We have a NEW Wedding Date!

So there has been a little hitch in our plans, pardon the pun :). I signed the contract for La Mansion on the 5th of July and on Friday, July 14th, I finally received an estimate for the group rate and room availability at the hotel. She started by letting me know that there were no rooms available on the night of the December 9th because of a breast cancer awareness convention that had every hotel in the city booked all that week. Then She told me that the group rate for the night of the 10th was going to be $299....PER ROOM! I was livid, to say the least, since she told me when I signed the contract that I could have at least 10 rooms and add more as needed for the nights of the 9th and the 10th.

I couldn't get in touch with her on Friday and she wasn't in the office all weekend so Michael and I went by there today before he left so I could show him everything and talk with her in person. She was extremely apologetic but let me know that she had called around and every hotel in the city was booked for that week and they weren't willing to release any rooms. I had mentioned getting married on the 17th of December in an earlier conversation and she asked if that was still an option. I talked it over with Michael and we really didn't see any way around it or any real issues with that date so we decided to move the wedding.

In the end it made the most sense because the new group rate for the rooms at La Mansion is $150 for that weekend, a drastic price difference. I will also be able to walk at my graduation from St.Mary's, which will make my parents very happy.

I will let everyone know who to call and what name to give for the group rates as soon as I sign the new contracts. I also plan on negotiating a group rate at one of the hotels close by for those who would like to stay close to the ceremony but would like to be a bit more economical and I will get that info out as soon as possible as well.

Sorry for all the confusion, thank God this happened early enough for us to figure out a way around it.

Bridal Survival Kit

My sister and Maid of Honor (MOH) Kaitlyn created her version of the "bridal survival kit" and surprised me with it. She re-used a super cute Hannah Montana bag and added the clippings to personalize it. Inside the bag there is; A brush, travel size hair spray, deodorant, wisp mini-brushes, a lint roller, sewing kit, mouthwash, and Advil. Basically everything I could possibly need the day of the wedding to keep me going in case of emergency. This is honestly the cutest/ most practical gift she could have given me and I will definitely get a lot of use out of it. :)

Dress Shopping!!

Today I went out in search of a wedding dress...and FOUND ONE!! With the help of Mom, Katy (MOH), Grandma, Jordynn and Nina I was able to find the perfect dress. I printed out several pictures of what I was looking for before we left and when we arrived at our first stop, Mayfair Bridal, I found the dress I fell in love with online. I tried it on first and I was giddy when it looked amazing on me. I knew I had to try on several more for the viewing party to be satisfied so I had a wide selection of about 10-12 dresses to try on as well. They of course all fell in love with dress #2 and we went to lunch with the group split 50/50 on which dress they preferred.

After a delicious lunch at the cheesecake factory :) we were off to Alfred Angelo Bridal for our next appointment. Nina and Jordynn took off in one direction while Katy and Mom went in another and Grandma and I went to find our consultant, Carmel. After we all gathered our picks I went into the dressing room. I was sure that I wouldn't find anything I loved as much as that first dress and reluctantly proceeded to try on the new ones. As we pulled the 3rd dress out of the bag I was skeptical about the beading and shape of the dress since it was nothing like what I was looking at online. As soon as Carmel zipped up the back I was astonished at how well the dress not only fit my shape but how comfortable and elegant I felt in it. There was no mirror in the dressing room so I had no idea what it looked like when I walked out around the corner but when everyone gasped in unison I knew this one had to be good. I climbed up on the little pedestal and couldn't believe how perfect it was. I started crying right there and as Mom came up behind me I realized she was doing the same. Carmel put the veil in my hair and that was it, I had found my dress.

I ordered it today and it should be ready in September in plenty of time for alterations. I hope you all love it as much as I do. :)

We have a wedding date!!

Mom and I went to La Mansion this morning to go over the last few questions we had and to iron out some details with the wedding coordinator (Jessica). I knew that the price had to come below a certain number in order for us to be able to afford it but I couldn't help but get my hopes up. Jessica was able to work with us since we will be having the rehearsal dinner, ceremony, cocktail hour and the reception at the hotel as well as signing an additional contract for at least 10 rooms and adding many more as family and friends RSVP.

We signed a contract for our wedding on December 10, 2011!!! I called Michael right away and he was just as excited as I am. I made an appointment to take him by the hotel when he visits for my birthday so he can walk through the space and we can discuss the menu and future appointments. I can breathe a little sigh of relief now that the first hurdle has been cleared.... now on to the dress! :)

Kirsten

Appointments....

As you can probably tell Michael did some work on getting the blog going and it took him a few days to post what I wrote on Thursday of last week. Our appointments were on Friday and they included; the Westin, La Mansion, The Marriott riverwalk, The Hyatt Regency and the J.W. Marriott. Mom and I started early, our first appointment was at 8:30, at the Westin and we were on the go all day after that.
My only complaint for the day was that the woman at the Marriott Riverwalk treated us like we were the Clampetts. She obviously thought we had no business being there and wasn't very subtle with her snide comments about money. Its unfortunate since they were my first choice when I started planning.
I tried to explain to every person we talked to that my vision for the wedding is "classy Texas". My colors are purple and green and I want the feel to be unpretentious while still being elegant. The theme really came about because I felt like we needed to acknowledge the wedding's location and make the decor fit the surroundings, and the hotel I chose could not be more perfect for this.
I fell in love with La Mansion the second we walked in. The historic building, decor and friendly staff had me jumping up and down with excitement and when Jessica (wedding coordinator) showed me the courtyard where we would have the ceremony I was completely blown away. They can do everything from the rehearsal dinner to the reception and we are in the process of negotiating a group rate for our guests. It is going to be beautiful!!
I like the idea of having the wedding on the riverwalk since about 80% of our guests will be coming from out of town. There are endless things to do within walking distance (including the Alamo) and a ton of restaurants for EVERY taste.
Mom and I are planning on going to sign a contract tomorrow morning and then we are off to the wedding dress shops this weekend.

Kirsten

Searching for a Wedding Venue

After having been engaged for about a week and a half I am already beginning to panic. I have called all over town and have several appointments booked for tomorrow to look at hotels for the reception that will also be able to accommodate our many out of town guests.
So far finding a church has been an absolute nightmare. I have called almost every church in the downtown San Antonio area and most of them laughed out loud when I told them we were trying to get married in December.
Michael has been awesome so far. When I called him to tell him that we might not be married in a church all he asked was, "are you still planning on being there?", when I said "of course!" he said, "as long as you're there I'm all set". I'm so lucky to be marrying my best friend and the greatest guy ever.
I will know more after tomorrow's appointments and I will try to keep up with posting on the blog to keep everyone informed of whats going on with the wedding.

Kirsten