So, earlier in the week, I was prepared for three meetings with wedding photographers. I had one scheduled for Monday, another on Thursday and the last for this evening. One (and only one) meeting later, I am starting over from scratch. Harrumph.
What happened? Here's the breakdown:
The meeting on Monday was with a photographer whose work I absolutely love. She has pictures of a wedding at my venue featured on her site and I found myself looking at them over and over, replacing the bride and groom with myself and the FI (we looked fabulous!). She has tons of close-up, artsy pics of the details I'm looking for: beautiful hanging dress shots, cakes aglow with sunlight, etc.
The only problem? While reading through her FAQ's, I found her tone to be a bit short, bordering on rude. Not a big deal, I thought; some people aren't great at communicating through written word. Sarcasm doesn't translate well, etc. Plenty of excuses were found b/c I loved the pictures.
Ok, so there was another slight problem... Someone else, a wedding related professional, knew of someone who had had a not so great experience with this photographer. The photographer had left the wedding without letting anyone know and missed several important picture moments ( the father/daughter dance being one of them).
In my mind, I had already decided against hiring her. I can't get past the idea that pictures are the one tangible thing that lasts beyond the actual day of the wedding (ignoring the marriage, of course). I'm just not willing to take any unnecessary risks. But, I drove the 45 minutes to her studio for the meeting anyway, perhaps hoping that she'd blow me away with albums and charm. Alas, no such luck.
So, one photographer down... I tried to think a bit more logically. I made a spreadsheet detailing what was included in each package and at what cost. After looking closely at the numbers and going back over the website portfolios, I decided that I was probably not going to hire Photographer #2, who I was supposed to drive another 40 minutes to meet with on Thursday.
After deciding on Photographers #3&4 (the third meeting was with a married couple who shoot together), I emailed #2 to say that I had made my decision earlier than expected and would be cancelling our meeting.
Fast forward to sitting on the couch with my FI, watching some Thursday night TV, an email comes across from my chosen photography company: they're cancelling the meeting b/c they've been booked. WHAT?!?
Heartbreak sets in and I frantically start visiting the links of recommended photographers they sent with their cancellation. Some are good. All are less expensive. So, I've filled out a bunch more information requests forms.
Now, I wait... And, maybe do a bit more searching online... And, consider the possibility of student photographers? Eh, we'll see.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
The Great Race (really)
Like I said, yesterday was an amazing morning for a race. There were somewhere between six and seven thousand people running the 5K that started in Oakland and ended in Downtown. That's a whole lot of people, especially when you're trying to keep any kind of consistent pace. But, the course was fun; running along the river was definitely the best part.
Both the FI and I were able to beat our last 5K times. He came in at 36:01 and I came in at 38:14. I probably could have pushed myself a bit harder, but I was happy to have improved a little. Now we're debating our next race... Should we push for something in October or give ourselves a bit more time to train? Either way, I guess we've decided that we're not quite done with the whole race running thing.
That means that I'll have to keep up with my tread-milling routine. I'm also hoping to get back into practicing yoga soon. I bought a Groupon for Yoga Flow, which is very close to where I work. Next week might begin my month of unlimited yoga...
I'd start this week, but I have three meetings set up with potential wedding photographers. The first was tonight, but I won't give up the details till I've had a chance to compare and *fingers crossed* make a choice.
Both the FI and I were able to beat our last 5K times. He came in at 36:01 and I came in at 38:14. I probably could have pushed myself a bit harder, but I was happy to have improved a little. Now we're debating our next race... Should we push for something in October or give ourselves a bit more time to train? Either way, I guess we've decided that we're not quite done with the whole race running thing.
That means that I'll have to keep up with my tread-milling routine. I'm also hoping to get back into practicing yoga soon. I bought a Groupon for Yoga Flow, which is very close to where I work. Next week might begin my month of unlimited yoga...
I'd start this week, but I have three meetings set up with potential wedding photographers. The first was tonight, but I won't give up the details till I've had a chance to compare and *fingers crossed* make a choice.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
The Great Race (to the Altar)
This morning was the Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race, the second 5K race for my FI and I. There was perfect weather for the race: cool and sunny with a nice light breeze. The best part? Running, especially in an actual race, tends to make me think about how my FI proposed and (even better) leads to daydreaming about our wedding...
Neither myself or my FI are what you’d call “outdoorsy”. We both prefer overcast skies to sunshine (we do live in Pittsburgh after all). We like being at home, watching movies or playing games. So, how did we end up getting engaged on a sunny July afternoon, at a picnic, beside a lake?
Spring is a good place to start. We (more I than he) decided to run our first ever 5K with a couple of friends. The race was scheduled for the beginning of June and we needed to start training outside. After more times around a nearby quarter mile track than either of us could stand, and showing up one afternoon in the middle of a high school competition, we decided to try running at North Park. That afternoon, running in the cold rain, along an empty lake (recently drained so that it could be dredged), we decided that it was still better than going around in circles time after time.
We started making regular weekend morning trips to walk and run through the park. We saw all sorts of races and even heard a barbershop quartet singing for runners one morning. The weather improved, the trees bloomed and grew new leaves. We pushed each other to run beyond each others’ comfort levels and started to feel ready for our own competition.
