Videographer/Photographer & DJ

Sorry I thought I put this up but I guess I never posted this. I got my Videographer, Photographer, and DJ with one service. REM Photography. I really love his work. The pictures are traditional and he does photojournalistic (which is unique shots that I like!) I get 2 videographers and 1 photographer for almost the whole day. We get to keep all the pictures and video footage that he takes. There is no limit to the amount of pictures he takes or footage he records. Also they aren't watermarked! He really worked with our budget. He should us what he can offer and custom made a package for what I wanted. Since we got Photography and Videography we get the owner to be one of our videographers and because we also got the DJ service, he also put himself as the editor of our video service (so you know he'll do a great job). With the DJ services they provide a bunch of lighting effects and he showed us the equipment. It's so prestine! He hids all the cords so there are no wires hanging around. The cameras will hook into the sound system so the audio on our video will be prestine. During the ceremony we will also have wireless mics. He has even impressed Joey of what this guy can do that we can't wait to see what he does. He showed us some things that he's only done on special requests and you know that I asked for all of that in my materials. One is a collage of video work. I can't wait for the wedding so I can see the product. OH... I almost forgot! He doesn't work with last minute people because he prefers to work with people that are detail oriented and plan ahead. Well, A day or two before I was going to call him to say we want to sign with you... another couple was trying to steal him from us. Because we saw him first (like 5 days earlier) he gave us the option to come in and sign before these other people! Thank you! I get my wish to have them do video and photo! 

FYI... I found him and was so scared that I wouldn't be able to afford him. I even played a game with Joey. The bet was if I win, I got a final say on something in the wedding and if he won he would have a final say. Guess what... I won... BUT I didn't have to use it on this guy!.... hehehe... I should find out what I want it for... and I think I know what it will be! :) 

Sorry for not writing! - Invitations

Sorry for not posting for a while. I've been having a hard time figuring out what to write. My life has been a little crazy. My mom's in Poland having a great time! I just came back from the annual Anime Convention. I didn't spend as much money as last year but I did spend enough. I'm trying to scan an image that I had commissioned there but it seems my printer is acting up. 

So I've been looking around at invitations mostly. I've been getting a lot of samples in the mail and nothing really wowed me. I also went to a invitation store to see what the store could do. I got some great ideas but what they were offering me I could make myself. I want an invitation that I can't make myself. I finally found something that I really like. I don't want to show you cause I got to leave some things a surprise for the wedding. What I like about it is it's a dark background and white writing.  

I'm probably going to by the invitations and reception cards from them. I think I'll make my own RSVP cards though. Joey and I are concerned about how postage keeps going up. It's $0.44 for 1 letter! So for every 2 families we need to spend a dollar at least for the return cards. Mostly everyone will have their invitations hand delivered. Joey and I are trying to find out how to save money and we're possibly thinking of making the RSVP cards as postcards since postage is cheaper for postcards. I guess having people to call and RSVP is a little tacky as well as having people to pay for their own postage. Another idea Joey and I have is maybe when we get people's home addresses we also get their e-mail addresses and we'll send Save the Dates through e-mail. What is your opinion on that? Is it tacky or smart? Also if anyone has any ideas... PLEASE... let me know! Remember you don't need a sign in name to comment.

I also found ideas for what I want to do for wedding programs.  To the right is what I want to do. It's a layered program. Top page is the cover then the next page would be the wedding party list, then next page would be the ceremony outline, then I would do acknowledgments. I really like this and I can probably make this myself fairly easily. 

I just looked at the timeline of what I should do and I guess looking at invitations should happen way later in the planning process. They say I should send them out 2-4 months before wedding. Right now I should be looking at DJs and Photographers. That's fine with me because Photographers/Videographers I'm pretty picky on. Now DJs.... i don't have a clue! BUT... I refuse to have a bad DJs. I want everyone dancing all night so I will do a good job!

Dress Shopping

So I went shopping with 2 of my friends. We have an idea of what kind of bridesmaid dresses that they like. One of dresses that the girls like is the one to the right. It's about $125.00 and my mom even negotiated it down to $120.00 since we would need to buy 9 dresses.

The Second dress I haven't been able to find a picture of online. It's a nice 1 color dress with some ruffles on the bottom and a tie up back. It's $160.00 but I haven't had mom work on them to get a discount.

