152 Days

152 days left to go.
We've yet to send out our Save the Dates. !!!! We're getting them together for mailing this week, after Jeff was able to export the addresses from our wedding website (www.weddingwire.com/jeffandjenitaylor). We're still waiting on about 4 more peoples' household addresses, but the rest of them will just be sent out regardless.

Catering - We went to Charleston this past weekend and we actually had a tasting with Splendid Sushi Catering Co. It was delicious! Yes, they do sushi, and no, they don't JUST do sushi. The food was SCRUM-DIDDILY-UMPTIOUS! We got an estimate on how much catering would cost, and we're trying to figure out if they can do the Lowcountry Boil along with it. We'll have lots of vegetarian options for those who don't eat meat, and food galore for the rest of you! What I like the best is the way we were able to combine Southern comfort food and Chinese flavors. Sounds weird but trust me - the food will be SOOO GOOD!!!! I'm excited!

Decor - Mom was also able to show me the decor she bought and made for the wedding and things are really starting to come together. The caterers will be able to stop by the house soon to look at our yard to place where everything will go and figure out if we need to rent extra tables for them.

Making Cuts: the Dark Side - The hardest thing we've had to manage with is our guest list. We had to split our guest list into A-list and B-list for our first round of invitations. With the backyard limited to only about 100 guests, we had to divide our list from 198 guests to 158 A-listers and from what we've read, we should expect about a 25% drop-out... You can do the math and realize that not even a 25% drop-out will get us down to 100, which means we probably won't even be able to TOUCH our B-list invitees. Sad.

Here Comes the Gown  - I tried on my wedding gown this weekend, despite my not being weight-ready for it. The dress still turned out to be too big, with alterations still being in progress and the dress sent back to A Stitch Witch for re-dos. Next try-on will be in February. Hello diet! After healing from spraining my ankle the first week in September, I am finally back out running. I've gone twice so far, but tonight will be my first attempt at a real full-length run. Besides, I still have the DC Hot Chocolate 15k to run on December 3rd! Gotta get on it! Now that it's getting really cold in Virginia, I'm looking forward to running. Last night it was just 39 degrees and it snowed/sleeted/hailed last Saturday here! Gonna be a cold cold winter, hopefully the thaw comes early this winter in time for the wedding!


Coming up:
- Engagement Photos Session #2 November 5th
- Sending out Save the Dates
- Pre-Marital Counseling session #1 hopefully 1st weekend of December
- Hair/Makeup run-through and dress try-on #2 1st weekend of February (why is something in February being placed in my "Coming Up"?! Ahh!

Loose Ends Galore

So right now, I'm just working on tidying details up (not meaning that things are almost done being planned, but I'm trying to settle the things we need done NOW, done).

Cake ~ I'm revising the contract for the cake baker, making sure it's covering all details we need to for our decorations, icing, colors, flavors, etc. We've decided to go with The Cake Stand! This is the little cake shop that was written up as the 2010 Knot Best of Weddings award for cake baker, owned by a wife and husband who have an adorable infant they bring with them to the bakery (he has his own little play pen, soo cute). Next step is to send in the finalized contract with a $100 deposit.

Floral ~ Also, I'm trying to negotiate with my floral girl so that we don't need to order the groomsmen's boutonnieres so that I can make them on my own without them being $8/each they will be $1. Plus, they'll be a little more "Charleston," with the idea my mom and I have. If I could go back, I would've been a little less impetuous and would've waited to see what to do about the flowers. I mean, I had this girl make arrangements for me, the bridesmaids and groomsmen, jeff's boutonniere, and mothers' corsages but I've already backed out of the mother's corsages and now I want to back out of groomsmen boutonniers. I would've rather waited so I could have gotten this beautiful idea from mom and then worked from there... but I was too excited to splurge on everything-Etsy.com!

Decor ~ Jeff and I went to my friend Mary's absolutely perfect gorgeous cliffs-overlooking-the-beach wedding in San Diego and she's graciously giving us (free!) the adorable silver lanterns she had with her decor. :) Thanks Mary!!!!! We're really excited! Mom, Jeff, and I had been looking at lanterns on save-on-crafts.com for table decorations as well as outdoor lighting options, so now we don't have to buy those, just pay for shipping! So we'll have 70 silver lanterns bombarding my mom and dad's house in a couple of weeks. I'm thinking of stuffing the lanterns with wedding-hued hydrangeas for tables, and doing the usual tea lights in the lanterns for the lighting. Basically the rest of the decorating is basically done - my parents' beautiful back yard will do most of the decorating on its own. Photo montage is the next thing to figure out with decor...

