But to both of those people, I seem to be doing "OK" on this wedding stuff. The non-wedding people can't believe how much I have done, while the wedding people understand it sort of is necessary to book a reception hall, photographer, caterer, dress, DJ, and florist almost a year in advance.
We added those last few checks in the last few weekends with gas-guzzling trips to Rhode Island. First was the florist, Florals by Semia, in N. Providence. I tell Jeff that for every vendor I make the decision to visit, I've spent hours researching, sent a dozen emails or made a half-dozen phone calls. So when I make the decision to visit -- I'm pretty much decided on that person unless they really turn me off in the interview.
Well, that didn't happen with Semia. She's got a pretty fantastic reputation in RI (my date twin, high school buddy Sabrina is going with her as well). She helped me decide on my colors -- sage green and bright "Rhode Island" blue (her words) ... with touches of hot pink, like my bouquet.
So excited for this. At first, I had planned to use minimal flowers because I didn't see the sense in spending so much money on something that dies. But then my mom insisted ... and she made an offer I couldn't refuse. So we're going "big."
So far in this wedding process, I've had this "feeling" three times. A feeling that after I walk out of a meeting with a vendor, I feel perfectly satisfied about it, not second-guessing at all. Completely comfortable. I felt this way about our photographer. That's how I felt about the florist.
Moving on. My mom had recommended a DJ who DJ-ed a friend's daughter's wedding. She said he had everyone dancing, young and old -- which is of course what we want. So we met with him this past Saturday and he seemed very friendly. He also does uplighting in the room for cheap, so we might use that depending on how the budget shakes out. Done and done.
Finally, we met with a possible rehearsal dinner spot. Ever since I told Jeff's mom she was in charge of the rehearsal dinner (she didn't know the traditions and legitimately wanted to know what she was "supposed" to do), she has been a bit anxious about booking a place. I wasn't. There are a million restaurants in Newport, I was sure we'd find something, eventually. She still asked Jeff about it every time they spoke.
So I looked around .... I had decided pretty early on that I didn't want it to be a traditional rehearsal dinner in the sense that it was just the wedding party and parents in a sit-down meal. I wanted to change it to an appetizers and cocktails "Welcome Party" for all those same people, plus the out of town guests. See, Newport hotels have two-night minimums, which means that most likely, all out of towners will have to spend both Friday night and Saturday night in Newport. I wanted to make it "worth their while" by having something for them to do Friday as well.
But we had to work within the budget, using the same amount of money for more people. So I asked around -- and we found this great little place in Newport called "Pop -- Kitchen and Cocktails." I emailed back and forth with the owner a few times, and it seemed within our budget. Finally, we made a meeting with him to see the place.
From the outside, I was totally unimpressed, and worried that I'd kind of gotten my hopes up. However, on the inside, the restaurant/lounge was totally cool and hip-looking. There are both tables and couches (Play "Where's Schaible?" below). The owner explained what he could do for us (shut down the whole place for us for 2, 2 1/2 hours, let us plug in an iPod for music) and let us taste some of the food (mini burgers, scallops + bacon -- yum!). I think it's going to be fantastic. I'm almost as excited about the rehearsal dinner as I am about the wedding. I had that feeling again...
It's all coming together ...
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