Now... I also tried on wedding dresses. I really liked a few of them. One only comes in off white but they are going to see if the designer can make the dress in white for me. Even though I really like the dress (if you want an idea of what it looks like search Maggie Sottero dress and find the Monalisa style- it's the closest style I've found that is similar to the one I tried on.) I'm not willing to give up searching for dresses. I mean the best part of getting married is to try on dresses! But I can see myself going back and getting that dress if it comes in white.  

Sweepstakes, Giveaways, Prizes!

Money is a big deal with a wedding. So I decided I'm going to sign up for any sweepstakes, Giveaways, or Contests I can find. Not only am I going to sign up for them but I'm going to hunt them down. Hopefully between now and the wedding I might win something! Also if I hunt down ones that don't get a lot of applicants then I have a greater chance of winning. 

Wish me luck!

Oh and if anyone finds any giveaways... feel free to sign me up for it or let me know

Thanks!!!!!

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping / Bridal Party

So I'm really excited because this Saturday the 25th Stephanie, Shannon, Melissa (if she makes it back from Wisconsin in time) and I will be going Bridesmaid Dress Shopping! I have 3 appointments. 1st is at Bella Bridal at 12:00, then we go to Wolsfelts Victorian Bridal. Since we don't need an appointment to go bridesmaid dress shopping I made an appointment for 2:30 for me to try on some Bridal Dresses. I have a designer I like and in Illinois she sells her designs in two locations in Aurora at Wolsfelts and in Urbana which is hours away... so while I'm there I might as well try on some dresses. Finally at 4:00 we're going to House of Brides where I hear the bridesmaid collection is huge and affordable.

I just realized that not everyone knows who is in the bridal party... (IT'S HUGE!... sorry about the spelling)

                 Bridesmaids                                                      Groomsmen

• Stephanie (Maid of Honor)                                Chris (Best Man)
• Shannon- Friend                                                 Dan- Joey's Old roommate
• Melissa- Sylvia's Sister                                      Anthony- Joey's Brother
• Jessica- Sylvia's Sister                                       Tristan- Joey's Brother
• Lindsey- Joey's Sister                                        Romi- Joey's Cousin
• Rena- Joey's Sister                                             Mark- Joey's Cousin
• Karolina- Sylvia's Cousin                                   Chris- Old Friend
• Nicole- Sylvia's Cousin                                       Matt- Old Friend
• Izabella- Sylvia's Cousin                                    (********)
• (********)- (Flower Girl)                                 David- (Ring Bearer)

As of Right Now- Joey's is deciding on the final Groosmen. He has an idea of who he wants but he want to wait before officially making a decision. As for me... I found out that my Uncle from Poland might come to the wedding so I would probably use my cousin if she comes with but if she doesn't I have a few options. My friend is pregnant and will have a baby girl soon so I'm thinking of her as a flower girl in case my cousin can't make it.

This wedding is definatly a family wedding. I'm so excited about that. I want to share my wedding day with all my friends, family, and soon to be family. Also... if everyone of my Aunts and Uncles on my Mom's side come... It'll be a family reunion on top of a wedding. I don't known when my mom has been with all her brothers and sisters at once. I also hope that my Babcia will be healthy enough to travel to see not only Joey and I get married but to see all her children and grandchildren together.

Work Out Exercise Plans!

As you know... Joey and I got a gym membership. I've noticed I've done Cardio for 30 minutes, Abs, then either legs or arms. Also I like to stick to the same machines. I want to do more and really get a more overall workout then what I'm sticking to. These workout plans were kind of annoying to find. So I hope I help some people out with their workout routines by putting up these links.

With Summer Coming - The Bikini Workout

Back Shaping Workouts - Dumbbell Workout

                                           - Gym Equipment Workout

                                           - Resistance Band Workout

Chest Defining Workouts - Dumbbell Workout

                                             - Gym Equipment Workout

                                             - Equipment-Free Workout

Arm Toning Workouts - Dumbbell Workout

                                         - Gym Equipment Workout

                                         - Equipment Free Workout

                                         - Resistance Band Workout

Body Shaping Workouts - Dumbbell Workout

                                           - Equipment Free Workout

                                           - Gym Equipment Workout

                                           - Resistance Band Workout

                                           - Stability Ball Workout

Leg Defining Workouts - Dumbbell Workout

                                         - Equipment Free Workout

                                         - Gym Equipment Workout

                                         - Resistance Band Workout

                                         - Stability Ball Workout

Article- Tips for Booking Air Travel on a Budget

Airfares are trending down, and travelers who do their homework and shop around can find some fantastic deals.

