wedding officiant?

So, neither Andrew nor I are of the extremely religious sort. Having a Church wedding has never come up, and on our list of expenses, minister is at the bottom. We will take what we can get. I just read online (haven't looked into it yet) that someone can get ordained as a minister in Texas for $29.99. That's it. I need to think of a person who would be appropriate to marry us and just go with it... it's so much cheaper! But, is it tacky? Thoughts? I also found supercute, cheap centerpiece ideas here. Love it! We still are no closer to picking a venue... BUT, we may be able to agree on a color. I got a flyer for a highly-recommended baker that had a Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil themed wedding cake. While it is cool, I don't really want it. But, Andrew does. We have seen the show three times and we love it, but nothing else in our wedding would work with it. He said that if he can have that cake, purple can be our main wedding color. I just have to decide if it's a fair compromise!

Decisions, decisions

We are torn. Actually, it's more like one side vs. the other as far as our wedding venue goes. Not in a mean, nasty, "This is my day and you will agree with me!" way, but more in a "I see your point, but..." type of way. So maybe blogging will help me make a decision. Venue #1: Paraiso Maravilla We visited Paraiso last Monday and loved it. However, we both agreed that it looked a little better in pictures. For the price, we get the venue, security, tables and chairs, valet, and the candles that are along the handrail of the upper floor will be lit. Nothing else. No options for centerpieces, no food or drinks, no DJ, nothing. There is also no event coordinator who will be on-site that day to make sure things go smoothly. Now, I have attended several weddings but I have never been in one. I don't know how to direct this thing and make sure everyone gets down the aisle okay. I want someone who can do that for me! So that made me a little nervous. Here we would have a choice between eight caterers, at least two of which are comfortably in our price range. If we want someone else, it is $500 extra. The ceremony site at Paraiso is okay. I don't love it, but I don't hate it. It is in front of a brick archway that has a fountain behind it. We could probably string some lights on the arch, float orchids in the fountain, and line the area on the sides of the fountain with candles and it would be pretty. There would be a cocktail hour in a back room of the facility which I actually almost prefer to the front room. There are courtyards in the front and back of the building which we would light with tons of candles and would be nice for photos. However, as my mom pointed out, how many pics will we actually take on a summer night? There is also a nice area inside that is a long hallway with a fountain in it. We could do more orchids and candles there. Venue #2: Rockefeller Hall At first, I fell in love with Rockefeller Hall, but something we read somewhere made it seem really far out of pur price range. Then Andrew noticed it was the same # of dollar signs on theknot.com as many other places we visited, so he emailed about it. The estimate she gave us seemed affordable, so we went to visit. This place used to be the club Rockefeller's, which, incidentally, I have been to before. When my mom and step-dad first met, my now step-sister was dating a guy in a band who was going to be playing at Rockefeller's that night. (Yes, I am pretty sure my mom and step-dad went on their first date pretty much the day they met.) Anyways, me being 10 and my mom not having a babysitter on such short notice, they took me with them to the club since it was all ages. I remember being miserable, but it was the start to their marriage, so that is kind of a cool connection. Anyways... Rockefeller Hall is in the Heights and used to be a bank, so it is all cool and old-timey on the outside. One drawback is that we HAVE to use their catering, and it is quite expensive. That is one of the biggest things that is keeping us away from this place. Everything else there is "affordable" (I use that term loosely) enough so the catering isn't a HUGE deal. It is a big, open room with a raised area at the back where we can have the ceremony. Something is carved over the top of the raised area in the marble, but I don't remember what it is. We will get the greenery package that they offer so there are leafy branches hanging down. I like it when the outside comes in. There will also be candles and such around the top of the room, just like Paraiso. There is a big wooden bar on the side of the room and the chairs are nice and wooden (no need for sashes or chair covers!). For the cocktail hour, most of our guests would be directed upstairs where there is an even bigger bar! We kind of don't like that there is no illusion of two rooms and thus no big "entrance" for us to make, either. There is also no outside area for pictures. But, there are big windows upstairs that would be good to take pictures in front of. This place has all kinds of candles and things for you to borrow for the centerpieces, which I like. Only 121 people can sit downstairs, which might be bad for us. We are getting pricing based on 130. and I would hate to have to divide people so much, even though there would be a buffet and bar on both floors. The service is what keeps this place in the running- the women who own it are sisters and also own an event planning company. Their services come with renting the hall and they seem to know their stuff. We gave them our budget and they gave us an estimate above it. After I told her that I loved the venue but couldn't afford it, she worked with us to knock it down more. I think the attention to detail here will really alleviate my stress and be worth the added cost. For both places, there are decorating things that I want to do, but I don't know WHO will do them as I will be getting ready and so will Andrew and I don't want to burden friends or family with that. So, if you couldn't tell, Paraiso is Andrew's pick and Rockefeller is mine. We are going to an open house at Paraiso on Thursday (with Vivian and Chris!) to try out one of the caterers and maybe getting a second female opinion will help. If you are bored enough to read all of that, you should check out the venues for yourself and give me some input. I have been looking at people's flickr accounts too to see how these places look done up for weddings, but I still don't know what to do. On the employment front, it looks like I have a job at Limited Too. The lady there was really great and I think as far as retail goes, I won't hate it. She is supposed to call me today to finalize things. I also have an appointment to take a test and interview to sub in Katy ISD, so that should be good. Hopefully things will start to look up and we can save for our big party!

