Minnesota-Minneapolis and St. Paul

** I'm MARRIED Questionnaire**

BEFORE

1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?

 

2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?

 

3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?

 

4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?

 

DURING

5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?

 

6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?

 

7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?

 

8. Best compliment you got from a guest?

 

9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?

 

AFTER

10. What was the best part about your big day?

 

11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?

 

12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?

 

13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?

 

14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done

 

15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?

 

BONUS

16. Where did you go for your wedding night?

 

17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?

 

18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?

 

19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)

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Re: ** I'm MARRIED Questionnaire**

  • edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?

     We got ready in 3 hours. That was a total of 10 girls doing hair and make up and eating breakfast.

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?

     Yes, we followed everything really well. We ran a little behind for the girls taking photos but we got so many photos in that it didn't even matter.

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?

     There isn't anything that I think we spent too much money on, I was a bargain shopper. The only thing I wish I would have bought more of was candy. The candy buffet table went fast.

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?

    We were suppose to print out directions to the reception and we forgot, we also didn't delegate someone to leave 3 roses at the altar so that didn't happen. We also forgot to print out timeline out for everyone. Then we delegated the catering staff to set up our head table correctly but someone else did it and it was done completely wrong. These were little things that didn't affect the day too much, just as example that not everything goes perfectly. There wasn't anything that I regretted putting my time and energy into.

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?

     All of our little personalized details. The guests loved the candy boxes with our pics on them, the table numbers with us framed and holding pics, the photobooth with silly props.

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?

     My husband doesn't drink so that was just right, and I had less than half a beer so I think that was just right too, I was craving a beer and had enough to satisfy that craving :)

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?

     The DJ played all of the "hit" music on the radio, I don't know why that surprised me, it's their job to know that kind of stuff but I was pleasantly surprised that he had all the "good" songs. I gave him 10 of my fav songs and he somehow just knew the songs I would like just from that list. Thriller was a pretty big hit at our wedding as well.

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?

     "This is the best wedding I've ever been too" Also, my step mom started crying because she knew all the details my husband and I worked on together and was just speachless when she saw it all put together, that was pretty cool!

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?

     I had a DOC and am glad I did. She had two girls helping her and I had two of my close friends helping them as well so everything was taken care of, that was so nice to not have to worry about it on the day of.

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day?

     Getting to see my husband for the first time when walking down the aisle. The ceremony was awesome, even though everyone was there, it felt like it was just my husband, the pastor, and I. It felt surreal. I also loved having everyone I love and care about in the same room!

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?

     I was just stressed that everything wouldn't come together, I thought "how can all these vendors come through perfectly, something will be screwed up" but everything worked out perfectly so there wasn't much need for stress, but a bride never knows until the day of.

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?

     We were the last ones to leave. We left around 11:30 I think. I'm glad we left then, plus we weren't tired AT ALL.

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?

     Just hang out with my husband. We got breakfast in bed the morning after and just layed next to eachother, enjoying ourselves. That was such a neat moment!

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done

     I would still have to say Callie V Photography. All of my vendors pulled through perfectly but I love photographs, you get to see things in someone else's perspective and Callie's perspective is pretty awesome!

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?

     I've already said this but I will never forget the feeling when DH and I were standing at the altar together, all the time leading up to the wedding I thought I would be nervous to be in front of everyone, but once I was by DH's side, it felt like we were the only ones there and I felt secure with him, it was an awesome feeling and I will never forget that.

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night?

     We stayed in a jacuzzi suite at The Sheraton of Minnetonka.

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?

     We did that in the jacuzzi, it was hilarious and took about 5 minutes. My husband gave me a head massage for a couple minutes after that, I love him!

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?

     Be aware of your surroundings all day, it goes by fast so try to take it all in! And don't be worried about being tired at the end of the night. Maybe everyone is different but most brides say they are tired, sore, exhausted. DH and I were off some kind of wedding high, we weren't tired at all, or sore or anything of the sort until 3 days after our wedding.

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)
    We only have our teasers back but so far this is my favorite pic, we just look so happy.


    Trying to Conceive Ticker "All that I'm after is a life full of laughter, As long as I'm laughing with you" Planning Bio image
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  • chou_chouchou_chou member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?

    I would say from the start of hair & make up to being dressed and ready for pictures, about 3 hours.  Not everyone was getting H & M-Up done all at the same time, so a lot of people were still sitting around waiting and relaxing....but that started at 1 PM and our pre-ceremony pics started at 4 PM.  Not bad!

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?

    We fell behind a little, maybe like a half hour or so, but all in all everyone stuck to the timeline pretty well!  I was very impressed with how well they all did with it!

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?

    Too much money: flowers b/c they all just got thrown away at the end of the night (but they were so pretty).  To little: flowers (if we could have afforded more of the same ones to really make a big impact/statement it would have been great!)

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?

    I forgot the lawn sign stands on the day so we didn't get to use those (bummer, they were cute!) and sand for the pomander balls stands (ran out so some were lilting to the side....oh well).  I put tons of effort into our recessional song (Metallica for Hubby) and didn't get the response from people I had hoped/dreamed of.  oh well, I thought it was pretty darn great  :)

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?

    How coordinated everything was and the toiletry/flip flop baskets in the bathrooms.  Those went off great!

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?

    Just right, I hardly had anything but water though (was so thirsty!) and we were mingling too much to really have much!

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?

    Electric slide got the most people out on the floor (yay!  I love that cheesy song & dance!) not too many dancing guests but they seemed to enjoy it anyway!

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?

    How comfortable and welcome they felt at the reception....that's exactly what we wanted!

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?

    Didn't have a DOC (that was me!)  and I had delegated everything I wouldn't be able to do to people I trusted and I was not disappointed!  I wasn't stressed about anything (except said recessional song, had to make it sure that worked since it was a surprise for DH).  Don't really see the big need for a DOC as long as you have people on hand who can do small things for you that you trust.

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day?

    Seeing DH at the ceremony.  We didn't a "first look" so it was an emotionally charged few minutes!  In pictures you can see my face go from tearing up and looking nervous, to grinning from ear to ear and looking relaxed and calm the minute I started my walk toward him down the aisle!  Amazing feeling!

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?

    I too was just stressed about everything coming together, everyone showing up and doing what they were supposed to (vendor wise).  I shouldn't have worried at all, it was fantastic!  I don't think anything was a waste of time or money, I think we weeded those things out along the way!

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?

    I think we left around 1 AM.  All the guests trickled out and then it was just wedding party & parents left to help take stuff down and load up the cars.  Happy the night ended earlier than originally anticipated (DJ was booked through 1:30 and we had the space until 2 AM) b/c DH & I were ready to go!

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?

    Just being together, alone......though we were peppy and ready to go the next day so we ended up hanging out with our friends the next day (which was fun too, we got to chat about the wedding, and it was so surreal to be "husband and wife" .... it's still fun to say that!)

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done

    It's a tie between our venue (Turtle's 1890 Social Centre) and our photographer (Callie V).  The venue & food were AMAZING and the teaser pictures we've seen so far are AMAZING too!  It was like looking at someone else's wedding and being amazing looking at the photos she captured....she's so talented!  Oh, and our videographer (True2Life) We just got our wedding video on Friday and OH MY GOSH that's the best money we spent!

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?

    Oh there are so many.....being with my best girl friends all morning, being with DH and really just spending time together that night, and having all of our friends & family there to share this with us!  FIL's toast was really special too, he just seemed so proud and happy that night (I've never seen him like that before) and welcoming me into the family and he said that he was so happy DH found me and that I'm the best thing that happened to him.  That was really special.

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night?

    We stayed at the AmericInn in Chanhassen!  They were terrific, we had a King whirlpool suite for the night-of and that was so great to be able to relax in after!

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?

    Just a few minutes, there weren't that many but he was so sweet to help me with that!  I didn't have nearly as many as my sister (she had 81!!!)

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?

    Relax and have fun, the planning is over and whatever happens it's going to be great!  The minor things that were clouds on our day were so small compared to everything great that happened, that it barely registers in my mind!  Enjoy each other, enjoy your guests, and just go with the flow!

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)
    We only have teasers back from our pro pics so my favorite so far is one that a guest took of us:
    www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31233674&id=144301573">

  • wittyschaffywittyschaffy member
    Combo Breaker First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
     1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?  
    We started our day at 7 a.m. for hair and make up and then got partly dressed at my folks' house.  The photogs showed up at 1 I believe.

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?  
    We were right on time or ahead of schedule all day which was great.  It gave us the opportunity to relax a little

    3. What’s s omething you spent too much/too little money on? 
    Honestly, nothing!  I thought we did just right on it all.

     4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed? 
     Our escort cards got goofed up because I basically did a mail merge with them and it alphabetized the list but didn't transfer the tables over!  For the most part, it was fine but a couple people who had the same last name but sat at different tables got goofed.  They figured it out.  I put a lot of effort into photosharing business cards and next to nobody used them which was too bad.  I would have skipped that if I had to do it all over again.  We also left out an "advice" station and that largely got overlooked because our venue coordinator put it in an odd spot.

    DURING 5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"? 
    We had a private Ceremony so we asked our videographer to do a very condensed highlight video of our ceremony to show at the Reception when people sat down for dinner.  We used it as our introduction and then immediately did our first dance before we sat down.  The people who we couldn't have at the ceremony got to be part of that aspect of our day and we got to show off our fancy duds during the dance.  People STILL compliment us on that.

     6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?  
    I had a glass of wine at dinner but that was it.  Hubby was the same. both of us were pounding down water though because we were parched depsite making every effort to stay hydrated all day. 

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites? 
     We hit this one outta the park - have had to give out my song list no less than 5 times now.  :)  We mostly stuck to songs pre-90s and heavy on the 60s and 70s.  It got EVERYONE moving.  Sweet Caroline was a big hit as was we are family.

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?  
    "you MADE all of your invitations and coordinating stationery?!" ties with "These are absolutely the most gorgeous flower arrangements I have ever seen at a wedding before."

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day? 
    I'm super organized so there really wasn't a need for a DOC.  If I wasn't such a type A, I could see the appeal but really for me, it wasn't necessary.

     AFTER 10. What was the best part about your big day?  
    Getting to spend every day after married to my hubby of course!

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?   What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?  
    We had some family "drama" with our decision to have a private ceremony and big reception and I was nervous about that drama rearing its ugly head at the reception.  people behaved themselves at the party - can't say the same for family gatherings but whatever.  They need to get over it!  :)

    Waste of time/money was the photo sharing cards for sure. 

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?  

    We were there til the bitter end and helped clean up flowers and put stuff in cars.  I think we left after my parents did!

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided? 

    Sleep!!  I was exhausted.

     14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done.
     Our florist was awesome.  Go Flowers by Gary!!    

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day? 
    Our guests spontaneously started a round of the limbo (yeah, they like to party) and they lowered the bar really low really fast.  My dad decided, to heck with it, and took a running start, dove, and slid under the bar on his stomach.  Good thing the studs in his shirt were rented!!

     BONUS 16. Where did you go for your wedding night?  
    Our reception was at the St. Paul Hotel and you get a Landmark view room with that so that is where we stayed.  I need to go back though because I hardly got to enjoy it since hubby and I were asleep about 30 seconds after we got in there!

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?
     hehe, about 30 seconds.  See 16.  Kidding kidding, probably 10 minutes or so.  It took longer for me to brush out all the teased knots and hairspray.

     18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day? Just relax.  I realized as I was heading over to our rehearsal dinner, that anything I hadn't addressed by that time wasn't important and I couldn't change it anyways if it was and I just needed to go with the flow of the day, no matter where that took me.  I genuinely enjoyed my wedding day without stressing about it and will always look back on it with a smile, remembering all the fun our family and friends had celebrating the start of our life together!!

      19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)  Sorry - I am so bad at doing that!!  No extra credit for me.



