First Attempt at DIY Wedding Décor

The midnight supervisor (Matyka) at my office has been telling for the last two months that I’m behind on wedding plans and need to do X,Y, & Z by such-and-such a date. I came into work one day to find a stack of bridal books on my desk.

Personally, I thought we were on track, even though finding a condo has taken up most of our free time. However, once that came to a stalemate, I was re-energized for wedding plans. I searched online for easy do-it-yourself ideas that I could start on right away. I didn’t want to wait until a couple months before the wedding, when working on crafts would stress me out as opposed to be being fun. I honed in on candles, centerpieces, and flower girl baskets. So, on a furlough day, Matyka and I looked to see what we could find.

It took all day and searching two dollar stores, Michaels, and Walmart to find the supplies (some of which didn’t work out and need to be returned).

The fruits of our labors were individual candles (R for Robert and M for Melanie) for lighting the unity candle. (The actual unity candle still is waiting to be created, since I didn’t buy enough pillar candles.)

We also put together three memorial candles. I saw these on a website and thought making one at least for Rob’s father would be nice. I know that Rob wishes his father could be there to witness our happiness on the special day, so something commemorating him was important for me to do for him.

The candles were surprisingly easy to make. I found the poem online and added the appropriate names to each. Then, we printed the poem out on vellum (translucent paper) and taped to the candle. After that, we attached a ribbon with hot glue to dress the candles up a bit.

I loved the way they turned out. I’m glad I could find easy and pretty ways to personalize our wedding and pay tribute to those that have passed away who were important in our lives.

We also created a sample centerpiece. When I started off, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted for a centerpiece. I thought perhaps simply candles would be nice. After seeing a picture of flowers in water with a floating candle on top, though, I attempted to re-create it for our wedding.

Searching for flowers may have been the most difficult part. I was leaning towards silk flowers, so that the centerpieces could be done ahead of time (aside from adding water and lighting the candle). Michael’s had lots of flowers that were pricier than I expected. Ten dollars or more for one fake flower wasn’t what I was expecting, and the purpose of creating this centerpiece with fake flowers was to cut down on the expense of bouquets at each table. For that price, I might as well use the real thing. Finding a small bouquet of yellow roses was exactly what I was looking for, although at first attempt I was not so sure.

Putting roses and ribbon to fill in didn’t look right. Also, I accidentally bought purple rocks to put in the bottom of the vase—they looked silver in the store!

Using what I had around me, I added some natural-looking rocks and added leaves to the roses, which made the vase look very elegant.

I also added some votive candles (also compliments of our dining room table centerpiece) around the vase to get the desired effect.

The centerpiece was incredibly easy to make and I think it looks beautiful. I think this centerpiece will likely adorn some, though perhaps not all, tables at our reception. To mix it up, I’m thinking of a couple of different centerpieces, one of which may be the traditional route of fresh flowers.

I hope that once we find a condo, I can get to my future DIY projects--unity candle and flower girl baskets (once I find the baskets and flowers).

Yes to the Dress?

Yep—I applied for Say Yes to the Dress. I was bored one night and came across the application online. I decided to fill it out because I knew my future nieces watch the show and they would be so excited if I was on it, and since I had nothing to lose by answering a few questions and sending in a picture, I went ahead and applied.

I didn’t hear from them for over a month. I assumed that by since I selected the lowest possible price point for a dress ($500-1000), they decided against using me. To my surprise, though, I received an email indicating that they had selected me for a phone interview. Based on the outcome of the phone interview, filming would be two weeks later.

The interview went “fine” to me. Standard stuff that I expected—how did we meet, who was paying for the dress, what kind of dress do you want, etc. They also asked me about how people would describe me and for me to describe the people I would want to bring to the bridal shop (Mom, sister, mother-in-law, etc).

