Save the Dates - A Guest's First Taste of the Wedding

Once Nick and I had the venue and the date settled we had to start planning everything else.  While we were on the hunt for a photographer, band, florist and loads of other things, we were also trying to figure out what to do for the Save the Dates, which are traditionally sent out about 6 months before the date of the wedding.  Seeing as our wedding was a busy holiday weekend, we knew had to stick to that timeline.

Original Cards

Picking out Save the Dates was a lot of pressure in my opinion - its the first taste of the wedding you give your guests.  That, and the first major decision you make that guests see!  My friends have had some good save the dates: magnets, vintage postcards, riddles and the like.  Not wanting to copy them we tried to go a different route.  Then we felt like we were walking into into a kitschy trap.

So after coming up with a few ideas, Nick and I decided to take a trip down Charles Street to Rugg Road to see what, if any, ideas they had to offer.  While looking around we happened upon some really fun Boston themed notecards.  When we asked the store clerks if they made these note-cards into postcards, they said the best thing to do would be to contact the company - they were local and great to work with.

Holly, Nick and I driving

Nick emailed J and J Graphics to see if they would make us a Save the Date postcard.  Not only did they say they would do it, they actually had just finished customizing a postcard for another couple's wedding and were willing to do the same for us.  The next thing we knew, we had a post card with images of Nick, Holly and I were actually driving the Swan Boats - I mean, how much fun!!  Most people "got it," but some needed a bit of help catching on that it was us!  They did the work so quickly and made a couple of edits when we asked.  They could not have been better to work with and made such a personalized, fun Save the Date for us.  I would highly recommend seeking them out if you ever need any Boston (Massachusetts) related note-cards.

One thing about post card Save the Dates I will note:  we included our wedding website at the bottom on the note card.  However, the post office actually placed the sticker bar code over the address so most people could not see it!  So if you are doing a post card, and there is some info you want your guests to see, make sure you give yourself a good, wide margin at the bottom of the card.

Wedding Planning - Where to start?!?

When Nick and I got engaged it was so exciting and so much fun!  After a few weeks (maybe even days) people are done congratulating you and start asking about the wedding particulars.  It can all be a little overwhelming to say the least - I mean, I was just happy to be engaged at that point.  So after about 2 weeks of engaged bliss Nick and I decided to work on a date so that we could give people some answers.  For better or worse, I actually did not have much of a clue as to what I wanted for my own wedding.  There were certain things I knew I did not want (such as sit down dinner), and I had already vicariously planned a couple of weddings when I was helping close friends with theirs, but when it came to my own I was at a bit of a loss.

Willowdale Estate

We figured we could be pretty flexible, and a wedding date (and most everything else) was going to be venue dependent, and a part of us (me) really thought about doing a destination wedding.  However, when push came to shove, the thought of planning a wedding long distance did not sit well.  Further complicating issues was that neither of us wanted to have our reception at a hotel: Nick plans a lot of events for work at hotels, and he didn't want the wedding to feel like another conference.  In Boston, finding a location that is not a hotel, that holds enough people and is a reasonable price is somewhat difficult.  So, as a first step, we decided to do the "tour de North Shore" (where both Nick and I are from) to see if we could find something we liked that was within the budget and work from there.



Since many of my friends got married in the same area I had a good number of places to check out, and they had helpful hints as to what venues would work.  So, for two weekends and one Friday morning in the Spring, Nick and I (along with my mother) headed out to check out potential venues: Commander's Mansion, Turner Hill, Moraine Farm, Hamilton Hall, Brooksby Farm, and Willowdale Estate.  The plan was to pick a venue, find an available date sometime in 2012 and then sit back and relax until we had to get the planning underway.

Hamilton Hall

After looking at all the different venues we had to narrow down the choices, basing it upon how much we loved the venue and the value we were getting for the money.  A big cost factor is dependent on whether or not the venue has a liquor license - without one you are able to bring in your own at wholesale cost, which saves a ton of money ($8-10K in some places).  In the end we were choosing between Hamilton Hall and Willowdale Estate.

Willowdale Front Door

With Hamilton Hall we would have gotten married in the summer or fall of 2012 - on season (April through October) was affordable, but there was something that just did not click for me.  With Willowdale, on the other hand, I fell in love instantly when I looked at the photos online and even more so when I saw it in person.  Nick wasn't as enamored with the venue's outside, but loved the details on the inside.

