:
ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend:
Best wedding planning tip you have for others:
One NWR thing you want to tell us:

dancegurl1118

Jill At a bar..how cliche. August 23rd 2012, Amarante's, New Haven, CT 10 months! I don't really have one yet.,.i hope Larissa Lake will take that spot. Her communication has been on point which earns major points from me! It's not going to be the end of the world if something isn't perfect.. No one will notice that it's not your "vision" except you! I graduated from UCONN-- go huskies!

junebug19

Jeanette
Introduced by friends
September 22, 2012 @ Rocky Neck State Park
1 year 6 mos 2 wks
Its a tie- Stylish Blooms Floral & Wedding Embassy for attire
Be organized & research vendors
I just finished my MA in education and can't wait to find a new job.

Laur110

Name: Lauren
How you met your FI: We were introduced through mutual friends back in 2003!
Wedding Date and Location: September 1, 2012 - The Waterview
Length of Engagement: November 12, 2011 - September 1, 2012
ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: Studio 1923 Photography, fantastic to work with, excellent communication, and beautiful pictures. Plus they are such nice people!
Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Through all of the appointments, organizing, planning, and stressing, be sure to take time to have fun with FI and just enjoy being engaged!
One NWR thing you want to tell us: Iam a total workaholic. Also I can't wait for the Hunger Games movie to come out next month!

theholograms

Name: Jessica
How you met your FI: We met at work, became friends first, and started dating about a year and half later
Wedding Date and Location: 7/28/12, The Riverview in Simsbury
Length of Engagement: 1/7/12 - 7/2812 

(We've been dating for 6 years)
ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: I'm not sure yet, we have only been engaged for 3 1/2 weeks but so far we have managed to get a lot done!

Ceremony/Reception: The Riverview

Photograher: No Eye Has Seen

Dress: Lazaro (going through Camille's in West Hartford)

DJ: After Hours (Sal & Sabrina)

Hair for Bridal Party (and Moms): Tracy & Company, Kensington

Make-up for Bridal Party (and Moms): Naomi's Studio & Salon, WH

Flowers: Haworth's Flowers & Gifts, LLC
Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Something I've learned very quickly - DON'T get everyone's opinion of things, you'll never please everyone and you'll just get stressed

One NWR thing you want to tell us: I work full-time and go to school full-time, but somehow we are going to pull off a wedding in 6 months!

ekk120

OP -- thank you for doing this! I am much more of a CT lurker but this is a good way to get to know everyone and introduce myself.

Name: Erin
How you met your FI: We met at college -- we lived next door to eachother off campus.
Wedding Date and Location: September 29, 2012. The wedding will be in our backyard in Shelton.
Length of Engagement: 1 year and 3 weeks.
ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: Tim Brown Photography. He is amazing -- gets back to you quickly, does amazing work, and has the right amount of energy to pull my fiance and me out of our shells.
Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Take some time to find your vision. When we first got engaged, I had a million different ideas going through my mind. From a destination wedding to different color schemes, it took me a good month or two before I actually knew what I wanted. So, IMO, take some time to relax and talk with your FI about what you want before you rush into booking vendors or buying things for the wedding.
One NWR thing you want to tell us: I just moved to CT in April to be with my fiance. We have a cat Huckleberry and a puppy named Sawyer.

Melissa603

Name: Melissa

How you met your FI: We actually met online

Wedding Date and Location: June 22, 2012 at the Aqua Turf

Length of Engagement: We got engaged last January - it will be a year and a half by the time we are married

ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: the Aqua Turf - I'm in love with our coordinator Melissa

Best wedding planning tip you have for others: When you are planning - calm down and realize that you can't have everything. Will this make or break my day? Am I or my guests to remember that this detail was not there? If it fits your budget, fantastic, but if not, that is ok too.

One NWR thing you want to tell us: I got laid off right after we got engaged and then got a job at the same company FI works at - he's on the help desk and I'm in shipping. I work anywhere from 40 - 60 hourrs a week in a very physically demanding and active job. It has been great because I've actually lost a ton of weight and gotten pretty fit since starting there so I really like it!

JenMatt121210

Name:Jennifer

How you met your FI:The Zen Bar

Wedding Date and Location:September 29th 2012

Length of Engagement:june 15th 2011-september 29th 2012

ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: i would have to give this one to two places our photographer who is from the pros and the aqua turf both places are amazing.

Best wedding planning tip you have for others: the best wedding tip i have for others is to alway stay organizied becuase if your not organized you always miss things.

One NWR thing you want to tell us:i just recently got a new job as a hairdresser!

Christine9866

Name: Christine

How you met your FI: We met out one night, one of his friends managed a bar, and he worked there on the side for some extra money.