I made the rookie mistake of describing people honestly (at least if I wanted to get on reality TV). I described my mom as not liking conflict and not liking to rock the boat. I also described my sister as caring, more outgoing than me, and always being there when I need her, which is very true. When they asked about bridesmaids, I described our mutual friend Catherine (the friend who introduced me to Rob). I talked about how I believed Catherine would always be there for Rob or me. I mentioned that she is such a loyal friend--how she agreed to move into our condo (in the event of a deployment) since Rob would sleep easier knowing I wasn’t alone.

In hindsight, this is a bad move. Apparently, not talking about mother-in-law and/or mother drama does not make for good television. Reality TV loves drama. Functional, loving families and friends like mine don’t attract viewers.

I do think showing our story would have been unique. My futile search for brides in wheelchairs tends to lead back to the Say Yes to the Dress bride who was in a wheelchair. I’ve seen many comments describing this as people’s favorite episode. (I’m still searching for this episode. Netflix skips season 4. I would like to see the types of dresses recommended and how they attached a train to her chair.)

I suppose it is all for the best in the end. Based on my sister’s limited experience at Bridal’s by Lori, I probably would have been saying “no” to the dress. Their low price point realistically starts at around $1,500. My sister, who went there a few weeks ago for her wedding in April, said the least expensive dress she saw in the type she wanted was around $2,000.

Personally, I’d love to stay below $1,000. (Rob told me Say Yes to the Dress viewers would think poorly of him if I said he was a lawyer, we are paying for the dress, and we can’t spend over $1,000.) As a matter of principle, I’d rather not. If I fall crazy in love with a dress, maybe a little over that. Otherwise, I can’t justify that much money for a dress that I’d wear once, even a dress this important. If I was buying a cocktail dress I could wear several times, I’d have a problem paying ¼ of that.

Based on what I think I want from internet searches, I think paying $1,000 or under is possible. I’ll just have to try dresses at shops with less publicity.

Reception Venue Secure, Homeowner Bound

You'd think our our favorite weekend activity (based on past behavior) was looking at wedding venues. Since deciding on Cherokee Run, we had to find a new hobby. So, we have put our wedding plans on the back burner so that we can focus on buying a home.

We want to buy a condo in midtown Atlanta. Rob’s office is here and, since he has to bill a certain number of hours per year, it makes sense for us right now to cut a commute time out of his work time each day. With me commuting from midtown, it takes about 20-30 minutes depending on traffic. Since Rob is evaluated based on his billable hours in the year,, while I work a standard eight-hour shift, it makes sense for us to take his commute out of our equation. In the last few weeks, since I’ve been working days, we both get to work around the same time, but I’m home at least 30 minutes before him. So, since he’s more likely to be working longer days, we’re able to spend more time together if he’s closer to work.

We started our search search in Park Central, which is Rob’s current building. We’ve looked at several two-bedroom units in that building, but haven’t been able to find anything we like. We want a two-bedroom unit so that we can stay in the condo until we have at least one child. We also want enough room for a dining room table. Unfortunately, nothing we’ve seen in Park Central fit the bill.

We initially tried to do the search ourselves by contacting the listing agent for them to show us the condo. This worked for the first few, but it took a lot of time for us. So, instead of waiting for individual realtors to show us their property, we decided to use Ben McKenzie, a local realtor who helped Rob find the condo he’s renting, to assist us with our search.

And the winner is...

After seeing Le Fais Do-Do and shocking our fellow venue-shoppers at Le Fais Do-Do with the number of reception venues we had seen, we figured it was time to make a decision.

Deciding on one venue proved difficult.  No two venues were alike.  We joke that trying to decide was a like a giant calculus equation, since there were several factors to consider, each of which changed from venue to venue.  One might come with tables and chairs while sacrificing parking.  Another might be perfect inside with a lackluster location. 

Throughout the process, none of the venues was a strong “no.”  At some point, each venue was at or near the top of our list.  No venue was perfect for our needs.  No matter which venue topped our list at any given moment, another venue could have topped it if another category was weighted more heavily. 

