Sunday, July 27, 2008

But Wait there's more

The 6pm news on CBS 12 had more footage from vendors and clips from our morning interview.

We were on-air today-Sunday 7.27.7

If you blinked or slept later than 7:50 am you might have missed us --so the talented Sir Henry figured out how to get the footage from our DVR to here and I'll be carrying it around on my I-Pod too.

We're told there will be additional footage of the wedding and perhaps more of the vendor footage that we shot over the past month. We saw one edited version of the vendors and it was very nice. We'll keep you posted as we go along.


And now back to my regularly scheduled programing which is list making and checking off....smile. Thanks so much!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Ya'll Come Now, Ya Hear?







RSVP or “répondez, s'il vous plait”

Remember when it was patriotic to remove all things French from the language? It makes me wonder why no one went after RSVP. I’m glad it’s okay and I’m even happier that people are doing it. Unless you have called or emailed or agreed to be in the wedding party—we don’t know you’re coming. Please let me know as soon as you know. Email me at nachattin@nachattin.com

We only had just over a month from winning to wedding so the invitations were marked to call or email with your reply. If you didn’t get an invitation, we only had 100 and they were rushed out—I can almost guarantee we meant to send yours. So please, just RSVP if you want to come to the wedding. You know we’d love to have you. We have discovered a couple that were addressed wrong already, but there are probably more.

Musical Delights

We met with MThree productions last week and Kelly Voice over there was fabulous. She was gracious enough to meet us at night so Sir Henry could attend too. They are doing all the music for ceremony and reception and we’ve picked out some favorite tunes for them to play. I can’t wait to hear “Time in a Bottle” and lots of other great songs that have meaning for us. We picked out a special first dance song that made me cry when I heard it again.

Flowers Finalized

North Palm Beach Flowers contacted me this week with the final flower delivery information. We’re going to be carrying and wearing some lovely blossoms that never would have been possible without this gift. You will be seeing a lot of mango callas like the one pictured above. They match the pretty linens we’re getting from Lulu’s. My Mom and a few other honored attendees will be wearing orchid corsages which I know are going to be gorgeous.

The centerpieces are a combination of fresh stems with my vintage liquor decanters so they speak to us and add beauty to the décor. I love that. We’re so grateful for the volunteers that are creating additional items to go with the decanters and jazz things up a bit on the auxiliary tables. Annette, Lynn, and Brittany are really jumping in everywhere that’s needed to create displays. The glass ornaments filled with sand and other treasures pictured above will be hung from a sand colored display tree on the registration table.

I gotta have Friends


Whenever I thank friends, I’m so worried I’ll leave someone out and when I do leave you out, please forgive me. This wedding would not be possible with out the generous support and assistance of some great people who are working tirelessly to get this all done.

Lynn has splashed right into the punch project with great ideas, she has loaned two more liquor decanters, given us a gift for arrangement displays, volunteered to pick up and transport the cool favors from A Design Just for You, and she’s working on a sweet surprise.

Annette has finished the amazing programs that match the decorations; she’s working on the gift table display, and volunteered to assist the planner with set up. Both these ladies will be arriving earlier, with husbands, to help set up.

Jill is creating the “room kits” for bride, groom, and restrooms. My God-daughter, Brittany, is coming in on Monday to work here on table cards, place cards, signs, displays, shopping, cleaning, hair and make-up, etc.

Paula has become our “seamstress detective” and is working diligently to help us find someone to fix the dresses that haven’t arrived yet….

If it weren’t for Jen the initiations might still be sitting here in the house. She’s always ready to jump in and work. Because she’s next door, she’s been so helpful with last minute jobs and just letting me talk things out.

Sir Henry and I are also so happy to be hearing from friends and family members that we haven’t seen in a while. I truly wish I was better at stopping and savoring each moment, because I’m so happy in my heart with all that’s happening. Thanks to everyone that’s calling and emailing.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Moving right along




We’re moving right along and things are falling into place. Here’s where we are now:

Invitations:
They have arrived and they have departed. Whew. Celebrations did a great job with these, but unfortunately the manufacturer had snags that made them arrive late. If you are coming to the wedding, please let us know as soon as possible since we need the count and time’s flying. Thanks!
The photo above shows my messy dining room table after my bridesmaid and neighbor Jennifer and I rushed these out.

Linens:
Last week I picked the linens which are more Vegas than Martha Stewart—so naturally I love them. They are mango orange crinkled fabric with a shimmer.

Timeline and floor plan:
I worked with the wedding planner and have a better idea of the timeline and placement of things. Our wedding guests will be seated at round tables of 10 for the ceremony and the reception. We’re naming all the tables and that is how we’ll have you sign the guest book (really it’s a scrapbook) and be called to dinner. Only the first two tables are reserved for family and ceremony participants. The rest is open seating. There are no bride and groom sides.