Save the Dates ~ Jeff and I submitted our order for our Save the Dates on Tuesday! We're having 100 postcards and magnets shipped to us within the next few weeks, so we are in address-collecting mode! We've sent e-mails to both of our parents to try to get addresses, and I am only waiting on two of my friends' responses. Jeff is waiting for all but one of his friends' addresses. Pretty soon we'll be sending those out, hopefully by the end of September. I think January is when we need to send our invites for an RSVP by February 15th. Ahhh!!! Why is this wedding coming up so soon!? Have I mentioned yet, how glad I am that we had about a 14 month engagement? Thank goodness!

Party Favors ~ We were originally going to ex-nay on party favors, since a lot of people don't even care to ever have them. BUT, considering our venue, our style of reception etc., we found a perfectly appropriate party favor that will come in at only about a few dollars per person. They are totally customized to our wedding and my cousin who's in graphic design and printing is helping us out defray costs of our favors. :) Thanks, Gabe!

To-Do ~
1) I still need to find a doggie suit pattern to have the seamstress in Charleston craft up for Kona or find one online!

2) Our website is almost done, I'm just waiting for the groomsmen's responses for their little biography blurbs and one of my bridesmaids' responses.

3) We need to pay our deposits for our caterers and change our rental requirements to include sofas and round plush seating...

4) Jeff is in the bedroom mixing our first-dance song, so the next step is to meet with our dance choreographer, groomsman Tom so we can get together a little number for our dance!

NOTE: IF YOU NEED INFORMATION ABOUT HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS, PLEASE SEE OUR WEDDING WEBSITE: www.weddingwire.com/jeffandjenitaylor  The password has been provided via e-mail and personal contact.

Countdown to Wedding: 208 days left!

*I can't believe that on my first blog post, we had 438 days until the wedding*

Our Big Fat Southern Wedding - Almost all done planning!!

I've been pretty busy lately, with switching hospitals (I am now working at Virginia Hospital Center's ICU) so I haven't been up to writing a new entry until now, sorry!

So back to wedding stuff...

Things we've gotten done lately:

Catering - We discussed menu items for our garden party - yumm yumm!! Chef Demal Mattson will do our reception catering, and we'll have another catering company for our garden party cocktails.

Flowers - Mom's met with a local florist trying to find ways to add some "Charleston flair" into our table and backyard decor. Sweetgrass and/or Palmetto leaves?? hmmm...

Rehearsal Dinner venue - we've looked into two places. One of which we have event info for and the other we haven't had any responses for. I'll have to call them again and get info for Jeff's parents.

Rentals - we've settled our linens, dishware, glassware, chairs, tables, tent, bartender(s) and dance floor! all reserved and ready to go for 3/31!

Cake - we've tasted from two bakeries: The Cake Stand and Ashley Bakery but we haven't settled on a cake vendor yet. We got a great little tasting box from Cake Stand and then we had a personal cake tasting session at Ashley Bakery. We think we want to go with The Cake Stand. Both are really tasty but price-wise Ashley Bakery was about 2x more expensive! Plus, I kind of like how The Cake Stand is owned by a husband and wife :)

Wedding Gown - It arrived to the Bridal House of Charleston on 6/13/2011 (1 month ahead of schedule). For the most part, it fits perfectly (unfortunately not big enough to get taken in yet... siiiiigh), but it's been submitted for "a few" alterations. I'm even getting pockets made into the dress! Yaaay! Next dress try-on is September 24th thereabouts. The veil I ordered didn't match the dress... oops. The dress was much less "soft white" than I remembered, so the veil clashed against the dress. I requested a swatch from Maggie Sottero, so that I can mail that to the veil maker for a new veil. Oh well!

Groomsmen's and Groom's Attire - All the boys and Jeff have their attire all purchased! We're so happy with the way things are turning out, we're so excited to see it all come together! All we need now are shoes and neckwear.

Pastor/Officiant - Jeff talked to his childhood Pastor from his Church and we've reserved him for our Big Day!!! Yay!! Only 3 marriage counseling sessions and we're in for good! He will be conducting the sessions at his Lake House about an hour away, so we'll just be going for a nice day trip to a relaxing retreat of marital quizzing!