By Beth J. Harpaz, AP

If you're on a budget but you'd like to fly somewhere for your next vacation, there's good news. "Domestic fares are down 9 percent over a year ago, and summer fares to Europe are down 19 percent," said Mike Fridgen, product manager for Farecast.com.

These and many other deals are easy to find online. But there are some strategies you can use to make sure you get the lowest possible airfares. Here are some tips from the experts.

Research: "The most important thing is to do your homework," said Michele Perry, spokeswoman for TripAdvisor.com, which just launched a new flight search aggregator.

To do your research right, you'll need to compare fares from many different sources. "Too many people get cozy with their favorite search engine, blithely thinking that it's the best," Hobica said.

Sign up for newsletters and e-mail alerts from airlines that serve the routes you're shopping for, and from sites like AirfareWatchdog, JohnnyJet, Farecast and others, including FareCompare, Kayak, Orbitz and Travelocity. Many airlines post their best fares only on their own Web sites, including Southwest, Allegiant Air, SAS, Aloha, Aer Lingus, Qantas, Alaska, Air New Zealand and JetBlue, Hobica said.

Absurdly cheap fares, like a recent $14 flight on JetBlue from New York to San Francisco, don't show up on booking sites because the sites can't earn a commission on them. But that fare was mentioned in an alert from AirfareWatchdog, in JetBlue's e-mail stream and on Twitter, Hobica said.

Airlines may also make deals with some sites and not others, so you may find fares differ for the same flight on different Web sites.

Another source for news about cheap fares, DiScala said, is the message boards of Webflyer.com.

And don't overlook promotional codes. "If you sign up for an airline's frequent-flier program or the airline newsletter, some airlines will generate a promotional code that you can use to get a discount when you book," Hobica said. Often these codes are generated individually and can be used only once, so you won't find them on Web sites.

Finally, as crazy as it sounds, check out package deals. Sometimes it's cheaper to book a hotel and airfare package even if you don't need lodging.

Hobica said the news on the economy just keeps getting worse, and "the airlines are panicking again. Spring fares softened and they're softening more. I expect to see summer fares soften, too." He added, "We're seeing a lot more low fares with no advance purchase, or just three days' advance, because the airlines realize that people are afraid to plan way ahead in this uncertain economy."

If you book now and the fare goes down later, some airlines, including JetBlue, Southwest and Alaska, give a voucher good for future travel for the difference, Hobica said. Others will refund the difference but charge a fee of $150 or more.

Watch the hype: Sometimes a fare is so low it seems too good to be true. And it just might be.

1st- a lot of really cheap deals are one-way, and the return fare may be more, depending on when you want to come back.

2nd- look for those pesky little asterisks next to the price. On international flights, taxes and surcharges could add up to several hundred dollars.

TripAdvisor's new Flights finder has a "Fees Estimator" function that can also help you keep track of little things — charges for food, checking baggage, even headphones. "If you're traveling with a family of four and everybody sends a bag, you could end up spending the price of a ticket on checking your luggage," Perry said.

Dates matter: Look for deals early in the week: "A lot of airlines release their sale fares on Tuesday," Perry said.

And be flexible about when you travel. "It's usually cheapest to fly midweek," she said.

You could also save big on summer fares if you fly early or late in the season, during the shoulder periods of May to mid-June or late August to September, in the weeks before and after peak summer travel, according to Fridgen of Farecast.com.

Hobica recommends using a flexible date search. "Orbitz and CheapTickets.com search over any 30-day period, and include all international routes; Travelocity and CheapAir.com search over a 330-day period, but don't offer all international routes," he said.

Compare routes: "Connecting is usually cheaper than a nonstop if you're willing to take a connecting flight," Perry said.

But weigh the risks: If you're switching planes, is there enough time to make your next flight? If there's a long layover, are you going to blow a day of your vacation in the airport, spending money on food?

And check out alternative airports. Perry's home airport is Logan in Boston, so she always looks at flights out of Providence, R.I., and Manchester, N.H., too. "Sometimes nearby airports will be cheaper," she said.