Cake:Photo above is from my visit to the bakery. When you enter Tradition Hall, you’ll come in from the parking lot side and the cake will have a place of prominence in the center of the room. It’s going to be so yummy with all the tropical flavors we’ve selected. Visit Hot 'n Tasty Cakes by linking here: http://www.hotandtastyfood.com/

Caterer!
We have signed an agreement with Café Catering http://www.cafecatering.com/ to manage the food and bar services for our wedding. What a relief to get that settled. Shawn, the owner, was wonderful to build a proposal that we could afford including “real plates” for dinner and open bar serving beer, wine, and rum punch. Lynn Barwald, our catering coordinator and precious friend will be making the punch. She invited us into her home to meet the caterer for the tasting since our house is chaos central at the moment. She and Bob helped us ask good questions and sample the food. We’re so pleased. The menu will include appetizers with a bit of a tropical flair, Hawaiian chicken, Caribbean pork, seasoned rice, potatoes, vegetable medley, salad, and rolls. The photos on this post are from our meeting at Lynn and Bob’s house.

Photography:
Tanya from Palm Beach Photography will be giving us 5 hours of photography services. We will exit the building for photos outside and then return before the end of the cocktail hour. We’ve asked her to take photos by table that will be perfect for the scrapbook. When you hear your table name called make sure you are there for the pictures. All wedding photos will be available online at their website www.palmbeachphotography.com and we are not putting any password there so everyone can come and view them. They should be up 2 weeks after the wedding (it takes that long to airbrush a couple our age you know, grin) and guests can even order prints if they wish.

Dress Alterations:
We did not receive alterations in our package with the dresses. We have a tiny bit left over from the amount allotted (less than $100) that can go to alterations, but according to the quotes we’ve received that won’t be enough. They say it will be about $80.00 per dress. If you know of a trustworthy seamstress in the area, please email me at nachattin@nachattin.com Every dress needs alterations and the price at the store is just too steep for us. We are going to need a quick turnaround on services too. We have three adults and two children to fit. Thanks!

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Focus Bride Focus









Dogs


Flowers


Programs


Food


Favors


Flights


Floor Plans


Oh my....



Welcome to adventures in VerChat Wedding festivities.


Henry and I are not changing our names legally--but we have combined portions of our last name to refer to everything from ourselves to our computers and our wedding. Do you think Brad and Angelina will be jealous?
This week we met with more fabulous vendors. I met with the florist who will be using mango calla lilies, antherium, lilies, and a few Gerber daisies in our colors of sunshine, fuchsia, and tangerine. We'll use my collection of vintage crystal and glass decanters along with smaller ones in green for the guest tables. It looks tropical, relaxed, and grown-up. The photo above is of a daisy arrangement I put together for wedding number one. Most of my bottles are different, but they will look very cool like this. The florist is North Palm Beach Flowers, it's a very soothing, lush, store full of creative listeners.
Henry went into to the Tux Shop for a fitting and transformed himself into James Bond...He selected a white dinner jacket with white pleated shirt, black bow tie and black pants. There are advantages to having a bride who isn't wearing white. He's crazy about the look and the floor sample fit him perfectly so he really knows what he's getting.
The favors from a Design Just For You are spectacular. I sent the owner some digital scans of scrapbook designs and she was able to transform them into water bottle labels, candy bar covers, and mint books. They will work beautifully. She has lots of pretty designs in her catalog and we truly appreciate her using our artwork in combination with her clever ideas.
I updated the website to include a wedding counter on the home page and updated the gift registry page too. 29 days to go!
If you're thinking you haven't gotten your invitation, it's because we haven't gotten ours either! As soon as they arrive we'll get them out, I've been working on the labels (bit tacky I know, but we're just too short on time) and I've got the stamps ready to stick.
This is getting way too long and I still haven't talked about the catering or other ideas we had this week. We're trying not to lose sight of living in the moment and appreciating our lives and each other. Henry and I volunteered to dog sit for his boss over the long weekend and you can see the 80-pound love pup pictured above. We already have our two dogs and we live in less than 1000 square feet now, so what's one more? -smile- Levi has been a treat and he's let us know that if he stays any longer we'll have to expand the dogie door.
Joy and blessings-
Norma Anne

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Love the smell of weddings in the morning



And we're off on our Dream Wedding adventure. Would someone please point my brain in the right direction? This is so exciting and so fun. I've been making appointments with every vendor on our list plus trying to find a few missing ingredients like food, beverages, and hotel rooms for out of town guests. We are meeting with every single vendor on the prize list and filming our time with them.
Pictured left with Henry and me is Ross from CBS 12. He's been with the station since college and has a wonderful sense of humor. We obviously don't have his gift for seeing the right lighting for photos...grin.
On the right is me at the bridal dress shop where I tried on gowns Sunday with my best friend of honor Nanette. I'm going back to the shop later this week to fit the "mini-maids" and we have to submit measurements for my out of town attendant.
My dress choice is a two piece number. The skirt is a trumpet flare long skirt and the top is most likely a sleeveless one with pleating on one side that makes a faux bow. I might go with a portrait collar top instead, but it's not as comfortable. The color will be champagne.
The attendants will wear that new two color style and I can't wait to see those since they are wearing pieces in fuchsia, kiwi green, and tangelo orange...It will look very summer, hot, Florida, festive.....
I see the florist this week and will know more about what we can do for tables, ceremony area, and such. I love these hot colors we're working with--it's just too fun.
We are so grateful for everyone and everything. Our lives are blessed. Joy to you!
Norma Anne