Rings - We both have our wedding rings! They look fantastic!! We'll have to size Jeff's up a 1/2 size larger, since the wedding band is a little too snug. Right now he has to work really hard to pry it off, so a 1/2 size up should help a lot. My ring fits perfectly (a perfect size 3.5 vs. my engagement ring at 3.75 b/c of the width of the band) and is gorgeous!  We custom designed Jeff's band to resemble my engagement ring (well, some key features from it) and we're really really happy with the outcome. Thanks Malak Jewelers!!

Hotel Blocks - we've reserved hotel blocks at two hotels so far. I need to still call a Comfort Inn (We've got a Courtyard Marriott and a Holiday Inn blocked) to see what rates we can get with them. Unfortunately, it's the Cooper Bridge Run weekend in Charleston (the ONLY time in the entire year that prices of the hotels jump up... siigh) the weekend of our wedding...

Ceremony Music - We've made a decision on our 3 songs (wedding party processional, bridal processional, and recessional song)!

Things to Do:
1) Finalize floral stuff
2) Decide on a cake shop
3) Start thinking of parts of our wedding program (readings, scripture, etc.)
4) Find a doggie suit pattern for Kona as ringbearer hehe
5) Call other hotels for blocks
6) Decide on other music (songs leading up to the Ceremony)

249 days left!

(yes, Sara, it's still 3/31/12!)

Giant-sized Updates

1) The wedding has been moved to Charleston, SC!

Note: The photo above is a glimpse of my parents' actual house (left) in Downtown Charleston, taken from The Post and Courier  (postandcourier.com)


After calculating costs at Belle Haven Country Club and comparing that to having the wedding at another location to vastly help us with our finances, we started looking elsewhere. The deposit that was sent to Belle Haven hadn't been cashed, so we took advantage of that delay and decided to cease plans for the local wedding. Next, we looked into changing venues to San Diego, my beloved city. We found a quaint little rental house (Levyland Estates), but after adding up the rental fee, plus shipping the wedding gown/veil/shoes, equipment to use for the reception, having to find a hair/makeup/tuxedo place remotely... my parents' recent offer to have our wedding at their house seemed most appealing. So alas, we've changed our venue to a FINAL decision to be in the Lowcountry!

My parents are already planning (contacted caterers, tent rentals) on how to transform their scenic backyard into a personal and intimate ceremony that'll be fun but a low-key Lowcountry Garden Party reception!

2) Our colors: Light pink, Celadon, and a Dusty Blue (did you get the hint from this post??)

3) We ordered our wedding rings!!! Just last night (4/29), we went back to Malak Jewelers where Jeff made my custom-designed engagement ring and designed and ordered our wedding rings. The mold should be ready in a few weeks to review the wax version for Jeff's custom-designed ring (hint: it's going to match mine in a very unique way!). Mine will be a simple white gold band with diamonds. We put our deposit down for the rings and we'll pay for the remainder next week. Exciting! Can't wait to see the wax design and then the REAL THING! =)

3) Bridesmaids Dresses have been changed to a final decision on a pretty silk design that they got from Nordstrom. I LOVE them and can't wait to see them all dressed up!

4) Transportation via Southern Baller-style will consist of a grand entrance by the unexpected...

Things in the process/To-Do:

• Hair/Makeup (I found a local Charleston makeup/hair artist from Paperdolls but am still trying to find local places NOT represented on theknot.com to cut down costs)
• Tuxedo rentals in Charleston (we found a place in VA that we liked for the guys but now that we've moved venues, we'll have to investigate tux places)
• Entire cocktail hour and Lowcountry reception menu planning (part of it is "figured" out already)
• Cake

By the looks of it, we are cutting down our wedding costs from about $17k to $10k!!!

With this amount of savings, we get to really have our food the way we want, we get to splurge on our wedding rings, and not worry about the details adding up!

5) Engagement photos are done! See this link: 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/necessaralee/sets/72157626425810181/
(disclaimer: "Save the Date" photo not applicable any longer!)

More updates to come later...

336 days to go!