more venues

I thought we were pretty well settled on Paraiso Maravilla, but Andrew said we should look into some places we ruled out based on price. We thought they would be too expensive, but upon getting more info, we may be able to afford their Friday Night prices. We are checking into 3 places today- Alden Hotel, Rockefeller Hall, and Cheateau Polonez. I will take pics! PS- I am still unemployed and about to get a job in retail that will likely make me miserable =/

I think we found it!

Well, we went to Paraiso Maravilla today. And, while it is not as beautiful as many of the pictures made it seem, it was still really pretty and the site we are 90% sure we will go with. We have done TONS of online research and I just don't know if we will find a place that we like more that is still in our price range. One cool thing about this place is that there will be lots of candles lining the upper balconies as well as candelabras in the fireplaces (who wants a real fire in June?) so I think that will make for some great lighting! The colors inside are really neutral, so we can pick just about anything as our wedding colors. I took pictures but honestly, I like the ones you can find online better than those I took. Speaking of colors, we kind of came to an agreement last night- dark blue, lavender, and platinum. I am not completely sold because I still really like plum, but I am coming around. Lavender is a nice compromise and at least there are a lot of purple flowers. Yay for decisions :) I also had that interview at Agave Road today. The guy was really disorganized, which was a bad sign. He was 30 minutes late to the interview! Basically, it is a commission based position, which I am really uncomfortable with, so I won't pursue it. I like to know how big my checks are going to be. As for the venue, I don't strongly recommend it. I didn't have my camera, so I didn't take pics. The bride's and groom's dressing areas were really nice, but otherwise, it was nothing fancy. I got my ring cleaned today and it is extra sparkley! I also got the free wedding planner than Robbins Bros. was supposed to give Andrew when he bought the ring. So, now I have somewhere to write everything down. Yay!

Wedding Venue Tours!

