one of the things i had the most fun with early on in our engagement (confession: i started it the next day) was building a wedding website.

my web design skills are pretty rudimentary, but that was okay since i wanted a minimalist, easy to navigate site. not a ton of content yet - mostly just venue and our registries - but i just got around to buying the domain so we are officially a .com!

weekend-of coordinator

i toyed with not getting a coordinator - it’s expensive, and arguably an “unnecessary” expense - but changed my mind. i know i will think of all the details - that’s the stuff i love. i just, for the life of me, could not figure out how to make sure those details are executed. maybe that sounds silly, but i just pictured spending all this time planning centerpieces and selecting playlists…and not being there to enforce everything.

the reason i chose the event company (specifically, crystal at the event company), who are based out of charlottesville, is because two of my bridesmaids used them for their weddings and said it was the best money they spent. one maid had every bride’s worst nightmare approaching her wedding (double booked venue one month before) and crystal basically planned a whole new wedding within days. this was one of those vendors i didn’t care to research - any potential money i would have saved with someone else wasn’t worth the headache of wondering if they’d be what i needed.

DJ

music is one of the few things we really care about. it’s something bobby and i have in common, something that brought us together, and something we continue to enjoy together as a couple. we’re pretty particular about the songs we want to hear, but also want to hear a pretty wide variety.

a band was out of the question due to pricing, and we honestly were more comfortable with the freedom that comes with a DJ. at first i wanted to find someone to whom i could essentially give a playlist, but after talking to daryle i realized how nice it would be to trust that someone would know what songs to play and when. he really sold me during our first conversation - a super nerdy half hour discussion about all the indie bands we like and how girl talk is really a meta-wedding DJ - and i’m pretty excited that i happened to find a DJ that gets our taste. i hope our guests are ready to DANCE.

so, there you have it - the big vendors are all crossed off the list!

family is really important to me, and i’m really excited about the different ways i’m incorporating my immediate family into our wedding. but what about my new family?

(us and bobby’s parents at the guinness factory in dublin…i have guinness cheeks)

(me and becky, not NOT sober)

bobby is the oldest of two with a younger sister named becky. she and his parents both live in the same town in ohio. this is great because i get the whole family experience every time i visit. even before we got engaged, his family embraced me like i was always part of the group and i know it will be really easy to take his last name.

so, to honor my gratitude and my brand new family (!), i asked becky to speak at our wedding ceremony, along with my brother thomas. i think it will be really special to have them both up there with us - representing not only our union, but the union of the batsons and filars. as a token, i got this from dogeared (best place to get gifts ever):

(necklace and image via)

so excited!