Our recent checklist

I've been watching a lot of Say Yes to the Dress, and I am thrilled to say that I've not once had remorse about ordering my dress so early. It has been - this entire time - "The One" (kind of like my other half, hehe)


So... This is what we've got figured out (for the most part) so far:

Venue (deposit paid)/Catering
Dress
Wedding shoes (mine... and NO I did not get the pair of $1200 Aruna Seth's)
Veil
B-maids gifts
Karaoke
DJ
Ceremony music
Invitations
Bridesmaids dresses (purchased)
Photographer
Bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages (ordered)
Centerpieces (still have to search Thrift Stores for clear vases)
Cake (we have a place and a quote, just have to do tasting and place order)
Jeff's confirmed Best Man and Groomsmen (all 7)

Still to do:

Transportation
Deposit on Photobooth
Ring bearer outfit (Kona, hehe)
Flower girl outfit (Ting Ting =P )
Hair/Makeup
Jeff's tux and G-men tuxes (we're visiting tux places this weekend, Men's Wearhouse was a bust)
Groomsmen gifts
Seating charts/sign
Comprehensive guest list

Am I missing something?? Hopefully we can accomplish the last set of things in < $3,000 and we'll still be on budget! I think we're at $12,200 right now.

 

Countdown: 387 Days left!

Wedding Gown - ORDERED!!

I'm writing this post from Charleston (a wonderfully comfortable and pleasant 66 degrees, sunny and a light breeze, ahhh)! Jeff and I came down this weekend for my parent's Exchange Club Oyster Roast fundraiser. My mom made two appointments at dress shops down here, the first being Bridals by Jodi, and then the Bridal House of Charleston. Backing up a bit...

Mom came up to Virginia last weekend to see me try on dresses that I'd been interested in. I found the perfect wedding dress but wasn't sure what to do - would it be cheaper in Charleston vs. in the DC metro area? So, after much dress shop visiting, we found an adorable family-owned bridal shop - Bridal House of Charleston - that gave us a great deal for the dress :) So we ordered it! Thanks mom and dad!!

I can't divulge any real details of the dress, but it is a Maggie Sottero. The dress is so perfect for me, fits my personality, and it just gets me so excited! It'll take 12 or so weeks to be made, and then shipped to the bridal shop for pick up! The bridal shop will call me on Monday to tell me what the ship date for the dress is, ahhh! So excited! Now the search continues for wedding shoes!!

Dream shoes: 

I saw these shoes in a Bridal Guide magazine last summer and was captivated immediately. They are by Aruna Seth (a British bridal shoe designer) and they cost $1015 (with a 4.3 inch wedge) :( sad... I am so ga-ga over these shoes. Supposedly they are extremely comfortable and have patented cushioning by Aruna Seth... 

So, the Bridal House of CHS gives my b-maids a 15% discount on their dresses and the moms' dresses, plus if we get 6 tuxes for the men (we'll be having 7), Jeff gets a tux for free! So, now Jeff has to figure out what he's going to do tux-wise... Men's Wearhouse or the Bridal House? Hmmm... 

Wedding Date Set!

So, it has been brought to my attention that February 18th will be *slightly* cold (OK, really cold) for a wedding. Additionally, guests flying in from California, the Midwest, and the South may run into some weather problems (potential snow causing delays at major hubs like at Chicago O'Hare for their flight connections) in coming to the wedding.

So... we have changed our date!

March 31, 2012

• National Cherry Blossom Festival is 3/31-4/15/2012  means guests can enjoy historic landmarks while taking in beautiful cherry blossoms in DC (just about 15-20 minutes away from the Venue)
• Weather will be BEAUTIFUL!
• Photos opps will be loverly! 
• Jeff and I will be able to agree on a color template (navy, light pink, ____??)

•  Bridesmaids dresses: Davids Bridal Style 84168 (Strapless Crinkle Chiffon Floral Print Dress), $139/ea. They look like little cherry blossoms! Perfect! I kind of want one too! :)
• Link: http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Strapless-Crinkle-Chiffon-Floral-Print-Dress-84168_Bridal-Party-Bridesmaids-All-Bridesmaid-Dresses

To my bridesmaids, I mentioned 4/7/2012, but this is the day before Easter Sunday (brought to my attention by my future mother-in-law!) - I don't want our wedding to conflict with peoples' trips home to their families for the holiday. Don't want it to be 4/15 (The day of the Cherry Blossom Parade - lots of crowds and higher prices on hotels, plus a wedding on tax day? Hmm). So, the first day of the Cherry Blossom Festival - 3/31!