  • edited December 2011
    BEFORE1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready? My hair/makeup started at 9, but my bridesmaids didn't come around until 10ish or later. We were all pretty ready to go by noon.  2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind? We followed the timeline pretty well... I was kind of the one enforcing it, so it would be like... "well, it's noon, I should put on my dress now" or "well, let's head to the church, because we will need more time to take pictures there"... and everyone kind of went with the flow.  3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on? Reception flowers. I loved my ceremony bouquet/bridesmaids bouquet, but for our table arrangements (which were white lilies and white roses), the lilies weren't bloomed. The arrangements looked really strange, with all these lily buds and a few roses. I was disappointed that the florist didn't let me know that that was a risk with lilies or that she didn't go get new flowers. 4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?I didn't really have a lot of regrets when it comes to overlooking anything (the florist is my only regret...I wish I would've double/triple checked things with her). We put a lot of effort into out of town baskets, but never took a picture or heard anything about them. I'm pretty sure people got them in their hotel rooms (my MOH and her husband delivered them for us) but nobody mentioned them to us. DURING5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"? People loved the candy buffet and the photo guestbook
    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all? We both have family members who are very opposed to alcohol, so out of respect for them, we had a dry wedding (though there was a bar at the golf course clubhouse (our reception venue), so if people wanted to go buy a drink, that was an option. We didn't drink at all. No need really.
    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites? Cupid shuffle was a great dance to start out with--it got all the young guests out on the floor immediately. Oldies were mixed in too--the dance floor was always packed with young and old.8. Best compliment you got from a guest? We had lots of guests say that it was the most beautiful wedding they had ever been to... which made me feel like all my effort was definitely worth it.9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?I was completely chill that day... things went wrong, but I had lots of people who just set the day aside to just run emergency errands or help out however they could. My aunt did a lot of the DOC type duties (had emergency kit type stuff for broken bouts, crazy hair, spills, etc.), and my MOH's husband ran out and bought new glassware for our sand ceremony (dad accidentally dropped the original), helped my mom clean up lunch, ran out to buy another aisle runner once my family realized that it didn't make the trip from their home to the ceremony venue... he was a lifesaver. AFTER10. What was the best part about your big day? I loved all of it... starting at the rehearsal the night before, having all the family there to celebrate with me, knowing that we would be leaving soon for our honeymoon to relax (I had just finished teaching 2 days before teh wedding)--it was just a mile-high feeling the whole time11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money? We had some guests adding SOs who we didn't invite, so I was stressed about space issues---we invited around 300 but only had space for 180. We invited a lot of out of state extended family who we thought would never consider coming, but many surprised us. That was stressful up until a few weeks before the wedding, but our numbers ended up being exactly perfect. Waste of money would probably be all the extra glassware and candles I bought from Michaels... much if it didn't end up being used.12. What time did you end up leaving the reception? I think it was around 11:30... I wanted to stay forever, but DH was getting super tired. :)13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided? Pack for our move to Omaha, NE14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done Our photographers, Ashley of Custom Obscura Photography (and her assistant for the day, Salwa) were excellent. They dealt with our big families with grace and patience :)15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day? Our wedding party went to Caribou on the way to the church, got drinks and took a few pictures there. DH also gave me his gift there--a book he had made about us. It was so sweet.BONUS16. Where did you go for your wedding night? The Graves 601 in Minneapolis... it was an excellent hotel, I highly recommend it.17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night? I did all the hair and undressing on my own and made him wait... it probably took me 10 minutes or so.18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day? 
     Just be calm and let the joy overtake you instead of worry. The bride really sets the tone of the day, so if you are just carefree and happy, any tension that could be there will likely melt away because joy is so contagious.19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)We have this fabulous picture of us and our massive wedding party (7 on each side) walking out of Caribou with our drinks and laughing... it's really fun. PIP isn't working for me at the moment though.
  • hkieslinghkiesling member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?
    My hair took one hour and my make-up took 45 minutes.  Lacing the corset of the dress about 15 minutes.  My BM got ready well within that time.

     

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?
    We were right on schedule. 

     

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?
    I spent too much on my garter.  It did make me feel pretty though, even if no one saw it.

     

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?

    My mom complained bitterly about having to help with my rye pot decorations.  They were pretty, but really, really putzy.  I wish I could have figured out an easier way to make them. 

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?
    Our choreographed waltz for the first dance.  We managed to keep it a secret from EVERYONE.

     

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?
    We each had one or two drinks.  The day was too special to drink it away.

     

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?
    Our families all loved the cheesy songs with pre-ordained dances to them (hokey pokey, YMCA, etc).

     

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?
    -My 8 year old cousin told my mom that our wedding was the best day of his life.

     

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?
    -We didn't have one, and I thought it was okay.  However, my mom has since commented that she wished we had had one so that we didn't have to ask family to do as much the morning of the wedding.

     

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day?
    -Our vows.  Somehow, 100 people just disappeared from the church for about 3 minutes.

     

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?
    I made cookies for OOT guests, but they never made it to the hotel. 

     

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?
    midnight.  We enjoyed every minute of the day.

     

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?
    -Relax.  Breathe.  Sleep.

     

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done
    -Tie between Ben Berndt (photog) and Summit Manor.  Both made our day unforgettable.

     

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?
    -I took a moment to be by myself before walking down the aisle.  I collected my thoughts and took in the importance of the day.

     

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night?
    -The same hotel as our guests.  The next morning we came down to cheers and had breakfast with everyone.

     

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?
    -About 10 minutes

     

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?

    -Enjoy every single minute.  It really does go by fast.

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)


  • edited December 2011
    BEFORE1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready? It took me 8-11:30, my bridesmaids took a lot longer….2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind? We fell behind about half an hour and my husband was waiting out side the Mill City, thinking I changed my mind (well, he probably knew I was just late)..  My wedding party joined us, but were really late so we got like 6 pictures with them.  The photographer didn’t ride with us in the limo and we ended up waiting at the church for a long time (but did get some cool shots taken by wedding party).  The family shots took longer then we thought……but in the end only the photo time suffered, the ceremony onward ran just as planned. 3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?  We were originally shocked by photographer costs and decided to go with a new photographer.  She does great small group shots, but she wasn’t ready for a wedding of our size.  It really was ridiculous that we spent so much money on everything else and skimped on one of the few things that last forever.  4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? I wish we would have done a few more of the family photographs – we had a list, but I didn’t notice that they were not all being taken.  We Photo Shopped a picture of my father’s side of the family since we forgot to take one. What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed? I think people are impressed by things they don’t know they notice – the small details that you just can put your finger on, but would miss it they were not there.  I suppose, I put a lot of effort into the bathroom baskets.  I went to department stores and asked for cologne and perfume samples, I got make-up samples from Mary Kay and Shepora.  I got $80 worth or stuff at Target.  I was tickled pink, but nobody said much about them and most stuff went unused…except the gum, people liked the gum JDURING5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"? The flowers…they were more then I had ever imagined. In fact, we had two wedding crashers who STOLE a center piece off the table as soon as the dance started and made a run for it. They got away because a host who was standing by the door was so dumbfounded she just stood slack jawed as they ran by.  It was the story of the night and many people started coming up to my mom asking if they could take an arrangement home too. 6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all? We both drank very little.  I really thought I needed to drink a lot to dance the night away (not a dancer) but I was high on life that night.  My husband is often drunk at wedding, but thankfully not his own.7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites? I missed it, but people really liked "Smooth Criminal".  I guess no less then 3 50+ yr old men where doing the moon walk. 8. Best compliment you got from a guest?A conversation that went, “I feel like I got married in a barn!” followed by another friend saying, “Come now, we all know Chelsea and Beth are not to be out done.”  It makes me giggle….and the barn girl was mostly kidding; it was her way of saying “nice wedding”. OC, did you have much to worry about that day? I had a wedding coordinator and could not imagine ever not having her at least for the day of part. AFTER10. What was the best part about your big day? The party; I was really surprised how much fun I was having.  I like to be around people, but I usually like to sit back and observe, which I couldn’t do at my wedding.  The night flew by and it was so much fun. 11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  I get dirt or mold on my dress during the pictures….I started crying about two hours before the ceremony because of it.  It turned out that the dirty part on the top of the dress folded under when I walked and the MOA was instructed to fold it under when I got up to the alter (hehe, people must of thought she was nuts, doing the exact opposite of what she was supposed to do).  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?It was a waste of time to confront people who were bringing additional uninvited guests.  We thought we were way over on numbers, but it ended up being just fine – even when the uninvited guests still came!12. What time did you end up leaving the reception? About 1 am. 13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided? We went on honeymoon.14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done Richfield Flowers and Events. They had lots of stuff that we rented from them, but the flowers were better then I hoped for the day of.   15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day? Honestly, it will be the moment I realized I am not drunk and I really like this party.  I know it is not a typical moment, but I really was thinking I would have to be buzzed to have fun once the dinner ended.  BONUS16. Where did you go for your wedding night? Nicollet Island Inn17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night? 10 minutes or so. Husband counted a 112 pins. 18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day? Don’t be the go to person on your wedding day.  Make sure someone(s) else knows what needs to be done….then let them worry about it.  19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)


  • KnibletKniblet member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?  It took me about an hour and a half for hair and make-up.  But it seemed to fly by.  The maids started getting ready half way through my time and they were done right after.

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind? We were on a timeline provided by Smart and Chic and they stuck to it perfectly.  It helped that everyone was there on time.

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?  Honestly, I think we spent just enough on everything.  We scouted and went over prices so much that we stayed on budget for everything.

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?  I really wish that I had thought more about making a list of photos that we wanted on the big day.  We missed getting certain shots with important people and I hate that.   And I doubt people really cared that we spent so much time making our own programs.

     

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?  The head table centerpiece and the cakes.  LOL.  People are still talking about both.  And my dress.  Most of my guests had NEVER seen a bride wearing color.

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?  We had champagne during the toasts but I think we both drank Coke all night.  Or water.  I just didn't feel that I needed it.

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?  People said they loved the playlist... mostly 80's music.  And Thriller was a huge hit.

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?  That everything was "magical".  That we did such a great job pulling everything together and making red, white, and black work so well.

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?  N/A

     

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day? Spending time with my family and friends and finally being married to the love of my life.  It was a fun day and I felt so much love.

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?  I was stressed about my step monsters and their kids acting like the brats that they are everyday.  And yes, they showed their butts.  But when it happened, I just didn't care.  I refused to let them bother me.

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?  Around 11:30?  Most of the guests were flying back down south early the next morning, plus we had to get up early for the Brunch.

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?  Spend ALONE time with my husband.  The weeks leading up to the wedding were hectic and we hadn't had not ONE minute alone with my step kids being here and my MOH and her family.

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done?  Hmmm, that's tough.  I LOVED Robin at Gateaux caused she was so cool and full of life.  And she made such fantastic cakes!

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?  Our First Look.  I will never forget the look on his face when I said his name and he turned around.

     

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night?  Our suite at the Marquette, which was our host hotel.

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?  About half an hour to remove all the extensions and 39 bobby pins.

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?  Only YOU can ruin your wedding day.  If something goes wrong, just smile, smile, smile.

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)  I tried but that's impossible.  Unless you want to see most of my albums.  :o)

     

     

    vacation vacation vacation vacation
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    43/70 books read

    Back in June 2010...
  • edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?

    I didn't have a bridal party, but it took about an hour and 45 minutes for hair and make up.

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?

    We were right on time

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?

    I bought way too many candles, but I am either going to sell them or return them

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?

    We had an 'heirloom' table, and I forgot to make cards saying who was who so people would know, but not a big deal.

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?

    We had lots of compliments on how beautiful the ceremony was.  My husband wrote all of the music for the ceremony, so I think that was probably really appreciated.

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?

    Well, we did drink quite a bit, but I really didn't feel it until the very end of the night.  But we didn't eat very much that day either.  I think it was a combination of those two plus exhaustion that I got a bit tipsy!

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?

    We had the BEST music...two live bands alternating sets.  My husband is a musician in the twin cities, so we had the 'who's who"playing at our reception.  Lots of Stevie Wonder, D'Angelo, and Michael Jackson.  It was all amazing music.

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?

    "Your wedding was wonderful in that it represented you both and was not materialistic like so many weddings can be."

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?

    We did, and it was some of the best money that I spent!

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day?

    Seeing all of our friends and families come together.  Also, seeing my husband as I walked down the aisle!

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?  I don't think we wasted any money.  I was a bit stressed about not having a rehearsal, but everything was just fine.

     

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?

    We closed it down!  12:30, I think.

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?

    My husband and I have been hashing out the details of the day.  It has been fun digesting everything that happened and realizing how much fun we had.

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done

    Well, our music was amazing, but in terms of vendors, Cadence Cornelius was our photographer.  She and I have become friends throughout the planning process so I think that because we know each other on more of a personal level versus a client level, our pictures will reflect that.

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?

    The music

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night?

    Crowne Plaza in St. Paul

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?

    To hell with the pins!  It was all about getting out of the dress-maybe 10 minutes to get the buttons undone!

