New Readers?

From what I hear, the save the dates have started making their way into our guests' mailboxes. If you couldn't tell, I did make them. Archiver's makes it easy. I'm curious to know if anyone has gone to our website and even possibly made it to my blog. I worked really hard to get the website all ready for today's "launch." I didn't want people to get the save the dates, go to look at our website and see an unfinished product. As for my blog, you can always comment on posts, you know. For all I know, no one has read a word of this blog but me. I haven't done a whole lot of internet advertising for it, but it's out there.

My adorable bridesmaids have been conversing online via email the last couple of days. I just love that they're doing that. Maybe I should start a wedding Ning. It's a thought. Could be fun. Something to keep around and look back on. I think I will, actually. Some of you non-techies are reading this with raised eyebrows, I'm sure. And I just know that if Joe ever read this, he'd roll his eyes at me. Just be glad I don't twitter. There would be a thousand posts for today alone.

XOXO

Dazzle

Made an appointment at the bridal salon!

Mom and I will be going Saturday morning to see the dress I fell in love with online. Cross your fingers that it looks good on me! The thing about this particular dress is its limited availability. I actually found it on theknot.com and have since seen it in The Knot magazine. In no other magazines have I even seen a mention of the designer, Justin Alexander Couture. When I first looked on theknot.com, I noticed that it said it's not even available in Illinois! However it showed retailers in both Arizona and Wisconsin. Since my brother lives in Arizona, I could always look at it out there while I'm visiting or I could drive up to Wisconsin to check it out, that wouldn't be unheard of. Well, as luck would have it, some further digging around revealed an availability at one store in Illinois. Eva's Bridals of Oak Lawn. That was back in January that I made that discovery. Now, today, I went back to the Web site but Eva's was no longer listed as a retailer! So I called them up to see if they have the dress. Sure enough, they do! Hooray!

I'm also in cahoots with a good friend of mine regarding some special gifts for my bridesmaids. It's a secret, but I'll just say that it will be dazzling!

DJ's and Limo's and Hair, Oh My!

While I'm on spring break, I figured I'd make the best of it and get some work done on this wedding!

I've emailed two DJ's about working the wedding, tying everything together. The thing is that we've hired the jazz band, but we're not sure that everyone will know how to dance to them all night. Seeing as music is such a big deal to me and Joe, we decided that hiring a DJ was in order. I've come up with a pretty solid schedule of events that goes as follows:
6-7 PM: Cocktails with the Jazz Band
7:00-7:30 PM: Party Introductions w/DJ & Uncle Jay, Grace, Speeches & Cake Cutting while Jazz Band switches over
7:30-8:15 PM: Dinner with a small jazz combo
8:15-9:30 PM: Dancing with the Jazz Band
9:30-11:30 PM: Dancing with the DJ

This way, we'll have the bluesy, jazzy feel of vintage Hollywood for a while before getting down to "California Love" and "Panama" the rest of the night. The EC Jazz band is especially great because of all the standards they do.

So we'll just wait to find out what the DJ's say. Once we get our quotes I'll be sure to update!

I've also been researching limo companies for just the right transportation. I think we'll probably be going with two separate companies.
I love the idea of exiting the church and hopping into a vintage automobile that evokes the feel of the wedding. Going with a '57 chevy or something similar would be ideal for me, but not too wedding-like, so I've decided that going with something more like a 1939 Packard or a Rolls Royce might be nice. There's a local company that also has Bentleys, so there's that to think about too. However, I'd still need to find a way to transport the wedding party to the picture spot(s?) and then to the ballroom, so I'm thinking some kind of large limo for that. The bigger, the better, I say. That way we'll be able to accomodate our flower girls, ring-bearer and at least a parent of theirs as well.

Finally, I've been looking into a special beauty day at the salon for me and the girls the day of the wedding. So far so good. I called Tigerlilie in Lincoln Square. They have the day open and I put my name down to book the appointments. It can always be changed if we decide to do something else. Their wedding package is fabulous. They accommodate the entire party in their salon and offer mimosas, fruit and pastries while we get our hair done, makeup and even mini-manicures. I'll probably splurge on a limo to take us to and from the salon as well. It's in the city and I'd hate to have everyone split up for that. Plus, it will be fun to relax and have fun with my bridesmaids while we get primped for the wedding. Has anyone else done this for their wedding? I'm not sure if it will be too hectic, but with all the girls and myself living all over Chicagoland and even two out of state, I really think it will be a nice gathering point before the wedding.

Things are starting to come together more. I just wish my mom had spring break this week too so we could be doing all this planning together. I just get so motivated I want to check things off my never-ending list of things to do!
Soon enough.

I announced our wedding on my MySpace blog this weekend. I've been getting sweet messages from friends about it, which is so nice. Joe and I are so lucky to have such great friends!

The Registry... Continued

It's Official
We are registered as Laura Hince and Joe Scola at:
Bed Bath & Beyond

Crate and Barrel

Target

The Registry

Joe and I went to Bed Bath & Beyond tonight to start our registry there. Joe picked out some lovely pieces to cook with on top of the stove, while I chose some stellar pieces to use in the oven. Those are our arenas. We also chose some towels which I'm very excited about, as well as a variety of other practical items for use around the house. Oh, and who can forget the china! Oh la la. I just love the china we chose. I'm so glad that Joe agreed to the pattern. Or should I say the lack of pattern?

The china is Kate Spade Cypress Point. While some of her china has matching stemware and flatware, this one didn't. It did, however look stunning with the Library Stripe stemware and flatware, so we registered for that. We were looking at the Library Lane china but I think we made the right choice. These items are timeless. They are absolutely gorgeous and we'll be able to entertain with them for decades.

Priorities

This is me making a list:
1. Register
2. Save the Dates
3. Website
4. Salon
5. Transportation
6. Linens
7. D.J.
8. Dress
9. Bridesmaid Dresses
10. Flowers
11. Tuxes
12. Invitations
13. Menus/Programs/Other Paper Goods
12. Favors (Need to know how many)
13. Placecards


What am I missing???

Fellow Willowbrook(ians)

I cannot guarantee that these links will last forever, but here are two wedding websites that pop up when you search for weddings at The Willowbrook Ballroom...

http://chariseandgunter.com/events.asp

and

http://www.erin-jeff.com/home.htm

I'm crossing my fingers that they will post pictures. I'd love to see what they've got to share from their wedding!