AirfareWatchdog has a search option to see the cheapest fares to any destination from a wide range of cities at a glance — for example, you can ask to see all the lowest fares to Paris from anywhere in the U.S.

In Europe, the cheapest destination airports include Dublin, Frankfurt, Shannon and London Gatwick (not Heathrow), Hobica said. Even if you're not headed to those cities, you might save money by flying in and connecting to a cheap European airline like Ryanair or EasyJet to get where you're going.

For a quick directory of which budget airlines serve which markets, visit WhichBudget.com.

Just remember that it's not always easy to transfer between two airports near one city. It could take hours and cost a bundle to travel between London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

Invitations- Momental Designs

Oh the Invitations! I've been looking like CRAZY to find something. I want to make my own... but I don't think it'll look that great. Plus... would I spend the same amount printing as I would buying? Well I know I'm picky and pricy ;) but I know what I like! I want original, beautiful, etc. I found Momental Designs and I love them. There is no price what so ever because every card is handmade by the designer Kristy Rice and she prices out the cards based on your card design. I'm so scared to ask! I don't want it to come back a lot because I can't have it then. Also I'm afraid people will look at it and just toss it. So what's the point in getting a nice card? 

EASY ANSWER- to get people excited to come to the wedding! The card sets the tone of the wedding! (And no... I don't think I've been reading too many bridal magazines)

Below are some of her invitations she made and you'll see why I fell in love with her designs! 

They're Pretty Right? Any they look $$$$. I want to find Amazing Cards for $. I was looking around at Bridal Expos that I can go to when I'm done working weekends... (2 more after today) and it looks like there will be some local designers at the Expo. I'll see what they can provide and for how much. Also... I'm going to be hunting for someone who can draw! If you know ANYONE please let me know. I'll pay them to do illistrations for me (for invites, place cards, etc) and I'll do the rest. I can copy them, print them, and all that fun stuff. Everyone please keep an eye and ear out for someone talented :)

Sore Muscles!

So Wednesday the 1st I went out to Bally's and I got Joey and I a month to month membership with Bally's for the 2 of us at $53. I think it's a good price. We get the gym, pool, suana, hot tub, and a bunch of free group classes like Yoga, pilates, Steps, Kwando, etc. We don't have a contract so we can cancel anytime. Well on Wednesday Joey and I both had our free 1 hour personal trainer session (you know it's just a sales thing but whatever). I got a lot of great advise in new things I can do to work out certain areas and what to do to increase weight loss. I want to lose the stomach bulge. I know I'm not big but I want to get healthier, and there's no way in hell I'm giving up good food to lose weight. I have been gaining weight and with me always sitting at work then not doing much when I get home. I need to do something. So I'm going to the gym to lose weight and tone! Well back to the trainer. Since Wednesday Joey and I have been so sore from working out with the trainer. I even had to tell the trainer that I needed to take a 5 minute break. He was pushing me so hard that I wanted to faint. Hopefully I'll look good for the summer and, if I want, I can fit into the dress on the Left.

The Wedding Colors

These are color combinations I've been thinking about doing for the wedding.

 

     Eggplant Purple and Cornflower Blue

 

The Flowers to the Right are my original  inspiration for the wedding color/theme.  I love the rich purple. I then tried to figure what would look good with purple. I figured Purple and Green or Purple and Yellow. And Joey said no... I asked why and pretty much he said Purple and Yellow are the Minnesota Vikings colors. 

Joey didn't say anything about Purple and Green. He just got up... went to the bookshelf... turned to a page and showed me a picture of something... It was the Joker. Okay I get the point. No Yellow and No Green accent colors. 

I continued to look around for good color combinations. I know if I want a dark purple color I would need a nice light color. I was thinking of lilac but to me that was too much purple for the wedding. I thought of blue but I was a little turned off by a really light blue color like Robins Egg Blue or Baby Blue. But then I saw a very nice blue that works with a nice rich purple. It would be a cornflower blue. Now if you didn't have the 100 Crayola Color box or can't remember what cornflower blue looks like... take a look at the picture to the left.  Forget the Magenta color. I think 3 colors might be too much for me to handle/coordinate.

