So after the two weeks of craziness it was time to get started on the wedding preparation.
And the whole thing has basically been planned in a two week time frame… even though it is over 13 months away the next six months are going to be really busy with moving apartments and also the trip to Australia in April so we really had to get started now. I wasn’t intending on getting it all done but it has just happened that way! Also, just in case some people from Australia were planning on coming, we really couldn’t leave it until the last minute. So this is how it happened!
(Note – it is only this way because we are deliberately keeping it small and VERY simple. We want this to be a party, not a drainer and we want the emphasis to be on the ceremony, not things like a towering fountain of chocolate at a reception. I have never been one to ‘dream of’ weddings and wedding stuff yet when I envisaged a wedding it was exactly this way.)
Location
This is an issue because of the Australian/US situation. We chose New York for many reasons. We are having a big party in Melbourne in April and hopefully when we go back in 2011 for our ‘real’ honeymoon, we will be have a blessing/vow ceremony at my school chapel which is where I had always wanted to get married.
Date
We had the date set and really can’t budge on 20 November 2010. This is because we’ll be using a majority of our annual leave on the April trip to Australia. So this date allowed us to have more time afterwards due to Thanksgiving and it also meant that my family could be here for Thanksgiving too.
Theme/Color
It was only after talking to Bill’s sister Pauline that the thought of a fall themed wedding entered my mind. Because I haven’t grown up with fall being such a huge deal I didn’t even think of it. Once I checked out some ideas and colours it was go go go. I loved it! It is my favourite season and it would look fantastic. So expect lots of pumpkins, leaves, harvesty stuff with amber and brown colourings!
Nuptial Mass
We wanted it in East Greenbush at the parish where Bill has grown up. Upon meeting Father Joe, I was absolutely convinced! It is a lovely, active parish and the church is gorgeous. We had our first of five meetings with Father Joe over Columbus Day weekend and it went really well. We had to fill out the 150 question FOCUSS survey which was good to do – just to make sure we are on the same page with everything and our answers were not full of ‘unsure’ as the answer.
Pre-Cana
We are booked in for our Pre-Cana in Albany in June next year. It is a one day session held in central Albany.
Mass Booklet
I found the best best best wedding booklet template and have this all ready to go. As it is a full mass with communion with some very important readings in it, I wanted to have a full text mass booklet as I feel that being able to read it makes it easier to understand the meaning behind some of the prayers and readings. So this is basically ready to print! Father Joe gave us a wonderful guide called Together for Life which helps build the mass in a personalized fashion. I found that a lot of the readings suggested in that were ones that had already been on the ‘good readings’ list so that was excellent.
Reception
This is where we had the most angst. As our wedding is very small, a lot of places will not cater on a Saturday for that amount of people. That, and the prices of some of the places were just very unrealistic and included a lot of extras that were not really necessary for the kind of wedding we wanted. While having it Upstate is good because sometimes it is better not to have an overwhelming amount of choices, it means that wedding places are in demand. The Carolina House was decided upon one night (I had been struggling to find a restaurant that would have a party our size and serve the kind of food we wanted with the bar options we also wanted and that would fit our budget) and it is a great place. Bill’s parents had their 50th Wedding Anniversary party there and we had driven past it a couple of times and loved the village of Kinderhook. So I decided YES before I had even eaten there, going by all the unanimous nods from the Blevins Family about the quality of the food there. Sunday night last week, Bill and I went there for dinner and it was everything I imagined and all. The reception area is just beautiful! It is cosy, warm and feels like a party at home – the feeling we wanted. When it came to the food – perfect! The bar is stunning. Am so happy with this decision!
Dress
When Emma was over in NY, she spoke about the show ‘Say Yes To The Dress’. It is GREAT viewing! We were watching it on a Saturday afternoon when I had a freak out over one episode where the the bride told the salesperson quite clearly what her limit to spend on the dress was and the sales person still went and got her one that was over the limit. It absolutely infuriated me. Watching them poke, prod and march out in front of other people… I couldn’t think of anything worse. I had had a look on some websites so I knew the style of dress I wanted and I know quite clearly what suits me and what doesn’t. I was dreading actually having to deal with sales people like this. Ugh! It was then that I went onto the David’s Bridal website and saw THE dress. It is only available online. I sent it to mum, Bill’s mum, Nadine and Shannyn saying “This is IT!”. They all wrote back with an united YES. So the next day, I had Bill do all my measurements (how many grooms do the dress measurements for the bride?!) and worked out my size and… ordered it. Then on Tuesday it arrived at work. I wanted to wait to try it on until we were in Albany the following weekend. Once I tried it on, it was perfect and it got approval from Bill’s mum, his sisters Eileen and Pauline and nieces, Rebecca and Emily. It will need to be slightly altered but nothing major and it is exactly what I wanted. So it is staying for the next year at Bill’s parents home and I will start looking at alterations during summer next year. This is just the biggest relief for me – I didn’t have to get out of my pyjamas and I didn’t have to deal with salespeople. Horray!
I have picked out my veil and am ordering that next month and will only be getting basic shoes so will probably leave that until right around alteration time as well.
Tuxedo
Bill has his that he bought last year for the Benefit Dinner. So we are set!
Wedding website
Being a nerd, as soon as we got back from Washington DC I registered www.billandjenelle.com. We had up all the main template up a few weeks ago and have been adding to it since. Bill wrote our ‘origins’ piece last night and we have updated it with the latest snippets and news.
Announcement
I twittered it straight away… oops! I have kept copies of all the Facebook and Twitter messages we received as they really are the new engagement card! We will be putting an announcement in the Albany Times Union soon.
Invitations
Using an online vendor I have our order ready to go with the invitations, RSVPs, envelopes, menu and thank-you cards.
Cake
Due to Bill’s undying devotion to dessert… he is in charge of the cake! From what I know he has narrowed down some Albany vendors.
Photographer
All ready to go! Luke Munro, the husband wonderful friend from high school Bernadette is going to be our photographer as they are going to be coming over for the wedding! Yahhoooo! We had a little iChat video conference last week (where they also got to meet Bill!) and we are so happy to have him as our photographer.
Cleary House
As mum, dad and Matthew are all coming over. I thought it would be nice to have a ‘Cleary House’ where we could pretend like we were altogether. Then by chance in Kinderhook I found out about the Van Shaak House.A beautiful old mansion that we have been able to book out. An added small world bonus? The owner is from Woolongong!!!
Music
The ceremony music will be looked after by the very talented Parish musician, Cylon George.
For the reception, it is a Bill and Jenelle surprise. But regardless, it is all done!
Hair/makeup
I have narrowed the hair and makeup artist down to two companies that will come to the Van Shaak House in the morning for us. This has to wait to be finalized until I am in Albany next.
Favours
In the first week, we decided what our favours would be and it is going to be a surprise! We have priced everything and have them organized and will order them closer so they don’t spoil.
Accommodation for guests
We always stay at the Marriott Fairfield Inn in East Greenbush and as it is newly renovated, offers breakfast and is super clean and reasonable we though this would be a perfect place to recommend out of town guests to stay at.
Flowers
Again, I have narrowed down to a few in Albany and have the plans for all the flowers. This is something else that must wait until closer to confirm.
Timeline
We are finalising this now and with the help of Luke the other day, it is pretty much done!
Transportation
Until we know how many people are coming from Australia, we cannot organize the possibility of guest transportation until then. I have done all the research so when the time comes, I can book this.
For the wedding day, we’ll just be using the one car to get us from the Van Shaak house. Again, have narrowed down the companies and am just waiting on prices and availability. Am not really fussy at all with this.