Flower girl dress, my purse, my Mom's purse: www.glamgal.com A
Ann is easy to work with, gets you stuff on time, Prices are very fair. I recommend looking at her site.
Ceremony Music- Janet King (harpist) B
She is great to work with. She learned a new song for me to walk down the aisle to. For those who say it doesn't matter who plays the music at your ceremony don't listen. If it matters to you, it will matter that day. The harp really added something for me. She is $400 for the mass and I felt worth the extra money we spent.
Dance Lessons; Victor Goldman Cooperative Partners (from this site) B+
Great to work with. Easy, no pressure. Our dance was not super complicated by any means but we had 5 one-hour lessons and practiced a bit at home. We were soooo happy we took the lessons. Scott and I even did a run though right before the reception began while everyone was eating at the cocktail hour. Call him, take a lesson and honestly, it is a nice way to spend time together.
While there is NO rating the value of friendship an extra special thanks goes to these people:
The week of putting together of the programs, candles and other stuff- my MOH Barbara, Cindy and Claud- A++++
Just when you think it will never get done- similar to a term paper you have to complete in 2 days while studying for finals- it all gets done. They cut ribbon, tied ribbon, folded, taped and ate ice cream with me. I needed the laughs and the break from the stressful stuff and got it. If you have 'projects' to complete ask some friends to help. It made a huge difference.
Picking up my cannolis from Alba's in Brooklyn for me, making sure I stayed sane for the last year and a half, e-mails throughout the day, designing everything, printing candle names on vellum at 1am a few days before my wedding and countless other stuff- SonicStef A++++
Hints, Vents, Advise, OMG can another thing go wrong this week:
The last 10 days before the wedding were totally crazy and I am an organized person. The limo company thing, my priest went to a new parish, Lynn couldn't make it. Honestly I thought I was going to be put away into a mental hospital. But with some supportive friends (you all included) and the fact that it was out of my hands I just tried to fix what I could, deal with what I couldn't fix and have a great time. In the end Scott and I had a great time. I still wish my original Priest could have said our mass, but the Pope was not taking my calls
![]()
The ceremony was still really nice. I made sure I was very focused on paying attention during the ceremony. I picked out each reading and each song for a reason. Scott and I really worked hard on making that the most important part of our day. Claud's reading was beautiful! We were not on the altar for more than 3 minutes when my best friend (Matron of Honor) knocked over the altar arrangement. It was very funny. Roy rushed in to fix it up (thanks for that), and she looked so embarrassed it was priceless. I thought we might never stop laughing about it. The harpist really added a special touch. The Priest used my programs to conduct the mass! That was a nice compliment. I have a template if anyone needs a full catholic mass template, but be warned my program was 20 pages. I included all of the readings and prayers.
We wish we had eaten dinner- but instead we danced more. We can eat dinner any night of the week, but you can only dance at your wedding once.
I am glad I cared about the small details. I think they matter. People notice. I had hotel gift bags for my guests when they check-in. They didn't cost me an arm and a leg- I put in bottled water, tik tacks, choclate, LI postcard, hard candy and a bag of chips. I made the children up their own bags full of coloring stuff, lots of fun candy, stickers, pencils, etc...I also had a coloring book waiting for my FG and RB in their seats at the Church to help keep them happy for the hour. And during the receiving line my FG was sitting on the floor coloring- I cannot wait to see those photos! The candles look pretty on the entereance table and on the guest's tables. Everyone thought the table name cards were a great idea. Scott designed each one using photos he took at Baseball parks around the US. Then we printed them on our photo printer. Kinkos charges about $8 to mount them to the foam core. We had 1 per table. They took time to do, but I am glad we did it. Start as many projects as early as you can. You will need the time closer to the wedding for last minute stuff and mishaps.
I was VERY calm the day of the wedding. I slept the night before with out any problems. Everyone was shocked at how calm I was while getting ready. There were a lot of people in the house so that was a bit of chaos but I knew in my heart I was marrying the right person so everything else was gravy. Yes I wanted it to go nicely, but in the end I wanted to marry Scott. I waited 32 years to get married and it was worth the wait.
We took photos before the ceremony since we wanted outdoor shots (daylight would be almost gone after the ceremony). It was just us, and the video/photographers. They set us up to see one another for the first time. It was a nice moment to share together, away from tons of people.
So the day goes by quickly, as EVEYONE tells you. It's true. Some of it feels like a dream, almost surreal. It is a lot of money for one day, and not everything is going to go perfectly but that is okay too. Enjoy your day, ask for help during the plans when you need it, take some breaks from the plans, see a movie with a friend when the pressure gets too much, take a few extra days from work to prepare, don't wait till the last month to get everything done, have people who love you surround you that day, kiss your new husband often and dance together instead of talking.
