Enjoy!
I am sooo excited for the tasting, even though it won’t be for months. Have fun!
I think we’re booking our photographer this week, which is a huge relief because the wedding is only like 8 months away and everyone keeps telling us the photographer should’ve been the first thing we booked. I’m pretty proud because I negotiated our favorite place down to about 2k cheaper than what everyone else on Long Island was asking. Still expensive, but makes me feel like we’re getting a great deal.
I also asked my bridesmaids this week! Any recommendations for where to look for dresses would be appreciated. Half of them are out of state so I’m not positive how to make this work.
@rebeccar, try the website azazie. They have dresses made to order, and reasonably priced. You can request swatches; you can sort by length, price, fabric, color, neckline, etc. My D picked dresses with 4 different necklines and then had each bridesmaid pick what they liked. Bridesmaids supply their measurements. Worked very well for D’s bridesmaids as she had a 5’2" gal and 6’1", and others with different shapes, busts, etc.
DD had her bridesmaids order from the shop where she bought her wedding gown. Price was reasonable $120. The bridesmaids sent their measurements…and dresses were sent. It was a national brand so the girls could go elsewhere to try on dresses if they wanted to…but they got a discount if the ordered from the wedding dress shop.
Congtaulations @mom60! Now you get to be on the other side of the equation.
@rebeccar, a young lady I know went with j crew. She picked navy blue, and told them they could get whatever style they wanted.
Unfortunately, JCrew has discontinued their bridal line. Both D & DIL used them and everyone was happy. I guess they just weren’t making money on that segment of their business.
@1214mom J Crew Used to have a lot of bridesmaids dresses. Thy have a Very very small selection now, all of short dresses.
Several of my friends suggested Lulus for bridesmaids dresss. They are very affordable. You have to wade through the site to find bridesmaids style dresses but the three women whose D’s have used them have been happy with quality.
Blocking hotel rooms- S and his fiancé have decided to not block out rooms. I think the hotel requires that they purchase a large percent of rooms if they aren’t used and they aren’t willing to take that risk. Plus the block has a two night minimum and some guests will only want one night. I think it’s a terrible idea to not block out at least some rooms.The wedding is a popular time of year for the destination and I can see that the other nearby motel is already sold out for that weekend. Another thing I noted was that the hotel they will be recommending is expensive that time of year. My question- in your experience do you save anything room rate wise by blocking out rooms?
Venting also- got an email to us and fiancés family that bride and groom have set aside a time each week for wedding discussions. I’m not sure if I’m to read this as we aren’t supposed to bring up the wedding other times of the week. I love my future DIL but I’m thinking this isn’t going to be the easiest.
“got an email to us and fiancés family that bride and groom have set aside a time each week for wedding discussions”
Sounds smart/organized to me. You know they are thinking about it and setting time aside to handle things but also trying not to let it consume every moment of their waking life and time together, which could be easy to do.
Maybe that email wasn’t directed to you @mom60 but to someone else who has overstepped their boundaries.
My niece only discussed wedding stuff once a week with parents. She was working and in grad school.
mom60…I’d be concerned about hotel rooms as well. What is the hotel’s current cancellation policy? Can they get a block and negotiate that if the rooms haven’t been reserved by X date, rooms revert back to hotel? At bare minimum, I’d be booking for your family …and potentially the attendants…
Regarding the room block - our hotel did give us a preferred rate for the rooms and a few other “wedding party” perks such as a bridal prep room, car to the venue for bride (and groom, in our case), dress/suit pressing services, and comped the fee for the prep room and the bridal suite (including champagne and strawberries) on the night of the wedding if we filled the block. We did not have to guarantee the block (nor was there a multi-night minimum), but the initial block was only 10 rooms, which I knew we would fill with family, alone, and they added rooms as we needed them. Disclaimer - this was in NYC and there were plenty of rooms available in the city over Labor Day weekend.
I remember this was a piece of advice regarding college planning, to avoid screaming fights with the kid!!
I’m considering contacting hotel and asking about a room block. I don’t want to overstep but it concerns me. The venue itself has some cabins which should be enough for most of the immediate family and the bridal party. That still leaves a lot of guests needing a room. I’m concerned that the room costs are going to be a deterrent for some guests. The room that I paid $140 for last weekend is over $300 the weekend of the wedding. The wedding is near a university and I think it will be move in weekend. Plus it’s a popular vacation destination and spot for sports tournaments. Also the hotel is also a wedding venue. I’m venting here because I’ve mentioned to them several times about it being move in for the university and they don’t seem concerned. They need to get the website up and get the save the date sent out.
^^If you have enough friends and relatives to use the block of rooms, do it. The couple knows their friends and what they can afford.
@mom60, I agree that you’ll want a block for your friends, if they will be attending. Are there any other hotels nearby that might be less expensive other than the one you indicated is sold out already? And wow at the price - our rooms were less than that in NYC but I do understand supply and demand if it’s a big weekend near your venue. I’m a little concerned for your S and FDIL’s friends if price is an issue and there are few other hotels in the near vicinity. I certainly wouldn’t have wanted our 20 and 30-somethings driving anywhere after the wedding 
Will there be a central location from which you can provide transportation to the venue and then they could Uber or cab to their lodging? Could you AirBnB a couple of locations for the weekend?
If there’s no penalty for canceling a block of rooms, I’d definirely want to lock in some rooms ASAP near the venue, especially if there are conflicting events and prices are rising. You can always cancel before there are any cancellation fees/penalties.