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?
    Don't worry about the small stuff.  I don't even remember what the tables look like-it was such a flurry of activity.  I also highly recommend doing some sort of receiving line.  It was just my husband and myself, but I am so glad we did that because we didn't even get a chance to see some people after that!

  • edited December 2011
    BEFORE1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready? It took an hour and a half for 5 of us to get our hair done, and then it took me about 30 minutes to get my makeup done. We had quite a bit of time between hair appointments and pictures, but I would guess between all of us, the dressing, makeup, etc. it was probably an hour (not including hair) 2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind? We followed the timeline to a T. Actually, we were ahead of schedule most of the day. I’m type A+++++ personality, so I planned out as much as I could, even time for me to breathe! The groomsman had a lot of setup to do before their pictures, and I planned 1.5 hours for that, and it took them 30 minutes, so they spent a lot of time sitting around waiting.  3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on? The only thing I think was a little pricey was our Ceremony space. We paid the same amount just to have to ceremony as we would if we had our reception there too, so it just seemed like a lot, but in the end, it was worth it.  4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed? I’m not sure if there was anything overlooked that I wish I had paid more attention to, but the one thing I put tons of effort into was programs. I don’t think they went unnoticed, but weren’t as worth it as I was hoping. I made paddle fans, which was nice because it ended up being rather warm, and I saw people using them, but they ended up being a huge pain in the butt to make and way too time consuming. DURING5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"? Everyone commented on my wedding dress, which had eggplant color in it. It was a pretty “nontraditional” dress, so I think many people were caught off guard, but loved it.  6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all? FI had about 3 huge drinks, but danced and sweated so much that it never really affected him. My dress was so tight and I was so tired I only had a few glasses of water! 7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites? I don’t think anything really jumps out at me. We had a lot of standard wedding music, and most everyone was dancing and enjoying it.  8. Best compliment you got from a guest? We heard from many people that the wedding was gorgeous and perfect. A few people said it was the classiest wedding they had been to.  9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day? I spent a lot of time before the wedding worrying about day of details so that I wouldn’t have to worry the day of. I didn’t have a DOC, but I did have an awesome Personal Attendant who was willing to be “me” in the locations I couldn’t be at. She helped with the set up of things and making sure people needed to be in certain places while I was getting ready. I know it’s not the typical “role” of a PA, but we had talked about it ahead of time and she really wanted to help.  AFTER10. What was the best part about your big day? The best thing about the day was that every single thing was perfect. There wasn’t one thing that went wrong. I had prepared myself the whole time for something to go wrong, and nothing did. It’s awesome to be able to say that my hubby and I had a perfect wedding day.  11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money? I really stressed out about our ceremony musician who happened to be my best friend. Because of a variety of circumstances, I never heard a note of music until the night before. It ended up being awesome and he did a great job. I don’t think there was anything that ended up being a waste of time or money.  12. What time did you end up leaving the reception? We left the reception at 11:30. Majority of the people had left by that time and we were absolutely beat. Our reception space had troubles with a/c so that cleared some people out early, and we had danced so hard we were sweating and ready for our hot tub! 13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided? RELAX! We didn’t do a honeymoon right after because we are going in January, but the hubby did surprise me with a trips to Wisconsin Dells. We had a blast and it was great just to relax and not have a million things to think about. I was worried that I would be really depressed that the wedding was over, but nothing to be depressed about when the day is perfect! 14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done? It’s really hard for me to pick one vendor because they were all great. We went with a lot of small or private vendors (see reviews in post below) as opposed to popular large ones, and they were all awesome. 15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day? One of the best highlights from our day was the dance my dad and I did. My dad is not a dancer at all, but we practiced for months a routine to Sharp Dressed Man by ZZTop and surprised EVERYone with a dance to start off the reception. No one knew about it but us two, and it was a huge hit! BONUS16. Where did you go for your wedding night? We got a Jacuzzi suite at the hotel we had a block at near the reception space.  17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night? It was actually really easy. My hair was pinned half up, so there were only about 30 pins in my hair.  18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day? Don’t sweat the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff. At the end of the day, you’ll still get married J 
  • threemarie24threemarie24 member
    Combo Breaker First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready? I only had two BM’s, one came to the suite already and my sister got ready really fast. I got up at 8:30, we had breakfast in bed.  My Hair stylist arrived at 9:30, we were fully ready, dressed and all by noon.                                   

     

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?  I had a very detailed timeline that I handed out before we left for Vegas, I also handed it out again the day before the wedding so everyone would have an idea of what the day looked like. This was priceless, everyone knew what was going to happen and when. We were pretty much on schedule.

     

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on? Nothing really! The only thing I would have done differently would have been to get more liquor for our room. (we rented a big suite for our reception)

     

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed? With having a destination wedding I had to look over everything 10 times, I wanted to do more, but lack of space (traveling) limited me to actually doing all of my ideas so prioritized them and only did the top few.

     

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"? I cant say everything, but overall it was the whole thing.  We had a open top double decker bus that picked guests up from their hotel, dropped them off at the ceremony and then back to the reception. The bus was a hit. We also had an Elvis impersonator at our reception, and that was bay far the best decision I made, it was even a surprise to all of our guests.

     

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?  Well being in Vegas we for sure had drinks, but we were on such a high that neither of us were able to actually get drunk.  We both had a bit to drink, but didn’t really feel it that night or the next day.

     

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites? We had a Ipod/docking station and asked guests to bring their Ipod’s.  It turned out perfectly, everyone listened to what they wanted to, Id say most of our guests were dancing the whole night.

     

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest? I got a ton of them saying this was the most fun wedding they have ever been to….Elvis defiantly helped!!

     

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day? I did, and she was 100% amazing! She helped set the reception/suite up while we were all at the ceremony. Being that it was a destination wedding everyone was there for the ceremony/party, not to stay back and set up! Our  wedding would not have been pulled off without it!!

     

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day?  Yes the day flew by, but I was able to be in the moment most of the time, so it did not seem to go by that fast. I loved walking up the aisle to my HD, he was glowing.

     

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money? The timeline was my biggest thing. You can NOT be late to anything in Vegas, so we needed everything to flow, and thankfully it did.

     

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception? Knowing our friends and family they would not leave the party, and since it was in a hotel room we had it all night! So maybe around 1:00 or so we played a slow song (Cowboy take me away by Dixie Chick, my all time favorite song) and called it out last dance. We told everyone they could stay and party, but most everyone left after we did.

     

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided? The day after I woke up really relaxed, like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders. We did not schedule anything the day after, we just relaxed and hung out with our friends and family. It was nice not to “have” to do something or be somewhere. ---OH and we slept in!!

     

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done. Well our DOC was priceless, but my most favorite is a tie for Elvis and our photographer.

     

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day? I mean really every moment will be. But the best one will looking into DH’s eyes at the ceremony. He really was glowing (we both were), that and when he did his speech he broke down and cried, which made everyone else in the room cry, it was great!

     

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night? We got to Vegas on Tuesday, married on Thursday and left for our HM on Sat….so we stayed in the room we were in all week. –Plant Hollywood!!

     

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night? Ha! Not too long, I didn’t have THAT many, but isn’t that just the best feeling when you take your hair down!!

     

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day? Breath. Relax, try to be in the moment and HAVE FUN!  I would at least consult with a DOC or someone  who just got married, as there are things we all forgot, like eating that morning, having Advil handy for when your body aches from having the 20 lb dress on all day. The little things. Also have everyone in your wedding party know every detail of the day, so they are not asking 20 questions every second. J

     

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)



    imageimage

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  • edited December 2011
    BEFORE
    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?
    We got checked into the hotel about 12.15 and left for pics about 3. It was just me my sis and my mom though.  

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?   We stuck to the timeline pretty well, I had it really detailed, and wasn't too concerned with sticking to it. I just didn't want to eat dinner super late.

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?   sanity... Well, we didn't have money in our budget for a DOC, but it would have been a tremendous help. We relied heavily on family, who were all crazy helpful, but I was way too frazzled answering a million questions, and I am bad at delegating. even though I am a control freak, I think it would have been nice to have someone else to go to.

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? Snapshots.. I wish I would have put together a photosharing website so I could see more pics from the wedding immediately. waiting for the pro pics is really hard, and its fun and satisfying to see other peoples shots.

    What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?   The DIY cupcake stands. My MIL and I made a bunch of them, I don't think we even used half of them, and don't think anyone even noticed them.

    DURING
    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?   We screenprinted dishtowels, and used them as napkins at each place setting as our favors, everyone raved about them, and several people asked for extras.

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?   The hubs was a little drunk at the end of the night, but not out of control at all. I maybe had 4 glasses of wine all night - I kept setting down my drink and losing it. There was no time for drinking even if I had wanted to drink more.

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?   I had requested Brother Ali's Fresh Air, just because I love the song, and suprisingly, it got SO many people out on the dance floor. That made me love the song even more - "I love the life I live!"

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?  There were SO many, but my ultimate fave was a friend of the hubs that said, "I can't tell who of your guests is family, and who are friends, everyone just blends together." I think it was a true testament to our "community". We do all just blend together, and it was humbling and overwhelming to have so much love and support surrounding us on one day, in one room!

     9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?  TOO much! All sorts of dumb little details. Like we had all the flowers/centerpieces assembled the day before, out in the kitchen, but realized 1/2 hour before that I had never assigned anyone to actually get them out on to the tables. Thank goodness for cousins!

     AFTER
    10. What was the best part about your big day?   That I got a sweet husband, and a load of memories to make me smile for the rest of my life.

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?   A crazy person causing drama. She was for the most part well contained, and left the reception fairly early.

    What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?   Menu cards. They were super cute, but didn't get printed how we wanted them, because they got done WAY last minute, and in the end, who cares?! Everyone is going to find out what the food is when they get in the buffet line anyway!

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?   think it was about 12.30

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?   take a nap.

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done   The venue - Old Arizona. The owners were amazing, and did so much to accomodate us, and let us make the space special and meaningful for us!

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?   How to narrow this down!? I guess I'd have to say the ceremony. We had it outdoors, on the corner of 29th and Nicollet. There are busses, airplanes, people walking by on their phones, just the noise of the city surrounding us, and I tuned it out. I forgot that our guests were watching us. Apparently the guy walking by on the phone started to crawl over the fence while I was saying my vows. I didn't even notice. It was just me, my husband, and our officiant. It was really amazing. (and just an FYI, the guy on the phone left as soon as he realized he was peeking in on a wedding)

    BONUS 16. Where did you go for your wedding night?   The Chambers Hotel

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?   5 minutes maybe? I don't know there were a lot. My hair was outta control. I took a pic, but it didn't do it justice. Bring a comb or brush in your packing. I forgot one, and showering the next morning was tough with the knappy head of hair and nothing to comb through it.

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?
    Take some time to yourself. It was about 5 min before I was going to walk down the aisle, people are gathering, and I was like "I need to go to the bathroom". I realized it was the first time pretty much all day that I was alone, and that lasted about 10 seconds, until someone knocked on the door asking if I was OK. Uh, yeah, just needed to Pee, and catch my breath and peek at myself in the mirror before I go get hitched! Oh yeah, and I wish I would have had time to reapply makeup. Dumb detail, but after I left the hotel, I never felt like I had even 2 seconds to tend to myself.

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!) WEll, I haven't got my pro pics back yet, so its maybe not fair... but here is one I like from FB pics I've been gathering.






