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Even though it hasn't been too much work, our rehearsal dinner venue search has been a bit of a long one (at least compared to most of the other wedding decisions). The future mister and I started looking over the summer. Well, at that point we were certain we wanted to have it at our favorite restaurant. We met with them to discuss logistics only to sadly realize it wasn't in the cards (read: insane prices and no flexibility). Many months have gone by without any decisions being made, so over the holidays we decided it was high time to start searching again. The future mister contacted another restaurant a few weeks ago to find out that they're already booked for our date.
You know how they say that everything happens for a reason, right? So true. This past weekend, my future in-laws were in town to finally nail down a venue. We had dinner set up on Friday night at a quaint Italian restaurant downtown and then Saturday lunch at a local bakery/cafe with the perfect outdoor patio. Friday night's dinner was soooo good and everyone was so impressed, that lunch on Saturday ended up being a mere formality.
Our rehearsal dinner will be taking place at La Dolce Vita. I love this place for so many reasons.
1. Authentic Italian food - In college, I studied abroad in Italy for four amazing months. Real (as opposed to Americanized) Italian food has a special place in my heart stomach. And the owner of the restaurant is Italian, so big plus there.
2. Intimate setting - Our RD is only for about 30 people, but the restaurant is on the smaller side so we'll be renting the entire space out for the evening. One of the other options we discussed with the owner was putting dividers up...but that still wouldn't give us the privacy we want. Now we can catch up, toast, show our slideshow, etc. all without having to talk over or disturb other restaurant patrons.
3. Family style - Our FIVE course Italian feast will consist of an appetizer, mixed greens and caesar salads, two or three pasta dishes, one or two meat/entree dishes, and one dessert - all served family style. At first, the future mister and I really wanted a plated, served dinner (since the wedding will be a cocktail buffet). But after thinking about it, family style is sooo much better! Now no one has to worry about ordering the wrong dish and/or wanting what someone else has - it's all up for grabs!
4. Menu flexibility - Right now the restaurant is using their Fall/Winter menu, so what we tasted on Friday won't necessarily be what's in season come May. The owner basically said we can do whatever we want. We can choose our menu now, wait until March/April, or even request special dishes. And on the night of the RD he can make special plates for our ring bearer and flower girl, as well as the future mister's grandfather who doesn't like/can't eat dishes with a lot of Italian spices.
I could go on (and on), but you get the drift. How did you choose your rehearsal dinner venue?
We have transportation! This has been the BIGGEST headache of wedding planning, thus far, so I'm glad that it has finally been put to rest. Back in the fall I contacted a few companies and the best option turned out to be a company that rents vintage trolleys. Perfect for the type of wedding we're planning! When I asked to sign a contract and place a deposit, however, they told me no because they were redoing their pricing structure after the new year. They said they would hold the date for me and would contact me in January.
Well January came and I didn't feel like waiting so I contacted them. Long story short, after a few emails back and forth, I was told that they were already booked for my date. WHAT?!!!
Luckily I have an amazing fiance who listened to me rant when I called him from work with steam shooting out of my ears. I was able to get it all out of my system so I could respond diplomatically. The gist of what happened is that another bride inquired before me about using one trolley. Then I inquired about the use of two trolleys. They have three, so it didn't occur to them to tell me that another bride had also reserved the date. Well, when they contacted her after January, she wanted all three. This bride's wedding is, thankfully, in the same town. So a solution was worked out where we can both have the number of trolleys we want at the times we want. Phew! Now, do you want to see what our guests will be riding in?
Did you provide transportation for your guests?
Sorry for the long hiatus! Hope you all had a fabulous holiday. The future mister and I got back in town right after New Years and I've been a girl on a mission. Have I been asleep for the past three months??! Because, all of a sudden, it seems like I just woke up to discover there are less than five months until our wedding. Holy crap!
It's been such a long engagement - which I initially thought would be a great thing. I've realized, though, that the extra time wasn't as helpful as it seemed. It was a lot of waiting, waiting, waiting and then BAM! - time to hurry up and get the rest accomplished. There are only certain things that you can do so early in advance. I wrote out a (very) rough list of all that has yet to be done (rough because I'm sure I'm forgetting a TON of little things) and afterward felt like throwing up. How did this happen? I had a long engagement! I was on top of things! Ha, wedding you fooled me!
Anyone else feel like this? At what point in the planning process did it hit you?
It started a few years ago. At work. It was love at first sight. Google Docs, oh how I love you.
I know I'm probably not the first to gush about the amazingness of Google Docs. Those of you who use it know what I'm talking about. And those of you who still email documents to yourself or carry around flash drives or external hard drives need to get with the program. I cross my heart, it's the best thing since sliced bread - especially when it comes to wedding planning!
(click all screenshots to enlarge)
Keeps me organized
Works just like Microsoft Office
I can upload documents and files not created in Google Docs (i.e. all my vendor contracts)
All of my documents are easily accessible as long as I have the Internet
I can share my documents or folders with other people
Cons:
Unfortunately, other than my dad and the future mister, most of our family members are not computer savvy enough (or willing to learn) to use the collaboration feature
My favorite use so far has been with the guest list. The last few weeks we have been in the process of gathering addresses. So as soon as we get one, I can pop it into my spreadsheet whether I'm at work, on my desktop computer in my home office, or on the future mister's laptop while sitting in the living room. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.
Another great thing about Google Docs? TEMPLATES! Budget spreadsheets, to-do lists, calendars, resumes, photo albums...
and wedding planning! Last spring, I believe, Google Docs teamed up with Style Me Pretty to roll out various types of wedding templates - budget, guest list, schedule, to-do list, seating chart, music list, etc. Or you can have them all in one document and download the All-in-One Wedding Planner, which is what I did.
The budget spreadsheets are pretty awesome because they automatically calculate everything for you. I mostly use it to keep track of vendors, though. For instance, when I was researching DOCs, the spreadsheet allowed me to keep track of each company, their contact information, price, notes, and I also added a column to indicate when I contacted each person. I plan on doing the same for a make-up artist/hair stylist and any other vendors I don't have booked yet.
My only gripe, which isn't really a gripe at all, is with the guest list spreadsheet. I chose to create my own spreadsheet so I could set it up properly for mail merge (more on that later). The bottom line is that I Love Google Docs. And I promise that they didn't pay me to say that.
Do you share my love affair with Google Docs? How did you stay organized during your planning?
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