Busy Bee

North Dakota Christmas To Do List:

• Celebrate Christmas and New Years with family and friends
• Meet with the reception venue for taste testing and consultation
• Meet with church wedding coordinator for consultation
• Meet with groom's dinner venue for taste testing (tentative)
• (Find) and meet with seamstress for initial gown fitting
• (Find) and meet with florist for consultation
• Attend Lee's friend's wedding and take notes

So much to do, and only one week to fit it all in!  Not to mention Lee will be taking his 2nd part of his dental boards during 2 days of that week.  Aaahhhh!

Random Inspiration Pics

Sadly, it has been a long time since I have blogged.  In fact, it has been quite awhile since I have even thought about wedding planning.  I have been too busy! 

Here are some inspiration photos I have run across in the past few weeks.

I love black table cloths.  

I'd like to make little plaques for our chairs.  Not only cute for the chairs, but cute picture props as well.

I think a chalkboard is a good way to announce important information.  However, I really like the framed information as well. 

It's difficult for me to picture and plan what the front of the church will feel like.  Both of the pictures have white flower arrangements that I love, but I picked out these pictures as inspiration for different reasons.  I like the feeling of decadence the first picture offers with the different textures and many luscious details.  I like the symmetry and simpleness of the second picture.  Mostly, I am in love with the large white flower arrangements on pedestals!  I don't think either picture captures anything I could do with the venue, but I like the pictures anyway. 

Thinking about the ceremony a bit more, I actually envision hundreds of candles at the front of the church.  :)  Candlelight wedding services (just like Christmas Eve!) are also in vogue right now. 

I'd like to have some decorations in the aisle, whether it's tissue pomeanders, candles, or petals.

Finally, I have a feeling I will fully embrace some of these DIY projects, like this one, once I have graduated in June!
 

New Developments

I wanted to let you know an important tidbit of information: Lee and I have picked a date!  We are planning on getting married July 14, 2012.  Mark your calendars! 

Lee and I have been working on our guest lists.  The wedding is going to be quite a bit bigger than I initially thought.  We are looking at having approximately 250 to 300 guests.  This eliminates a lot of different options I was considering for the venues.  Because of the planned size, we decided we will be getting married at Hope Covenant Church (Lee's church).  I am looking forward to figuring out how we are going to decorate the sanctuary.  :)

Merry Christmas, everyone! 

Update!

I've only been home for just over 24 hours, but wedding planning with my parents has already been happening.  Here's an update with some of the highlights:

The Touch of Magic in East Grand Forks (the venue which I indicated as my first choice for a wedding reception in a previous blog post) is closing at the end of 2011.  Looks like I won't be having my wedding reception there!  ***Sigh...***  Moving on to my second choices, I guess.

One of these second choices was the Hilton Garden Inn.  I called the Hilton today, and I found out they seat up to 200 people in their reception hall.  My mom and I went to visit with their event coordinator this afternoon.  After visiting with her about prices and options, my mom was absolutely sold on the venue.  I think the Hilton is a great venue too, so I will be scheduling a taste-testing of the food once Lee gets back into Grand Forks.  We'll look at the Hilton's reception hall again at that time and make our final decision!  Even though I can't have the reception at my favorite choice, I'm really happy with how things are working out with the Hilton.  I think it is meant to be!  After all, the Hilton is the place where Lee and I first met.

I also called the North Dakota Museum of Art (NDMA) today to check prices for the ceremony venue.  The NDMA charges TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS to rent the building for a wedding ceremony.  The price is absolutely disgusting, and definitely not within my budget constraints.  Also, policies at the NDMA do not allow wedding ceremonies to take place during museum hours.  Even if I could afford it, I don't think I would want an evening wedding.  It's time to start considering plan B for the ceremony venue, and I don't think the answer will come as easily as it did for the reception venue. 

Major point of dissension between me and my mom: photography.  Having a good (strike that, not just good, but talented) photographer is really important to me.  My mother disagrees.  She thinks one photo is just like the next photo and suggests I hire someone I know to take pictures.  I really don't feel comfortable hiring someone who is not a professional photographer.  I know photography can eat up a large portion of the budget.  However, I don't think I want to settle on this issue.  


Dress shopping is in the near future!

Fine Dining and Dancing

If you haven't read my previous post concerning where to have the ceremony, please look at the post below and read!

Also adding to the "where" factor: the reception venue. I feel this venue will be easier to determine once the ceremony venue has been decided. Here again are pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Touch of Magic

Pros: Beautiful venue, one of the most sought-after venues in Grand Forks, really tasty food, romantic atmosphere, feels intimate even though the venue can hold a large number of people, wood dance floor, buffet-style service
Cons: None that I can think of!

Ralph Englestad Arena

Pros: Beautiful venue with marble floors, unique
Cons: Large space for people to get spread out in, echoes because of marble floors

Hilton Garden Inn

Pros: A fun place to dance, place where Lee and I first met, intimate setting, decent food
Cons: Holds only ~100 people

Alerus Center Ballroom

Pros: Large enough for all guests, can be decorated really cute
Cons: Feels too large because of cavernous ceilings, have to pay for everything from the tablecloths and napkins to the pieces of the dance floor

North Dakota Museum of Art

Pros: Architecture of this building, can host dinners, built-in dance floor, balcony overlooking the main floor
Cons: May be too small (would have to check), museum's in-house catering service isn't very good, don't know what art would be on display

Where?

Where to get married? That will be a question Lee and I will need to answer soon.

I'll describe each of these pictures, then I'll lay out the pros and cons of each location.

Location 1: UND campus chapel - inside







Location 1: UND campus chapel - outside
















Location 2: Hope Evangelical Covenant Church - inside (at Becca's wedding!)













Location 3: UND North Dakota Museum of Art - outside











Location 3: UND North Dakota Museum of Art - inside view from balcony













Location 3: UND North Dakota Museum of Art - inside looking across the entire museum

























Location 4: Christ the King Free Lutheran Church - inside











Location 4: Christ the King Free Lutheran Church - inside





















Location 5: My farm





Pros/Cons

Location 1: UND campus chapel

Pros: Really beautiful inside and outside and located at our alma maters
Cons: Only holds ~100 people and no place to get ready inside the chapel

Location 2: Hope Evangelical Covenant Church

Pros: Holds as many guests as necessary, Lee's home church, and lots of decorations available from church for ceremony and reception use
Cons: Located in a mall, "stage" atmosphere, and may feel too big

Location 3: North Dakota Museum of Art

Pros: Beautiful location (inside and out!), located at our alma maters, balcony for great ceremony photos, and a really unique venue
Cons: May not be big enough to hold all guests (would need to research how many chairs could fit) and can't pick the art on display at the time of the wedding

Location 4: Christ the King Free Lutheran Church

Pros: My home church
Cons: Only holds ~100 people and is not necessarily the most beautiful venue

Location 5: My farm

Pros: My home where I grew up
Cons: I don't control the weather. Or the mosquitoes.