When it came time to make a final decision, the main factors we started looking at were space and price.  Everywhere we looked had enough space for our needs.  At first, it looked like there were some significant differences in price, but when you factored in table rentals, bartenders, security guards, etc., the difference in cost wasn’t significant enough to select one venue over another.  Costs remained fairly constant for our top contenders—the rental fees were around the same, we could bring our own alcohol, etc.  This was true at every place except Emory (which was immediately out of the running) and Cherokee Run (who said we had to use their caterer and purchase alcohol from them). 

Knowing that open bars generally ran $20+ per person, we figured Cherokee Run would add another $4,000 onto our tab.  They were at the bottom of the list.  Then, with one nearly too late email detailing the alcohol prices, the underdog came back and trumped the competition. 

So, it came down to small things.  I was pretty committed to Le Fais Do-Do.  Rob favored Spring Hall, but I couldn’t get past the location.  Having the reception in a shopping center, where we couldn’t have any pictures outside, really bothered me.  If it had a different location, I’m certain we would have chosen Spring Hall.  Of course, as Rob pointed out, we’d be in the same position with Le Fais Do-Do, but I still preferred that venue.  I loved the interior and the fact that we could transform it as we pleased.  (I also liked the disco ball.)

We also realized at this point that we hadn’t done any research on the price of the church for the ceremony.  We had been narrowly focused on reception venues without giving thought to churches, other than Grace Covenant.  Once we were learning towards Atlanta venues, we started exploring churches near Spring Hall and Le Fais Do-Do, which were our top choices.  We didn’t expect the church issue to complicate our decision, since neither of us anticipated the price of a church being comparable to cost of renting the reception venue. 

I was quickly proven wrong.  At the first church that we checked, we received an estimate of $2,500 for non-members.  The cost “included the Wedding Director's fee, two Wedding Coordinators (required) who conduct the rehearsal and are there for you on the wedding day; the Music Director and all organ music; set-up and take down; two security guards (required), the Marriage Workshop (which is in addition to your marriage counseling with your clergy and very much encouraged); and free parking.”  Since we aren’t expecting fights at the church, paying for two security guards (among other things) we didn’t want seemed unnecessary.  We also contacted a few other churches, which had fees ranging from $800 to $1900. 

Once we realized that the cost for a church would be more than we expected, we briefly considered having the ceremony at the reception location.  This idea would have worked fine with Spring Hall.  The ceremony room at Le Fais Do-Do looked like it would be very tight since the room was long and narrow shaped. 

However, when we pictured having the wedding ceremony at these venues, I realized how much I wanted a church wedding.  It’s not something I would have said I was 100% set on at the outset.  It was only when we started thinking about taking the church off the table that I realized how much I wanted it.  There’s something special and sacred about being married at a house of worship, and beginning your life together in a spiritual place.  I couldn’t shake the feeling that I would be disappointed if we didn’t have that type of start to our marriage. 

So, even after we’d spent a couple hours discussing it over the weekend, we still hadn’t come to a final decision.  When I realized how important a church wedding was, though, I told Rob that, if Cherokee Run got back to us with reasonable alcohol prices, we should go with that location. 

Luckily for us, Cherokee Run sent us a beverage price on Monday.  Their alcohol prices turned out to be very reasonable, and didn’t make them any more expensive than the rest of the venues we’d been considering closely.  Also, unlike most places, they allowed us to purchase bottles of wine and kegs of beer from them instead of limiting us to pay-per-drink or open bar prices.  Their system allows us to control pricing, and essentially allows us to get just as much there for what we were planning on spending on alcohol at any of the BYOB venues.

Also, Cherokee Run has a great location.  Being in Conyers allows us to use Grace Covenant, which was something that we’d wanted all along.  Cherokee Run made Grace Covenant a practical option, since it doesn’t involve a 45-minute drive between the ceremony and the reception.  An additional benefit is that Conyers is a smaller, more easily navigated city than Atlanta.  We thought that might be a better option for our guests who will be coming from out of town or who aren’t used to driving around the city in Atlanta. 