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  • kristigileskristigiles member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    BEFORE1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?We had 2 S&C stylists come to our hotel to do hair (and some makeup) for me, 6 BMs, and 1 FG.  It was an EARLY start...  We started by 7 and were done at 10:30ish. 2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?We followed the timeline really well, the only time we fell behind a little was my fault.  Probably the smartest thing I did was handing out a personal timeline for each person that needed to be places.  I only put the times that person specifically needed to know so there would be no confusion.  It was great!!  The only time we fell behind was for the first look in the morning... I was having some dress troubles and it took longer than expected to finish getting ready.  We made up the time later though. 3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?I got lazy with the DIYs by the end of the planning so I started ordering things off of Etsy so that it would just be done, but still look DIY.  It got a bit pricey!  Worth it though for my sanity... 4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?I really really wish we had done a videographer.  I thought it seemed like a huge waste of money during the planning, but the day is SUCH a whirlwind that I really wish I could watch our ceremony and hear the music and such. 
    I don't think anything went unnoticed.  Honestly, small details that you put tons of effort into do not go unnoticed.  We hand painted and jeweled our table numbers.  It was SO much work and we thought no one would ever notice them, but we got so many compliments on them!  Also, I hand wrote all of our place cards and that definitely did not go unnoticed either.  It's the little things that make your wedding personal and special and trust me, people WILL notice. DURING5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?People loved the small thoughtful things.  We did kids buckets and people loved them.  The kids were ecstatic to have a surprise and they kept them so busy.  
    We also did a huge candy table and it was a hit.  Seriously, we thought we'd be bringing loads of candy home and there was barely any left.
    Another thing people loved was during our ceremony.  My husband and I wrote a short paragraph to each other about why we love and want to marry the other person.  Our pastor read each of these paragraphs during his sermon and they were very sweet and emotional. 6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?Not much at all.  I was really just trying to stay hydrated.  It was a MARATHON of a day and I wanted to enjoy it and not feel sick.  My husband drank some beer, but not much.  There really wasnt time to drink much because we had so many people to talk to and dance with. 7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?THE CHICKEN DANCE.  Seriously.  I know a lot of you think  you are Too Cool for the chicken dance, but if your goal is to get people dancing then the chicken dance does the trick.  The dance floor was completely packed and people were practically giddy when it came on!  Also, Lady Gaga songs were being requested like crazy. 8. Best compliment you got from a guest? That it was by far the best wedding they've ever been to.  (Yay!)
    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?I didn't have one and I thought it was just fine.  Don't be fooled though... there is no way you will be able to do everything yourself.  NO WAY.  I barely knew what time it was, there was no way I could've managed the whole thing.  I had TONS of help and a great church coordinator and reception coordinator supplied to us by the locations.  My mom also works wedding receptions all the time, so she knew every little detail that I wouldn't have thought about.  My Personal Attendant was absolutely my hero.  She took care of all my stuff and made sure I had everything.  She made sure i stayed hydrated, that all the guys stayed on task and got their bouts on and anything else random I could think of.... she was AMAZING. AFTER10. What was the best part about your big day?This might seem really random.  My favorite part of the day was after the whole wedding party recessed out and we headed right back down the aisle to escort the rows out (instead of a traditional receiving line).  When we came in everyone clapped and cheered and it was so much fun!  It was like an Encore! 11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?My florist called me the night before the wedding, about an hour before the rehearsal and was totally stressing out because the centerpieces weren't working.  She was explaining it and I didn't understand what she was talking about and we were TOTALLY not on the same page.  I was super frustrated and ready to cry.  Once we finally figured out that she had the vases flip flopped, we got it figured out and it was fine.  Then 5 min later, my sister walked in with the BMs hair flowers that she picked up from a different florist and they were PURPLE.  Not one hint of pink.  So obviously I had a huge bridezilla moment and freaked out.  BUT...it all turned out fine.  We had the hair flowers remade and they were lovely.   12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?Right about midnight when it ended 13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?OHHH the gifts... THE GIFTS!  They're are piled in our living room.  Like a mountain!  And all of the random junk from the wedding is lining up and down our hallway.  Needless to say, our next project is getting things returned and put away....   14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is doneRoyal Cliff and I DO Flowers 15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?My dad was talking to me about the Twins and how they were in first place right before we walked down the aisle because I was nervous and emotional and he was desperately trying to take my mind off of it.  LOL BONUS16. Where did you go for your wedding night?The Holiday Inn Express in Eagan 17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?It felt like FOREVER!  I just kept finding them! 18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day? 
    Make sure its everything you want it to be, but don't think you can do it all yourself.  Everyone wants to help! 19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)
    August 14, 2010 image*PLANNING* *MARRIED*
  • edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?

    It took about an hour for make-up for me, the girls did their own. One of my BM's did hair which for 5 of us probably took 2.5 hours. I can't remember when we started getting ready, but we ran late!

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?

    Late! Half an hour at least

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?
    I spent quite a bit on photography but I don't regret it for a second, well worth it!

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?
    I left a lot of DIY projects until the last minute so a few didn't get done.

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?
    The cake, not that its small but it had crystals hanging from each tier. Oh and I had a photo station that my younger cousins LOVED

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?
    Well he doesn't drink so that wasn't a problem for him. I drank the right amount at the reception. We had an after party at the bar downstairs in the Embassy Suites in St Paul, that was a blast!

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?
    We didn't do a dancing reception. We did a first dance and father daughter dance. Otherwise we played Rat Pack style music the whole time. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?
    That I don't remember. Lots of compliments on our Buttercream cake, and my dress.

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?
    I did have one, and even as an aspiring coordinator since I was 5 I still needed the help!

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day?
    Getting married obviously

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?
    I was stressed about linens. Everyone tells me it was fine. I disagree. Suggestion to all venues..make black linens free. My white ones still irritate me..

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?
    9 but like I said we had an after party. I went upstairs to the hotel room shortly after bar close haha

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?
    Start planning a vow renewal. I live for wedding planning.

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done
    No contest, my photographer Randi Johnson of 1012photo.com. She made a fairly low budget wedding look like a million dollar wedding! She is an extremely talented artist and a great/fun person to work with as well! 

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?
    There isn't just one thing. Too many amazing experiences

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night?
    Embassy Suites in St Paul--stayed there the night before too with the BM's

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?
    Haha not too long

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?
    Don't sweat the small stuff. If you can't change something you just have to deal with it in the best way possible.

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)
    You are asking me to just pick one?? EEk ..OKay you are getting 4..deal with it :)



    image
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  • laura_fettlaura_fett member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready? I had my makeup appointment at 8:00, the girls started their hair at 8. We only had on person doing everyone's hair. I had my hair appointment at 11:00, but everyone was done early, so I got my hair done early, which meant to "getting ready" photos with the hair dresser, I was a little bummed about it, but wasn't a real big deal.

     

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind? We followed the timeline fairly closely, we did start out a bit later than we thought, and then also forgot the bouts for the guys who didn't get dressed at the reception place, so DH's mom had to run there and bring them to the church. But, we followed the timeline, got to the church on time, and had plently of time to relax before the actual ceremony. That was a really fun part of the day. I was in the basement of my church, talking with my BMs, and them my sorority sisters came down when they got to the church. It was fun being able to talk to them pretty much one on one, which didn't really happen any other part of the day. Plus I got to sit and relax, my feet were hurting a bit, so it was good to sit down.

     

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on? I was pretty budget minded through the whole process, I didn't have a budget for a videographer. I had a larger (around $3000) budget for a photographer, because I thought of that as one of the most important venders. At one point, I thought about getting a cheaper photographer, and also hiring a videographer. However, that didn't happen, I fell in love with Kate Botwinski and her photos, and decided I'd rather have an amazing photographer, and honestly hadn't looked much into videographers. As the wedding got closer, I decided that we still needed to have our ceremony at least videotaped, and began looking in depth into videographers, asking on here for referrals, etc. Of couse, at that time (2 months to go), and the good cheap choices were already booked. It was about 2 weeks before the wedding when I finally sent in a deposit for our videographer. A big leap of faith for a type A like me. It's through a company that hires free lance videographers, so I never got to see any of his work, he doesn't even edit it, The company does. But, I was running out of time and choices, so I hope it works out.


    Short version: I hired a videographer when there was to budget for it, we'll see if it was worth it when we see the video. It was a fairly cheap package: $695 for 1 hour pre-ceremony, the entire ceremony, and 4 hours at the reception.

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed? I don't know that I have an answer to this one, I was pretty detail oriented, so I thought of most things. I also had lots of people telling me how they liked my details, so I don't know.

     

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"? I think people really liked our personal vows, I had many people tell me that they really loved our personalized ceremony. People also liked our rustic themed details. I had made a wooden wedding sign, a cake stand, dessert stands, and unity candle stand. Our reception place was a bit more rustic, so it fit the theme and people liked them!

     

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all? DH didn't drink a whole lot, and I didn't really either. Though I drank more than what probably should have been okay for how much I ate that day (not very much...). We spilt a bottle of wine at dinner, and I think I had two or three mixed drinks, but that was over the course of our 6 1/2 hour reception.

     

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites? We just wanted to dance, I think this was the most frustrating points of the day. Our DJ had his own agenda, and kept wanting to slow it down before playing a good upbeat dance song. It took a good threat from one of DH's cousin's to get him to just play some day music. When we had that going, there were lots of people on the dance floor. Lady Gaga, and the other new songs were on the top of the list.

     

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest? That our wedding was the best, well thought out wedding that they had been to in years. They loved all the details, the paper items, the good food, tons of food, and everything. I got several comments like that. It made me feel good that all my hard work was worth it.

     

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day? I didn't have a DOC, and never felt a need for one. The woman I'd been working with at the reception, had everything there under control, I didn't need to worry. I also had pretty much everything set up the day before, so there wasn't a lot to get done the day of. I think the only thing a DOC could of helped with was to remember to bring our flowers for the other GM and ushers.

     

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day? I think the best part of the day was our first dance. Throughout the whole day it felt a bit surreal, like we were practicing for our wedding, not that it was actually our wedding day.

     Before the ceremony I started to cry, I really didn't want to cry at the ceremony, since we were doing personalized vows and would have to speak in front of this group, I wanted to be able to speak clearly. MOH did her job of distracting me, and I got though the ceremony without crying.

    But our first dance was when it started to feel all real. That's when I cried for the first time that day. We danced to our song, that's been our song for so long that it's almost lost meaning when you hear it, but it really got to me. It made me feel like a bride and so happy!

     

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money? The biggest stresser in this whole process was our caterer. I didn't write about it on here, because I wanted to be able to disclose all information, and therefore had to wait until the wedding was over. His big thing was professionalism, he wanted things to be wonderful and perfect, but did not have the best customer service. If some of you watch some of those cooking competition shows, you know that some of those chefs have a bit of an attitude problem, well mine did too. We had our food tasting, and his food was amazing, so I tried to take everything with good faith that it will all turn out. Those last few days were stressful with me talking to our reception coordinator about well, if he doesn't show up we'll have to order pizza, kind of thing. I'll write more about it in my vender review. In the end, he showed up, everyone said they loved the food, he charged us more on a couple things that was previously disclosed, but it all worked out. I didn't worry about it the day of, I got to the reception, and saw him there, so it was all good!

     

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception? 12:00, it was pretty dead by then, a few die hard dancers and us. It was fun though!

     

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided? Honeymoon, I'm so happy we did one right after the wedding, it was nice to have a break from all the stresses that we had with the wedding and everything else!

     

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done? Kate Botwinski Photography, and our reception place: the Bug Bee Hive Resort. Kate has so much energy that I just love being around her, and Laurie from the resort was so helpful in working with the caterer those last couple of days that I didn't have any added stress from it!

     

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day? My MOH have me a beautiful speech. She was an english major, and it was sweet, personal, and much better than what I could have written. She also had a slide show of pictures that I hadn't seen, she did an amazing job on that as well!

     

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night? The famous Paynesville Inn and Suites.

     

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night? not real long, I only had 30 in my hair, so it took about 5 minutes.

     

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day? Don't stress out about the little things, it's too late to really do anything about it except to go with the flow. There will inevitably be something that goes wrong, but don't let it ruin your day.

     

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!) I just got a sneak peek at our first professional photo link below
    http://www.katebotwinskiphotographyblog.com/sneak-peek-laura-zach-married-minnesota-wedding-photographer/

  • edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?

    11am until about 230.  Ten of us got our hair done so it wasn't too bad!

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?

    We were ahead of schedule for the most part but the ceremony still started late because the shuttle holding some of our guests got stuck in traffic!!

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?

    Nothing.  I thought everything we got was worth it and I didnt feel like we were missing anything.

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?

    Overlooked: Ceremony music-I had it all figured out by the end of our groom's dinner but I should have done this much earlier!  I didnt feel that anything was unnoticed judging by the compliments I got. 

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?

    The music.  I walked into "Angel" by Jack Johnson and the recessional was "somewhere over the rainbow" by Israel K.

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?

    Just enough.  We both were buzzed but able to keep our composure when we needed to.

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?

    All the music was awesome.  My grandmothers refused to leave the dance floor and we were playing mostly Rap & Pop!

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?

    I had many people tell me that our wedding was the highlight of their year so far and that it was the most fun wedding they have ever been to.

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?

    No, I had the best personal attendant ever and she took care of things that went wrong without me knowing!

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day?

    The ceremony!!  It was short and sweet but super romantic at the same time.

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?

    I was stressed about having people there to watch my son between pictures and the ceremony and then again during the reception.  It was not a problem at all! He danced for an hour straight at the reception (he's 1 1/2)!

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?

