December is probably one of the most expensive months for flowers, so we had small Christmas trees as the centerpieces. We picked these up from a garden center, and I let my friends spray them with gold. For my bouquet I got a simple bouquet from Rockcastle Florist. My mother went with me and we spoke with the florist, Sara, and carefully decided what would be the best bang for our buck.

We made our guests a little party kit for when they arrived at the party. We got half the supplies from the dollar store, and the other half from Wal-mart. We thought that it would be fun to give the guests glow stick jewelry, thinking that it would make for some small pictures afterwards. We also included in the gift basket a small bottle of water, some carnival beads, and some candy. This was also where we put in the small thank you note.

It was very important for us to get a great dj for our party. Both of our families love to dance, and our friends love to dance, too. We spoke with a few Djs and entertainment groups, but we liked Rob the best. We felt that he was the most reliable and the most professional. He also had a great sound system, and had done outdoor parties before. He did an amazing job.

We took dance lessons because even though we both love dancing, neither of us knew any formal dance steps. I was really impressed with the classes. I think the instructor had a great eye and a really nice way of correcting the mistakes we would make. He understood that our goal was to get through one dance, not to become professional, and he worked hard to make us meet that goal.

The choice to use my husband’s church was something that was a bit disputed, but his church won because they had the wedding date that we wanted. I actually loved speaking with the pastor before our wedding. It was a well-planned event, and the pastor also had lots of nice advice to give us about our marriage. I would have to say that the preparation to get married here was just as much about the marriage as it was the wedding. It was also nice that it was during the Christmas season so the church already had some poinsettias as decorations in it.

The reception venue told us we could work with one of three caterers, so it was really easy because the choice was made for us. I liked the Holiday Inn catering team and we chose them because they had the best idea for vegetarian options. My husband and sister-in-law are both vegetarians, and I wanted them to have something nice to eat. The food was amazing, and there was lots of food. Also, they knew the bakery team we had hired, and they thought we had made a good choice.

We originally wanted to have a cookie table and not have cakes, but after tasting the cakes and talking about costs with Leo and his wife, we ended up getting a small wedding cake and also a cookie table. The cake was two-tiers and very simple, but really elegant. The color of the buttercream flowers matched the color of the bridesmaids dress, which was really nice. I also love how the cake was there for most the evening, but that the cookies were a nice surprise for the end of the night.

We found a seamstress that would make the dresses for my bridesmaids. We had a very simple pattern, a Vogue pattern that I had bought at a fabric store, and we even knew where we could get the material from. I actually think having the dresses made took more time than had we had just bought the dresses already made. The dresses were beautiful, but it seemed that we were always driving to go to a fitting or to buy new material for straps. It wasn’t fast or efficient, but we did get dresses that look and fit like a glove.

My bridal shower was a spa day, mainly because I didn’t want my friends spending money on getting me a shower gift. Everyone pooled in and bought me a spa day, and then other friends and relatives did other things at the spa. My mother had her hair washed and styled, and she loved it. I think this was a really fun day because everyone was able to be super girly and have fun. We found out that they had hotels there, and I think if we would have planned better we would have spent the night there instead of driving home. It’s a really peaceful location.

I went to the show and it was great. I met the person who would end up being my wedding consultant, and I also met many of the store owners that I would visit while shopping for a florist or a reception venue. I was not a typical bride and I hadn’t given any thought to what kind of wedding I would want to have, so this was very helpful in letting me know what kind of wedding I could have in Rochester.