Check: Videographer

EEEEEEE! One more vendor check, and it's another splurge!

The videographer search involved a lot of internet searching, 2 meetings in person and we can't wait to work with Austin Walton! He won us over with his amazing HD quality, his charming personality and best of all his low price! hey, it's a splurge but we're still tight on the budget ;)

Here's a sample of his great HD quality, it's not a wedding (we got 3 of those samples to watch at home before booking and there's a couple on his website) but just know that his weddings are just as clear!

Christina & Steven - Engagement Shoot from Austin Walton on Vimeo.

I am truly excited to know that we will be able to hear our vows for years to come!

If you booked a videographer did you go for HD filming or something else like super 8?

300!!

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It might not be "glory" but we are preparing for our special day and we have now made it to 300 days!!

A little personal décor for the sweetheart table

Our very first trip together was a road trip to San Antonio for Mr. E’s birthday in 2007. It was a special trip for us which is why we will be heading back there for our minimoon after the wedding. During that trip I saw how much I had touched Mr. E’s life, and knew how much he made my life better.

Our first full day started with a free breakfast at the hotel followed by a cruise down the river.

After the river cruise we decided to venture out to the market square.

With the city map from the hotel in hand we headed out, and after getting lost once or twice (I stink with directions which is why one of the best Christmas presents ever was a GPS for my car from Brother Elephant) we finally arrived. The market area is full of crafts and one of the first stops we made was to a stand that would create a wooden sign out of your names for about $10. I really wanted one, and Mr. E was sweet enough to buy it for me. The seller said it would be about an hour to finish (there was a long line of orders in front of ours) which would give us enough time to check out the rest of the market area and head back to pick it up.

After checking out all of the little stands and the “mall” area, we killed some time by watching a children’s dance school performance. They were too cute!

We headed back after an hour, but they still weren't done so we had to kill even more time. Another 30 minutes and ours was finally finished! We picked blue and green for our names - see we loved those colors even back then!

We will be placing this on our sweetheart table for the wedding to add a little personal décor.

How will you decorate your sweetheart table?

Free Transportation

Score one for the budget!!

Since our ceremony and reception will be at the same location, it cuts down on the transportation cost. Since our wedding package includes a free night stay at the Tribute, that drops down our required transportation cost to zero!

We’ll drive ourselves to the venue the day of the wedding and then use that same car to drive home the next morning.

I do want to have a “send off” where the guests wave good bye and our photographer gets some good shots of us leaving. When talking to our planner about the possible rental of a golf cart just to ride down the street and come back, she let us know that the Tribute will let us use one for free. Wow! That’s one word you don’t get to hear too often (if at all) during wedding planning so we are thrilled to take them up on their offer. Our planner also let us know that in order to max out our floral arrangements from the ceremony, that she will re-use it to decorate the golf cart while we are dancing the night away.

I can picture it now, Mr. E and me driving off in a decorated one of these!

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How will you make your grand exit from your wedding?

Sunset Engagement Pics

Just one more post of engagement pictures, I promise!

I don't think I can rave enough about our photographer Lynn Michelle!! After our engagement session at the railway museum, Lynn asked if we would like to meet up again with her to take some sunset pictures. She loves a good sunset shot and due to the closing time of the museum, we knew we wouldn't be there late enough for sunset pictures.

Of course we jumped at the chance to hang out with Lynn again and take more pictures! She even asked if we wanted to bring along my dog Gypsy to get in on the action. Its hard to narrow it down, but here are my favorites for your viewing pleasure :)

All photos courtesy of Lynn Michelle Photography

I love this next one of us and Gypsy! I just have to include it in our Christmas card this year ;)

Gypsy gets her close up.

This one is a good shot of Mr. E's art work.

Saving the best for last. I can't wait to get it enlarged! Look closely between us, notice anything interesting?

If you had engagement pictures taken, did you have a hard time picking a favorite?

Favor Packages

In the earlier days of planning we opted to forgo the candy bar in place of a potential photobooth. I still loved the look of blue and green take out boxes, and we would still like to send our guests off with a little somethin' somethin' edible.

While shopping in Michael's (where else would I be?) I picked up a couple of 1/2 pint take out boxes, added a little ribbon and printed off mini Thank You tags. Put it all together and what do you get? Our favor boxes!



Still not sure what we're going to put in them, but at least I have something cute to put them in that will also add color to our tables!

Did you do edible or non edible favors? Or no favors at all?

Engagement Pics - My Favorites

After sitting through 2 posts of pics, are you ready for my favorites? It was so hard to narrow it down, but here are my top 10 (not in any particular order) from our engagement shoot.

All pictures from Lynn Michelle Photography

The first two were the teasers that Lynn sent, love the lighting in the first one and the intimacy in the second.

The next one just looks so cool. I'm 99% sure that this is the one that we will make into a canvas print to display at the reception (part of our photography package)

A little wind adds to the romance of this one.

With the old school train, truck and placement of the suitcases and globe, this next one is perfect for our save the date magnet.

The chucks were a want, not a need and we love them!

The last set were taken outside of the train museum. Lynn has an eye that turns random flowers (or weeds) and an old rusty truck into great backdrops.

And last but not least, the photo for our pre-wedding thank you cards.

Sigh, I could look at these pictures all day.

If you took engagement pictures, what did you do with them? Did you use any in DIY projects?