Stop 4: Venues

*huffs*

Now this is frustrating.

I won't even go into how many venue's I've contacted. In short - a lot. After the first few came back with having no events allowed at the space after October, I went a little crazy, figuring my options were limited.

Guess I was right. I've gotten a whopping six replies in over two weeks, three of which aren't open for events in December. One of which I don't know yet, as they have both a hotel and a ranch, and I don't know if the ranch (which is what we'd want... so not going for the whole "enclosed space" bit, even if it is winter) is available in December.

The good news is, the two that have responded that most definitely are open to events in December, are gorgeous spaces. One of them is supposedly a golf club, and I tell you what... being from California, born and raised, it's like no golf club I've ever seen!  Even out in Wilton back in the 90's...

Anyway, thanks to being without my glasses, I mistook some of the photos as being in the winter, but ah well. They know we're wanting a December wedding, and still seem very amenable. Makes me nearly drool over thinking what it would all like in the snow!

The other... now those are definitely snow photos!

I think... maybe, I'd be okay if these were the only two to get back to me. It irritates me to no end that I haven't heard back from more, but I guess it is what it is, and what will be will be.

On both, we're waiting to hear back about food/beverage minimums and the like. Curious to find out if we can modify our reception plans the way we'd like.

On a side note, depending on whether or not we move ahead with a planner and what kind of magic they can work for us in terms of our budget, I may be doing centerpieces and what not on my own. So not a big deal - I've been doing simple, natural arrangements (wreaths and centerpieces) for the holidays since I was a little girl. It soothes me, and our guest list being so small will mean I won't be going crazy trying to do it.

I wish I had more to say, but... yeah. Contact has apparently been a premium these days, even though we're definitely not in bridal season. Would be nice to have a little bit more information or idea of where we're going to go after three weeks of sending out email after email to potential venues and vendors, though.

~*~Valerie~*~

Stop 2: Photographer Interviews

So... I'm running into a little problem. I hope it's just because of the upcoming holiday, but still... there's ways around this.

I've emailed over a dozen different photographers. Some of them over a week ago. Guess how many have gotten back to me?

Less than half. On top of that, I had a scheduled phone appointment with one for 6:30 today (after I at least had the presence of mind to email and tell him that our first appointment needed to be postponed on the account I had no voice... but at least I contacted him before the call was supposed to take place).

I never got a call. Nor an email, or anything else for that matter.

Bridezilla? Nah. This would bug me whether it was for the wedding or for a family photo. If you've got an appointment with someone and you're going to miss it - some contact would be nice. I'm withholding judgement for the moment on the account of "shit happens" but considering how little feedback I've gotten so far, it's a little discouraging.

Add to that the fact I've gotten two - TWO - responses from wedding coordinators, out of the half dozen I've contacted?

*sighs* I've only talked to two of the photographers so far. The first, I feel... okay about. The package is a good value, and we get everything we want - from photographers who style we enjoy - for just under our budgeted amount. The gentleman we spoke with even had the presence of mind to send a follow up email today to summarize our conversation.

The second one... I don't know if she was just rushed, or more comfortable behind a camera than "in front of it" so to speak, but... she didn't really try to get to know about us at all. Granted, I was the only one on the phone, but any time I tried to ask how she would portray something particularly unique about what we're planning (ever seen a groom in BDU's as opposed to Class A's? Not me.) she launched back into a spiel about her services.

I don't need to know about your services - I need to know about your skills. I felt like I was being given a sales pitch and nothing else.

So, yeah. Frustrated.

• 7+ photographers have yet to respond to my inquiry.
• Two responded but are significantly out of our budget - though I need to review one as on the account of Jerry being a veteran she offered to add additional hours for no extra charge.
• One just comes across as too... young to be able to handle our wedding appropriately.
• One I have to call back on Monday due to afore mentioned loss of voice.
• One missed our phone appointment tonight for an as of yet unknown reason.
• One has called me twice, though today I asked if I could email him times when I could talk only to discover later - I don't have his email address.

So out of all that, so far, I only have one potential photographer.

In terms of potential planners - out of the two I had phone appointments scheduled, I have one tomorrow, and another the planner had to reschedule - and I haven't heard back from in terms of when.

Ironically, this is the exact reason why we wanted to hire a wedding planner.

I wonder if for now I should just focus on the dresses, and save the rest - somehow - until we actually make the move.

Anyway... I'm going to go enjoy some Korbel and cuddle with my man and watch some of the original CSI a la Grissom.

~*~Valerie~*~