Now that we have finished our long search, we’ve made a decision and set the date.  I’m excited to announce that we will be getting married on June 2, 2012 at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, with the reception immediately following at Cherokee Run Golf Club.

Same Diamond, New Setting

As Rob mentioned in a previous post, he intentionally had the diamond placed in a simple setting so that I could pick a setting I liked.  Poor Rob had planned this out ahead of time, and had no idea that people would give me so much grief over “not liking” the ring, which couldn’t have been further from the truth. I repeatedly asked Rob, just to make sure, that going back to the jewelry store was his plan. If Rob hadn’t told me minutes after proposing that he wanted me to pick out a setting that suits me, I never would have gone to the jewelry store. Why would I have wanted to? The ring was gorgeous in a simple setting! It made me feel terrible that people kept assuming that I didn’t like the ring because it is my most prized possession. If I could only keep one item for the rest of my life, it would be the ring.

We did go to the jewelers. I wanted to go right away because the ring was too big.  Unfortunately, to resize the ring would have taken about a week. I opted to wait until I decided on the ring I wanted.

I looked for about an hour and a half before finding what I wanted. I was looking for a setting, kind of similar to the one Rob had picked, but a thinner band with small stones on it.  I didn’t want those small stones to be too shiny or big so as to distract from the center diamond—I think the jeweler was amused by me not wanting “too shiny diamonds”.  The jewelry store was then closed for two weeks, so we ended up going back a second time and picking out the final ring.  (It seems pretty standard in the jewelry industry to close for two weeks in July.  So, anyone who is thinking about making a major jewelry purchase around late June should take this into account.) 

I initially hesitated to say yes to the ring I wanted after getting a price. I’ve never purchased expensive jewelry before, and had no idea how much it costs.  Thankfully, I have an amazing fiancé who knows me well and took me aside to convince me that if that was the ring I wanted, that was the ring he wanted to get, we could afford it, I’d wear it forever, etc.

I loved the ring the moment I put it on. Since I picked it up from the jewelers, I am unable to go too long without glancing at it.



My new ring! Same diamond, new setting.



The sales person kept making a big deal about how Michael B (the ring designer) had such a beautiful box. This is the ring in the fancy box, which is really just shiny yellow as opposed to the standard black.



Side view--I love the detailing design along the center stone.

Venue 6: Le Fais Do-Do

Le Fais Do-Do was a beautiful, reasonably priced venue that provided a great deal of flexibility in planning the reception.

I noticed Le Fais Do-Do while searching online for venues.  (Why I continued searching for venues when we had seen several suitable contenders is beyond me.)  Right after we finished looking at Spring Hall, we toyed with the idea of looking at Le Fais. 

One reviewer had noted that the Georgia State law school had their Barrister’s Ball at the facility this past year.  Rob called a friend who had been to the Barrister’s Ball.  Since Rob’s friend said that it was at least worth checking out, we called Le Fais.  Marie, the owner, informed us that if we could be there in thirty minutes, she would be showing the venue to other potential wedding parties.  It just so happened that Spring Hall was about thirty minutes away…

Le Fais Do-Do is located in an industrial section of West Atlanta, making the location another unremarkable one.  Accessibility was no problem, as the front ramp provided an easy entrance to the building.  Inside was a warehouse converted into an event space.  The event space had shiny, black stone floors and crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. 

The first room we saw is frequently used as the wedding ceremony room or cocktail hour room.  It’s long and narrow, and has a pretty backdrop of golden mirrors.

A little hallway leads past a coatroom and a photo booth room from the ceremony/cocktail room to the main ballroom.  Marie, who kept us consistently entertained with anecdotes about the venue, mentioned that the photo booth was the most popular feature with guests.

The ballroom is the same as the first room, except bigger.  The same gorgeous chandeliers adorn the ceiling.  A fun disco ball illuminated the dance floor with what appeared to be little bubbles of white light.  Compared to other ballrooms, this space appeared smaller.  Despite appearing smaller, I was certain that we would have enough space in the ballroom for our tables and dance floor. 