So, we went to what feels like a million places, but really it was only seven. And we still don't have a venue picked. But, when people tell me in a few years "I went to a wedding at xxxx, why didn't you get married there?" I want to remember why. Plus, I have two friends currently planning a wedding in Houston, so many my experiences will help them and anyone else who googles various venues and ends up with my two cents. We started the day with Lindsay Lakes in Cypress. I had heard that it wasn't all that spectacular upon driving up to it, and that is accurate. But, there is a room to have your wedding in (or a small reception of 100 people or less), a larger ballroom that can hold 300, and an outdoor gazebo with a lake behind it. One thing they had that I really liked was called the Lake House; it had a room for the bride, a room for the groom, and then general living space where close family could hang out before the wedding. I thought that was a nice amenity. The customer service there was great. I can't emphasize that enough. They gave us a quote that sounded good, but when we got home and did the math and added in tax and tip, it wasn't so great anymore. Plus, you can't bring in your own catering and after Andrew talked with the owner, he is pretty sure that guy does it himself, which definitely put this place on the "No" list. It is a nice place and they really take care of you, but it's not for us. The Lindsay Lakes Gazebo, ballroom, and wedding room. After that we went to the Majestic Metro. This place was quite high on our list. It looked cool and vintage and different in the ad and on the website. Let's just say that a good photographer in good light can be a miracle worker. We drove past it and were not impressed. It is downtown and they do not own or contract with any parking facility, so all of our guests would have to pay to park downtown. Strike 1. We went into the place and it smelled like stale cigarettes. Strike 2 (although I could kind of get over it... burn some candles or something and it would go away). Inside, it was kind of small and not as grand as the pictures online made it look. 3rd and final strike. We were both pretty bummed. This place is a little pricey and not ideal for a wedding ceremony. I would, however, consider it for a party of some sort if I ever had enough cash for that kind of thing. The Majestic Metro Outside, the lobby (you can put your own pictures in), and the "cocktail" (in the theatre seats)/ reception area. Third on our tour was the Courtyard at St. James. Currently, it is our second favorite venue, although we have yet to see our first favorite in person. We are just assuming we will love it. Basically, I like Courtyard because of the location (Galleria), the price (not bad for a Friday night wedding), and because it just feel classy. That is probably a dumb reason, but it is true! The food sounds good, it has good reviews online, and I think we would be happy there. The only thing is is that neither of us love it. I didn't take many pics there because it is a restaurant during the day and I didn't want people eating there to feel weird. The first is a shot of a courtyard area. The second pic is where weddings are performed (between the two planters). There is also a balcony above that that I think would make for some great pictures! Le Jardin was next. A friend of mine got married there a year and a half ago and had a pretty good experience. I thought it was pretty, but the rental fees (even for Friday Night) are insane! (1500 for ceremony, 4000 for reception, and that doesn't include a whole lot of extras!). PS- If you haven't figured it out, we are getting married on a Friday night. It is significantly cheaper and I don't think the day of the week matters much. People still don't have to go to work the next day, so they can drink and have a good time, and we will save thousands! Anyways, Le Jardin had both an indoor and outdoor gazebo, which I thought was great, and they would let us bring in our own catering. The ceiling in the ballroom had this draping thing going on that made the whole room feel very dressed up. But, there was a palm tree attached to the appetizer table that could not be removed that I hated, as well as a mural on the wall that I didn't love. Neither of those were the dealbreakers: we thought it would be a top choice until we came home and did the math and realized that Courtyard is a better value. However, they do have a lot of picturesque settings that would make for great photos, so I would recommend it for that. The mural (and you're supposed to put the cake in front of it! I didn't love it at all), the ceiling, and the indoor gazebo. The outdoor gazebo and a covered outdoor area with a cute little bridge. Ashton Gardens came next. Carlee, my former office-mate (who I miss so much!) LOVED this place, but when she went it smelled, so we almost didn't even bother with it. We went and smelled nothing and I even asked the woman there about it and she said she never noticed anything. She was probably lying, but at least I asked. I fell in love with the chapel. It is so pretty and would need minimal decoration. To me, the ballroom was just a ballroom. If we had a Friday wedding, we would run the risk of another party being there at the same time and the ballroom and dance floor being split in half with a partition. Andrew hated that idea. When we looked at the pricing, it was more than we wanted to spend (they had a $3000 food minimum. Only food, no alcohol, and that is pretty high for 120 guests). Although I loved it, Andrew talked me out of it. But I do still dream of that chapel... The Chapel (looks better in person), the staircase in the ballroom, and the patio outside the ballroom. Our last stop yesterday was Fontenot Grand Mansion. It was beautiful and it was Andrew's favorite. But, they were really secretive on their pricing; most places gave us some sort of print-out of what we could expect to pay, but this place came back with a price seemingly from nowhere after we told them what we wanted. Andrew compared it to buying a car. They wouldn't let us bring our own food, which is obvisouly a negative for any venue, and they wanted to charge $23ooo for the venue, basic linens, food, limited open bar, and a DJ. That is more than we wanted to spend on the entire wedding, so unfortunately, we must pass. But it was very, very pretty! The outdoor heart-shaped fountain, the gazebo in the courtyard, and the fireplace in the house- any of which you can have your ceremony in front of. Today we checked out a place in Katy, the Tuscany Villa. It is really nice. I especially like that they have a game room with Golden Tee, a pool table, and an air hockey table for the groom and groomsmen to use before the ceremony and kids to play in during the reception. There was a really pretty balcony overlooking the courtyard and a huge wooden double staircase in the entryway. It was very new and nicely done. It also had a really pretty ceremony area. They only allow catering through Hasta la Pasta (a restaurant we went to once and Andrew hated) and again, it just seemed priced higher than it should have been. We don't want money to be the end all- be all of our wedding, but we don't want to be in debt because of it forever, either. So, unless we really love a place, we are going with what's cheap. But, this place was really nice. If we don't end up loving the place we are visiting on Monday as much as we think we will, I may try to call these guys and negotiate something. The chapel (not as good as Ashton but still pretty), the inside, and an outside area where they do ceremonies. This is really long, but I hope it was good virtual tour. I have more pics that I didn't post. I am really, really hoping that we like the venue we are checking out Monday. OH- something cool that happened- I called another place here in Katy today to see about scheduling a tour and the guy let it slip that he was short staffed. So, I pounced on it and told him that I have always been interested in wedding planning. We have an interview (to talk about me, not the venue) on Monday morning! I am excited! I think planning weddings for a living would be fun! Stressful, but fun.