Bridesmaid Dress Ideas

I think I've said the word unique maybe a little too much... BUT... that's what I want the bridesmaid dresses to be. Not "unique ugly" but "pretty unique". I believe the brides out there who make their bridesmaid wear ugly clothes have low self-esteem. Also I think if your party looks ugly then so does the bride. So my girls are will wear nice looking outfits. Again though... I don't want the typical Spaghetti strap, halter, strapless, etc dresses. So if I narrowed the dresses to pretty much nothing... what can I get. Well I did find some ideas I like.

The Dress to the right is Alvina Valenta's. Dress Style is AV9922. "The Dress is a Cashmere Chiffon Tea-Length A-Line Dress. Draped One Shoulder Neckline with Crystal Applique detail at natural Waist." My favorite part of the Dress has to be the top part of the dress. 

I asked 2 of my Bridesmaids what they thought of the above dress and they both said they were picturing more of a longer dress. So I found Jim Hjelm's Dress. It's Style # JH5776. "It's a Chiffon A-line gown, One Shoulder Draped Bodice, natural waist with ribbon trim." 

Both Dresses come in about 34 different colors. My only concern is... Money. I know that the bridesmaids pay for their own gowns but I want to be considerate. I have a party of 2 friends and 7 family members. One family has 2 people in the party so I don't want to get a dress that will hurt anyone's bank account. If you guys can, comment on what you think is too much for a bridesmaid dress. 

Chandler's Update

So Joey and I took my mom to the restaurant section of Chandler's yesterday. With it we took our contract and give them the first payment. So It's official... Joey and I are having our wedding at the Chandler's Chop House at the Schaumburg Gold Course!

Chandler's Chop House at the Schaumburg Golf Club

So on Thursday Joey and I went to Chandler's Chop House at the Schaumburg Golf Club. We met with the coordinator and she showed us the smaller room. It's upstairs in the Chandler's restaurant/country club (?). Anyways... on all 3 sides there are big windows that overlook the golf course. It was really beautiful. Definetly earned a spot on by top favorites list. Then she went downstairs to show us my brides room. I thought "Great! With a wedding dress, high heel shoes, and I will have alcohol in me this will be a fun walk down." The brides room was so far away which I didn't like. Actually next to the big ballroom. Another thought that went through my head was "I don't want to have to walk all the way down here and go past another person's party, especially if it's another wedding party". Then the lady asked me if I wanted to see the big ballroom. I said sure. OMG! The open space compared to the upstairs! It was equally as beautiful. I have a 18 bridesmaids and groomsmen so there is plenty of room for everyone. Also we get access to the outdoor patio! (please don't rain!) Also outside in the lobby there are leather couches where people can relax. I fell in love. Also Joey turned to me when we saw the room and he said "we don't really need to see any other places... do we?" Nope! I want this place and so does he. 

Kim, the coordinator, said that there was a hold on the big room (which she mentioned in the beginning and I forgot about it) so we went upstairs to see if the hold expired. Holds are for only 7 days. I crossed my fingers. She looked in the book and it was up. I told her to please put us down for the room. She then took a huge eraser and erased the big note of information from the book. I mean there was a lot. She must have seen my eyes go big cause she said "if it expires then they won't call us and ask about it, she will just erase our names from the book. 

On Saturday we went to check out another venue but it sucked! The coordinator didn't know how to sell and they gave us what I didn't want in a location. We then went to dinner at the Chandler's Chop House and the food was SO good. We went back upstairs to go see Kim and she was bummed we didn't tell her we came to eat cause she wanted to buy us a drink. Pretty much we told her we wanted the place so to make sure not to erase our names. They'll work up a contract and send it our way soon. So we got our venue!

(Now Picture Below... imagine no ceremony set up and instead some outdoor furniture... and that is the outside patio we'll have!) 

Royal Gardens Update

Okay... we went again and this time we brought a pose! Let's just say with a second look... the place wasn't so great. We also tried the food and no one was happy. I don't care how much food or alcohol we get... if the food isn't good then I'm not getting the place. 

I will be sad about one thing though. The guy made these cool drunk peppers and I so wanted them at the bar.