Dining Room

The tricky part about Willowdale is that the "on season" cost can be expensive, even with the fact they did not have a liquor license.  However, during the off season, Willowdale was very reasonable - that, and they include an awful lot in their winter packages.  When looking at the dates available for the winter of 2012 (late fall and next winter seemed too far away!), I was excited to see that New Years Eve was still open.

A part of me always wanted to have a New Year's wedding.  I have never been one to get really excited about New Year's plans because it always seems like a bit of a bust.  I always think a fun dinner with friends is the best way to celebrate.  If New Year's is your anniversary, oddly enough I think it takes some of the pressure off.  All you need is a nice bottle of bubbly and you are set for a fun evening at home to celebrate, plus there will always be fireworks on your anniversary ;)

View to Gardens

What made the New Year's date even better this year is it was a Saturday, which meant all of our out-of-town guests could feasibly travel to Boston without having to take any time off for the wedding if they didn't want to.  We decided to ask some of our family and closest friends if the date would work for them.  Not surprisingly, they were more excited to have New Year's plans mapped out for them than concerned that we would be screwing up any potential plans.

Balcony of Grand Room

Conservatory - where the ceremony would be

With the go-ahead from our loved ones, Nick and I decided to book Willowdale for New Year's Eve.  While we were more than excited, the New Year's date meant we had to get going on the planning - there was no real time to sit back and wait.  Given both of our Type A personalities, and knowing that Nick does some event planning for work, I knew we were up to the challenge.

Beside the look of Willowdale and the date, what I liked most was how much would be taken care of through the venue.  They do their own catering, we could have our ceremony on site, open flames are allowed, and a wedding planner and wedding night in one of the suites was included.  Also, we did not have to worry about renting tables, chairs linens and all of those minor things that require some thought and attention, the cost of which can sneak up on you.  With all the stress weddings can cause, we figured the less we had to think about the better.  Willowdale just seemed to make things less stressful.  With all things considered it was really a no-brainer and we signed on the dotted line.

Into the Dining Room

I am here to tell you that you can plan a wedding easily in 8 months.  In a time when people have very long engagements, I actually really enjoyed our timeline.  So, over the next few weeks (or months, more likely) I will go through some of the tricks I learned through the process and some of the vendors I loved and others that really dropped the ball (ahem, Priscilla's).  After all the effort put into planning it will be fun to share it all with you!

Officially a Mrs.!

Its been quite some time since I have posted because I have been busy - you know, getting married and enjoying a lovely honeymoon in the Maldives and Dubai.  Needless to say, I have tons of posts on all sorts of wedding fun as well as the honeymoon.  Both flew by and I am so not ready to head back to work today.

Here are a few teaser photos.  More to come....

Almost ready to walk down the aisle

First photo as an officially married couple!

The view from our hotel villa in the Maldives (it was amazing!)

Neighboring Palapa

And one of many sunset photos...

Sunset

I can not wait to give full recaps on everything, but somehow I need to get back to life in the real world - right now that is VERY tough!

Wedding and Honeymoon Time!

Well, its hard to believe that the time has officially come, but yes, it is almost New Year's Eve, which also means it's time for me to become a wife!  Yes, Nick and I are getting married this weekend!

Engagement Photos!

Needless to say today is a bit busy, wrapping up months of planning and doing and final prep for the wedding!  Honestly, the past 10 months have flown by.

Boston Common by Moonlight

This weekend we are ready to enjoy spending time with our families and best friends and dance the night away.  Lucky for us, we will have plenty of time to rest up in the Maldives and Dubai (sorry to those who have to head back to work!).

Needless to say, I will be taking a bit of a blogging break - maybe, depending on how good the pictures are, I will post a few shots of our ocean views.  Upon my return, I will have plenty of wedding photos, but also share with you some of the things I learned along the wedding planning way.  That and some of the terrific vendors I worked with.  The engagement photos above are courtesy of Holly Redmond - I can't wait to see what she does at the wedding!

I wish everyone a fun and safe New Year!!  Next time I write I will be a Mrs. - CRAZY!

Sonsie - a Back Bay Go-To

Two weekends ago my brother and his girlfriend came to town - her first time in Boston.  Needless to say we were under some pressure to show her a good time and what an amazing city Boston is!  After a delicious late dinner at Tico, we woke up the next morning ready to explore.  First up: a Duck Tour starting and returning at the Pru.  When the tour wrapped up, we were ready for some food!

