What I did over my Winter Vacation
By bridejulie | posted on January 12, 2012 at 9:45am
What a perfect time for wedding planning
What I did over my Winter Vacation by BrideJulie:
If you just tuned in, I am planning from California/China where I basically have a dual working situation. I am also, not by choice, a work-a-holic and basically put off planning until the holidays. In the weeks leading up to the holidays I booked a few appointments; hotel, wedding planner, dress shopping, band stalking, engagement shoot and more.. all to be squeezed into the week between x-mass and nye.
Brandon and I had a great time working on our engagement photos with Jenica at Knight Studio! We did a winter theme at the Glens Falls Park in Williamsville; cute boots, coats and mittens. If you recall there was only one day of snow during the holidays and lucky for us it hit on the day of our shoot. We didn’t have any snow on the ground but it made for a cute ” first snow of the season” kind of feel. They should be ready this week and I cant wait to see them! If you do not have a photographer yet I highly recommend knight studio- if you search for “buffalo wedding” they will most likely pop up with their venue photo galleries.
Lodging- We met with a few hotels downtown, who knew that there is a rush for hotels in Buffalo?!?! Talking to hotels they already seem to be booking up for August. I put a block on some rooms at one hotel just to make sure I have space for all of my out of town guests. You should too- stat!
The Dress hunt- I paraded all around town looking for dresses too. I dragged my Mom and Grandma to a shop in Rochester that advertised that they had Amsale dresses, my favorite designer. When we arrived there it turns out they only had a few… like 3… I found nothing to wow and dragged them back to Buffalo. Why not make it a marathon so I took them to David’s Bridal in Tonawanda- had some more success here. I like places that I can see the dresses instead of describe them to the consultant only. It’s so hard to describe what you want when you are clueless! Well, some success at David’s bridal- they have a huge selection and a lot of variety. A few days later I tried another local store and had a HUGE disaster- this place to be left unnamed was awful. The consultant took over ten minutes to find the first round of dresses and I didn’t like a single one- they were exactly what I said I didnt want. Then came another round and I was only able to find one that i wanted to try on. The consultant next door knew better what I wanted and passed a few over for me to try on by myself. What a headache that place was. ( TRUST YELP REVIEWS ) One last place to try, Bridal chateau near the airport. I was surprised here and really impressed with their system. They do not take appointments but give you rings to mark dresses you like and then the consultants cue up for brides as they get ready. Great service and no time limit/crunch. They had a great variety of dresses for a reasonable price range and its easier when you can pick them out first as I mentioned before. I found a great one there, a maggie sotera dress- I am not convinced its the one yet but it was sure a confidence boost.
Phew. I did a lot. Did I mention that we also completed the save the dates and stalked every bar and restaurant for the rehearsal dinner spot. I gained a few pounds just eating all of the great foods in Buffalo.
Saving the best for last- the wedding planner. I found two wedding planners that I wanted to check out while I was home; a buffalo based one and a rochester based one. I had been emailing back and forth with the planner in rochester and just wasn’t feeling the vibe. She wouldn’t reveal what the packages included but only their price and that she was worth every penny. I liked her website so I went with it for a few weeks until our meeting. Just before heading home I found another planner on yelp, Carla. I checked out her webpage and was impressed so we booked an appointment during my visit. Carla seemed easygoing during our email conversation and so I postponed the Roch. meeting. Brandon and I met Carla in East Aurora at a cute bakery and chatted over coffee. We walked through the package options and bounced a few initial ideas back and forth. It took a total of 3 seconds after Carla left us before Brandon said- “you need her.” We waited a few hours to make sure and to discuss package options before calling Carla with our decision. As the day went on we became happier, the air was lighter and we knew that it was the right decision. We fell in love with Carla because she has spent time in NYC and San Francisco planning events and now supports the Buffalo region. I wanted someone that was excited to show how great Buffalo is but also had a great eye for design. Carla is both, and having contacts in SF my current location is bonus!
