At least write me back...

So.. I sent the owner of the place I'm getting married an email last night about the garden at our venue. It is now 1:30 and I haven't heard back from them. I know they open at 8 am. I am about to drive out there and get some better pictures. Maybe it will look better than I think. I doubt it. I think it looks horrible. It looks like my backyard. The rose garden being gone better be a temporary thing.

I am really mad that no one has bothered to return my email.

The flowers are gone!

I drove by my wedding venue today to show my friend Priscilla what it looked like..

and I am really appalled to see that they ripped the rose garden out and put in a plain ugly lawn.

WTF.

Before...



After...


My only question is why?!?? Its not very attractive. Now it looks more like my backyard. There isnt anything special about it. No roses. No flowers. Just grass. I am soo livid. I sent them an email asking them about the changes and if they are permanent. I'm hoping that this is just what they do in the winter. Would there be any reason to move the roses and put in grass for the winter?

I am hoping that they email me back ASAP and let me know because I hate it. I absolutely hate it. Why would we want to get married at a garden arch .. if there is NO garden. My fiance was like well maybe people can sit on the lawn now. The only problem with that is the background would be just the side of the barn. I wanted the rose garden backdrop.

Can they just up and change it without telling us?

Bridesmaid dresses .. check ... flower girl dress...check

Kerry drove down and went to breakfast with Aaron and I at UJs. She had gotten to stockton a little early, so she just met us there for breakfast. It wasn't planned or anything. After breakfast, we went back to my house and hung out for a little while because Rachel was running late. She called me when she barely had just gotten on 580.

When Rachel finally got into Tracy she called us and we headed down to meet her in Manteca. We met her at the nicest Starbucks that I have ever seen. It had really big couches and everything. I hope my store when it opens is that nice.

After our starbucks detour, Rachel went with us in Kerry's car to Modesto to David's Bridal. It didn't really take that long because we already knew what we wanted. It just took us awhile to find the right size. Rachel was excited because the first dress she thought she would need was way too big. Its just that David's Bridal is maybe one to two sizes off. A lot of the other brands are maybe two to four sizes off. So it took her 4 dresses to decide on a size. Kerry only took two dresses to decide on a size that fit her best.

We are princesses:

The other color that I considered:




With the shawls and flowers:




Rachel is a princess:


Me and Kerry


Rachel and Kerry


Back to the dressing room again...



Me and Rachel:




Plus Aaron and I found this dress on clearance and bought it for our flower girl:

It ties in the back.


The dress has silver sparkles all over it:

The dress is stretchy so it has a little room to grow if she does get bigger and the straps should be shortened but other than that it looks good.

Flowers for me :) <3

I love my valentine's day roses :)

They look pretty with my engagement ring... Don't you think?

Its 2 dozen roses and they came with the pretty red vase. :)

Photographer troubles

So I've been researching other photographers in the area and I've been really disappointed with the selection. Everyone's prices pretty much went up at the end of january and I'd be getting a lot less for the price I was willing to spend. I'm just so upset that stuff like this keeps happening. So I've been emailing people, getting quotes, prices etc. I've been getting back all these disappointing responses. A photographer should not call themselves budget friendly if their budget packages are over $2000, seriously. That is not budget friendly.

So while I was sitting here pretty much fuming over all the inconvenience that I emailed my photographer and expressed how disappointed and upset that I was that they bailed on me for pretty much no reason as their contract states that the only reason they would cancel would be emergencies etc. I felt like we had a verbal agreement because I was told that the date would be saved for me. I had told them that I had already had a problem with a caterer bailing on me and I wanted to make sure that it wasn't going to happen with them. She promised me that the date was mine. I did tell her that since my fiance was in Norway and that we couldnt give a desposit until he got back at the end of january and we were reimbursed for his over $15,000 trip (he was there for a month) from his company. So I told her we'd probably give a deposit around valentines day. She was fine with that. I was promised that they would save the date for my wedding. Well I kind of feel flat out lied to and I'm just so upset.

So I dont know if they would respond, but I did ask them to recommend people or at least try to help me find someone else that can give me the same package for the price. I doubt that will happen either.

le sigh...

Wedding planning is so frustrating. :(

Returned Check

So the photographer I just sent our deposit check to, Clark and Corona, decided to bail and sent my check back.

Basically she said that they decided to shoot someone else's wedding instead, they apologized, but since they hadn't cashed the check yet, they were under no obligation..

So yeah.

Now I need to find someone else.. now I have to start all over. great.

I have a maid of honor again.. plus one

When Maya quit, and I was sure she was not coming back. I asked Kerry, who I've known the longest to step into her shoes. She said with school and everything she might not be able to do all the planning without help. So I said that I knew she was busy, so I was thinking about asking Rachel to be Maid of Honor, so they could share the duties. I just wanted to make sure it was okay with her. I would have a Matron of Honor and a Maid of Honor.

