Hotel options

As we are  sending our travel information to out-of-town guests, we have been busy finalizing the details of the weekend. My biggest concern with this has been...where will everyone stay?  Will people generally want to stay at the same hotel as the reception (Fairmont). Or, in this economy, is it especially important to give at least one option of a "budget" priced hotel?  We have looked and looked and all hotels nearby the Fairmont are about the same price (we negotiated a rate of $189/night which I think is pretty good for Nob Hill).  But, all decent Union Square hotels are about the same price. Ugh!  Do you have any suggestions for me - should we just leave it up to the travelers to find something in their price range?  Or look far outside the surrounding area for a better budget option? Help!

The prince and I often reflect on the importance of our family throughout this wedding process. We absolutely love that our siblings can be a part of the wedding and I have grown closer to them all in the past few months of planning. We have been able to see all of them in the past month, which is a special treat considering they are literally in the four corners of the U.S. Here are some pictures from special moments we've treasured in April and May as they have been filled with birthdays, tennis championships, graduations, new jobs, and lots of celebrating!  

Cupcakes - Round 1

This weekend we celebrated a fun shower/bachelorette party for Megs upcoming wedding celebration! It didn't take much to convince the gals to join me for Round 1 Cupcake Tasting. Can we say, YUM. However, I have to say there was clearly a winner, That Takes the Cake on Union Street. The second runner up would have to be Kara's Cupcakes (especially for design). We were not impressed by American Cupcakes. Round 2 we will bring the grooms along and check out Sibby's....any other suggestions?

Save the Dates

To save the date or not?

This is one of our biggest debates...since we are technically getting married in our hometown, we could say that people don't need as much advance notice. However, schedules fill up quickly, and about 75% of our guests will be an airplane flight away. So...we decided to send them to out-of-towners and set up a website that anyone (including the locals) can view.

There are sooo many options out there...some of my favorite recessionista prints were from weddingpaperdivas.com and shutterfly.com. Compared to the more expensive sights, we will save over $300 by going with one of these! I certainly would prefer to do something super creative (like save the date hanky's), but the costs were getting too high.

Tons of Progress!

Wow we had such a productive Mother's Day Weekend. After I had traveled to both Alabama and Idaho in the last month, I was really looking forward to having similar wedding conversations with the Prince's family! There are so many details to discuss....what kind of food and music? What is the schedule going to be like? How will the photographer, videographer, and coordinator interact with the families? What can everyone do to help? What's the attire and theme for the weekend? I could go on and on. The great news is they areincredibly supportive in every way!!

The icing on the cake was an opportunity to visit Yelena's Bridal in Monrovia. Sister, Mom and one of my oldest and dearest friends, made this a fun and comfortable experience! AND, the best of all, I found my dress and the bridesmaid dresses! We decided to go with a chocolatey brown taffeta...so yummy and rich you'd want to eat it!

Also, we decided on the type of rehearsal dinner party we want, and as luck would have it we ran into our hopeful videographer at church and found out he IS available that weekend! Yippee!!

"THE" Dress

So, I've REALLY loved this dress shopping experience so far! I've been able to take several women close to me which has been a total honor! Also, my dad joined in the fun last time and gave great advice (so did brother!)

Since we are sticking to a budget, its been really interesting to see bridal salons that are in my price range. Suprisingly they have a lot of selection, and fabulous people who know how important it is to save in this economy. I highly recommend The Art of Weddings in Spokane, WA, Paris Connections in San Francisco, and Bridesmaids and More in Daphne, AL.

For fun, i decided to try a more upscale bridal salon in san francisco yesterday. I was greatly disappointed, even the $5,000 dresses weren't a fit! So, I guess I can say that money certainly doesn't equate to happiness!

Will keep you posted on the progress :)

The Big Wedding

Plans for the Big Wedding are underway....

We finally picked a date! The church is set (St. Nicholas Orthodox) and so is the band (seemed to be a #1 priority, strange maybe?

Also, It was with great excitement we finally decided on the reception site for our wedding - the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco! Queen Carol took us all over the city and while nothing felt "quite right" until the end.
The Fairmont offers San Francisco charm and old history (http://www.fairmont.com/EN_FA/Property/SAF/AboutUs/HotelHistory.htm). After taking my dear girfriends, I had an amazing feeling about the Garden Terrace and Gold Room for dinner and dancing. We are thrilled!

Lastly, I have gone wedding dress shopping several times and have yet to find anything. I've asked myself often, will I really find "the one"? If I have faith in this process (as I did with meeting Mr. Prince!) I should believe it is possible. Let the hunt continue...