Wedding Date and Location: April 5, 2013 The Barns at Wesleyan Hills

Length of Engagement: November 18, 2011-April, 5, 2013

ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: So far The Barns at Wesleyan Hills, the tasting event was amazing, and they have been very fast in returning my questions etc. I am super excited to work with my other vendors that we have booked so far!

Best wedding planning tip you have for others: I agree with all the PP, but i would also say to take a minute and sit back and actually enjoy being engaged. We often get caught up in all the wedding planning, and forget to to do this!

One NWR thing you want to tell us: I love the twilight series, and cant wait for it to come out on DVD so i can watch it again. I am also reading hunger games, hoping to finish before it comes out in the theater!!

HeatherR45

Name: Heather
How you met your FI: Little did I know we were being set up
Wedding Date and Location: August 25, 2012 at the Publick House in Sturbridge, MA
Length of Engagement: almost 2 years to the date
ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: my DJ, Zach Dauphinais
Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Don't get stressed (I need to take my own advice!!!)
One NWR thing you want to tell us: My FI and I like to homebrew our own beer

MoonlightSilver

Name: Linda
How you met your FI: Online! 
Wedding Date and Location: June 16, 2012 at Mystic Aquarium
Length of Engagement: 3 years and about 2 weeks by the time we get married.
ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: Studio1923! He's a fantastic photographer. I thought I would feel awkward taking pictures, but he completely made me feel at home. On top of that, he's a great person- a family guy, cares about dogs, and very down to earth. 
Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Use weddingwire.com to see tons of reviews, or to search for vendors. They have a price system ($, $$, $$$) so you can know about how much you're spending. 
One NWR thing you want to tell us: I just finally moved back to Connecticut, so my wedding DIY projects can finally get started (that's NWR, right? haha).

Carebear62584

Name:  Carrie

How you met your FI:  His cousin set us up, she was one of my friends from college

Wedding Date and Location:  June 30, 2012 at Woodwinds

Length of Engagement:  Year and a half 12/25/10 - 6/30/12

ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend:  Studio1923.  He was the first vendor I booked and I love the pictures he took at my cousins wedding in 2008 and the pictures he takes of their kids.  Jerome and Jen are also very friendly and responsive.

Best wedding planning tip you have for others:  If you are having a long engagement, book the big stuff rather quickly then relax for a bit.  It gives you a chance to figure out your spending habits, budget your money, and get vendors you want at the price you want instead of having to settle with someone you don't love.  I wish my brother would listen to me on this one!

One NWR thing you want to tell us: I have to admit I have baby fever right now....my cousin had a baby in September, another friend had one last week, another one probably next week, my neighbor is due anyday now, a teacher I work with is due in March along with another neighbor, FI's cousin will have one in April, my cousin will have one in June, and FI's cousin will have one in August.  They are everywhere!  We don't plan on having kids for at least a year after we get married so I'll have to spoil these ones.

Amanda1443994

Name: Amanda

How you met your FI: I met him through a mutual friend when I lived in South Carolina

Wedding Date and Location: July 28, 2012 at St. Clement's Castle (:

Length of Engagement: We got engagement March 2011 so alittle over a year.

ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: LOVE my photographer Matthew J. Wagner Fine Photography + Candi's Creations for flowers (sorry I couldn't pick just one!)

Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Try not to stress about things. Make a good list of tasks you need to accomplish and take them one at a time. It made everything seem less overwhelming for me.

One NWR thing you want to tell us: GO GIANTS!

MichelleBee773

Corey We met half through friends, half online. It's a great story, but a little too long for this post May 25, 2013 at the Webb Barn in Wethersfield Eric proposed in November so we will be engaged about a year and a half I can't pick just one!! I love our photographer Eric Brushett, his photos are unreal and didn't ,ake me feel bad when I ask how we could save some money without compromising the photography I also love Emily's Catering. Rick is amazing and the meal she served us at our tasting could sell for $200 in a high end restaurant. We were more than impressed. Best wedding planning tip you have for others: remember to relax and enjoy thins. I didn't understand this at first, but now that I have, life is great!! I did a lot of the planning in the first month and a half. Now I am just relaxing until May. I am currently trying to organize a trip to Canada for the college students I work with. Many of them haven't been out of the tri-state area but can't afford to study abroad, so I am trying to help them experience a difference culture... I just hope my boss approves the proposal!!!

rswan412

Name: Becky

How you met your FI: Long story short: met in 2004 at UCONN, went our seperate ways, he drunk facebook messaged me in April of 2008, the rest is history

Wedding Date and Location: April 14, 2012 at the Mystic Aquarium

Length of Engagement: Almost exactly 1 year, 6 months.

ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: so many! DJ Melee ROCKS, as does my photographer, AE Stelzer, and EstoPrints for invites

Best wedding planning tip you have for others:  It's your wedding. You and FI- not your FMIL, FFIL, or great aunt matilda's...do what you want, you only get one. The end.