Days til [new date] wedding: 428!

Venue: the Mountain Became a Molehill

We've found our venue! 

Above: Belle Haven Country Club, Alexandria VA

For both ceremony and reception, we'll have our wedding at BHCC, my old summertime stomping grounds from when I was little. Since my parents are members, there's no fee for the rental space for both the ceremony and reception! It includes linens, silverware, butler and wait service, dance floor, etc. We'll be using the grand ballroom set up for the ceremony, have a 1 hour cocktail reception while they break down the ceremony set-up and then set up for the reception, and then have guests re-enter the ballroom for the reception.

Our mountain has become a lowly molehill. 

Next: 

• Savings account set-up
• The Great Bridal Expo 1/23 (http://www.greatbridalexpo.com/bridal-shows/Washington-DC-Alexandria-VA-1-23-2011.aspx) 
• Finalizing colors and theme
• Dress shopping!

Days til Wedding: 396

Budding Inspiration

Inspiration is beginning to strike...

Theme:

{Anthropologie (a humble vintage inspired romance) & travel (planes; for our long distance beginnings)}

 +

Color Palette:

{dusty blue, canary yellow, chocolate brown, ballet pink}

Flowers: 

{Hydrangeas, Peonies, Gerbera Daisies} -- and in Mason jars :)

 

Homemade bouquets tied with buttons, burlap, and raffia:

Sustainable Wedding Favors (wow... I think I miss California a LOT):
{organic flower pots, wildflower seed paper to plant, birdseeders, flower bulbs...}

Update from last post...

Jeff didn't get to make the appointment with the Sunset Room because he was really busy at work, so we'll try calling tomorrow. If not, Saturday will be: Tron (the movie), Joann Fabrics (for swatches), and then Target (for invitations). 

Venue-- Ok so the Torpedo Factory in Old Town seems way too expensive at about $4,500 (the LOWEST rate). I want to check out The Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts in Maryland. Its lowest quoted rate is $800 for 180 guests. That sounds good, but is it too good to be true? Hmm.. Ok, that's all for tonight! I'm pooped from my 3rd shift at work (back from disability) and my back is a little sore, so it's lights out for this family! =) 


Til next update... (I really like this blogging thing! It's like my little wedding journal! Thanks, Anker!!)

Step One: Get Engaged

So step one - complete!  

I guess the harder stuff begins in 3...2...1... 

So I started this blog at the request of one of my dearest friends - Crystal. So, to entertain them throughout this process and to document this once-in-a-lifetime process, I am happily starting my first blog! 

So with Step 1 complete, Is step 2 joining TheKnot.com? If so, then step 2 - complete! Boy, we are soaring! So, 408 days until our wedding (projected/hopeful date of February 18, 2012)! Hah, this (of course) date is subject to change, considering ALL the things left to do... (according to TheKnot.com, I have 109 tasks to-do, with 0 completed so far) TheKnot.com is all bits of fantastic. We just started our guest list! With month-to-month checklists, interactive table seating layouts, a search box to help finding a local "anything," like wedding reception venues and caterers, etc. etc. this website seems refreshingly comprehensive! It even has a section where we could type in our budget, number of "attendants" in each part of the bridal party and it distributes the budget accordingly! So, since we don't need a videographer or photographer, I was able to X those things out and the website re-distributed our budget. It's really cool :) things might be do-able without buying a wedding book! Savings straight to the pocket! Crystal... Whitney... Laura - do you have any opinions on survival without a wedding organizer book?

So speaking of savings... that's something Jeff and I have to figure out - what's our budget? We are throwing around the figure of $15,000. From what the "average" quote is for a wedding in Washington, DC we seem to be low-balling it (my Bridal Bargains book said average DC weddings are $50k... yowza!!). One of our friends, Sara, who is also planning her wedding (May 2011) and works with Jeff, referred me to the Budget Savvy Bride blog (http://thebudgetsavvybride.com/). Some stunning photos and crafty DIY project ideas have wound many couples at humbling totals spent. One couple spent a total of $7500 on a beautiful wedding for 180 guests! (they had a family house to use as a reception venue, but even after adding in $2k to the total budget, it's not all that bad!) Sounds right up our (conservative) alley! Thanks Sara!!! (too bad we can't hire you as the wedding coordinator for the big day, haha... that's a joke, Jeff and I really want you to enjoy the wedding and not be hired help... well aside from being our paparazzi)