So, wow, Holy Crap.

This is supposed to be the happy engagement, we are getting married WOO HOO blog, so I will start with that first... On Sunday, I went to the Bridal Extravaganza with my mom and it was... overwhelming! I got tons of great info that I am still sorting through, though. Lots of pricing, tons of photographers, and lots of stuff to think about. Prior to the show, Andrew and I had already decided that we were going venue-touring on Friday. These are places that either we really, really like or are in our price range and not completely hideous: 10 am- Lindsay Lakes: We like this place mostly because we can afford it! It is in Cypress, which isn't too far from us. It has a lot of good outdoor places for taking pictures and the inside isn't bad either. I did hear that it's not too gorgeous when you drive up to it, but we will see. I can live with ugly on the outside if the price is right! 11:30 am- The Majestic Metro: This is the first place we both fell in love with! It is downtown and has a really cool vintage movie theatre sign on the outside. But, it doesn't have any catering/linen packages: your rental fee covers the venue, tables and chairs, a DJ, lighting, and that's it. I don't want to get married on the dance floor as the man suggested, so we would have to find a ceremony venue and rent a limo. I was hoping we could find one place to hold both the ceremony and reception. It's not practical, but as Andrew has pointed out, nothing about this wedding is, so we are going to take a look-see. 12:30 pm- Courtyard on St. James: Pretty and a great location. Food isn't too overpriced but we would probably rather bring in a caterer. Can't think of too many other things I loved about this place right off hand, but it IS pretty. We have a break in here that I am praying we can fill with an appointment to Paraiso Maravilla. This place literally made me gasp. In all of my searching on theknot, wedding wire, and Brides in Houston, I never saw this place. But, at the bridal show I asked a caterer to recommend a venue that allowed outside catering and she showed me pictures of this place. Apparently it was a guy's house and he turned it into... this. I am in love and so is he! Right now it's our favorite, but I can't get in touch with anyone for a tour. The only downside is the price- it is high, but we might remedy that by having a Friday night wedding. I am open to it for this place! I hope it's just as good in person! 4 pm - Fontenot Grand Mansion: Yup, the future Martinezes are venturing to Spring, land of my dad and step-mom. It is far, but it's pretty. Also more than I had hoped to spend, but if we love it then we will give it a shot. Who knew so many pretty places existed in Houston? We also want to check out House Plantation, Agave Road, and the Tuscany Villa sometime. They are all relatively close to us and the latter two are offering open houses in the near future, so we will make it out there soon. I am really excited for our day of planning so we can pick a venue, generate a budget, and then we can start picking colors! (As far as colors go, we are disagreeing. I basically have my heart set on a deep plum, but Andrew isn't feeling it. We did agree on a very dark burgundy last night though, and I would be okay with that as a compromise. But, it depends on the venue.) So, away from wedding stuff- today kind of sucked. I got "terminated." Suffice it to say it was bullshit, but I am better off without it. I knew I was unhappy and wanted to leave soon, but I really wanted to leave on my own terms. If you would really like to know details, I would be happy to share, but here is not the place. I do have more class than that :) I already put out several resumes and at least I will have some time to study for my teaching test and get it taken sooner rather than later. This is super long! Expect more updates after Friday, if not before. Thanks for pretending to care about my wedding planning insanity!