The Royal Gardens

I wanted beautiful outdoors and Joey wanted indoors. I hate reception halls and he hates tents. We have a HUGE problem. As we are looking for anything that we can both compromise with... it doesn't compromise with our budget. Finally, Joey started to search the internet and found a diamond in the rough! It's an indoor facility made to look outdoors. I loved it! He wanted to see the $$$.  We went there this past Saturday to check out some of their venues. It looks so much better in person then in pictures. Now when I first saw the pictures online I HATED the floor. Checkerboard! Might as well bring some giant chess pieces. But when I got there, I saw the checkered board floor didn't look all that bad. The boxes were huge (not 12x12 in squares) and they are made out of marble. I can forgive the building for this minor detail. The outside doesn't look nice at all but I don't care because I'll take my pictures somewhere else. Also only 10% of people I know smoke and you know what... they can deal with it.

Some extra features that adds to my loving the place are: 

1. They designed the ceiling to be black and then put lights on the ceiling that matches the Chicago Star Sky.

2. They have Polish Crystals for the head table!

3. They make me feel very comfortable. When I walked out it was a very home-esk feeling.

4. They showed me some minor details that they work on to make the experience better. So I know they will pay attention to the minor details.

5. They only have 1 party a day. I know that during my time there they will only worry about me and my party. I don't have to compete with other parties.

Overall I loved it! When we sat down with the guy we were with to talk about pricing... lets just say Joey then fell in love with the place. We will definitely get our moneys worth! Dinner will be family style (Buffet at the Table). You can expect Soup, Salad, Bread, 3 choices of Meat, Potato, Veggies, and dessert. (Not Cake)  So LOTS and LOTS of food and OPEN BAR! Joey and I are going back there this Saturday for tasting the food and signing the paperwork! YAY! (Also, Joey has co-worker who's been there and she said everything there, even food, was amazing)

Church

I always wanted a more old fashioned church, you know more of a chapel then the contemporary church. We go to St. Isidore's in Bloomingdale. They have a big church and a chapel as well. The chapel doesn't look that get on the outside and it's okay on the inside. I've looked around and I can't find anything that I fell in love with. So we checked out the chapel and it holds about 300 people. It's nice and small. Maybe I can decorate the church to make it look really nice. There is only a very, very small entrance (can't call it a room) between the outside doors and the inside doors. So where ever I'm going to be getting ready I better be situated when I leave cause I won't be able to do anything at the church unless it's outside. Here's to me praying that it doesn't rain on the day. Oh... how could I forget... the outside doors look like they don't belong! It's going to bug the hell out of me but short of me buying the church new doors there's nothing I can do.

So I registered with the church and put in a request for June 6th 2010 (Doesn't that sound like a beautiful day). Well, I got a call back from the priest and he said all the priests are being ordained that day! Come on! (I hope it rains on that day.... jk). Joey called in yesterday and made the request for May 29th 2010. It would be a 1:30 ceremony (and yes it's a mass). All we need to wait for is the priest to call us and schedule are 'meet with the priest and talk about marriage' or as Joey likes to say 'meet with the priest so he can tell us we're not compatible'  

  

Welcome!!!

I hope I told everyone... but if not... I'm Getting Married!!! Joey proposed to me on Febuary 4th 2009 at 1:30 AM. He made a puzzle for me that was SO hard (and it's still not done yet... oops) We both got so frustrated. I had worked on it for about 4 hours by this point and Joey said he just couldn't wait any longer. He convinced me to work on it for another hour and he left the room (couldn't believe it!). He came right back with some extra puzzle pieces. It was me in my communion dress and him in a little tux. I didn't think anything about it since Joey's done a lot of these "not yet but this is a show of promise that soon we will get married". So I work on it a little more not noticing that Joey was already on one knee. I try and get puzzle pieces to fit into it and nothing was fitting. Finally he says "try these". I look over and there is a ring box in his hand and I thought OMG! He opens it and I see some puzzle pieces in there. At this point I thought "I hope he didn't see me get really excited cause that would be embarrasing." Then I look down and on the pieces it said "Marry Me" on it. Of Course I said "Yes" Check out the ring below!

I'm making this blog because I have so many ideas and I want to tell so many people. I'm going to tell you everything that's been happening. There are so many things already thats happened. I want this post to be an introduction so I'll make other posts about more specific things that has been happening. Please leave Comments!!! I want people's opinions about things. Now I won't be able to take everything into account or please everyone but your opinions will help me with planning. Hope you guys keep coming back and checking the website.