She said that it was a perfect arrangement. I said that I just wanted to make sure she was okay with sharing duties before I asked Rachel.

So I asked Rachel when I got home and Rachel was excited but asked about Maya. I said that Maya wasn't going to do it so don't worry. She said, what if she changes her mind? I said then she can be a bridesmaid.. or I can have three. I'm not going to ask you to do something and then take it away just because someone else wants to do it again.

So now I have to happy and excited honored bridesmaids. I'm so pleased and happy. I am so thrilled. I really do hope Maya comes around, but I doubt even if she does, she'll want to be maid of honor again... and even if she does - she had her chance. I need some stability. :) Rachel was my very best friend in college and Kerry and I have been friends a long long time. I think they are perfect. :)

Bridal Show warning

Why you should NEVER give your phone number out at bridal shows - Reason #15161651335648996

I just got a call at 9:30 PM from a person wanting to know if I've bought my wedding invitations yet. I told them that I was in bed asleep and not to call again.

I'm not in bed, BUT I wanted them to feel bad. Seriously who calls that late?

I've received calls mostly starting around dinner until well 9:30 I guess. Don't people call during normal business hours. I am so not answering my phone again unless I recognize the number

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping Trip

On Saturday, we went dress shopping to look for bridesmaid dresses. By we.. I mean - Kerry, Rachel and my cousin Donna. Rachel decided not to stay closer to stockton and ended up driving up a different way. So she just met us in Sacramento at the first shop. Kerry lives in Sacramento so she just met us there. So Donna and I drove up. We didn't leave until closer to 9:15 and after a stop at Starbucks for some frappucinos.. I love love love my discount! :), we made our way to sacramento.

It was kind of cloudy, but it was pretty clear all the way up. We made it there about 10:10. Rachel actually beat us from the bay area! Wtf.. lol.

So I went around and started grabbing dresses and I got Rachel and Donna to start trying stuff on. I called Kerry when we reached Elk Grove and she said she'd meet us there. She was a little late and we had a pile of dresses that the other girls had tried on but either couldn't really tell because the size was really small, or were way too small to try on to begin with.

Rachel is happy to be trying on dresses...


Some dresses that were nice, but for one reason or another they were cut out - like too low in front, too low in back etc...


The Vera Wang dresses... ahh to dream. Actually I didn't like them that much. The light gold dress looks like a nightie and the lavender one had a black elastic strap on the back of the dress... wtf?


The winners from this store:


I think either the blue one or the gold one were the best. They looked good on all:
#1

#2


After this store, we went to lunch at Ernestos.
This is the only group picture I have.. its blurry :(

So I took a picture outside.. I told them to pretend it wasn't freezing.


Rachel had to leave early, so she left after lunch.
After we went to a nearby store to look at more dresses. We didn't see anything we liked.. BUT we did find some joke dresses to send my sister.

and the Ladybug and Neon dress:


We went to starbucks after this and Kerry got a chai latte, we got waters. Then we went to David's Bridal and tried on some dresses there. We got there almost exactly at 4. I had told Chrissie to bring Elizabeth to try on flower girl dresses.. but she never showed. Kerry called her and she said she forgot.

Here are the dresses we liked at Davids Bridal:
#3

#4

#5

#6

I personally think that if Rachel and Kerry try on dress #6 and they like it, thats probably what we'll get. Kerry was tired and didn't want to try on one more dress. She said she'd go back next weekend and try it on. I sent Rachel pictures and I want her to go try it on. I like the color in the photos, but its a little darker in person.

So yay.. for being done with dress shopping.. kind of. :) Now I have to make sure everyone buys it. Right now its on sale for $140 from $170. Plus it comes with a matching shawl and optional spaghetti straps. So people could add straps if they wanted and the people that want to cover their arms can with the shawl.. so its kind of perfect. :) That way people won't have to buy a shawl if they do want it.

Maid of honor...

So I officially do not have a maid of honor as of today.

Maya quit.

I sent her an email a few days ago, asking her if she still wanted to be in the wedding because if she didn't have the time, she could either 1. be a bridesmaid or 2. just come as a guest. I basically laid my feeling out saying that her complaining about the dresses and everything was starting to make me feel bad. I didnt think I was being demanding by asking her to come once in awhile to do stuff. That I understood she was busy and thats why I've been trying to send her invites and notices waaay in advance. I gave her the option of leaving early like my friend Rachel is doing. Plus I basically told her I didnt want to hear her complain about any of my decisions anymore because it was hurting my feelings. I never complain about any of her choices and I think she needs to give me the same respect.

So she responded to my email by calling me selfish and spoiled. Saying that she has "real things" to worry about and that she was just being honest about my choices and none of it would be what "she would do". That I need to stop being so demanding of my bridesmaids or I will "have no friends left" and she doesn't want to come as a bridesmaid and she doesn't know if she even wants to be a guest either.

So now I dont know what to do.