To Be OR Not To Be (Traditional)?

I have recently been browsing the internet for photo ideas to give our photographer.  After looking at hundreds of photos I have caught myself falling in love with a variety of "First Look" photos.  For those of you who don't know what the "First Look" is I will tell you. Typically, what the "First Look" entails is the bride and groom decide to do photos before the ceremony usually due to time crunches in your wedding timeline.  The groom usually is pictured facing away from the bride with the bride behind him and then he turns around to see the bride and BOOM you have some beautiful and emotional photos of the bride and groom.

I like the idea of this because the pictures will look amazing and because you get a little time to talk as soon as you see each other and take in all the emotions that you are feeling plus you are get an intimate and private moment with your future spouse that only you two get to share.  This is something you don't usually get when you first see each other after walking down the isle and meeting at the altar (or in my case, home plate).  I know this is completely non-traditional and for many they think it will be bad luck because the bride and groom are seeing each other before the wedding.  I am very torn on this subject.  I would love to know what you all think.  If you did a "First Look" did you regret it at all?  If you didn't do one do you wish you did?

Here are some of the photos that have caught my eye.  This website has a great set of "First Look" photos as well. http://www.theweddingcentral.com/what-is-a-first-look-wedding-photography/

Photos courtesy of:

http://www.eventstoatdc.com/tag/first-look/

http://everylastdetailblog.com/2010/03/04/thursday-tips-consider-a-first-look/

http://taragettingmarried.blogspot.com/2011/05/first-look.html

http://beccadilley.com/blog/2010/07/06/setting-up-a-first-look-for-your-wedding-adrianne-ian/

http://brushfirephotography.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/26/consider-a-first-look-wedding-photography/

What a Successful Weekend of Crossing Off the Wedding To-Do List!!

As I mentioned this weekend was filled with getting some major wedding planning out of the way.  Danny came home and we got all kinds of things booked up and organized for the wedding.  

The first stop on Saturday (of course after watching an awesome UK win against Alabama) was our rehearsal dinner location.  Sammy's used to be a restaurant located in The Flats area of downtown Cleveland.  Now they are exclusively a catering company with the ability to still use the restaurant for different events.  The room that we will have has a nice view of the Cuyahoga River (yes that is the river that caught fire...twice).  I feel like it's the perfect size and it is very cozy and intimate.  Danny and his family did a great job at selecting the location.  We went over the contract, put down a deposit, and talked about the menu and floor plan.  

 Pictures from the website

 One of the views 

The table settings with a look at the view in the background...lovely Cleveland scenery I know...if only it wasn't so grey here!

After our successful trip to Sammy's we headed over to the ballpark and met with our photographer and event coordinator.  Sadly, since we got about 4 inches of snow this Friday, the field was covered in snow and because they were deconstructing the Snow Days slides and ice rink, we were unable to get a tour of the field and dugout suites.  We stayed in the Terrace Club (the reception location) and went over a time line and menu for the day.  Our photographer was able to get an idea of the area and came up with a few ideas for photos.  I am really excited about some of the ideas he came up with. 

This is pretty much what the field looked like that day but it was covered in real snow and the ice rink was totally taken apart.  

The last time Danny and I were at the field with our coordinator I didn't really notice how nice the dinner location is.  I knew it had an awesome view of the field but it is nice because there is a lounge area for all of our guests and it is nicely lit.  We went over a few more details about the day and then we were done.  

Then it was off to one of the hotels nearby to get an idea of how they block out their rooms for weddings.  Unfortunately, we didn't really get that all figured out since the person in charge wasn't there BUT they did take the time to explain it to us a little bit.  Plus, we got an idea of what the hotel looked like, where everyone could park, etc.

After our busy day downtown we went over to Michael Symon's restaurant Lolita's for an early b-day dinner since Danny can't make it home next weekend.  We went over some ideas for favors for the guests and talked about other planning we need to get done.  It was difficult to talk about the wedding details though because our meal was DELICIOUS!  To all of my guests that will be coming from out of town and may be looking for a place to go to dinner that is about 5-10 minutes from downtown go to Lolita's you will not be let down!  

Now back to wedding planning details after my little commercial for another Food Network chef's restaurant...I think we are going to take a little break since so much is done.  All the vendors are booked except for the baker like I said in the last post.  I think we may start working on our invitations and the wording.  Danny has been appointed by me to look into blocking out hotel rooms, since I think he does a good job with talking to vendors and things like that.  Other than that I think I am just going to be looking all over Pinterest for inspiration for favors, centerpieces, and other details.  If you see any cute little things please let me know!!  And if you have any tips on decorating, photo ideas, selecting favors, blocking out rooms, or whatever please share!  

Photos courtesy of:

http://www.sammys.com/flats.shtml

http://www.clevelandseniors.com/entertainment/snolympics-2010.htm

I Finally Stopped Being Lazy and Over Analyzing!!

Today I finally decided to drop off deposits for my florist and photographer!  Both are booked, contracts are signed, and ready to go!  I am so glad to get that out of the way.  I honestly don't know why I waited so long to do that but I kept thinking I would look at more vendors even though I knew that I chose the right ones for us.

This week is FILLED with wedding planning.  Besides getting two major vendors booked we are meeting with our wedding coordinator and photographer on Saturday to tour the field, set up a timeline for the big day, and to get any questions answered about the venue.  On top of that we are putting down the deposit for our rehearsal dinner location.  Danny has been on a roll this month in finding where the rehearsal dinner will be.  He looked at all kinds of places all while booking up our honeymoon!  After all that we are going to try and get some information on booking some hotel rooms for our out of town guests too!  It's crazy how much goes on during the weekends when Danny comes to Cleveland.

Our honeymoon is going to be in San Francisco/Inverness (Point Reyes)/Napa Valley, CA.  We are both super excited about it!  We are staying at a cute little cottage in Inverness.  Then we are going to drive over to San Fran a few days to check out the different sites and catch a Giants game!!  One of the things I am most excited for is going over to Napa to eat at Bottega which is Michael Chiarello's restaurant.  I am a Food Network/Travel Channel junkie and the fact that we are going to a Food Network chef's (who was on The Next Iron Chef, Super Chefs) restaurant makes me soo happy!  The way we usually map out places to go and eat is based off which places we have seen on Food Network and Travel Channel.  We may even try to go to Citizen Cake which is Elizabeth Falkner's ice cream parlor/restaurant (since she was also on The Next Iron Chef, Super Chefs)...I know I'm a total nerd.  I cannot wait for our trip thought it's going to be fun!

 Napa

 Point Reyes/ Inverness

San Fran

 Bottega

 Citizen Cake!!! I am dying to go there!  

The rest of the planning seems to be going well.  I am pretty sure we decided on a baker we are going to wait a few months before we book them up and sign a contract.  I love going on theknot.com and crossing off items on my checklist.  Apparently there are still 117 more things I need to do...CRAZY!  I feel like I can take a breather after this weekend because we have our major vendors booked up finally.  I can take the time to figure out the little details now like what kind of favors to give the guests.  The little details are going to be exciting to plan out because that's what will make the wedding feel more personal and fun.  I'll keep everyone updated on what happens Saturday especially if anything exciting happens!