And so it begins...

Today I received my first unsolicited call from a company entitled "Southern Bridal Registry." Apparently, because I attended the bridal show yesterday, I am entitled to win a threefold gift package of crystal champagne flutes and two all-inclusive vacations - one to a city in the U.S., and one to either Mexico, the Bahamas, or the Dominican Republic. That was some ticket I bought!

I'm pretty convinced this call wasn't a scam necessarily, but I am even more convinced that I want nothing to do with this company. Unfortunately, I will probably be receiving even more phone calls from them - and many others - but I would much rather pay for a nice, secure honeymoon than go on one of theirs anyway, or risk my champagne leaking through their shoddy glasses. If it was any other vacation, I might consider it, but my honeymoon? No thanks.

Here's to staying strong and learning to say no!

C & A

Nashville Bridal Show = CRAZINESS

Yesterday I went to the Nashville Bridal Show with my mom, and it was insane! I didn't know so many people even lived in Nashville, much less women with rings on their fingers. I got to wear a flashy pink "Bride!" sign around my neck - to my amusement and slight embarrassment - as I was approached by well-meaning vendors and had my mouth stuffed with cake bites. It was a bit overwhelming, to say the least, but pretty informative. And thankfully, a lot of the vendors offered discounts for bridal show attendants, which may prove to be useful. I don't know whether or not I will actually use any of the vendors, but it was still good to get an idea of price range and services. I came home with a bag full of brochures, contracts, and business cards, and immediately trimmed the pile by dumping all those which were over-budget or undesirable. No use in wasting my time, right?

I also talked to a sorority sister who was a September bride last year, and she offered me lots of advice on vendors. The more I talk to other brides, the more plausible everything seems. Everyone is on some sort of budget, after all, though you would never know that from the abundance of advertisements featuring "real brides" with flawless make-up, complicated hair-dos, ballroom gowns, diamond jewelry, and 3-carat rings either standing in the doorway of an ornate cathedral or sitting at a reception table with velvet tablecloths and centerpieces of long-stemmed roses. Right.

It's especially bad here in Franklin - one of the most affluent cities in the country. When reality sets in that this dream wedding just isn't possible, it can be disappointing, and it can make the planning process a little more stressful and a little less blissful than for those whose only limit is their imagination. But, whenever you do find that rare gem that is close to your dream for less than your dream budget, you feel even more accomplished. I WILL have a beautiful wedding, and I WILL do it on a budget. I'm already learning that attitude is everything.

I have an appointment tomorrow with Nashville City Club, and two appointments on Saturday at bridal stores - Faccio Bridal and David's Bridal. I'm planning on scheduling more appointments for later this week at a couple other venues. Hopefully the venue will be settled before long! I'm starting to get a little anxious, even though I've only been searching for about a week and a half.

So, followers - all 3 of you - look for updates this week!

C & A

Colors? Check! Venue? Still TBD...

Today my mom and I visited Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Belle Meade Plantation for possible reception sites, and to be honest, neither really lived up to my expectations. Cheekwood is very pretty (well, not so much in January), but it's also extremely pricey for being an older facility. The wedding coordinator was very helpful and upfront about everything, which I really appreciated, and she gave me a bridal magazine full of vendors in the middle Tennessee area, which is awesome. The main problem is that every single item - from chairs to silverware to lighting and even plants - is an additional fee on top of the rental fee, which gets very expensive when you add it all up. The options are wonderful if you have a bottomless budget, but even the bare minimum on everything was too much for us.

Belle Meade Plantation is quaint and charming, but a little too rustic for my tastes. I should have known that a glorified stable would be too country for me, but it looked really nice in the pictures. And I'm sure that when decorated, the facility looks lovely. But I just can't get over the barn feel... Not really what I'm after.

So I guess we've eliminated two from the list now, which is helpful. Today we also finalized the budget, so now I have a better idea of what to shoot for, and we started looking at dresses. :) Making progress! Tomorrow is the bridal show (yay!), then Tuesday I have an appointment with the Nashville City Club. More appointments will follow soon, I'm sure. I still definitely want to check out the Factory at Franklin, 3rd aVenue South, CJ's Off the Square, Traveler's Rest Plantation, and Riverwood Mansion.

If you have any suggested venues in the Nashville area, please comment!!

Final update for today: the wedding colors have been chosen!! After having an original palette in mind, second-guessing myself, and then tweaking the original option, I've come to a final decision on colors: black, white, and turquoise all over! The inspiration? Tiffany blue, appropriately, and the new black and white bridal bag I picked up today from David's Bridal. I put my turquoise wedding binder in it and voila! I found the color combination I had been searching for. :) Other combinations I had considered include: turquoise and brown (brown + black tuxedoes = mismatch), turquoise and pink (too beachy), purple and green (one word: Barney), and turquoise and purple (not amazing together). I'm happy with my choice, and I'm sure some of the others will show up in accent colors. :)

Stay posted for an update about the bridal show!

C & A

Place: TBD... Soon?

Before determining our official wedding "date," we of course want to have our venues lined up, which is my current project. So far, I've called about six venues (for both the ceremony and reception), and though only one person answered the phone yesterday, all my calls were returned today. After receiving several phone calls in a row this morning, I'm already a little overwhelmed! But in a good way... I'm actually enjoying all this, and I'm learning so much.

Today I also sent in three "request for information" forms for potential hotel venues, and there is still one place I need to contact, but it honestly intimidates me a little because it's so intense! The place is CJ's Off the Square in downtown Franklin, and their sole reason for existing seems to be for weddings - they literally do EVERYTHING. It's awesome, but a little scary, because I could easily see myself getting ripped off or having little to no say in the final outcome. It's worth a shot, though.

Obviously nothing is decided as of yet, but I definitely have my favorites out of the venues I've researched... The next step is to set up appointments at these places, which I've already started doing. I have a busy weekend ahead of me, actually, starting with an appointment tomorrow during the lunch hour at a country club, then two more appointments on Saturday, followed by the bridal show on Sunday. Whew!

Let's do this!

C & A

Bridal Show This Weekend!

Today I found out that there is going to be a bridal show in Nashville this weekend, so I went ahead and bought tickets for my mom and myself. :) It's my first bridal show, and I'm so excited!! I hope I get some really good ideas and find some potential vendors.

I first heard about the show through Facebook of all places, with one of those targeted ads (since all of mine are now about weddings and honeymoons). But I highly mistrust Facebook ads after being scammed by one of the companies, so I pretty much ignored it. Then in class today (last first day of class ever!), I sat next to an old friend who also happens to be engaged, ironically. We got to talking about wedding stuff, and she mentioned the bridal show. Once I heard it from her, I figured it was legitimate. I think I'm still not fully believing that all this is real, but I think it may hit me on Sunday at the show... I can't wait to start feeling like a real bride-to-be!

In other news, my awesome MOH (Krystal) came into town from Illinois yesterday to visit me and see the ring in person. :) We went out to dinner, and she gave me gifts and a card! The gifts were a wedding/budgeting guidebook that should prove to be very helpful, and fun little books for brides and grooms to quiz each other to see how well they know one another. Fun times ahead, and it's just the beginning!

If you happen to know of any good vendors in the Nashville/Franklin area (particularly wedding planners, photographers, caterers, DJs, florists, etc.), please comment with recommendations! I'll need all the help I can get!

I'll keep you posted on this weekend! ;)

God bless!

C & A