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Advice for the newly engaged

kchrist23kchrist23
in Minnesota-Minneapolis and St. Paul
Hello!

I just recently got engaged 3 weeks ago and am planning a wedding for sometime in the fall of 2011. I am feeling slightly overwhelmed with the amount of vendors out there! Does anyone have any recommendations for both photographers and florists located in either the Minneapolis/St. Paul or around the suburbs of Eden Prairie, Bloomington, etc.? There are so many to choose from, and I'm not even sure where to start! Thanks. :)
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Re: Advice for the newly engaged

  • VeittobeVeittobe member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I would start with your venue and go from there.  And don't worry, the overwhelmed feeling will pass after a few weeks.  :)
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  • beka0404beka0404
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Congratulations!

    My advice is to give yourself plenty of time to research vendors. For photographers, I looked at the blogs of different photographers and narrowed it down to four choices - but it took me a couple of months to mentally process what style was the right fit for us. As for florists, same thing - I looked at portfolios and asked friend and family for recommendations, and narrowed it down to three florists.

    (ETA: As PP mentioned, take care of your venue first! I booked - in this order: reception venue & church, photographer, band, hair/makeup, cake, florist, DOC. Also, while the girls on The Knot have lots of useful vendor recs, there are plenty of awesome vendors who don't get mentioned in these forums. I found my DOC through Wedding Wire, and she is awesome. Just something to keep in mind.)

    Relax! You have plenty of time to plan - it seems like "go go go" in the beginning, but then you'll reach a midpoint (where I am now) where you have little left to do.
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  • leggwilliamsleggwilliams
    2500 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    I definitely agree with PP. Find your venue first because that is the biggest decision on the feel for your wedding. Take your time and look through as many options as you can to find vendors that fit your style, budget, ect. and meet with as many of the ones you like as you can to make sure you click! You don't want to be working with people on your wedding day that you don't like! Congrats and good luck!
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  • veijesveijes
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Congrats!! These boards are a great resource for wedding planning!

    For florist I would recommend Deven Nelson, she's awesome and very budget friendly. I think you can pick a florist right away if you want because you can always change your mind on flowers, I have multiple times.

    www.devennelson.com

    Also, you can pick a photographer right away because you pick one on your personal preference for photography style. Look in my bio at my engagement pics, if you like that style I would recommend Callie V Photography.

    www.calliev.com

    Hope this helps!
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  • debbieupperdebbieupper member
    1000 Comments 5 Love Its
    edited December 2011
    Welcome and congrats!

    I *sort of* agree with PP ... I'd say get your date and venue taken care of first (sometimes they go hand-in-hand, depending on whether you're set on a specific venue and what their availability is).

    THEN move on to some of the other stuff. LittleSweetie, the board moderator, told me when I first came on here that it's a good idea to first book the stuff that involves all-day commitment (i.e. venue, caterer, photographer). I totally agree with her. Those are probably the things that are going to weigh most heavily on your mind anyways. It's hard to move forward in plans without them.

    We're 7 months our from our wedding and haven't chosen a florist yet, and I'm not stressin' at all ... about the florist, that is, haha!

    Yep, it's overwhelming, and a PP said that would fade after a few weeks, and I agree. BUT, at least for me, that beast has reared its face again a few times during this planning process. But man, it feels SOOOO good to check those biggies off the list as they come!

    Last but not least: Enjoy your time as an engaged couple!!! Even 7 months into our engagement, I still randomly turn to Andy and say "You're my FIANCE!!! We're gettin' murrrrrrrried!"
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  • hkieslinghkiesling member
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Congrats!  I don't know what else I can add that the pps haven't said at all, except maybe to check out the Minneapolis Bio (link in LittleSweetie's siggy) and MrsTwinCities (link in my siggy).  These websites are compilations of links to  knottie's bios with vendor reviews and can be pretty useful.
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  • LittleSweetieLittleSweetie member
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Welcome!! 

    You've completed the first two steps - getting engaged, and joining the Knot :)  After that, you might need a 7-step program to become unaddicted to the message boards here!

    First, work on your budget, wedding size, and vibe you're going for.  After you know those things, look at venues on The Knot, the Minneapolis Bio, and the Mrs. Twin Cities bio to find sites that meet your criteria.

    After you have a venue, you have a date!  Then you can book your other vendors based on that.  You wouldn't want to book a photog for a certain date and then realize that you can't find a venue to hold your wedding at.  Cart before the horse in that case.

    Then prioritize your vendors like debbieupper mentioned.  Photographers, videographers, and planners/DOCs usually only do one wedding per day.  Then just follow The Knot's or Martha's checklist from there!

    And don't hesitate to ask us any questions at all - we're here to help!  Most of us have used/will use or have heard experiences about a lot of vendors and can suggest/recommend the ones we have worked with.  Don't be shy!!
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  • drdifabiodrdifabio member
    Seventh Anniversary 2500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    All the ladies have given you great advice so I just wanted to say welcome and congrats on the engagement! I am a bit partial to fall weddings too as we are getting married this Oct :)
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  • dc*prepdc*prep
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Welcome!

    I agree with PPs, but I also have to mention that some vendors might be willing to pencil you in for a date while you're solidifying the other venues/vendors. For example, we were OBSESSED with Spencer Combs (the photographer), but we weren't able to book our chapel until 16 months in advance. So for about a month, we knew we wanted Spencer, but we weren't sure that we'd be able to get the date we wanted for our chapel. (Our chapel is really popular, so they have to have a lottery to assign people dates.) Anywho, Spencer was willing to pencil us in for the date we wanted, and thankfully we ended up getting the date we wanted, so it all worked out. But it gave me peace of mind that Spencer kind of had us booked for the date before we actually confirmed it. Oh! And we had our reception site on hold too. It was a real pain not to be able to book anything until 16 months prior! :)
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  • akstanlakstanl
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I would say ditto everything everyone else has already mentioned. I know I spent a lot of free time browsing bios and getting ideas, however when it came down to it, we completely changed our color and theme a few months out.

    Have fun!!
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  • 283Photography283Photography member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Jessica with 283 Photography is affordable and has a great eye with photojournalistic style. 

    Check the website out at http://www.283photography.com!
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