    THis was the worst part of the night..our guests were out of there by 2am.  We didn't get picked up until after 3 am!!  It was horrible!

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?

    laid in bed for 2 days!

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done

    I loved the Profile Event Center and of course Heather.  The other vendor that comes to mind is Smart and Chic Bride!  They were very quick and efficient.  Dee did my hair and makeup and Julie was the other stylist.  THe only thing I didnt like was that Julie thought she was done for the day so she left and Dee had to call her and tell her to come back and finish a couple of  girls..

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?

    When Mike said his vows to me.  Sweetest thing ever

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night?

    Sheraton Midtown Minneapolis. I wish we would have stayed somewhere different from where our guests stayed.

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?

    5 minutes or so.  He tried but kept falling asleep so I just ripped them out. 

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?

    When you wake up in the morning, realize that whatever is done is done and if it is not, dont worry about it.  This was my thought and the day was stress-free and awesome because of it.  Don't forget why you are there-to marry the love of your life.

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)
    I havent seen them yet! 

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • drdifabiodrdifabio member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011

    First off - I am so excited to be able to answer this questionnaire! I have read them each as they have come through so it feels great to be able to contribute now!

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?

    Well I started rolling my hair around 7am to prep for Julie from S&C to do it later. The rest of the girls started around 8/8:30 and we went right up until 11:30am....so about 4 hours. We did have 6 girls though.

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?

    We followed it great! I did have a DOC which helped a ton and I built in a lot of extra time so we didnt cut anything too close.

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?

    Too Much = Well I am a bargain and DIY bride so I dont think I really splurged on anything. We did make photo sharing cards that not many people took at the wedding (but that we also included in Thank Yous) but those we only a $5 cost from VP so not bad.
    Too Little = Maybe photographer. We got two for 8hrs with rights to the copies for less than 1k. I do really like what I have seen so far but it would have been fun to have someone there all day.

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?

    Ha overlooking a detail! :) No really I am VERY type A and had the details down! I even labeled each box that I gave my DOC with what was in that box and then inside the box, each item had its own label with a description of how to set it up or where it should go. I figured if I did the work up front I wouldnt worry about it later and it really did help.
    I would say the sand ceremony was one thing that took some time to put together all the pieces that was pretty unnoticed as we just did it with Joe and I and the photographer at the reception rather than during the ceremony (the church would not allow it). So I would say check with your church first before putting one together.

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?

    We got compliments on a lot of our details which I was trilled about!
    They liked:
    -Embossed Ms on everything (invites, programs, menus)
    -The Popcorn cones for the late night snack - also with embossed Ms on the popcorn salt shakers
    -Table names (after places we had been)
    -Danielle and Joe Trivia to make us kiss
    -They even liked the bathroom basket!

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?

    Just right! I maybe had a glass and a half of champagne and I think he had a beer and a shot with his guys. Really it was nothing and I love the fact that I wasnt a belligerent bride - so not classy. Plus neither of us need to drink to have a blast.

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?

    The YMCA was actually a hit and I have to say it is not one of my favorites but the crowd loved it - especially since it was played later after people had been drinking :).
    My girls and I had a surprise performance of Let's Hear it For the Boy planned with us singing and dancing that we got so many complements on. One couple told me that this was the most entertaining wedding that they had ever been too! (We had my friend sign as well as a few other performances throughout the night.) 

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?

    Prolly that it was the most entertaining wedding that they had ever been too - that or how they loved all the personal touches. It was great to know that they were not overlooked.

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?

    Oh I had a DOC! Sarah from Lasting Impressions was AWESOME! And yes, I did need her. Since I was a DIY bride I had a lot of set up that needed to be done day of. Even my mom, who was originally very against me getting a DOC but we paid for the entire wedding so she really didnt have a say, ended up coming up to me after the wedding and telling me how wrong she was and how she understood now why I wanted one.

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day?

    Hearing Joe's vows. He is a pretty quite guy and not very eloquent with words (he shows his love through touch more) but to hear him tell me how much I meant to him and how much he loved me in front of all those people was so special.

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?

    I was stressing about making sure the bridal party stuck together since we were not providing group transportation and it was TOTALLY fine. I did end up talking to everyone and printing out maps for everyone so that might have helped but we stuck together really well - all 15 of us plus 2 photographers. I am glad we saved the money and just drove ourselves.
    Like I said, maybe the photosharing cards would be the only waste of time or money but they only took maybe a hour and about $5 so even if i get a few pictures I think it was worth it but it would be nice if more people use them (we did send them out in thank yous a few days ago so maybe we will get more hits).

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?

    We left around 12:15am after the reception ended at midnight. I really wanted to stay till the very end.

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?

    It is JUST subsiding about two weeks later. We did take care of all our checks/money gifts the Monday right after the wedding which was nice to have done after we got home from the HM. But overall, Joe and I have just taken time to really reflect on everything that has happened in the last two weeks. We are married and ready to spend our lives together and it just feels great to have him as a partner.

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done

    I still love Heather at the PEC - she did a great job with everything. But now I also love my DOC, Sarah with Lasting Impressions. She was just so much fun to work with and got the job done. She took so much of the stress day off away from me so I didnt have to worry about anything. I would def work with her again if I had the chance.

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?

    Besides Joe's vows, I loved the moment on the dance floor when my best friend is singing At Last for us. We danced the first minute just the two of us and then had couples join us on the dance floor. I swear EVERY couple that was in attendance was dancing as the floor was packed. You could just feel how much love was in the room and how great that night was. I will remember the moment for sure.

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night?

    We had the bridal suite at the Radisson University Hotel. This was a GREAT idea! The hot tube in the room was wonderful and a great way to relax after a long day. Totally worth the extra money.

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?
    Ha it was just me that took care of it and maybe only about 5 min. I had extensions in too so that slowed me down a bit. But I have been doing updos on my own hair for about 10 years now so I have the undo process down.

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?
    Take moments throughout the day just to sit back and take it all in. It was pretty easy to just get swept away with everything and the flow of the day so it was nice to just take a minute to look around and really realize where you were and what you are doing that day.

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)
    We havent gotten our pro pics back yet but here is my fav one so far taken by our second photographer (it is in my siggy too but I will put it here as well in case I change my siggy later):


    Thanks for letting me share!!! I am so happy to be married!!!

  • edited December 2011

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?

    It was about 4 hours total for hair and makeup for myself and three bridesmaids. We had one makeup artist and one hair stylist who came to us, so while someone was getting ready, the others were doing last minute things (finsihing our programs, putting pew bows on candalabras, etc).

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?

    We followed it great! The only hiccup that we had was trying to organize the familys for the portriat pictures- so the wedding party was great, it was the rest of them that screwed us up!

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?

    I don't think there was anything that we spent too much or too little one. I think all the money spent was well spent.

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?

    Nothing, I think everything was pretty well spot on.

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?

    The photobooth, the caketoppers that I made, the glow ropes, the bathroom baskets

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?

    I didn't drink enough and FI drank just a little too much- his cousins were so happy for him they kept buying him whisky 7s so he was pretty good and buzzed up but ended up sobering up by the end of the night. I wish I would have had a couple more cocktails- we had some bridal party drama I had to deal with and it would have been much easier to deal with buzzed up! I ended up being the sober cab back to the hotel for everyone though- everyone was laughing at me trying to drive with my big dress on :)

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?

    I LOVE Pitbull and had the DJ play Calle Ocho and Culo. I was AMAZED at the people who got out on the dancefloor for those songs! We are talking moms, great aunts, uncles, it was hysterical!

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?

    Everyone kept telling me, and I'm still getting emails telling me, how much fun they had. That was my whole goal, I just wanted everyone to have a blast at our wedding.

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?

    I think it all went well without a DOC. The only thing that was kind of a pain was getting all our stuff from getting ready into the cars after the ceremony. I wish we would have thought to put it in cars before the ceremony so we didn't have to worry about it.

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day?

    Marrying my best friend and soulmate! Our first look was so special- I will never forget the look of complete love on his face when he saw me for the first time- he was all teary eyed and telling me how beautiful I was and how much he loved me- it was a really special moment. I'm so glad our photographers suggested it- turns out it was the only moment of the whole day that we were alone!

    Also, after the ceremony when his son got all excited and said you are Beth NewLastName now! It really meant a lot to me that he was so excited that I was officially part of their family!

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?

    Programs! They were a total PITA!!

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?

    It was about 12:30, we took some time to relax in the jacuzzi in our hotel room before throwing on comfy clothes and heading to the after party

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?
    Got away with my new husband! It felt so good to just escape on our minimoon and not have to worry about anything wedding related!

     

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done

    Anna and Becca with Studio 220, Kim Riley my hairstylist, Cindy at the Knights Event Center, Greg with Photo Booth A Go Go, and Rebecca with Cold Stone!

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day? Our first look and ceremony, and the moment that the ceremony was over and we were both just so happy to be married!

     

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night?

    Country Inn and Suites in Shakopee

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night? About 15 minutes

     

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?
    Relax and enjoy it. Chances are that whatever isn't done the day of, won't be and nobody will notice. It goes by SOOOO fast so just be sure to take it all in!

     

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)

  • edited December 2011
    1. 3 hours - the hair and make-up people were at our hotel at 10am and we were ready to go a little after 1pm

    2. The timeline was followed pretty well - we were about 10 minutes late to the church, but  that wasn't the fault of anybody in the wedding party

    3. I can't think of anything we spent too much or too little money on, but if I had it to do over again I would have hired a videographer.  There are so many moments that happen during your wedding that it's hard to remember everything - it would be nice to be able to look back on video of the event.

    4. I'd say that the detail we overlooked was a videographer - that's something we should have researched and I wish we had one at our wedding.  We put a lot of effort into our wedding but I can't think of anything that went unnoticed.

    5. Immediately after our first kiss as a married couple, we smiled at eachother, looked down and held our right feet out in front of us before stepping forward.  We received a lot of compliments from people telling us that they liked that.

    6. I'd say that we both drank a healthy amount - not passed out drunk but not completely sober.  I went into it with the mindset that I wanted to maintain a mild buzz.

    7. Our first dance song was sceduled to be "In My Life" by the Beatles.  My husband had a surprise up his sleeve.  He recorded his own version of "Time in a Bottle" by Jim Croce - it made me melt.

    8. This was the best wedding I've ever been to.

    9. I really didn't have much to worry about and I didn't have a DOC.  I had an amazing personal attendant and bridal party that helped me with everything.  Also, the decorator at our reception venue did a lot of things the day of the wedding that helped SO much with keeping me calm.

    10. The entire day was amazing, but I'd say that the best part is that we were able to celebrate our love with the people we care about.  If I had to pick my favorite moment, I would say it was when we exchanged the vows that we wrote ourselves.

    11. I was a little stressed because we didn't have any programs at our ceremony ... but it wasn't a big deal at all.  I can't think of anything that was a waste of time or money.

    12. We closed down our reception with some of our guests at around 1:15 am.

    13. Have alone time with my husband to discuss our favorite moments about the big day

    14. CLASSIC CATERING!  I lost track of how many people complimented us on the food at our reception.  Everything was delicious and very affordable.  The Classic Catering staff was very friendly, professional and efficient.

    15. Knowing in my heart and soul how truly happy my husband and I are together - from the vows we wrote ourselves, to the surprise first dance song, the entire day was magical.

    16. Asa Parker House Bed and Breakfast in Marine on St. Croix

    17. Less than 5 minutes - I have short hair :)

    18. Make sure that you take everything in on your big day - don't worry about things that don't go as planned or details you overlooked

    19. We haven't gotten our pro pis back yet, but our friends took a lot of great pictures - the one of us during our first dance is my favorite so far

  • tpender13tpender13 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    BEFORE


    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?

    I went to the salon at 10 AM w/my MOH and a few other family members, I was dressed and ready for our first look at 2. We stopped for lunch after the salon.

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?

    We only had a best man and MOH, and we didn't really set a timeline. DH and I both kinda thought that the more details we tried to plan, the better the chances of something going wrong. We asked people to be ready for pictures by 2:30, and those went just fine.

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?

    I think we did pretty well, budget-wise. If I had to pick something, I'd say I spent too much on my hair. If it would've stayed put instead of falling apart right away, I would've been fine w/the cost, though. Too little, maybe flowers. I put together silk bouquets for MOH and myself, and it took me a couple tries to get it right. I will have them forever now, but for what I spent I could've gotten two simple bouquets.

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?

    I wish I would've put a sign letting guests know what was hosted at the bar. I picked a particular riesling with a few specific people in mind, and I'm not sure I saw any of them drinking it. I can't think of a single thing that we put too much effort into. We were both pretty relaxed about everything, though.