One NWR thing you want to tell us: I have four cats which I am obsessed with and I love to travel (cruising in particular!)

LaurenG1986

Name: Lauren

How you met your FI: High School Sweethearts!

Wedding Date and Location: August 11, 2012 - Glastonbury Hills Country Club

Length of Engagement: 2 years

ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: Our photographer Matthew J Wagner has been great so far!!! But I am also very excited for my horse & buggy from Allegra Farm and our DJ - After Hours!

Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Make a checklist of what you need and when you want it done & enjoy it!!

One NWR thing you want to tell us: I am in my last semester of grad school and should be working on my big capstone research project instead of doing this

whitneyf1

Name: Whitney

How you met your FI: Met through mutual friends.

Wedding Date and Location: August 4, 2012 - The Barns at Wesleyan Hills

Length of Engagement: Almost exactly 1 year, 6 months.

ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: The White Dress by the Shore (dress), Jane at Just For You (florist) & Victoria Souza (photographers)

Best wedding planning tip you have for others:  Be organized and take your time. I was so ready to rush into so many different things & make decisions I would have regretted. My wedding is turning out to be completely different than when we first started to plan.

One NWR thing you want to tell us: FI and I are in the process of buying our first house. We are under contract but it's a short sale so we are keeping our fingers crossed that the bank accepts our offer!

jacki8788

Name: Jacki
How you met your FI: high school started dating in the beginning of senior year
Wedding Date and Location: June 15, 2012 @ Mystic Seaport
Length of Engagement: exactly 2 years--half the reason we picked the date!
ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: TAB Photographic (Tim Brown)
Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Relax, and do your research! And plan your budget ahead of time--it's super easy to keep spending "just a little more" and end up over budget.
One NWR thing you want to tell us: i'm a workaholic, and am really hoping I finally get a promotion soon! I've been playing the role for awhile now, but actually having the title (art director) would mean i finally have my "dream job"

tanyamary627

Name: Tanya
How you met your FI: college...this same week 6 years ago!
Wedding Date and Location: June 1, 2013 Salem Cross Inn
Length of Engagement: about 1 year 5 months
ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: I only have my venue & one vendor booked, but I would definitely recommend my DJ, Zach Dauphinais!
Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Have fun with planning and don't forget to enjoy your engagement!
One NWR thing you want to tell us: I'm going to Disney in 9 days! Woohoo

missmckenzie2

Name: Jenna

How you met your FI: We used to work together and then he quit but we still had a lot of mutual friends. 
Wedding Date and Location: 10.20.12 The Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station
Length of Engagement:May 2011- Oct 2012
ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: KrisRae Photography! I am obsessed!
Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Do not let the little things get in the way of remembering what is important! It is way to easy to get stressed ut in the process if you focus on things that don't matter!
One NWR thing you want to tell us:

I am television junkie and I am addicted to my iPhone!

mrsrutkowski

Name: Laura
How you met your FI: through a mutual friend - she swore we'd be soulmates and she was right!
Wedding Date and Location:  8/2/13 at Cascade
Length of Engagement:  3 years - 1 day
ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: I haven't had a ton of experience with the few vendors I've picked so far because my wedding is so far out but every interaction with Domenic from Cascade has been great so far. He's been really quick with returning calls/emails.
Best wedding planning tip you have for others: One thing I've liked is this little bridal notebook a friend gave me - I carry it everywhere and jot down thoughts and ideas including things I want on my registry.
One NWR thing you want to tell us: I'm addicted to trashy tv! (Read: jerseylicious, real world, bad girls club, etc.)

herb0622

Name: Melissa
How you met your FI: Working a summer job during college
Wedding Date and Location: 10/22/11 at Fantasia
Length of Engagement: 2 years
ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: Video Images (Videographer). We loved all of our vendors though
Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Remember to enjoy your wedding day and take as much of it in as possible. It goes by way too quickly!
One NWR thing you want to tell us: I'm a huge Disney fan

cdbishop

Name: Carrie

How you met your FI: We worked at a restaurant together

Wedding Date and Location: April 21, 2012 at the Barns at Wesleyan Hills

Length of Engagement: Almost exactly 1 year, 6 months.

ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: Brooke Allison Photography

Best wedding planning tip you have for others:  Get the big things out of the way first.  And then gather yours ideas and don't stress.  It will all come together

One NWR thing you want to tell us: FI and I just bought a house in October, it is very exciting

DiLynn83

Name: Diana

How you met your FI: Through mutual friends.  He's friends with a couple guys who are friends with my brother.

Wedding Date and Location: June 30th in Westerly, RI

Length of Engagement: By the time we get married, we will have been engaged for 15 months.

ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: Oh my gosh, my DOC Jen Strunk.  I would be so overwhelmed without her.

Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Weddings bring out the wackadoodle in families, and you can't let it get to you!

One NWR thing you want to tell us: I love hummace.  Love it.  I probably eat my body weight in roasted garlic hummace every month haha!

Knottie1457784023

Name: Kaitlin

How you met your FI: online dating- everyone's doing it!

Wedding Date and Location: May 25, 2013 at the Riverhouse in Haddam, CT

Length of Engagement: 1 year and 5 months

ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: The Riverhouse has been great so far. It's a beautiful venue, and we've been impressed with their commitment to quality and customer service.

Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Enjoy it, instead of getting overwhelmed. You have plenty of time to plan!

One NWR thing you want to tell us: I'm going to graduate with my MD two weeks before I'm a Mrs!

MrsF0831

Name: Akeysha
How you met your FI: Throug/h a friend
Wedding Date and Location: 8/31/13 Glastonbury CT
Length of Engagement: 1 year and 11 months 
ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: Dont have one, havent gotten that far into any really
Best wedding planning tip you have for others:Try not to stress, making lists help... or excel charts haha
One NWR thing you want to tell us: my birthday is this monday and im gonna be 26

Whtara10

Name: Tara How you met your FI: use to hang out at the same place when we were 14 and had the same friends. Then years later he came home on leave after being deployed in the navy and we hung out with a mutual friend. Then our relationship started from there. Wedding Date and Location: June 22, 2012 Lighthouse Point Park Length of Engagement: little less than 2 years ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: Ferro Photography. Michelle is extremely creative and so muchfun to work with! Best wedding planning tip you have for others: remember that your bridesmaids are your friend too. Try not to let the wedding planning be the center of every conversation. One NWR thing you want to tell us: I have a beautiful 22 month old daughter named Ava and an awesome 1 year old boxer named Hannah. Also because of previous posts I would like to add that I can't wait for the hunger games movie! And... Go Patriots!!!!

Agnieszka Chwiedz

Name: Agnes

How you met your FI:    Match.com! my mom made me do it lol. 

Wedding Date and Location:  April 21, 2012  Mystic Seaport River Room

Length of Engagement: 16months

ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: Visual Obsession photographer and Alyson our wedding coordinator at Mystic made life so easy!

Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Venue, photographer and DJ first then all the stuff comes along less stressfully!

One NWR thing you want to tell us: I wish UCONN men's basketball would stop losinggggggg!

mrsjmwolfe

Name: Jen
How you met your FI: Online
Wedding Date and Location:  September 1, 2013 @ Tashua Knolls
Length of Engagement: The length of our whole engagement will be 1 year, 9 months
ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: Gary Sherrick, DJ. Used him for all of our family events-- sister's showers, birthday parties, etc. He's wonderful and inexpensive. He has a payment plan too, which is great and makes it less stressful.
Best wedding planning tip you have for others:Don't feel bad if you're excited! I have a while to go and my family & my FI's family made me feel stupid for wanting to look at venues and get the big stuff out of the way. We recently realized that it's our BIG DAY!! and we can totally be excited.
One NWR thing you want to tell us: GO GIANTS!!!!!!! Hooray!

emalee2285

Name: Emily

How you met your FI: We dated our Senior year in HS then went out seperate ways until about 4 years ago when we ran into each other at a bar...apparently he kept in touch with my mother all those years!

Wedding Date and Location: October 12, 2012 - Crystal Peak Winchester

Length of Engagement: 11 months

ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: I love all our vendors so far, but for the girls on a tight budget I would highly recommend Crystal Peak. It was a random find for us, and not what we had originally been looking for but Jen and John and super helpful, the food is amazing and it is a fraction of the cost of other venues that include catering.

Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Don't settle.  I have a champagne vision and a beer budget but I am researching my butt off to find inexpensive ways to get what I want. I will be doing a lot of DIY and I found a photographer that I love that is just breaking into the business so I can save a lot of money there!

One NWR thing you want to tell us: I have been a nanny for the past 2 years working 50 hours a week, going to school full time, and now planning my wedding!  I have been trying to fit working out into my schedule but I def need to find a way to motivate myself better because I am a huge procrastinator about it!

I have been lurking for a couple months since my engagement, but now that I am getting back into the planning process I hope to participate on the board more! You ladies seem great!

Lizlangevin

Name: Liz 
How you met your FI: College- Bar 
Wedding Date and Location: 8/4/12 Waters Edge Resort and Spa 
Length of Engagement: about 13 months
ONE vendor, hands down, you would recommend: I'll let you know after my wedding  :-) My jeweler is fantastic.. we will be life long customers!
Best wedding planning tip you have for others: Relax, and enjoy the process...it is supposed to be such an exciting time in  your life!
One NWR thing you want to tell us: I love playing craps @ Mohegan- just can't always afford to :-)