Wedding Coordinator: to fire? or not?

I'm thinking of firing my wedding coordinator.

She's a loose friend of the family and did 2 of my cousin's weddings. They were amazing! That being said, I'm not feeling like she even cares to do mine.

When I hired her, we met at the reception venue, had lunch, and talked over ideas. When I asked about fees, costs, and a contract she mentioned the "Family discount" and changed the subject. Multiple weeks ago, she asked me for some info as she was working on my contract. I haven't heard anything about that since.

So far, I have:
*found the venue
*hired the caterer
*booked the photographer
*come up with table decor/linens
*have a list of musicians to demo


She has:
*had me meet with one florist
*referred me to a bridal salon for day-of (I hired them)
*given me a few ideas
*and...that's it.

She's been hired since January and I've seen her twice. She rarely answers my e-mails. I know that her current summer weddings are keeping her very occupied, and I'm sure she'll pay more attention to mine as the day nears, but still. It doesn't take much time to answer my e-mails.

Question: Do I need a wedding coordinator to help with planning at this point? I know I'll want someone for the day of, and I could hire my current one for just that. What has your coordinator/planner done for you beyond booking the "big boys" of the industy?

Just came across this article. Almost glad to have the opposite problem! Taming the Runaway Wedding Planner - New York Times

photo from Wedding Approved via google images

Jessica "Talks Nautical to Me"

Jessica at tying the knot just made the most fantastic post. For all you ladies who love all things Nautical (like me!), or for your who are planning a nautical wedding as well. Check out her post Talk Nautical to Me.

It is a treat for the eyes!

Thank you, Jessica for posting such wonderful, beautiful pictures (and links)!

Envelope Seals

I am looking for some envelope seals to use on my invites and save-the-dates that are clear/silver or silver/foil anchors.

Does anyone know where to look for these? or even seen any? I've googled like crazy and can't find anything.

I'm thinking I'll probably peruse etsy to find someone to make them for me if necessary...

Thanks!

Hospital Stories, Round 1

*NOTE* I fully support and respect HIPAA : the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. All accounts told have been altered to protect privacy.

Here we go: A young mom comes in and gives birth early. The baby developed bilateral brain bleeds and had a shunt placed. Fairly routine as far as the baby. However, the social history is ridiculous!

I often wonder how people can live like this. Mom has 2! restraining orders against Dad for domestic abuse. Dad was released from jail for abusing Mom a few days after the baby was born. According to when Mom conceived, Dad was incarcerated. So is Dad really the dad? Did he get conjugal visits?

Because of the restraining orders, Mom and ?Dad? are not allowed to visit together, but are living together. If seen at the hospital together, the nurses are instructed to call security. So now I have to take care of a critically ill baby and play cop!

If this isn't enough, Dad is twice Mom's age and she often visits the baby with his son...who is her age. Sheesh!

I really just do not understand what it is with women who cannot get a clue. If he abused you once, he'll do it again! I feel so bad for this poor child and the life it'll go home to if it makes it through this medical ordeal.

Changes

I posted a little while ago that our first choice venue is (98% sure) no longer available to us.

Fiance and I have had lengthy conversations about what this particular venue means to us and our families (it's on the University campus where practically our entire families went to school). We decided that while meaningful, it may not be worth the effort to pursue hard-core.

Thus we talked about other options: elope then come back for the reception; destination wedding and reception at home; find a new church for the ceremony; or see if we can get the Yacht Club to bend its rules and allow the ceremony there.

We axed the going away options, contacted many cool local churches who said no because we're not their particular branch of Christianity. Our home churches are just too far away from the Yacht Club to be feasible options.

We've decided to try our luck with the Yacht Club. Here's where I need your input. Do you think it is reasonable to ask guests to stand for a 10 minute ceremony (with chairs for the elderly)? We are thinking a no-frills ceremony in the middle of the dance floor, with the buffet tables being rolled into the space once the ceremony is done. And then incorporating some of the special ceremony things such as the homily into the reception at the cake cutting and toasting.

What do you think?

Vacation

We've been on vacation at the lake for a few days. We will be here for a few more days. Posting will resume when I get back. I have a few hospital stories and wedding drama to tell you about.

In the meantime, we'll be doing a bit more of this:
Football 500

and this:

Me slalom waterskiing

No Church!?

Our ceremony venue is no longer available to us! They had told us we couldn't book until 6 months out, and Fiance just checked the website yesterday, and they have a concert booked that day at 12:30. Our ceremony is at 10am. Boo!

But, Fiance and I went church scouting this afternoon. We found 5 options, all being gorgeous historic churches. We know that 4 for sure will rent out to non-members for weddings. But our #1 choice's website is currently down, so we don't know!!!

Wish us luck on finding a church to host our wedding ceremony.

Sailboats

Fiance and I have been working on these for a little while now.

I purchased over 130 of these little sailboats at Michaels. They retail for $1 each and the lady gave me a 20% discount, so they were way cheap!


Fiance and I went to Home Depot for clear varnish, and he spotted tintable wood stain. He chose "island water." I was a bit wary of it, but in the end, I love the look.


In process (some need a second coat):


The finished product!


These will be sprinkled on various tables and since we are foregoing favors, guests are more than welcome to take these home if they so wish.

Capstone

I am so neglectful of this blog. I feel like my life is spinning out of control right now due to capstone and nursing school finishing up. Thus, blogging is the last thing I have time for. Sad!

So I have been doing my capstone clinical hours the past few weeks. I'm halfway done now, and am ever-so-thankful. My body does not like 12 hour night shifts or sleeping in the day when it's 85*!

I am having fun and getting to do lots of cool things with tubes and wires. Here's a pic of a preemie diaper next to a size 2 diaper (the size most 4-8 month olds wear.) It really does not do it justice, but try to imagine it on a 1 pound baby that can easily fit into the palm of a man's hand.

Wedding Update

Oh my, the wedding.

I ordered ALL the paper for the invitations and save the dates. I would have ordered the paper for the programs, but am not sure what those will look like yet. My total cost for paper alone is less than $250. My design and assembly are free. All I'll have to pay for now is printing and double sided tape, which I'm guessing will be less than $200. Original invite bid: Over $1500, actual cost: Under $500. Thanks again to Tess & Eve at Evenstar Paperie for giving me the inspiration and the faith that I could take on this project!

Here are the paper colors: Stardream metallics "Pink Azalea" for the envelopes and layering paper (purchased from Paper and More):


Malmero Perle in Abysse for the pocket folder and STD backing (purchased from Paper-Papers):

Eames Furniture Weave in white (off-white really) for the actual text (purchased from Paper Zone). I'm not posting a pic because the stock pic is terrible. Sorry!