Well hello, Mibba!
I had to get this out somewhere, since I feel a lot better when my thoughts are written out! Plus I feel like I am driving my sisters up the wall with talking about wedding stuff... but I can't help it! It's always on my mind! So now I will release all my thoughts and stress onto you!
Let me start from the beginning, my friend.
In the year of 2007, on October 24th, I started dating my now fiancé, Nicholas Walker. We were young, and most probably infatuated rather than in love (as most kids are when they do crazy things), and in January 2009 he asked me to marry him.
It was all very sweet. We had a picnic at a nearby lake, and I knew what was happening because I found the ring about a week before. (He left it out in the open like a fool.) But of course we weren’t nearly ready to have a wedding. We were 18, with little income, and only ourselves to rely on to pay for it.
So I set a date. The 25th of October 2014. It would be 7 years after we started seeing each other, and I consider 7 to be a lucky number. So here we are in 2014. The long awaited year that I thought would never come. To be honest, I’m glad we waited so long. A lot has happened and changed in the time that I have been with Nic, but I know one thing. We aren’t infatuated anymore. We really are in love.
So wedding planning has been mostly fun. Since the engagement was so long ago, I’ve pretty much been planning it since the beginning. Strange thing though, that no matter how much time I had, it was all completely useless. As I said, a lot changes, and unfortunately so has my taste. So here I am, with all my ideas in my wedding idea book, and I don’t like it anymore. I’m back to square one.
I’ve now got a completely different idea in mind for my gown, as well as for the bridesmaids. (Which we will be shopping for this Saturday.) My chosen colour is orange. No, not traffic cone orange. SUNSET ORANGE! But I’m liking the idea of having the bridesmaids wear a beige lace dress and orange shoes and bouquets. I think my three sisters, (bridesmaids) will appreciate it since they were a little concerned about the orange. And rather than going for a princess style dress, I am in LOVE with the fit n flare covered in lace. I’m so excited!
So I’ve booked the venue, which will be in a rainforest retreat, and though it is naturally beautiful, I still have plans to accentuate that beauty. I have vines and orange roses, gerberas and dahlias in mind. Plus of course warm globes over top. I’m trying not to sway towards any white. I have hired timber chairs to avoid chair covers, and will be buying a beige tablecloth to avoid white.
I’ve also booked the celebrant who is a very nice lady, and also booked the musician for the ceremony. She is lovely as well and plays the harp as if she were born connected to it. I’m in love with her music. So beautiful. And so super helpful, because I only really decided on the song that I would walk down the aisle.
I’m now in the search for a photographer and am stuck between two. I have had meetings with both of them, and they’re so lovely. Only problem is the obvious difference between the two.
- Photographer 1 – Is super popular (her brides often showing in magazines) and is sitting at $7,400 & offers:
o 1 Photographer for coverage from the bride getting ready through to the end of reception.
o A photobooth for the reception so that guests can take some selfies
o A USB of all the images on the day (approximately 3000 photos because they go nuts) + all the photos from the photobooth
o A 12” x 17” album with an acrylic cover and 30 sides (she usually designs these to hold approximately 90 of the photos taken, all retouched) + a handmade box for it to be protected for all of time
o 2 parent albums
- Photographer 2 – Is $5000 & offers:
o 2 Photographers for coverage from the bride getting ready through to the end of reception.
o A USB of all the images on the day. (I asked her how many and she didn’t give me an approximation)
o A hard cover album with 15 sides (size of album not determined) and opportunity to buy extra sides if required
o 3 Videographers
o A DVD containing the highlight reel of video that approximately lasts 15 minutes. Also the ceremony, first dance, and speeches are included but not touched like the highlight reel is.
You can see my dilemma. Both offer amazing packages. I really like the style that Photographer 1 has. She does such beautiful images that are so flawlessly natural and happy (probably because her weekday job is a fashion photographer). I also like the albums she offers and the fact that there are parent albums. I want to give both sets of parents a copy. The photobooth is a great idea as well. And the amount of photos she takes is crazy! On the other hand, Photographer 2 is relatively cheaper and there are 2 photographers which is great for angles and 3 videographers. I wasn’t keen on her vagueness on how many photos she takes, or her album description. I am still waiting for her to send me pictures of the album and a list on the costs of extras. Also her pictures are fresh and natural as well as she does a photo journalistic look, but she doesn’t quite finish them the way Photographer 1 does.
Basically this falls under the price vs quality category. And I’m stuck.
If anyone has read this far, I'll give away a free surprise for those who guess correctly on which Photographer we end up choosing. Decision will be made this weekend. And if you manage to convince me which Photographer to use, I'll give an EXTRA surprise.
*Just note: my surprise will most like consist of story rec and comments.
Anyway, onto the flowers. I’ve decided to go with real touch rather than real. At first I was sceptical. I thought they would feel stupid, but after going to an expo I realised how amazing they are! And much cheaper than real! It also comes in handy that I can collect them well before the wedding day! So I’m definitely going with orange bouquets. Roses, gerberas and dahlias in mine, only roses for the bridesmaids. I’ve also got little hanging jars to be filled with flowers and hung on chairs at the ceremony. I am now deciding on the reception. I want it FLORAL. Like lots of flowers on the trees and lanterns. And vines everywhere. It’ll look magnificent. Probs is, that real touch aren’t that cheap. So I’m checking out how lame silk is. (I’ve purchased a sample to help me decide.) Though Nic did say I had free reign over $4000 for flowers. I think he’s crazy. But I won’t lie and say the possibilities aren’t tempting.
So that’s all for today. I’ve written a bit and I’ll probably be back tomorrow to discuss the engagement party and the house.
So excited!
Love
Karina
Not registered?
Create an account