Being in the Back Bay, there are so many good places to go.  We decided on Sonsie for a number of reasons - first and foremost, great food, but also this is the restaurant where Nick and I are having our rehearsal dinner.  Nick still hadn't seen the space so we figured better late than never!  Lucky for us, the four of us walked right in and were seated in the cafe area up front.

After getting a lovely tour of the downstairs private wine room, we were ready to eat.  My brother was so ready that he ordered some calamari before we even had time to really look at the drink menu!

Calamari

The calamari is flash fried with zucchini strings, lemon aioli and fried parsley.  It was the perfect, tasty, crunchy food to satisfy us! 


As this was a special occasion, it definitely called for a drinking lunch.  Nick and BL (My brother R's girlfriend) went the Bloody Mary route.  These bloody Marys had the extra special touch of blue cheese stuffed banana peppers and a high level of spice.  The peppers were so delicious, we asked (and received) some extras on the side. 

Bloody Mary - that is a celery garnish

I ordered the cucumber vodka drink, which was completely refreshing for in the early afternoon.

Cucumber yumminess

 My brother, R, stuck with a Sam Summer...never a bad option.

Sam Summer

The menu had a number of really good items to choose from.  Every time I had been to Sonsie previously I ALWAYS went with the mushroom pizza, but I decided I really needed to branch out, so I decided to order the Cubano, which had spicy roast pork, ham and cheese with plantain chips.  The sandwich was delicious, though I forgot that Cuban sandwiches have loads of pickles.  After pulling a few of them out, though, I was good to go.  The bread was light and fluffy and the combination of sliced meat and cheese was delicious - not too spicy by any means, just good flavor.  I loved the crispy plantain chips - such a great alternative to french fries.

Cubano

R went with the cheeseburger (such a ME order!) with plum tomato, lettuce, pickle and steak fries.  The burger had some good melted cheese and tasted really good.  The fries were what he couldn't stop talking about. 

The Burger

Nick and BL went the pizza route.  Nick ordered the Duck pizza, which had Chinese roasted meat, hoisin BBQ sauce, scallions and toasted sesame.

Duck Pizza

BL went with my traditional order and got the mushroom, caramelized onion, mozzarella, and brie cheese pizza (BRIE on pizza - is there anything better?).

Mushroom Pizza

The pizzas were both delicious - the crust is light but with a nice crisp.  Its not too thin but really has a good crust for you to bite into.

After we finished up and were asking for our check our waiter asked if we were in a rush because he had something for us.  As a congratulations on our engagement he brought us a warm chocolate bread pudding with soft whipped cream and chocolate sauce.  Nick is normally the bread pudding fan of the couple, but I could not get enough.  This was so yummy!  The whipped cream was so thick it could have been mistaken for ice cream.  The dessert was such an amazing treat!

Bread Pudding

The meal and the service were great and while I had experienced it before, this was Nick's first time at Sonsie, and after seeing the room and enjoying his meal he ensured his mother that the location was perfect for our rehearsal dinner.  Even my brother got excited for the rehearsal dinner after our yummy lunch!  The downstairs has a great bricked in wine cellar complete with a bar area that makes for a perfect private dining space.

Sonsie always has great food, and if you get to experience the cafe area in the front of the restaurant with the windows open it really makes for such a fun dining experience.  And, while I have never witnessed it, Sonsie is supposedly also a good location for local celebrity sitings.  So if you head on over for a good meal, keep your eyes out! 

BIG NEWS!!!

So, I cannot hold it in any longer. We tried to tell as many people as possible before they would find out through social media channels, but honestly, we've waited long enough!!

On Saturday night last weekend, Nick and I got engaged!!!!  It was a total surprise for me, and I loved every moment of it.  We were hanging out at home for the night and I was trying to finish up some cupcakes for a St. Patrick's Day party the next day. 

I am completely obsessed with my ring so I must share it with everyone!

The Ring!

This is the reason why my blog as been a little behind this week - just too many things going on with the exciting engagement news :)

We are both super excited, but really do not know anything more than that!  The great venue hunt has begun, but really, I have never had a specific place in mind so we are starting locally and going from there.  With no real date in our heads, we really can do just about anything.  So with that, I am sure this will be the first of more than few wedding oriented posts:)

We are off to NYC this weekend to just enjoy the city and see some sites - maybe hit of a sample sale or two.  But a return trip may be necessary at some point.  "Say Yes to the Dress," anyone???