Either way, the entire process has been rather stressful to be honest. The first major steps were to obviously pick a location, caterer and then find a dress.
Location: Living in the Valley of the Sun, its not easy to find the perfect location for wedding. Especially if you want an outdoor elegant event. I did my research, looking at all the top choices there were available in the Phoenix metro area. Once we had chosen a handful of top competitors, we went out to visit them. I was not pleased, to say the least. Castles, mansions, Tuscan Villas in the middle of strip malls, manufacturing plants, homes? I mean c'mon, that is so tacky. I found one location that I was semi-pleased with, it was outdoors and some what remote - but in the end they were too specific. One caterer had exclusive rights to the property and unfortunately for them, we were unimpressed. Regardless of all the disappointing venues in the area we were able to find one that stood out above all the rest. And that location, my friends, is my sister's future backyard. Located near the intersection of 56th St. and Camelback Rd. with roughly an acre of property (previous owner was a landscape architect) you can imagine what a gorgeous local this is. For those of you not from the Phoenix area, Camelback and 56th is like the epitome desirable areas/homes in the valley. The backyard is north facing which means we will have an awe inspiring view of Camelback Mtn., the central point of the city created solely by mother nature. Needless to say at this point, I am very pleased with our decision. Its obviously going to be a lot of work transforming a home's backyard into a wedding ceremony location as well as reception hall, but I have drive, dedication and oh yeah, my sister and mom to do it all for me! :)
Caterers: We actually have not come to a final decision on this particular part of the wedding planning yet. Its definitely very difficult. Looking from caterer to caterer, there is definitely a fine line of mediorce quality and amazing quality. We have found some amazing caterers, but in this day in age with this economy, when someone tells you, "No I'm sorry we will not negotiate on price, but to work within your budget we can use lower grade ingredients", I knod in their direction to acknowledge the fact that they muttered some syllables and laugh in my head, thinking who the hell does this person think they are? Everyone, and I mean everyone is desperate for work right now. No matter how high quality the food and service might be. People are not spending the same amount on weddings anymore therefore companies caterers etc need to negotiate. Luckily amazing caterers are a dime a dozen in this city, of which many are willing to negotiate. Needless to say the woman and catering company that said that to me are no longer in the running to cater my wedding.
The Dress: How stressful can choosing the dress of your dreams for the most important day of your life be? Ohhhhh not stressful at all some people say. Not for me, not for me. Okay so I went to this cute little boutique in Old Town Scottsdale, twice to try on dresses. They had a great little collection of dresses. But being the indecisive person I am, I thought to myself, I can't just go into one store and try on a couple dresses! So I made an appointment with the largest bridal shop in the city and took guess who? my sister and my mom. I never in my entire life, imagined trying on wedding dresses would be that horrifyingly stressful and emotional, in a bad way. If I have advice for anyone out there, avoid the large stores! They are so impersonal and they could give two shits about you and your special day, all they really really want is their bottom line, money. At one point in time I was very thirsty and I asked an attendant for a glass or bottle of water. Oh, there's a bubbler in the front of the store near the entrance - wow is all I have to say. But this was just the beginning. I was being shuffled in and out, next to a variety of different women, practically waiting in line to be able to show a dress to my family! I could not find a dress that I wanted. There were definitely gorgeous dresses, and ones that I liked, but I always wanted to alter it here or change this there. We discussed the options with the manager of the store. "Oh definitely we can do that for you no problem" she said. My mom being the hardass she is wanted to know direct from the person who would be altering the dress. Reluctantly the manager brought her in. "Impossible" she said. The manager of this store, literally was going to have us put $1000 down for a dress that would never in my wildest dreams end up looking like what I wanted it to look like. Are you kidding me? I broke down in tears 3 separate times at that store, that day and not because it was so magical I was trying on such a meaningful dress, but because it was stressful and heartbreaking and I felt like just another girl. That same day spontaneously, we returned to the small boutique I had originally been. They welcomed us in, they offered us waters, mimosas, champagne. We all sat down, I was the only one in the store. The owner of the boutique assisted me with the dresses. I tried on a handful of dresses that afternoon and just like that, we found the one. Measured, ordered, loved all in a matter of an hour. High quality service, period.
All in all, planning a wedding is stressful and I haven't even scraped the tip of the iceberg.
Bring it on, Let's do this thing!!!
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