tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38439981383895852252026-10-17T19:54:06.292-04:00I’m planning a wedding in Massachusetts, looking at small wedding venues, February wedding flowers, wedding cake bakeries in Massachusetts, wedding photographers, local wedding gown shops, caterers, tuxedos, and winter wedding favors. It’s not easy waiting 2 years to set a wedding date and being at the mercy of the Department of Immigration, but I got to attend lots of bridal shows and meet many vendors. So if you’re planning a wedding in Massachusetts, hopefully my experiences will help you!amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-22222841669459114312012-05-04T17:42:00.001-04:002012-05-04T17:42:51.877-04:00

 I was a little nervous that I was going to fall victim to “post nuptial depression.”  After over 2 years of planning, and not everything went perfectly (no signature drink, no tulle or chair decorations, no pre wedding diet, no game playing at the reception) and then it was all suddenly over...that can be a real shock to anyone's system.  You get into a mindset, you have all

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-9413946219622517482012-04-03T23:16:00.000-04:002012-04-03T23:59:37.956-04:00

 Soon they were all off in the dining area snacking.  Adam and I were having our photos taken, and we were all shouting over the musicians it was so loud in that little room.  At some point the cake topper tumbled off the cake.  I can’t even remember it happening; I had to ask my friend Cindy the following week, “Did it happen during or after the ceremony?”  And she said

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-39194318331950130002012-03-30T23:41:00.000-04:002012-03-30T23:41:00.424-04:00

Soon I heard the music starting to get serious.  The moms and my maid of honor got in front of me, we proceeded down the staircase a little ways.  and I felt even more numb.  This was it.  The ceremony was actually starting; the plan I put in place was really coming together.  There was Ave Maria, and they were through the doorway.  My sister got to the middle of

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-70336883950016744442012-03-29T20:21:00.000-04:002012-03-29T23:44:37.132-04:00

After the calmness I felt all morning I arrived at my wedding venue.  And that’s when the out of body experience began. Along with all the furniture Adam’s family moved the morning before, and the decorating I did yesterday afternoon, there were now flowers.  I didn’t know where the mom’s corsages, boutonnieres, or bouquets were, but if they were anything like the ones on the

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-27599625011113189192012-03-28T23:15:00.000-04:002012-03-29T23:44:25.074-04:00

Despite mom’s freak-outs this morning, we made it to the salon on time without further incident.  Normally when I get my hair cut at Wavelengths they offer me coffee, and I decline.  I figure they’re there to cut my hair, not to serve me.  Plus I don’t need the jitters when I’m trying to keep still.  But today I said, “Yes, please!”  As long as people were OFFERING today

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-82663558150046774032012-03-27T22:24:00.000-04:002012-03-27T22:24:00.256-04:00

Considering today was my wedding day, I didn’t sleep that badly.  I think I slept better than I did the night before a friend’s wedding a few years ago.  The phone rang at 7:30 with confirmation about the wedding cake, and I pretty much gave up on sleeping then (though it did set my mind at ease; I’d called yesterday for confirmation since I hadn’t spoken to them in weeks and they were

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-4791914961512836952012-03-26T19:07:00.000-04:002013-05-11T17:23:49.948-04:00

Today I got up and head out a little early for my nail  appointment.  It was easy enough to get to; just on the way to work.  I went in and they seemed a little confused (then one said to the other, “yes, it’s in the book.)  The whole process went mostly as expected, except it was strange having a man do my nails.  It was also really cool how they did the white part.&

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-42494177656196814762012-03-25T17:17:00.000-04:002012-03-25T22:12:22.789-04:00

This morning I woke up and said, “I wish we could just have a day to ourselves so we could relax and sleep in.”  Good old practical Adam started in with, “We CAN’T!  My family is only here for a week!  We can’t just take the day off…”  Not in a combative way, more in a, “Please don’t make this an issue way.”  And I felt bad because he missed my meaning.  I was

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-70798451407080731192012-03-24T16:57:00.000-04:002012-03-24T16:57:41.904-04:00

I really wanted to show Adam's family and friends around Boston.  Other than their arrival at Logan International, they'd never been.  It was pretty cool walking through Salem with “The UK clan” in tow and then waiting for the train to arrive.  Adam and I hadn’t done it that often ourselves (I’d caught it from Salem just as often as he had) so it was still sort of a novelty even

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-78571207751662189212012-03-24T00:41:00.000-04:002012-03-24T00:41:26.527-04:00

It was hard getting ready for work this morning knowing that not only did I have to leave Adam, I also had to leave his family!  They would only be in this country for a week, and here I was going to miss a whole day with them.  Still, I figured it would be good for Adam to spend some time with just them.  He could enjoy more than he would having to split his focus between them

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-82917470079896174332012-02-16T23:35:00.002-05:002012-03-24T19:16:05.522-04:00

Of course Adam and I are still super busy; pretty much too busy to blog.  But things are too excited to not blog.  It was a shame I was too busy to really blog about his immigration so I don't want to fall into the same trap!  So here's the basics of the past 2 days: Wednesday:  We picked up the marriage license without a hitch Went grocery shopping for Adam's

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-622544360725553442012-02-12T14:06:00.002-05:002012-02-12T14:06:55.525-05:00

Has it really been 2 months since my last post? Apologies to everyone who's been following along!  It's been a whirlwind and it will continue to be for at least another 2 weeks, but I wanted to at least check in while I have a minute.  Here's the short list of what we've been up to: Adam immigrated on January 14 :)  I had my hair trial (the morning Adam arrived; to surprise him