We're getting freakin' married!

Okay, so, I used to blog a lot but I haven't blogged in forever. But, the way I see it, you only get engaged once in your life (assuming everything goes according to plan, which I will take the liberty to do) so I want to remember it. I have been thinking of getting married since... I can't remember when it started. And now a date is imminent (6/12/10) so my days of dreaming of and planning my perfect wedding are numbered. I want to start with the proposal because really, it was perfect. In August, I outlined my perfect proposal to my coworkers, never dreaming that it would actually HAPPEN! Andrew talked his dad into taking his whole family to Las Vegas for Christmas and, of course, I was invited to go as well. The day came closer and I didn't think much of it. We had planned for the whole family to go out to a nice dinner one night. It was really cold and windy and I was wearing a dress, so when Andrew said we should walk to the Bellagio to see the fountains before dinner rather than taking a hotel to the restaurant as planned, I was skeptical. But, he pointed out how much we both LOVE the fountains, so I quickly gave in. He brought the video camera with him, using the excuse that he wanted to document the trip. We got a great spot to watch the show and waited for it to begin. When Johnny Mathis (a favorite of Andrew's dad) starting singing "I Need A Little Christmas," the show started and I was transfixed as always. I could sit and watch these fountains forever. If you have never seen them, look them up on youtube :) Anyways... So, he started saying nice and wonderful things to me. Before I knew it, he was down on one knee, ring in hand, asking if I would marry him. Obviously, I said yes, or you wouldn't be reading this... (Sidebar: The ring is gorgeous. He wouldn't have let me pick out my own ring if I tried, but I never did. He picked out a platinum Tacori setting. The stone was his mom's and his grandmother's before that. I couldn't love it more!) Back to the good stuff and memories. I say yes, he stands up and we hug and kiss, then I turn to look at his family- his dad has it on tape and his sisters are taking pictures. And my mom and step-dad are right there! I didn't know they were in Vegas, but they came just to see us get engaged. I was super surprised and he did everything I would have ever wanted in a proposal! After that, we all went and had a fantastic dinner and started thinking about how we would spend the rest of our lives together... That was two weeks ago. We have been doing lots of planning, and let me tell you, weddings are stupidly e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e! We want to get married in June 2010. That should give us time to save up and plan the wedding I have always wanted. I have to give Andrew credit- he has been very involved in everything so far and I think we will really have a day that reflects us as a couple. So far I have bought numerous bridal magazines and books and I am going to the Bridal Extravaganza tomorrow with my mom. Let the craziness that is marriage begin!