How has another month passed already? Quarantine time sure does fly by! But what a fun month it’s been. John and I recently got back from a weekend away in the Redwoods, and we found out that our wonderful host, Josephine, is an ordained minister! So we decided, should we have to move our wedding due to Covid, we’re probably eloping in the woods with Josephine. Great way to save a buck, amirite? Anywho, let’s jump in!

October.

This month we had one big task at hand: Picking a Florist. And boy oh boy has this been a JOURNEY.

We’ve also been focusing on a couple smaller tasks, such as scheduling our tasting, trying to start planning out a wedding logo, and narrowing down other venue details.

Finding the Florist

This has easily been the most difficult decision we’ve had to make thus far. First of all, florists are insanely expensive. I need to be on Jeff Bezos’ level of wealth to afford all the flowers I want at my wedding.

We chatted with two florists. Both have worked at our venue many times, but one of them is a ‘preferred vendor’ (a coveted spot that’s very difficult to attain). Funny enough, both florists are Dutch, which makes it easy on us since we want a Dutch twist in the design element.

Hannah and John being Hannah and John, we had no idea how many bouquets we really wanted before the first call, but it was so so helpful in ironing out those details. We ultimately decided on this sort of structure:

• Bouts and Bouquets for the wedding party, plus corsages for the grandmas
• Centerpieces on all of the reception tables
• Aisle arrangements to spruce up the aisle I’ll be walking down
• An unconnected arch of flowers at the end of the aisle
• Bud vases scattered throughout

We received our first quote and almost lost our lunches (I may have shed a tear) – $10,000 y’all. IN WHAT WORLD.

No offense to florists at all; I believe this is such a unique art and flowers can really change a space. However, flowers die. Quickly. And the idea of spending $10,000 on something that’s going to die the next day just makes me cringe.

We gave up a couple things and got the number down to a (still high) $5k. More reasonable, still making me cry. What can ya do.

I’ve also decided to hire an artist to design dried flower bouquets for parts of the reception and ceremony that we still want to jazz up, but didn’t want to spend an extra $5k on flowers. This is a fun, super boho way to make the space even prettier without spending a pretty penny!

We have spent all month finding a florist, and still have yet to sign a contract, but I’m feeling so much better about this. Both ladies we’re talking to really understand our vision and I know they’re going to make it such a beautiful day.

Tasting Deets

As you all know, we are getting married at the beautiful Park Winters in Winters, CA. We have eaten there before, and the fresh farm-to-table food they serve is to DIE for (so if you’re coming to our wedding, be prepared for an incredible meal). We love that our venue is providing the food so that we don’t have to find any outside caterers. However, planning for the menu tasting has been less than ideal, to be perfectly honest.

Basically, for our tasting, we’ll be trying the exact menu we decide on for our guests. Instead of trying lots of different things and then making our selections, we have to make them before the tasting. This means that if we don’t like something at our tasting, and want to choose something else, we won’t have the chance to try this prior to the wedding reception.

We’re hoping that everything is divine and we won’t want to change our selections. But talk about major decision making!

Since I’m giving all my blog readers a sneak peak, let me tell you what we’re thinking for our menu (buffet style should Covid allow!)

Passed apps:

• Goat Cheese Tart
• Chicken n Waffles (cuz duh)

Main Meal:

• NY Steak
• Braised Lamb Shoulder
• Seasonal veggies (lowkey going to be the best part since the venue is a farm)
• Potato Gratin
• Specialty salad

We confirmed that they will also be able to provide special meals with anyone with a dietary requirement.

The food is going to be delish, and someone is going to need to sneak a couple plates away for late night eating after the wedding is over (apparently the bride doesn’t eat… pshhh).

Wedding Logo!

We decided to have a wedding logo made so we can put it on, well, everything! We thought this would be a super fun personal touch, while also being ~inexpensive~.

Unfortunately, my main designer, Severina (who created our Save the Dates) is swamped with too many clients (sigh) so she isn’t able to design this for us. We’re currently on the hunt for a logo designer, so if you know someone amazing, send them my way!

Misc Thoughts of the Month

Budgeting became quite the difficult task this month. Now that we’ve booked so many of the larger vendors, booking ‘smaller’ vendors and finding out how much they cost is somewhat of a shock! Trying to stay calm and strategize (planning to go v outside the box for florals). John may have a lot of DIY projects coming at him!

I think I was made for wedding planning. I am such a planner at heart, and this is my Superbowl. I’m going to be lost without a wedding to plan when this is all over! I love love love it.

Next month should be on the quieter side, so I might not have much to report. December, however, is going to be a super fun month! I’ll have my second dress in hand (the reception gown), we’ll go to our cake tasting appointment (probably will be the highlight of the entire planning process), and I’ll have my first dress alterations consultation!

Thanks for staying up to date with my planning process! Follow me on the ‘gram for more behind the scenes sneak peaks!