still kickin'

So, I've been safely outside the bride blogosphere. It's nice out here. I encourage brides to remove themselves from other people's wedding plans for a while. Get some perspective. breathe.

My break was actually pretty busy with vendor appts and booking the photographer (yay!), florist (yay!) and dj (yay!). Yep, all done. I did wonder why I was spending a lot of time picking out a florist when in comparison, I spent one hour to pick out my dress. At first it seemed like I SHOULD agonize about what flowers and the aesthetic, and in the end, it mattered, but not as much as that click you have when you realize you can trust someone to do right by you. And do an awesome job.

We hired the first photographer, florist and dj that we met with. That said, we interviewed 6 photographers, 3 florists and by the time we got around to the dj, we were so tired of meeting with people that we just said f* it, let's trust our instincts and since he was in our price range, and all of his past customers *glowed* about him, we booked him.

We did seek out other customers' feedback on each of the vendors. That was key. Sending in deposits hurt (him more than me), but I guess we'll be paying out a lot more in the near future.

It's nice having this all done, so now we get to focus on the holidays.

Not Lazy At All

The part of me that isn't lazy is usually motivated by my frugal side. I can't bring myself to spend thousands of dollars on flowers that will die the next day. That said, I could bring myself to spend a few hundred and put them together myself. Several brides before me have done so and I think I could do a good job. I mean, dedicate some time the week of the wedding, even though everyone has warned me that this will be the busiest week of my life, visit the flower district in New York, buy some beautiful flowers and spend some time with them the day before the wedding.

My sister, and maid of honor, has taken a vigorous stance against this point of view and for some reason nothing I can say will dissuade her. She's a force, but I think I can do this.

What I will not attempt to do is the venue decor. That seems insurmountable to me in terms of logistics, especially because the venue won't let anyone set up until they are done with brunch service for the day, which will be when we are getting married.

I'm considering using the following vendors, if anyone knows anything about this/has experience in NYC, let me know!

Fisher & Page Ltd.
134 West 28th Street
New York, New York 10001
212-645-4106
www.fischerandpage.com

G. Page Wholesale Flowers
120 West 28th Street
New York, New York 10001
212-741-8929
www.gpage.com

I'm thinking of doing a test run this October to see what is in season and what I can get. There is nothing I love more than some ranunculus and peonies, but I don't think they go together. G. Page lists the flowers that were available the year before by week, which is a great resource. I've dabbled a bit in the ordering "Wedding Flowers in a Box", but the idea of being stuck with something the day before your wedding that might be blooming, might have wilted in the truck or might get lost just gives me anxiety. But it's a great idea!