JC Bridal Show

The Jefferson City Bridal Show on Sunday was a fun time! This was actually their smaller one--there were only 40 vendors--and they have a much larger one in January. My mom, my childhood best friend Lindsey, and I made the most of it, however, browsing around and talking to someone at most every booth. One of my girlfriends mentioned that I should print off mailing labels with my name, address, and contact information on them, and I'm so glad I listened to her! Most every booth had some sort of giveaway drawing, so all we had to do was pull off a sticky label and attach it ...instead of writing my name a gazillion times! As far as ideas, the bridal show definitely got me thinking about things such as bridesmaid dresses, wedding cakes, and photographers. I'm certain now that I'm striving for a square wedding cake...I absolutely LOVE the modern look the squares bring. I took a snapshot of one that I saw...


We also flipped through portfolios of several photographers. Most weren't terribly impressive, but there was one that was absolutely fabulous...for $4500!! What I liked about that particular photographer's style was that he brought the photo journalistic approach to his pictures--the more candid, artsy sort of look. What I would love to find is someone who can do both the traditional group shots and incorporate some of the artsy shots in as well. And, of course, being able to afford them would also help! I know there are tons of options out there and I'm confident I will find someone who is affordable and qualified when I start looking. The reception facility is on the top of my priority list right now!

Another discovery we made is that Alfred Angelo has a burnt orange color available for bridesmaid dresses as well. Alfred Angelo and Bill Levkoff can be starting points for bridesmaid dress shopping. One vendor had mannequins setup with chocolate brown dresses next to a black tux, which also looked quite sharp. The dark brown would be my second choice if we can't get the orange to work out...

Of course now since the show, the wheels in my head are turning even more. How fun!

Immaculate Conception Church

We also stopped by the church this weekend to take a few photos of the lovely carpet colors (sigh). I think a runner is a must, and we were even throwing around ideas of somehow covering up the mauve (yes, more mauve than burgundy...see for yourself below) carpet around the altar. Nate suggested maybe a brown runner up the aisle instead of white (can you get runners in colors??) so as not to distract from the white wedding gown, and then we were picturing some brown fabric surrounding the altar--kind of like a big Christmas tree skirt... :) I guess I could just go for some mauve bridesmaid dresses, and then nothing would clash at all! Check out these pictures...

Reception Sites

We did a little browsing this weekend to check out our options for reception sites. We have eliminated one choice, The Truman Hotel, so that leaves us weighing the pros and cons of the two that remain--the Capital Plaza Hotel and the Loose Creek Community Club.

We will likely have our out-of-town guests, ourselves included, staying at the Capital Plaza Hotel (http://www.capitolplazajeffersoncity.com/home.aspx). It takes approximately 20 minutes to travel from Jefferson City to Loose Creek, where the ceremony will be held. Having the reception back at the Capital Plaza would provide advantages such as: a nice, formal setting, convenience for out-of-towners, linens and chair covers provided, no legwork for a caterer required, and not a large amount of decorating needed. The disadvantages are that it would be relatively more expensive--and the big one--they are totally booked for October of 2008. We would have to change our wedding date to September instead.

The Loose Creek Community Club (LCCC) is right down the hill from where the ceremony will be held. The advantages to having the reception there would be it is close to the church, it's larger and more open, there is an outside area for a bar, we would have more "creative" decorating ability, and it's more affordable. The disadvantages are that we would likely have a buffet style dinner with "throw-away" plates (Nate was shocked at this but it's what I'm used to), we'd have to find a caterer, we'd have more decorating to do, and guests would have a 20 minute drive to return to the hotel in Jeff City. As you can see in the pictures below, we'd have to take a concrete gym and turn it into a reception hall.


As I think I mentioned before, however, there is a lady in town named Laurie that does an incredible job decorating for weddings at the LCCC--she even goes as far as stringing cables from the ceiling in order to drape fabric across it. Nate was having a hard time visualizing how this "concrete box" could be made into a reception hall, so I have left a message with Laurie requesting a look a her portfolio of past jobs. Once I hear from her, we will have all the information we can gather...and will have to make a decision!

Online Browsing

I was doing a little online browsing last night, and stumbled upon a designer that has a burnt orange color available in several of his dresses: http://www.billlevkoff.com/main3.asp?p=1. I'm planning on doing some wedding dress shopping next month, and I know one of the shops carries this designer's dresses, so I'm excited to see a color swatch and see what dresses are available! You never can tell with colors on computer monitors--they could be dramatically different in person....so we'll see!

I also found a couple of pictures of bouquets which I think are gorgeous. I've included them below...

Wedding Colors

Assuming our special day is in October, I would love to incorporate the colors of fall into the wedding. Nate and I are both huge fans of orange, so that is a must. Maybe a pretty burnt orange, a red or merlot, and/or a brown. I'm not sure if a burnt orange is too funky for bridesmaid dresses, or as some of my girlfriends and I were saying this weekend, may bring too much of a "Halloween" feel with the black tuxes. It could always be used as an accent color if nothing else.

Colors, I think, go hand-in-hand with flowers. I love calla lilies; however, they aren't particularly in season in October. I suppose I could use them as accents in my bouquet, along with things like roses and mums. I'm a relatively simple person, so in my opinion, less is more. I'm thinking the bridesmaids could then carry bouquets of one of the flowers in my bouquet, say mums.

Just thinking out loud here, so any comments are welcome!

Just Getting Started!

Well, it's been almost a month now since Nate popped the question, and we're still trying to nail down a wedding date! We FINALLY have an appointment with a deacon at the church the beginning of next month. During that appointment, we will fill out the paperwork that needs to be approved by the diocese of Jefferson City, so Nate and I can be married in my hometown of Loose Creek. Once that gets approved, we should be able to reserve the church!

In the meantime, I have been researching possible reception sites, and we are going to do a couple of walkthroughs at the end of the month. There is a bridal show in Jefferson City on the 29th that my mom and I are going to attend, so it's the perfect opportunity to schedule some appointments to check out reception venues. We really only have three options: Truman Hotel, Capital Plaza Hotel, or the Loose Creek Community Club.

We would love to have a fall wedding and are shooting for October 4, 2008. We'll see if everything falls into place for that date!