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-29897342782587898882011-12-14T19:45:00.000-05:002011-12-28T23:49:19.185-05:00

In my experience, Timothy S. Hopkins Catering was another wedding vendor who was not friendly to a bride having a small wedding in Massachusetts.  I ended up going with A Haute Dish (now located in North Andover, MA) instead, because I want my wedding to be just as elegant as a large one, just for fewer people, and she clearly conveyed that she understands and will help make it special.&

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-63512653062594586582011-11-11T21:23:00.001-05:002011-12-29T00:18:46.288-05:00

After the ordeal with the seamstress I almost didn’t want to think about catering for my wedding, or anything else wedding related.  But I started to feel the first bout of pressure and time constraints.  Here I have 3 days off; I should be making the most of them, not wallowing in one bad experience.  And yet, I was NOT going to make the same mistake twice.  I would NOT

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-52228443396943539502011-11-11T20:15:00.001-05:002012-03-25T22:28:40.711-04:00

I’m going to write a review of my experience at Pins and Needles in Danvers, MA because I started this blog in order to help other brides.  This company looks like it does fine work (their pictures on their website are nice) but their initial process, well, it didn’t go smoothly in my mind.  I don’t know if what I experienced was typical or not, but it would have been helpful for me to

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-91990418031633420192011-11-10T23:30:00.000-05:002011-11-11T20:42:35.693-05:00

Although a power outage that threatened to cancel the show, the lights came on in time and mom and I spent a couple hours at the Ethan Allen in North Andover, MA, checking out the few vendors I still need amidst beautiful décor.  But the bridal show expo had its share of ups and downs. As with most bridal shows, the majority of vendors were photographers (why is this?)  There

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-7959426512156302302011-11-05T21:30:00.000-04:002011-11-06T13:46:02.252-05:00

I hate driving. I drove an hour and a half to get to Jacques Pastries to look at wedding cakes.  I would do it again in a heartbeat. I've known for nearly 2 years that I wanted Jacques to make my wedding cake.  I'm pretty sure it was the second bridal show mom and I went to that I saw them.  The first was at Spinelli's, and while they were very good, they wouldn't make me

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-9744753186103516732011-11-02T14:35:00.000-04:002011-11-06T14:36:22.727-05:00

Today I had my first wedding hair trial. At a bridal show. Mom and I went to the bridal show at the Andover Country Club.  This was the same place that I got to bring Adam to last April, so I felt nostalgic when I walked in. :) Mom and I arrived at almost exactly the same time, I signed in quickly, and we went in.  It looked like there were fewer vendors than usual, and not even as

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-47562867279219437592011-10-26T22:29:00.000-04:002011-10-27T22:44:33.846-04:00

Today I went to Flowers By Darlene at North Shore Fruit Baskets on the recommendation of a coworker.  It didn’t start out well. Traffic was TERRIBLE.  Salem in October is awful.  So I get there, and the neighborhood is, well, on the edge of town.  I walked in the shop and it wasn’t as fancy as the other wedding flower shops I’d been in.  But I looked carefully at the

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-79040010223287771442011-10-22T23:33:00.000-04:002011-10-22T23:35:15.436-04:00

Today I had an appointment with the florist at Rennie’s Flower Shoppe in North Andover.  And although I liked both places, and found both wedding florists ma de good first impressions by being eager to please yet realistic, and have good design ideas about floral arrangements for weddings, this was a very different experience than my one at Evan’s. I met with the manager, who started out

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-42862957200629097172011-10-18T21:20:00.000-04:002011-10-22T22:54:29.122-04:00

After collecting business cards from 2 years worth of bridal shows and Googling “Wedding flowers, MA” I met with a florist at Evan’s Flowers this afternoon.  I almost didn’t get in because they told me their wedding person had the day off.  But today was the only day I had this week to go in, so although I said I could call back for next week, they made it work. The flower shop was

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-72052515787380037352011-10-17T20:15:00.001-04:002011-10-17T23:03:00.899-04:00

I really wasn’t looking forward to trying to find a Justice of the Peace in Massachusetts.  I hate calling people.  There’s no price shopping.  I feel like there’s this pressure to “find someone you click with.”  Really?  I’m hiring a stranger to talk for 20 minutes.  How am I going to find out if I “click with him?”  I know they do consultations to “get to

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-80206691811509987672011-10-16T21:57:00.002-04:002011-10-17T20:37:36.340-04:00

Choosing just one bridal hair tiara was kind of hard!  On the one hand, I didn't want to spend a lot on it (there's just SO many other elements that go into paying for this wedding, I didn't want accessories to eat up a huge proportion of my wedding budget).  On the other hand, it's closer to my face than say, my shoes, so it's going to be in all the photographs; it had better be a

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-67545909420402797472011-10-11T20:29:00.002-04:002011-10-11T20:29:48.566-04:00

Today I realized that I can't ask Adam to do the reading I put into the wedding program.  And in the same moment, instead of getting upset, I realized that’s okay. Adam was clear from the start that he doesn't want to do a speech and he wants to say as little as possible in the ceremony.  So when I looked at sample wedding ceremonies and saw that readings by the couple is customary, I

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843998138389585225.post-59583843825968969822011-10-06T00:42:00.000-04:002011-10-08T11:59:59.960-04:00

With the weight of the venue selection off my shoulders I felt a huge sense of, “Phew!  Done!”  And the fact that Adam booked his one-way ticket (and then changed his ticket to come even earlier, but that’s another story) well, I just felt like I was all set. Of course there’s still PLENTY to do.  But I told Adam I’m not sure where I want to start?  Flowers?&nbsp

amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252920643013195783noreply@blogger.com0