So in terms of money, Jeff and I are opening a savings account with Navy Federal Credit Union on Saturday, designated for wedding deposits and expenses. We'll be contributing $1000.00 each for every month leading up to the wedding. With $2,000.00 (my nursing instincts do not like these trailing zeros, haha) x 13 mos, we should have $27k for the wedding (first deposit we'll put in $1,500 each). This is well over our budget. I'm sure it will come in very handy in case we want to splurge on gifts, transportation, alcohol, etc.) or if some part of our projections are a little pricier than we thought. 

Here's what we have (sorta) figured out: 

• Invitations: Jeff's mom makes all sorts of beautifully crafted homemade cards, so she'll be helping us out a lot with putting these together. (maybe budget $80 for materials and $88 for postage on 200 invites = $168 on invites) 
• Save the Dates: I got Jeff to somewhat agree to send out photo postcard Save the Dates. My idea: have Sara photograph us with some pretty landscape holding a nice antiqued frame that holds "Save the Date: February 18, 2012." I also picture this on a beach but alas... 
• Photography: Sara and Scott, Jeff's two talented co-workers and photogs in Jeff's Microstrategy photo group (see http://microtography.blogspot.com/ and click on Sara or Scott if you want to see some of their work) have been "hired." We'll pay them off with gifts :) We hope to get Sara to do our engagement photo session at the end of February 2011.
• DJ: Jeff found a way to use iTunes as a jukebox, so that guests can add approved songs to the playlist if they want to. We'll start out with songs we want to have, but will also allow guests to add some input as well (Laura Safety Dance WILL on there, woot!!)
• Cake: In the works. A family friend makes a lot of cakes, so maybe we can pay for ingredients and a little extra for labor? Hopefully we can figure out some sort of sugar-free cake... man, if we could only hire the Cake Boss! I'm considering looking at Costco for cakes, too. Our backup-backup is the cake baker Jeff's friends Justin and Armita used for their wedding.
• Flowers: Even though Sara isn't my wedding planner, it almost seems like it! She gave me the contact # for the direct Costco floral supplier in the area. This will cut down on delivery, transportation, etc. I've (sorta) decided to only use flowers for boutonnieres, bouquets, mother of bride/groom corsages, and maybe light table decor to cut on costs.

Next on our checklist: 

• Open a Wedding Savings Account
• Venues (need to call) for pricing, date availability, minimum requirements, etc. (my Bridal Bargains (ok I'll abbreviate it to "BB") book lists ALL important questions to ask during the visits!)
• The Sunset Room at the National Harbor, MD - Sara says they offer 50% discount on Sundays, and with our wedding being in February, we may have great off-season discounts too!
• The Torpedo Factory museum in Old Town, Alexandria (VA) - may be pricey
• Waterford at Fair Oaks (http://www.theknot.com/Vendors/Waterford-at-Fair-Oaks/Profile/CAR/017/246585/profile)
• Contact outside caterers (BB says that outside caterers offer more selection, better quality, and often include more fixins like linens, serving ware, wait staff)
• Pick a theme. Romantic, classic, ??
• Color combinations... I want cobalt blue as one of the colors... that's as far as I've gotten on that one!

Jeff doesn't think he wants to get married at a hotel (BB said that some hotels can swindle you- some require the use of their expensive caterers that don't have many options and they also can wind up being way more expensive. Brides have reported $140/head due to hotel inflation!). 

I'm trying to think of civic centers in the area we could use for at least the reception. BB says they're much more affordable since taxpayer dollars pay for upkeep of the building and the city isn't necessarily looking to make a profit...a charitable donation might be all that's required. There are always banquet halls, conference centers, and.. OHHH! I want to look into Business Hotels (Jeff-approved since this may be a lot more affordable, according to BB) since they are always looking for business on weekends plus lodging is really really cheap. 

So questions:

How do you tell a Business hotel vs. any other hotel?

Can anyone think of anywhere that may be fun and affordable?

What themes could go with Dahlias and Peonies? (I really like those) What kind of floral fillers or cheap flowers can I use to beef up center pieces?

To be continued... 

Total Guest List (so far, not including our parents' lists): 123

Days til Wedding: 408