    DURING


    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?

    My jewelry; people said that it was totally not what you think of when you picture wedding jewelry but was perfect for me. And the penguin bride and groom cake toppers that DH made out of Sculpey clay.

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?

    Just right, I think. Neither of us got so hammered that we were sloppy or had too much of a hangover the next day, but we definitely partied and had a good time.

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?

    Does anyone watch "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia?" Green Man showed up, and I think the DJ played a specific song for the occasion, though I couldn't tell you what it was. See below. =)


    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?

    A few people told us how amazing it was that the ceremony was so personal.

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?

    I didn't, and not at all. But like I mentioned before, we were both pretty relaxed about everything.

    AFTER


    10. What was the best part about your big day?

    The ceremony. Our officiant was a friend of ours that has known us for as long as we've been together, over 7 years. He was able to surprise us with little details, like when he mentioned that on Nov 6th (our wedding date) in 1967, Bob Dylan first recorded "All Along the Watchtower" DH and I went to said watchtower on our first date, and that's also where he proposed. Neither of us had any idea! We both cried, and I tear up just thinking about how amazing he made the ceremony for us.

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?

    I was kinda bummed about my flowers. I was a little upset because the first time we bought flowers from Michael's, DH said that if I tried to put bouquets together and didn't like them, we could look into real ones. After putzing with them off and on for weeks, still not liking them, he got upset when I said I wanted real ones. It wasn't worth a fight to me, so we spent more money on nicer fake flowers and started over. I'm still not in love with them, but I wasn't really thinking about it once things got going, and they looked nice in pictures, so whatever. Not a big deal. Can't say that we wasted too much time/money on anything. DH put hours upon hours into the invitations, but they turned out amazing! Don't have a pic with me though, sorry!

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?

    I have no clue. I know we had the room/DJ until midnight, and we ended earlier than that. DH and I and a few other people made sure stuff got packed up, and we partied in someone's room for awhile after.

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?

    Napped! We dropped presents and things off at home on Sunday, and hung out w/some family for awhile before they headed home, then went home and slept for three hours.

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done?

    The only real vendors we had were the venue - Doubletree Park Place - and the cheesecakes (neither of us really likes regular cake) which came from Muddy Paws in St. Louis Park. Both of them were super great to work with; I don't really have complaints about either.

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?

    The ceremony and our vows. It was so personal, and an amazing experience. DH and I wrote our own vows, and the only thing we discussed was that we'd start with a song lyric and go from there. We wrote them the night before the wedding, and it's kinda cool that they ended up being laid out the same way.

    BONUS


    16. Where did you go for your wedding night?

    We stayed at the hotel where the ceremony and reception was. I also stayed in the room the night before the wedding.

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?

    It took me a minute or so. My hair totally fell apart, and even though we shoved a bunch more pins in it, it was still falling and starting to get uncomfortable. I ran up to the room once the dance started, took out the pins and threw in a ponytail, and put my veil back on.

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?

    Relax. Stuff is going to go wrong, hopefully they'll only be minor things, but let it go. You can't control everything, so why bother trying? My hair fell apart, we forgot to put a pen out for people to sign the photomat "guestbook", our cheesecake leftovers disappeared, I forgot to get my "something blue"... I didn't really care about any of it. We just went w/the flow, and our wedding couldn't have been better! ... Okay, maybe I'm a little bummed about the cheesecake leftovers disappearing. ;-)

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)
    Our DJ snapped a pic of DH and I walking back down the aisle right after the ceremony. It's got a cool blurry effect, and I just see so much happiness in it! It's in my siggy right now, but just in case I change it later, here it is!



    image
  • edited December 2011
    BEFORE1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?  Hair appointments started at 9:00 and everyone was dressed and ready for pictures by noon. I was getting dressed at 11:30.                              2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind? 
    Yes, we followed the estimated timeline very well. We actually finished with pictures early! Everything started right on time except for dinner, which was about 10 minutes late.  3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on? 
    We spent too much money on the food, but we didn't really have a choice since we had to use the caterers at the venue. It was great food so it was worth it in the end. I wouldn't say we spent too little on anything, but I wish we could have provided hosted bar for a longer period of time.  4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed? 
    I don't think there was anything that was overlooked and if there was, nobody, including me, noticed! People really appreciated all of the little touches that we did so I felt that all of the effort was worth it! DURING5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?
    People loved the Photo Booth because most people had never been to a wedding with one. We pretty much wrote our own ceremony and did our own vows and people LOVED that. Everyone that went through the receiving line commented on our personal, emotional ceremony. Everyone also loved our handmade coaster favors and our late night nacho bar. 

     6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all? 
    He drank just the right amount. He was definitely buzzed at the end of the night but we had discussed it before the wedding and agreed that we wouldn't get drunk at the wedding.  7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?  Our dance floor was packed all night! There were a few swing dance songs that we weren't expecting but people really liked.  8. Best compliment you got from a guest? 
    That our wedding was the best wedding they've ever been to (several people told us this), that our ceremony was the only one that has ever made them cry. 9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day? 
    I had a DOC and I am SO glad I did! She was amazing and I didn't worry about a single thing all day or night. She really made our wedding day relaxing for us! It was $800 well spent! AFTER10. What was the best part about your big day? 
    The ceremony was personal, emotional and amazing. I loved every second of it! 11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money? 
    Because of our DOC, I honestly did not stress about anything. Really the only thing I worried about was where people would store their stuff once we left the hotel, but the hotel was amazing and let people store their stuff in a locked room all day even though they weren't staying there. 
    The only thing that we didn't fully utilize was the shuttle that we hired to bring people to and from one of the hotels we had a block at. There ended up only being 4 couples that stayed there so I don't think that was worth $200. But, at the end of the night, the shuttle ended up bringing us to the after party so I'm glad we had it then! 12. What time did you end up leaving the reception? 
    We were the last people to leave and it was shortly after midnight.  13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?<span style="border-style:none;border-color:windowtext;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;font-size:8pt;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-attachment:initial;-webkit-background-clip:initial;-webkit-background-origin:initial;background-c
  • edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready? 2 hours, tops. And my stylist helped my mom and another girl a little with some touch-ups.  My appointment started at 8:45, and we were all done by 10:30, including dressing and everything. Very smooth.

     

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind? We fell behind a little trying to leave the hotel, because we didn't want to cross paths with the guys.  But we made it up quickly.  We also

     

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on? I think we did perfect, but we were serious bargain hunters for a lot of it.  I panicked day-of about spending $200 on hair/makeup, but it was worth it (fake eyelashes and full make up with airbrush.) 

     

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed? I wish we had done more 'little' things like programs, etc.  But oh well.  I originally put a ton of effort into the invites, map and wedding website. But I still had people asking where to park and how to get there the day before.

     

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"? Our beer selection. mmm Spotted Cow (small brew from Wisconsin that one of our friends had to run across the border for the morning of the wedding.)

     

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all? Perfect.  I had a few beers and a couple glasses of wine throughout the day.

     

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites? We didn't have a dance, but everyone LOVED our ceremony selections.  I walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of "Kissing You" (love theme from Romeo and Juliet) and our recessional was "Everywhere" by Fleetwood Mac.

     

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest? "This is the best wedding I've ever been to. It's so perfectly both of you."

     

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day? nope. But my mom was amazing and Heather, the coordinator from PEC is awesome.

     

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day? Seeing all of our friends and family, sans drama.

     

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money? Family drama. Everyone behaved though.  I really stressed out about chair covers/sashes. We ended up going without them, and no one noticed/cared.

     

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception? Ceremony was at noon, lunch served at 2.  Most of the guests started leaving around 5:30-6. We were out by 7 probably. We stayed and hung out with our families for awhile at the hotel bar too though, and gift opening that night. I think we finally kicked everyone out of our suite by 11.

     

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided? Call him my husband. :) and I threw away my big stupid wedding planner booked that I never looked at, but was terrified to get rid of. ha

     

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done? Everyone, no lie. Reviews coming soon, promise.  If I had to pick one, probably our photographers. They were so fun.

     

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day? Not crying all day while getting ready.... then seeing my dad tear up when he saw me for the first time. I completely lost it.  As soon as I regained my composure, I started to walk down the aisle, and lost it all over again when I saw my husband waiting for me. (cue the cheesy 'awww's)

     

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night? Same hotel suite we used the morning of to get ready. 

     

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night? nada.  I slept with my hair like that.  In fact, the curls stayed until Tuesday morning when I finally washed my hair.

     

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day? Just relax and enjoy the day.  All that matters is you get to be married at the end.  No one will remember/care about napkins, bridesmaids shoes, flowers or anything else.

     

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)

     

    The only one I have so far!


  • edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?
    We had our hair and makeup done professionally so to actually put on dresses and accessories about a half hr.  Hair for all of us at the same place was 2 hours and makeup again all at same time girls half hr me 1 hr. so total 3.5 hours.

     

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind? We were actually a bit ahead because I am a crazy time management person and everyone knew it and followed along nicely just for my peace of mind. :)

     

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?
    I spent too much on our limo ride probably it was 200 for a point to pint transfer only no stops or anything fancy but the limo was a stretch porsche cayenne that I absolutly loved!!  Too little I would say church decorations.  OUr church isn't to glamorous and I could have done a bit more in hindsight.

     

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed? I overlooked my husbands thoughts on nice pampering he would want.  He wanted to get a nice shave at a barber and i had no idea until it wouldn't fit in the schedule.  he made it work anyways :) I put tons of effort into these cute personalized bags for candy bar and barely anyone used em they all just out smal handfuls diretly in the mouths it seemed :(

     

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"? Our mothers lit our individual candles for us and then we took them with a hug and did our unity candle.  Our violinist also played taylor swift which most people enjoyed,

     

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all? Husband too much. Me perfect.

     

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites? Yes sexy back andI'm too sexy back to bcak had the whole crowd doing catwalks and one groomsman was dancing shirtless with my grandma who LOVED it!

     

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest? Everything was beautiful and we looked like we were having fun.

     

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day? Yes and no my MOH was fantastic at making sure everyone filered things to other people.

     

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day? sitting back and watching all the people we love have a fantastic time showing their love and support for us.

     

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money? No not really other brides adice was really helpful on realistic expectations of th big day.

     

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception? when it ended of course hosts till the very end.  I love entertaining!

     

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided? Take time to do things just my husband and myself.  We had lots of out of town relatives wanting us to do ll sorts and we just turned off our phones and enjoyed time with each other only.

     

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done The venue and DJ tie they were both absolutl amazing throughout the whole process.

     

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day? Hoe nervous I was until that door opened. I would have lost it if my usher wouldn't have said hey it's just zach ya know. made me giggle and breathe.

     

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night? The hampton Inn in shakopee where all our guests were staying.

     

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?

    It took me about 20 mins. My drunk husband said "I know I drank alot but I'm seeing tiple I think." very funny.

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?

    Really try to savor moments periodically!  It goes by so fast and then its over.  I wanted to do it again because it went by so fast.

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!) I nanny and my aunt took one with my twirling and giving one of the triplets a big kiss it is so great and the child looks so loved. It will be a christmas present.  I would add it but it's not my child so I can't.

  • edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?

    We started hair and makeup at 10:00 and were ready by 1:30.

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?

     We were pretty much right on time.

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?

     I think we spent our money in the right places. 

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?

    I wish I would have spent more on the candy buffet.  It was a huge hit and we ran out of candy!  I didn't do much that went unnoticed.

     

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?

     The decor.  They loved the black and white theme, the ceiling draping, the chair covers, the flowers, the centerpieces, etc.  They also loved the UnBooth (pohotobooth) and the candy buffet.  Food was awesome too!

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?

     Just right!

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?

     I don't even remember.  We have a live band (High and Mighty) and the dance floor was packed the entire night.  They never had an unpacked dance floor.  It was AWESOME!

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?

     This was the best wedding they had ever been too :)

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?

     I had a DOC and I wouldn't do it any other way.  She was amazing!!!  (Amira Gaynor)

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day?

     DH and I spent alone time together after the ceremony during the cocktail hour.  That was the best part of the night.  It was the only bit of alone time we had and it was worth it!

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?

     I didn't really stree over much!  Having a DOC helped me not stress at all.

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?

    We were some of the last people to leave!

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?

     We left for our honeymoon 2 days after our wedding.  The day after our wedding, we spent time with friends and family for brunch, then went and picked up our puppy!  We were happy to see her before we left for 10 days.  Then we opened gifts at home, just the two of us.  It was perfect!