Then, we ran our race. Well, I didn’t quite manage to run the whole thing. But, I met my time goal and soon after, we decided to sign up for another race in the fall.
Quickly, the temperatures rose above what either of us were comfortable running in and we stopped making our weekend journeys to the park. My birthday came and went. We both got very busy at work. I began to wonder if all our trips to jewelry stores to look at engagement rings were a bit premature, because a proposal didn’t seem to be in the works.
Then, on a Friday evening in the middle of July, we went to a nearby church festival. We wandered through the food and game booths, stopped by the BINGO area to say hello to a friend and then checked out the flea market items. In a room full of kitchen stuff, we saw a few picnic baskets. I mentioned that we had never been on a picnic and (here was the first clue of what was coming) he excitedly said “yes, let’s go on a picnic”.
We had plans to do some shopping in the Strip District with my Mom Saturday morning and for dinner and a night out at Sing Sing with my sister and brother-in-law. So, Sunday was chosen as Picnic Day. We went to the grocery for a few things and I whipped up some sandwiches: turkey, goats’ milk cheese and pineapple habanero jelly on mini ciabatta (in case you were wondering). We also had a citrusy five vegetable slaw and some assorted mini desserts from the bakery.
While I was packing things up, my darling FI asked (get ready for clue number two) if we could make this a “fancy picnic” and take some wine. I guess I seemed less than enthusiastic about the idea and he let it drop. Then, before we left, he asked if I wanted to change into something dressier (clue three).
So, after changing out of my t-shirt with paint all over it, we drove up to the Park. We hadn’t been in a few weeks and were excited to see that the lake was re-filled. It was beautiful. We drove around for awhile until we found a picnic table on what looked like a cement docking area, right on the lake and surrounded by trees but no people.
We settled ourselves, enjoyed the beautiful lake and ate our lunch. Then, he went down on one knee and held up a beautiful little box wrapped in a bow. “You make everything in my life happier.” That is the one thing I will always remember from his proposal.
Then, I said “YES” and got to see the beautiful ring:
It was nothing like what I would have ever expected or hoped for. It was simple, quiet and so completely like everything about us. It was perfect.
Neither myself or my FI are what you’d call “outdoorsy”. We both prefer overcast skies to sunshine (we do live in Pittsburgh after all). We like being at home, watching movies or playing games. So, how did we end up getting engaged on a sunny July afternoon, at a picnic, beside a lake?
Spring is a good place to start. We (more I than he) decided to run our first ever 5K with a couple of friends. The race was scheduled for the beginning of June and we needed to start training outside. After more times around a nearby quarter mile track than either of us could stand, and showing up one afternoon in the middle of a high school competition, we decided to try running at North Park. That afternoon, running in the cold rain, along an empty lake (recently drained so that it could be dredged), we decided that it was still better than going around in circles time after time.
We started making regular weekend morning trips to walk and run through the park. We saw all sorts of races and even heard a barbershop quartet singing for runners one morning. The weather improved, the trees bloomed and grew new leaves. We pushed each other to run beyond each others’ comfort levels and started to feel ready for our own competition.
Then, we ran our race. Well, I didn’t quite manage to run the whole thing. But, I met my time goal and soon after, we decided to sign up for another race in the fall.
Quickly, the temperatures rose above what either of us were comfortable running in and we stopped making our weekend journeys to the park. My birthday came and went. We both got very busy at work. I began to wonder if all our trips to jewelry stores to look at engagement rings were a bit premature, because a proposal didn’t seem to be in the works.
Then, on a Friday evening in the middle of July, we went to a nearby church festival. We wandered through the food and game booths, stopped by the BINGO area to say hello to a friend and then checked out the flea market items. In a room full of kitchen stuff, we saw a few picnic baskets. I mentioned that we had never been on a picnic and (here was the first clue of what was coming) he excitedly said “yes, let’s go on a picnic”.
We had plans to do some shopping in the Strip District with my Mom Saturday morning and for dinner and a night out at Sing Sing with my sister and brother-in-law. So, Sunday was chosen as Picnic Day. We went to the grocery for a few things and I whipped up some sandwiches: turkey, goats’ milk cheese and pineapple habanero jelly on mini ciabatta (in case you were wondering). We also had a citrusy five vegetable slaw and some assorted mini desserts from the bakery.
While I was packing things up, my darling FI asked (get ready for clue number two) if we could make this a “fancy picnic” and take some wine. I guess I seemed less than enthusiastic about the idea and he let it drop. Then, before we left, he asked if I wanted to change into something dressier (clue three).
So, after changing out of my t-shirt with paint all over it, we drove up to the Park. We hadn’t been in a few weeks and were excited to see that the lake was re-filled. It was beautiful. We drove around for awhile until we found a picnic table on what looked like a cement docking area, right on the lake and surrounded by trees but no people.
We settled ourselves, enjoyed the beautiful lake and ate our lunch. Then, he went down on one knee and held up a beautiful little box wrapped in a bow. “You make everything in my life happier.” That is the one thing I will always remember from his proposal.
Then, I said “YES” and got to see the beautiful ring:
It was nothing like what I would have ever expected or hoped for. It was simple, quiet and so completely like everything about us. It was perfect.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)