My mother was supposed to get the guestbook. We had originally seen a style of guestbook at Broadway Papers which I was absolutely in love with, but my mother said she could find something cheaper elsewhere. Or that she wanted to make me my guestbook, I can’t remember. She forgot, and it was a week before the wedding when I realized we still didn’t have a guestbook. My sister-in-law went to Wal-Mart and bought the guestbook there, which was a lot nicer than I would have expected. It was big, fake white satin but still pretty, and it looked like a wedding guestbook. She was even able to get the fancy feather pen, all for under $50. Wal-Mart has good wedding supplies, which is good to know.

I wanted to get something with letterpress. I have seen letterpress invitations before, and they are beautiful, and that was what I wanted. I found the Ephemera online, and I thought they had an amazing collection and selection to choose from. What made our decision easier was that we were able to order a sample pack from the company, so we could see how our wedding invitations would look. It is like nothing you see in the stores today. It’s expensive, but I think it was worth it. I still have people complimenting me on how beautiful the cards were. You can order just invitations, which is what we did, or there is a whole wedding package to choose from. We didn’t, but in retrospect we should have.

This was the florist that I met at the wedding show. We exchanged information, and then I made an appointment for a consultation with them the following week. It was really early to be deciding on flowers (specifically colors, since my bridesmaids’ dresses hadn’t been chosen yet), but I knew I wanted to work with them. They are really creative with flowers, and it’s obvious they love what they do. Five months before my wedding, we made a second appointment and we discussed colors and arrangements styles. One thing that still stands out in my memory was how creative they were, and how much they knew about flowers. My bouquet was simple but elegant, at their suggestions, and everything was fresh and perfect on the day of the wedding.

This was where we bought the place cards for the seating arrangements for the wedding day, along with matching programs. They have such a cute and colorful selection of wedding cards and favors, and I got really great ideas from Tracie (the owner who always happened to be in the store when I was there). We had small boxes made as a thank you gift for all our guests, and it looked like we had a table covered in small paper flowers. It really added color to the wedding day! We got lots of great compliments, and it was great!

Saz’s and the staff that work there, both in the restaurant and on the catering team are awesome. They were our first choice because we’ve eaten there so many times and love the food, and my work has had Saz’s caterer a few holiday parties. I picked up a card at the wedding expo, and then made an appointment almost six months later. I went in with Sam and we came up with a great menu. Another benefit is that they were able to take care of the chairs and tables and linens, so it was a one-stop deal. It was in our price range, but my suggestion is to have minimum appetizers, because people got so full they barely touched their main course plates. The food is incredible, and the presentation is really nice, too.

This place was where my sister-in-law got her wedding cake from, and everyone loved the cake so we also went here, too. The taste testing was, again, my favorite part. Sam and I wanted to get something chocolate, and the chocolate samples were delicious! Really rich chocolate flavor with the raspberry filling, which I think tasted great together! In the end, because we would have three tiers, we had two chocolate and one vanilla. Susan made the cake taste and looked good, with lots of color and flowers and details. I really, really loved our cake.

I loved this event! It was huge, and it was amazing to see so many vendors in the expo hall. For the money you pay, you definitely get to see your money’s worth in potential vendors. I got ideas on where our wedding reception and ceremony could be, which was really important to me because I wanted the location to be unique. The best part was all the cake samples, and seeing all the menus from the caterers that were there. I got lots of great ideas about wedding invitations, and flowers, too. This was where I met my florist, Belle Fiori, who had an amazing display. My suggestion is to bring a notepad, and go sooner than later. I went almost 16 months before my wedding, and this helped me with the planning.

There were lots of dresses there, some for much less than I had seen elsewhere. What I liked was the big selection, with all the different names to choose from. I’m sure if I stayed longer at the Clearance Center I would have found something, but I just went back to Vera’s House of Bridals in Madison two weeks later and bought my dress there.

I started looking for my wedding dress, and I was having a hard time finding a dress that I liked on me. As it is, I never wear white, so it was already hard to see myself in something white. One of my co-workers suggested Vera’s house. I went, and I loved the selection they had. It was the first time I felt that wedding dress consultants knew what would look good on my body type, too. They were extremely nice. They were also really nice about letting me put two dresses on hold while I went down and checked out the clearance center. I just went back to Vera’s House of Bridals two weeks later and bought my dress then. It was expensive, but it fit perfect. They were also able to take care of the alterations.

There is lots to do in Chicago, mostly shopping, and we did go to the House of Brides on Franklin Street during my bachelorette weekend there. I made the appointment a few weeks before we were going to be in Chicago. It was okay, I could tell that they were really busy. I wanted to go to a different bridal store than the kind they have in Milwaukee, but I got the impression that they are all almost the same. We were only there for an hour and a half, and the rest of the time we really enjoyed at the hotel and in Chicago.