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done

     Wow, that is a tough one!  Landmark Center was amazing!  They were perfect.  Chef Jeff at True Tastes Catering was the best!  I could not have asked for a better caterer.  Food was amazing and the service is unbeatable.  Amira Gaynor, DOC, saved my day!  She was great@  Marah Cole had the most amazing flowers.  I got compliments all night!  Avis at Salon 71 in Edina did a fabulous job with my hair and Smart and Chic did a wonderful job with my makeup.  Midway Party rental did great at decorating Landmark Center.  Our band, High and Mighty, was AMAZING!  Our guests loved them!  The dance floor was packed all night long!  All of our vendors were perfect :)

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?

     Everything :)  They day was absolutely perfect!

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night?

    The Saint Paul Hotel

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?

     Lol!  About 15-20 minutes!

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?

     Take some time for just the two of you even if it means getting away from your guests for awhile.  Do it right after the ceremony.  You will be on cloud 9 and there is nothing more amazing then spending a little bit of time with just the two of you.  The rest of your night will be spent with your guests, so enjoy this alone time!

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)

    Haven't gotten them back yet!
    304image 156image 42image 106image RSVP Date October 29, 2010
  • edited July 2012

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready? A long time! We had two stylists from Smart & Chic, 9 ladies for hair and 8 ladies for makeup. It was about 5 1/2 hours.


    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind? We fell slightly behind, but it was due to the photographer wanting to take some more shorts of just my husband and myself - our WP was completely on time (but the boys were all late getting to the hotel to get ready, and to the rehearsal, etc...) We did run into some time crunch issues during family pictures.


    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on? I bought way too many programs! 240 guests do not need 200 programs. Oops!


    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed? I wish I would have verified that our reception venue wouldn't open the doors to guests until we were there (caused us to miss 50+ people in the receiving line). I worked REALLY hard on our favors (a recipe booklet with recipes named after classic movies - we had an old Hollywood theme, e.g., "His Girl Friday Flank Steak") but there were lots left over - I think they were easily overlooked in the sensory overload that was our reception.


    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"? Really, the reception venue (Varsity Theater) was the biggest hit. Not exactly a small detail. A number of people commented on our heritage table and how cool it was to see all of the grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. And the band. People LOVED the band. And the guest shuttles from the hotel to the church to the reception and back - people loved being able to have cocktails and not drive. And the late night buffet of hamburgers and Chicago-style hot dogs! (Hold on! Let me toot my own horn a bit more! )None of those things were really all that small...


    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all? I drank just the right amount - honestly, it was hard to tell if I was tipsy or not because of the emotional high of the day! I could not get enough water during the dance - I just wanted to dance, dance, dance! My husband had a little too much to drink. His college roommates were there and kept buying him shots, which he felt bad about refusing at $10/shot. So he had three, and when I caught wind of it, the roommates were taken to task. He wasn't hammered, but he was pretty "well oiled".


     7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites? I have absolutely no idea! I only remember about three of the songs - the rest were a blur! Again, we had a band, so almost every song led to a jammed dance floor.


    8. Best compliment you got from a guest? "This is the most well planned AND fun wedding I've ever been to. You completely spoiled your guests!" We heard lots of "this is the best wedding ever" from guests, which I honestly think gets said often and is sincerely felt (see all of the posts above), but the best compliment of all was from our photographer, who told me that if I ever get into the wedding planning business, he'll have lots of referrals for me. I feel vain for admitting that, but I worked so hard on planning - it was nice to hear.


    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day? N/A. We had a DOC and she was worth every single penny.


    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day? I can't pick just one! Seeing my husband for the first time. The pipe organ at my church thundering as I walked down the aisle and feeling happiness just filling me up and seeing Dave smiling and all of the emotions bubbling up and crying - that was pretty amazing. Spending an hour on the limo bus with our WP, being able to celebrate without being pulled in 20 directions. I think the best may have been the 30 mins or so we spent doing pictures, just the two of us. It was nice to escape the madness for a while.


    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money? One of the groomsmen had planned on bringing his volatile on-again/off-again girlfriend as a date. She tends to be inappropriate and I was afraid she'd make the WP uncomfortable. She wound up staying home and I had nothing to worry about. Waste of time/money - pew wreaths. They were a labor of love, and I was super happy with them, but I really think they weren't needed - my church is ornate enough, it was almost like gilding a lily.


    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception? At the end - 12:05. We jammed into seats on the packed shuttle bus.


    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided? Not answer my phone! We left the Wednesday after for our honeymoon, which was two weeks of decompressing. It was awesome.


     14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done? I really can't pick just one: VADA Photography, Lizie Anne Weddings, Luna Vinca, The Varsity Theater.


    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day? The dancing! We laugh every time we talk about it - we have so many stories and people had so much fun, it made the whole process of planning 1000% worth it.


    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night? A suite at the Westin Hotel in DT Mpls.


    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night? Bah ha ha! I slept in them and took them out the next morning. Maybe 5 minutes?


    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day? Things will totally go wrong, throughout the process and during the day of. When something is stressing you out, breathe deeply and ask yourself "will this matter in 10 years?" Just like in a relationship, in wedding planning, you have to learn to pick your battles.


     19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • maybe984maybe984 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready? I'd say about 3 hours, maybe? We had our rehearsal the morning of 10:00 am, after which my BMs went to a local hair salon for their hair, while my mom and I stayed at the venue and had our hair done by my mom's longtime stylist and friend who pulled double-duty as both guest and vendor at the wedding. The BMs came back at like 1:00 and had lots of time to finish their makeup and get dressed leisurely. I took, by far, the longest to get ready... and was done right before the 2:00 ceremony. However, since I was at the venue the entire time, that time frame also included last minute non-personal prep.

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind? Actually, we ended up running way early on everything ;-)

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on? I was actually super careful with my budget, so I don't regret a single purchase.

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed? Ugh, there were a few little things that really bothered me. I ran out of time to finish the programs, so I scrapped those completely and kind of wish I hadn't. I also told the bartender to come later than he probably should have, but luckily BIL's girlfriend stepped in. Also, and this is really tiny and nit-picky... I wish I had gotten the chance to look at our cupcake display before the reception. It got set up while I was having my hair and makeup done, and it didn't exactly look how I wanted. No one remembered to put the flowers on the top tier, so you could see the little cardboard thing under the mini-cake we had... and apparently I forgot to tell my DOC that I wanted different flavors on different tiers, instead of them all being mixed.

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"? DH and I made a custom playlist for the cocktail hour and dinner that our DJ was kind enough to play for us. It was a lot of indie stuff and mellow alt rock, and was much more US than Sinatra or classical. Even DH's septuagenarian grandparents commented on how much they loved the music! Also, I was really conscious to make sure all of the elements of my wedding meshed with eachother without seeming too 'theme-y' and people raved about that.

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all? I'd say exactly the right amount. I had a few glasses of wine and champagne, and about half of a beer... but was honestly too busy dancing and talking to even remember to over-drink! Same with DH.

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites? I can't remember in detail, but I know that one Enrique song was a big hit. Also, really anything classic-rock-ish that had a good beat. Bob Seger and Journey were huge.

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest? Everyone kept saying how cohesive and unique-but-not-unusual it was... which is exactly what I was going for. The compliments I found most meaningful were the ones I didn't expect from the person doing the complimenting... like when my DH's grandparents raved about our Bon Iver/David Gray/Third Eye Blind-heavy dinner music... or when his 21 year old guy cousin raved on to me for five minutes about how beautiful the venue was, and how he loved the 'homey vintage' feel to everything.

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day? I did have a DOC, but I still managed to do my fair share of worrying. If I hadn't had a DOC, I WOULD have had a nervous breadown. No lie.

     

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day? Would it be cheating to say "all of it"? One of my favorite little moments was after the ceremony, as we got in place for the receiving line. Our ceremony and reception were on the same site, and the ceremony took place on the front steps of the building... so we had to do this lap around the entire building to come in the back door and right back to where we came from and greet people as they came inside. I just remember running and holding hands and giggling. It was a giddy little moment and one of the few where it was just the two of us.

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money? I was TOTALLY spazzing about the timeline. In our planning process, I had been waffling between having the ceremony at 2, 2:30, or 3... since it was a Sunday, single-venue wedding... and we wanted an early supper but not weirdly early. I ended up putting 2pm on the invitations and then freaking out b/c it seemed too early. Then, we ended up finishing the formal photos way early... so the WP just joined the cocktail hour and I remember FREAKING out about the lag until dinner... even though not a SINGLE GUEST noticed or minded.

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception? Since it was a Sunday wedding, things started to quiet down at about 9:00 or 9:30... my parents took a bunch of family back to the hotel at about 10:00... but a small group stuck around until after 11:00. I think it was maybe 11:30 when we left..? We were pretty much the last people there.

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided? We spent some more time with family and out-of-town friends... got our puppy shipped off to spend the week with his new grandparents... and prepped for the honeymoon, which we left 2 days later.

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done? Oh, that's tricky. I'd have to say my florist, Intuitive Blooms. The bouquets and centerpieces were incredible. Our caterer, Brasa, was also amazing. Ooh! And my makeup artist! Okay... I'm stopping now.

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day? Just the overall vibe of the day, the venue was beautiful, the weather was perfect, the leaves were at fall peak... and there was just this feeling of love and comfort and closeness between everyone. I have this one perfect memory that sums it all up. It was at about sundown (which looked awesome with our venue's HUGE windows) and our DJ decided to do a slow dance--- Unchained Melody. Every single guest ended up on the dance floor... and I just remember looking around at who was dancing with who... and noticing all of these unbelievable pairs of people who had just met and were dancing like longtime friends. Despite my parents having been married for 35 years, most of their family had never met each other prior to my wedding... so when I saw my dad's brother Alex dancing with my mom's sister Norms, or my dad's cousin Catherine  twirling around the dance floor with my mom's brother Jimmy... it was just super touching.

     

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night? Rivertown Inn, an awesome B&B in Stillwater, literally a block from our venue. It was fantastic. We plan on going there for our anniversary every year if possible ;-)

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night? Oh dear, a REALLY long time. At least 15 minutes. I think I even found a few hidden ones the next morning.

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day? Don't try to be a bride and a traditional hostess at the same time. Hire people to do the dirty work... or delegate to willing friends and family. Oh... and don't forget to pee... even if your dress is a huge PITA. I completely forgot to use the restroom for about 13 hours... and it kinda hurt ;-)

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)


  • edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?

     3 hours, 11:30-2:30

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?

     Yep we stayed on track pretty much all day

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?


    I'm happy with what we spent on the wedding but probably could have spent a little less on the honeymoon.. Could have had a down payment on a house with what we blew on dinners and day trips!

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?

     I wish we had paid more attention to the escort cards.. We accidentally missed one person and I felt so awful! I didn't really put "tons of effort" into anything so I can't really comment on that lol..

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?

     Everyone loved the rose ceremony and the surprise roses we gave to our mothers

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?

     I would say just right. Sober when we needed to be but then we definitely partied it up at the reception!

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?

     My husband and his friends ROCKED OUT to "Freak on a Leash" it was hilaaarious!!! Big hit! And "Can't get enough" was a big one too

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?

    One doesn't really stand out, just the usuals people say to brides i.e. "You look gorgeous!" "I've never been to such a beautiful wedding!" etc.

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?

    My venue has a coordinator and he was AWESOME.

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day?

     The first look. Sharing the excitement and anticipation with my husband

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?

     I was pretty stressed about someone breaking the venue rules i.e. dancing on the fountain or walking around barefoot or breaking something... Everyone behaved themselves just fine though, I had nothing to worry about!

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?

     12:30 - the last shuttle!

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?

     Catch up on work!

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done

     Probably my photographer (Ben Berndt) or videographer (Jason Lorge). They were both so fun to have around & really captured our day so we can re-live it whenever we want!

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?

     One silly thing that sticks out.. When I was leaving home all the neighbor kids gathered round the car and were jumping and waving like I was a celebrity! It was really cute!

     

    Also the moment after we finished walking down the aisle together, looking at my husband and realizing we were finally MARRIED! We stepped outside together for a moment alone and it was so surreal and happy :)

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night?

     Same as our guests - the Country Inn & Suites down the road

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?

     I had two pins in my hair so it took about 3 seconds :)

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?

     Consciously decide to take in every moment. It goes by in the blink of an eye so you really have to make a decision to take it all in. And pee backwards on the toilet!

