Wedding shopping.. because no one calls me back

A not so successful day of wedding planning..

So while I was out, I figured I would just stop by a few vendors that we need - like florists and caterers.

The first place I stopped by - Papapavlo's Bistro was able to give me a food list - but not prices. Apparently I have to call back and try to catch the owner when he is in. This wasn't even really one of my choices, considering the poor service we've received when visiting the restaurant. We've always gone for lunch and have been left waiting there for about an hour (in an empty restaurant) waiting for food and just being given pita bread (good pita bread.. but who wants to fill up on bread with lunch coming?)... However, I was nearby (2 doors down at a different restaurant) and curious to see how much it was and what the prices were. Its also on my venue's recommended vendor place. So that must mean that they have been pretty good service wise for them to be kept. Anyways, I probably won't call, they didn't seem to be too informative and it took two people to even come out and give me a brochure.

The second place I stopped by was Bud's Seafood - also on my venue's recommended list. We've even there and received great service. The food is yummy. I talked to the owner briefly previously but that was before I knew a date, time, place and what we would need. Now that I know, i want to go into more specifics. They were really nice and said that he wasn't in, but he would call first thing in the morning to set up an appointment. I think this might be our top place. They don't really cater the seafood, but they do beef and chicken like all the other places, except they bring grills and cook it onsite. Not so bbq-ish, but more like a tableside type thing. It sounded good, and I'd like to see pictures etc.

Next I decided to stop by a baker that I heard a horror story about, but I thought I'd just stop by and look around. It is called Bella Baker. Well let me just say that the shop that has had the name on it for a long time and it has the name on the marquee on the street and everything.. just has a big sign on the window that says "coming soon!".. Umm.. its been up there for at least 6 months - maybe more. Plus they were just at a bridal show we went to and they were advertising that as their address. So I was a little perplexed, I poked my head in (the door was open) to see empty bakery displays, a table set up in the front and a pretty vacant place. I didn't really feel welcome to walk in, so I left. Completely weird and if I was already kind of uneasy about them, now I'm really uneasy about them. I doubt this will be the place we go to. I especially don't really appreciate places that won't at least attempt to resolve an issue, and I know it came up with someone else that they were kind of rude once a problem arose.

Next I stopped by a florist and was told I could look through a book and was given a price sheet. No one could answer a few questions because that would require a consultant and the consultant fee was $25. The $25 is waived however if we choose to book with them...that day. I don't know if that is normal or not. The prices seemed reasonable other than the consultant fee. While I was sitting there looking through books, a girl came by and was nice enough to give me an estimate for how much an arch decoration would be.

Next I stopped by another florist and was told I needed an appointment. The next appointment they had available was in 2 months!! What? So I told them that even though my wedding was next year, that I wanted to get as much done before school starts in September and that it would be really hard for me to come in past September until December break. So they were able to move it up to end of August. I think the problem was that they knew my wedding was next year and thought they could push me back and I wouldn't care. I looked through a couple of books. It was a little annoyed that they had open appointments but decided that I wasn't that important and because I was so far off, that they could just do it whenever. Not sure I want to do business with someone like that either. We've used them before and have been pretty satisfied but that was just for valentine's flowers and such.

So I was striking out big time with florists, So I stopped by another florist and the guy behind the counter decided my name was Sweetie... Every other word was sweetie. He was booked up solid til a few weekends from now, but he was really nice and helpful. He made me the first available appointment. So he might be a possibility.

I stopped by the salon where I get my color done. I haven't been in awhile because I decided to dye my hair back to my natural color. So the girl I normally go to wasn't there, so I said I'd call her on her cell phone. The girl at the counter was able to give me some basic pricing - $45-55 for a bridal hairstyle. Which is what I figured it would be.

So that was my day of wedding shopping.. fun fun.