If Only They Sold Flower Bouquets at Goodwill

I continue to pick away at my wedding to do list with good ol' Robbie. After some difficult deliberation, Robert and I selected a photographer. Picking out a photographer was difficult, because of the wide array of choices in the Seattle area. I narrowed down some general internet searching into a dozen or so photographers, which Robert and I widdled down to four, which we emailed. Two replied, so we set up meetings with them. Both of these guys were excellent choices, and we then had difficulty narrowing it down further between the two of them. One of them seemed very traditional and in control of his craft, the other was a little more adventurous and open-minded. We discussed it with our friends and family, and it was finally Robert’s sister who pushed us to make a final decision with her savvy artistic perspective. Phew, one more thing off the list!

Also, we picked our caterer a few weeks ago. At first I didn't even want to contact Susan Magan. On the preferred caterer list for Clise Mansion, all that was listed for her was a phone number. I thought: Oh great, probably an older woman who refuses to use the internet. On what was more or less a whim, (I had another caterer in mind) we contacted her and she invited us into her home in North Kirkland. What a great decision this turned out to be! She’s this wonderful retired school teacher who does catering in her spare time. She sat us down and described scrumptious meal options, complete with antipasto tray, fruit tray, and several appetizer options. Our guests are in for a treat! Robert and I are also very lucky, because this deluxe spread is less than any of the other caterers' minimal packages. She also had some helpful recommendations, and it’s through her that we met our fabulous cake decorator, Ginny McGavin. Ginny doesn't have a website, but she does thankfully use email. It has been a lot of fun for Robert and I to meet these quirky old ladies and listen to their stories. If I had to give any advice to a bride at this point, it would be: meet a nice old lady who knows other nice old ladies. They have reasonable prices, and it seems like they take pride in giving their products homey and personal touches. I think we will host some very tasty and special wedding refreshments.


I may not be able to get nice flowers at Goodwill, but luckily I have a few nice old lady recommendations, which is pretty much the next best thing. I met with one florist so far, (not a nice old lady recommendation) and I was discouraged by the high prices. I’m not going to have a lot of professionally decorated flowers at my wedding, but I really didn’t think the price would creep so high. At that rate, I might decide on making the bouquets on Saturday afternoon with the BMs and GMs (bride's maid's and groom's men). That's only a partial joke. I still want to interview 2 more florists, so hopefully we can come to a better bargain. I also might bust out my bartering skills if all else fails.

In other wedding news, Robert and I are working on our bridal registry. This is hard work and is taking more time than we bargained for. Sometimes I think it'd be easier to just receive money as a wedding gift, as is the tradition in other cultures. Regardless of how you chose to do it, it's very easy to spend a lot of money when planning for a wedding. Whether you're the bride, groom, family, guests of friends, it's kind of scandalous how many people are vying to get a piece of you. Weddings are a huge business these days, and there are a plethora of options and pretty steep competition in the industry. What sometimes shocks me is, considering all the time and expenses we are incurring, our wedding represents a rather low-key affair. Yeowza.