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)


  • edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?

     A few hours. I got up at 8 and was ready by noon. Don't cut yourself short, you don't want to feel rushed. Also, don't be responsible for getting anyone else ready or there on time. Its your day, don't put yourself in a position where you're going to be stressed or upset on purpose.

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?

    The timeline went pretty well. The photographer really kept things moving and made sure to get all the shots I wanted. He really ran the show before the ceremony.

    Everyone was pretty much on time. The key is having a rehearsal at the location of the wedding and driving to the reception hall afterwards. You've been to these places dozens of times, they have not.

    3. What’s somethingyou spent too much/too little money on?

     I wish I would have had a friend video tape the ceremony. I'm glad I didn't bust my budget on a videographer, but it would have been nice to have a video of our "I dos." The quality really doesn't mean as much as really seeing yourself and your hubby on that day.

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?

    I wish I would have paid more attention to enjoying the moment. You get so caught up in the schedule and worrying about what's next sometimes you forget to just enjoy each moment.

    I put a lot of time and effort into worrying about contingencies. I made up this big bag in case something ripped, fell, stained, etc. Let someone else worry about all that.


    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?

    Marriage is a big deal in my family and we set out the wedding photos for our parents and grandparents on the sign in/table card table. Everyone talked about how cool it was to see the old photos and celebrate marriage in such a simple way.

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?

     My FI drank just right. I'll give you a little secret someone gave me. If your worried about him drinking too much talk to him about it. Your getting married honey and he's your new life partner.

    As for me, wedding dresses are hard to pee in so I had one glass of wine and cut myself off. Believe you'll still have fun.

    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?

     Get a good DJ and remember that the guest list on the dance floor changes throughout the night. Hokey-Pokey at 9, baby got back at 11.

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?

     You look beautiful. You can't hear it enough.

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?

     DOC? I think that person was my mom for me. You need a go to person, but I wouldn't say you need a professional.

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day?

    My new father in laws speech welcoming me into the family. You can't plan the best moments, they just happen.

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?

     Look to question 4.

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?

     Around midnight.

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?

     Enjoyed time alone with my husband doing normal things. Watching tv, walking together, having dinner. I missed doing the everyday things without wedding chatter.

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done

     I really liked Weddings by Tess. Great alterations, I was totally confident my gown would fit great, look great and by ready on time.

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?

     look to 10.

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night?

     The St. Paul Hotel.

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?

     I didn't take them out on my wedding night, I was doing other things.

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?

     Breath, relax and enjoy. You've done all the planning. You've handed out all the schedules, timelines, maps, directions, etc. If anything goes wrong it's someone else's job to take care of it (and believe me they love you and want you to have the best day, they will)

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)
  • edited December 2011
    BEFORE1.      How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?
                     I had 5 bridesmaids, 1 Jr. bridesmaid, 2 flower girls, and the mother of the groom getting ready together.  We had 3 stylists working on us…first appointments were at 7:30 and we were all ready to go by 11 which is what we had planned.
     2.      Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?          I’d say we followed the timeline really well!   We were out of the house and on the way to the church by 11-1115 which is what I had planned.  Pics began around 12 and were wrapped up with plenty of time before the ceremony.  I don’t know if that would have been different had we been able to do the offsite outdoor pictures that I really wanted to do (couldn’t because of rain) but since we were at the church there was no traveling.  We stayed on time for everything , at least close enough.   3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?        I can’t think of one specific thing either way.  Maybe too little on flowers, only because I loved the ones we had so much and wished we had ordered more!  They were a great price and so beautiful!  
               
    4.       What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?                   Well I just realized we forgot to include our Jr. BM in the program!! Ugh, I feel absolutely terrible and do not know how we over looked this! I wish I would have put more effort into a timeline and plan for the reception.  It wasn’t too bad but I felt unorganized at times but I don’t think the guests knew any different.
     
     DURING5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?             We had a lot of comments on the cake/cupcakes/cakestand.  Also, everyone loved the little charm that I had added on my bouquet with a picture of my mom from her wedding day.  6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?           Just right I’d say.  We enjoyed ourselves and by the end of the night we had a buzz but we weren’t sloppy drunk or anything.  Just having a great time!   7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?           Yes, Journey “Don’t Stop Believing” I know people love it but literally guests screamed and cheered when it came on!    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?       As we were ushering guests out of the church the Pastor’s wife told me I had one of the most beautiful and flattering dresses that she’d ever seen.  It meant a lot coming from someone who probably sees a lot of weddings! 9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?         I had one and I am SO SO SO SO SO glad I did.  Maria helped in the morning set up everything at Stonebrooke with their staff making sure it was exactly how we wanted it.  When I saw the final result I was so impressed at their work as it looked a million times better than I had ever imagined.  She also handled questions through out the night from vendors and dealt with issues with the hotel for us.  I am so grateful to her for taking the burden of these things off me and our families so we could all enjoy our night.  She was fabulous!!  If you are considering having a DOC and have room in your budget… DO IT! AFTER10. What was the best part about your big day?           Just spending so much time with all the people I am closest with in my life.  I felt so loved by everyone and it really does make you feel special when you see all the people that make an effort to show up for you. 11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?         I was pretty worried about the whole ceremony.  I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to get the words out or I’d say the wrong thing.  I just imagined it being very scary!  Turns out it wasn’t.  The only part I felt nervous during was walking down the aisle.  I was shaking and couldn’t walk slow enough!  Once we got to the end though and I was with FI and facing the pastor I forgot about everyone there. 12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?       Around 1 am.  Waited FOREVER for the hotel “shuttle” (don’t EVEN get me started on that situation) and ended up getting in a mini van driven by H’s uncle, lol. 13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?         Started moving all of our stuff in to our new apartment and buying a couch with some of our wedding money!! 14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done          I LOVED our DOC Maria, she was absolutely fabulous.  Our photog was great to work with and our baker was amazing!  Stonebrooke was also an awesome venue.   15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?              Seeing Tory for the first time that day, the bell ringing outside the church right before I walked down the aisle (it was SO cool!) and Tory’s nephew’s sweet dance moves that were the highlight of the dance!  BONUS16. Where did you go for your wedding night?             At the Best Western that our block was at.   17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?           A few minutes, there was probably like 20 of them even after a bunch had fallen out through the night.   18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?             Don’t worry as much as you are.  Everyone there that day will do whatever they can to make you happy and make sure everything runs smoothly.  Especially vendors, they know how to handle any situation because they’ve done it before! 19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)

    We don't have them all back but from the one's I've seen....


     
    I wanted outside pics so bad before the ceremony but it was raining THE WHOLE TIME, so I was SO thrilled when we finally got some outdoor ones.

    And this one of me and my dad....






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    June 18, 2011 Anniversary LilySlim Weight loss tickers
  • MaggieandJakeMaggieandJake member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    BEFORE1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?I had hair and make up from 9am-11am.  We finished right on time.  My bridesmaids didn't really start getting ready until 10 or 10:30 and were at the church on time at 12:30. 2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?We got a little bit behind from the original timeline during picture taking, but ended up being on time for when we needed to be done with pics.  3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?I really don't have any regrets with what I did/didn't spend money on.  IF I had had a larger budget, I would have spent more on photography, but I'm happy with what we paid and what we got. 4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?Everything went perfectly and even better than I had imagined.  Everything I did/had at the wedding was noticed/commented on/necessary for my vision of the day, and anything that wasn't there, wasn't missed :) DURING5. What was a small detail from your wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?My DIY centerpieces.  Everyone LOVED them and I received numerous comments on them throughout the night. 6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?Just right.  He had fun, wasn't worried about anything but enjoying the night.  It was perfect.  I didn't really drink very much myself, but I was too busy having fun without it to even think about getting another drink. 7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?My parents coordinated a Flash Mob dance to ABBA's Dancing Queen was a definite hit! 8. Best compliment you got from a guest?  There are 3 ;)My Dad-"This is by far, the best party I have ever been too" <3Multiple people-"This whole thing is just amazing-all of the work you put into it, and it's just beautiful.  You really should consider becoming a wedding coordinator"My Cousin (who is a wedding coordinator)-"I want you to plan my wedding some day!" 9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?I didn't have a DOC (I was my own!) and I didn't have to worry about too much. I was mainly worried about staying on schedule during pictures and the first part of the reception. AFTER10. What was the best part about your big day?Seeing all of our friends and family having a great time.  That, and the feeling I felt as I walked down the aisle to my future husband the complete feeling of contentment after all of it was over and the true joy of being able to say that we're married. 11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?Nothing was a waste of time or money. I was pretty stressed about timing prior to the ceremony, but everything turned out more than ok.  12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?We shut the place down at 1am 13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?organize all of our stuff-our apartment is a wreck! 14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is doneIt's a toss up between our florist, Deven Nelson and hair/make up artist-Smart and Chic's Kira.  I was completely confident in their skills going into the big and they still went above and beyond to just wow me.   15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?The feeling of complete happiness and joy the entire day.  The love of our family and friends. BONUS16. Where did you go for your wedding night?We stayed in the honeymoon suite at the same hotel as our reception. 17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?About 5-10 minutes.  There were quite a few, but it didn't take too long. 18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day? 
    Just relax and enjoy the day!  Take time to greet and thank each of your guests.  Eat!  Take in each moment that you can and revel in the fact that you have a HUSBAND! 19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)
    "All that I'm after is a lifetime of laughter, as long as I'm laughing with you"
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  • newlyseliskinewlyseliski member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011

    BEFORE

    1. How long did it really take you and your bridesmaids to finish getting ready?

    2 hours with 3 stylists... 8:30am-10:30am.  I scheduled us to all arrive at 8:00am and that allowed for any latecomers! 

    2. Did your wedding party follow your timeline pretty well, or did your group end up falling behind?

    We stuck to our timeline pretty well since we allowed a lot of time for photos before the ceremony.  My husband's family was a bit difficult to track down, though.

    3. What’s something you spent too much/too little money on?
    Too much on the reception venue and food... too little on Day-of-coordination and video (aka, none at all!)

     

    4. What is one detail that you sort of overlooked that you wish you had paid more attention to? What is something that you put tons of effort into that ended up being mostly unnoticed?
    I didn't put enough time into behind-the-scenes planning and coordination, so a few things at the reception didn't work out well... but I was the only one who noticed.  I put too much time into a directions map that we didn't end up using in the invitation or for the guests at the wedding itself.

     

    DURING

    5. What was a small detail from you wedding that really had guests "oohing and ahhing"?  The flowers and table decor

     

    6. Did you or your FI drink too much/too little/just right/not at all?  He didn't drink at all and I only had a half glass of wine.


    7. Was there a piece of music that surprised you as a hit at the reception? What were the guest favorites?  The groomsmen surprised me with a serenade of "You've Lost that Loving Feeling"

     

    8. Best compliment you got from a guest?  They thought our ceremony was beautiful and were so comfortable at our wedding reception... loved everything about it!

     

    9. If you didn't have a DOC, did you have much to worry about that day?  I didn't have to worry about it the day of because I had delegated the work to some friends, but I went way too crazy the week of the wedding planning the set-up tasks for them and would rather have not imposed all that detail and work on wedding guests.  Get a DOC if you're a type-A, detail-oriented bride :)

     

    AFTER

    10. What was the best part about your big day?
    Sleeping with my new husband and seeing each other every day since!

     

    11. What was something you were really stressing out about but turned out to be not a big deal/totally fine?  What is something that ended up being a waste of time or money?  The little things that went wrong...

     

    12. What time did you end up leaving the reception?  11:30pm

     

    13. What is the most important/first thing you did/needed to do once all of the wedding craziness subsided?  We opened all the cards so we could take care of the money/cash/gift cards and keep them safe while we were on our honeymoon.

     

    14. Who was your favorite vendor now that the wedding is done?  Definitely our photographer, Ben Berndt!  He was awesome.

     

    15. What was one highlight from the big day that will remain in your memory every time you think back on your wedding day?  Saying my vows!  The most surreal and powerful experience ever.

     

    BONUS

    16. Where did you go for your wedding night?
    Hotel near the reception site... Plaza Ramada

     

    17. How long did it take you or your FI to get all of the pins out of your hair on the wedding night?  about 5-10 minutes?  There were over 30 of them!

     

    18. What is one piece of advice you would offer to a bride on her wedding day?  This day will be beautiful no matter what... but once you're married, it only gets better :) 

     

    19. Favorite picture from the day? (extra credit for PIP!)  the one in my siggy :)

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