Le Fais really stood apart from other venues due to its relaxed, yet classy atmosphere.  It had a vintage feel, which really appeals to me.

Another plus is that Le Fais is a space that guests can personalize to their own unique vision.  One nice touch in this vein is a projector that can display names of the bride and groom on the floor.

Off the ballroom was room that could be used for the bar and buffet.  It was similar in size to the ceremony/cocktail room.  Marie noted that sofas could be added to the area to give it a swanky feel.  Throughout the entire tour, Marie expressed that the furniture could be moved anywhere.

You could tell Marie was very proud of the space she opened just a couple of years ago.  She was full of ideas and advice.  She seemed supportive of each person’s vision.  I am certain she would be excellent and work diligently to guarantee each person’s desire for the space is realized.

Before leaving, we took a peak at the bridal area.  This area was ok, bearing in mind we just saw the beautiful and much more ornate bride room at Spring Hall.  The bridal area was large and included a couple of sofas and mirrors.  It contained everything a bride would need to relax or get ready for the big event.  However, like the entire venue, it was a blank slate that you could decorate as you pleased.

While we gathered pricing information, I was pretty much sold on Le Fais Do-Do, which was available in June.  When we inquired about the slim possibility of rescheduling due to a deployment, Marie emphasized her patriotism and how she would do nothing to offend our troops.

Overall, I loved the vintage feel and the ability to mold the space to our liking.  Moreover, Marie seemed to have many connections to make the vendor selection process easier.  She had a number of recommendations for bartenders, florists, photographers, caterers, etc. 

Marie noted that she explored the wedding reception industry for four years.  When she started her company, she purposefully avoiding limiting clients in the way that other venues tended to do (e.g., requiring certain caterers or use of the venue’s alcohol).  Le Fais Do-Do will allow you to bring your own alcohol (although require the disposal of any opened containers at the end of the night), allow you to use any caterer, and give you access to their furniture inventory (with tables and chairs are included with the rental). 

 Plus

• Vintage feel with open space.
• Free rein to design as you please.
• Bring your own alcohol and caterers.
• Accessible bathrooms.
• Ample parking.

Minus

• Industrial location; lacks opportunities for outdoor photos.
• The space for the ceremony looked a little tight for our 150 planned guests. 
• The darker colored interior and lack of natural lighting.  I’d prefer a brighter area for our reception

Venue 5: Spring Hall

Spring Hall is closely tied with the Old Dekalb Courthouse for my favorite venue so far. It is a beautiful and spacious venue. Unfortunately, the location leaves something to be desired.

Spring Hall is located a few miles north on Buford Highway.[1] One thing that I’m not crazy about is the venue's location in a shopping center. Granted, this does provide for ample parking. However, the parking lot of a shopping center doesn’t provide most picturesque scenery for wedding photos.

However, once when we walked in, the interior of the building was a completely different story. It is gorgeous. The entrance alone makes you forget about the mediocre outside. The marble lobby floor and crystal chandelier made this one of the nicest venues we’d seen since the Emory Hotel.


Lobby


Once inside, we met with Alex. He informed us the event planner was out of the office, but he would be happy to show us around the facility.

The bridal room was our first stop. What a difference between this room and the previous bridal space at the Old Courthouse!

Wonderfully decorated bridal area

Spring Hall clearly cared that the bride has a beautiful area to dress and get ready for the wedding. The bridal room connects directly to the restrooms. In a sign of how much is invested in making this a great event venue, even the restrooms were beautiful and immaculate.

The restrooms consisted of four regular stalls and one handicapped-accessible stalls. There was ample counter space around the sinks. I was impressed that Spring Hall even went to the trouble of ensuring that even the restrooms appeared elegant.

We proceeded to the cocktail and lounge area. Alex assured us that we could move the furniture around as we pleased. The couple who was hosting the even that night had moved the couches to create a lounge feel.

Lounge Area



Cocktail/Lounge Area


The corner bar, located near the double doors leading to the main ballroom, offered a perfect location for serving cocktails. Alex informed us that non-alcoholic beverages are provided with the package, and that we could provide whatever alcohol we would like.

Closer view of the corner bar

Spring Hall posed no problem for providing the amount of space we needed for the reception. The ballroom was set up to seat three hundred people. Even with seating for that many people, there was still a huge dance floor.

(Insert Picture)


Tons of dancing space



We would have ample room between tables, making it easy for my wheelchair to navigate the floor and allowing me to speak with our guests. I loved the beautiful chandelier in the middle of the room.

As an added bonus, the ballroom included audiovisual equipment with a screen that we could use for whatever we would like. Additionally, the lighting in the room could be adjusted anyway we pleased. (Personally, I liked how the room looked when the lights were dimmed a bit.)

One thing that threw off my whole perception of the ballroom was a strange smell that I noticed the entire time we were in the room. I couldn’t stand the smell. I can’t describe it and I only noticed it when we were in the ballroom. I pointed it out to Rob, who didn’t notice it. We went back into the ballroom to allow for a second smell. Rob noticed it the second time around, but pointed out that the cleaning room door was open and that the smell was probably coming from that room. He thought that it wouldn’t be an issue during the reception because the doors would be closed. To be fair, I'm sure the smell was just temporary.

As the tour proceeded, Alex pointed out extra space next door to the ballroom that could be utilized for food preparation. He noted that employee restrooms were located back there, so that the staff would not be using our restrooms and mingling with the guests. (Those weren’t his exact words, but that’s the impression we got.) Rob and I aren’t that bothered by the idea of the staff using the main restrooms, but maybe it’s a big selling point for others. (Comment from the groom: Maybe I just look like a snobby guy.)

Next, we viewed the groom’s room and men’s restrooms.

Fancy Groom's Room

Again, the proprietors of Spring Hall have made remarkable efforts to assure that every inch of the facility is beautiful. I would assume that the groom’s room is an afterthought for most facility. Instead, this room was wonderful as well. Once again, I was impressed with the care that had gone into making this such a lovely venue.

Alex finished by providing us with a price list and menu options. He indicated that the prices of the package would be a few thousand dollars less than what is listed on the package. I’m not certain how this works, but he seemed adamant that it would be the case. Apparently, the main event planner will often waive a number of fees. For example, he suggested that what was listed as an $11,000 package could end up closer to $8,000. (Alex did note that if we chose to use outside caterers, it would cost an extra $450.)

Spring Hall was also wide open for the following summer. I’d prefer a late May or early June wedding, but most of the places we’d visited so far had late June (Trolley Barn) to August (Old Dekalb Courthouse) as their first available weekend. Alex told us that nothing was booked for May or June.

As a precaution, we also asked how our wedding plans would be affected if Rob happened to be called for a deployment with his National Guard unit. In the event of a deployment, Alex assured us that adjusting our date would be no problem and there would be no extra fees involved.

We left Spring Hall being quite impressed by the attention to detail, space, and beauty of the facility.

Pros:
Completely accessible.
Beautiful facility with ample amount of space.
Plentiful parking.
Reasonably priced.
Available early next summer.
BYOB.
Full kitchen.
Beautiful Bride and Groom’s rooms.

Cons:
The location in the shopping center limits our options for outdoor pictures.
The smell in the ballroom. (I know this would probably be gone for the event, but it bothered me at the time. I would probably want to have lots of scented candles at the reception, just in case.)
Aside from the lobby, there is no natural light.
45 minute drive from Grace Covenant



[1] An interesting quirk about the area is the large number of Korean businesses along Buford Highway on while we were driving to the venue. It really surprises me that the area, while not technically a “Chinatown” in the way that those areas of a city New York are, is pretty much a Korean neighborhood dropped into the middle of an Atlanta suburb. We mused about when and how the Buford Highway area had become an attractive area to Korean immigrants. Perhaps a few successful immigrants informed their friends and families back home about the prosperity they found opening businesses there.