so we didn’t win…

but that’s okay!
We didn’t win the Valentine’s Day lovers rock competition but we had a great time and received some great shots that we can use at our wedding and on our wedding website.

We received more votes that I thought we would so thanks to everyone who voted!!! I’ll definitely be entering more contest and will be calling for more voting help soon…

Oh! and here are some shots from the photo session.

Our photos with Robert Wagner were our favorites!

I love that this old man is looking at us like we are crazy! 🙂

Parris Whittingham was also great to work with.  Here are a couple of our favorite shots with him

and then the shoes 🙂

plea for votes

So the v-day competition that GTB and I participated in yesterday has officially begun. One photo per couple per photog was chosen and now the voting begins.

please vote!! send it out!! vote often! It closes on Tuesday

Here are the links. We are the first couple (Valarie and Thomas…of course)

Robert Wagner Photography

From Parris With Love

Christopher Duggan Photography

THANKS!!!!!

still undecided on v-day

Valentine’s day is tomorrow – the GTB and myself have decided not to “celebrate” this year.  We just aren’t buying any presents since well, we are paying for a wedding this year…it’s more important to me to be able to pay my photographer than it is to get an expensive bouquet of flowers or some jewelry.  So we are going to go to dinner – not on v-day since NYC restaurants jackup the prices this weekend. But another day this week.

Sometimes it just seems like v-day is another day for people to just make more money which makes me even more cynical about this day.  But today, a couple of photographers met up in Madison Square Garden to celebrate love.  They held a competition and asked any and all NYC couples to meet up between 3-5 for free 5 minute sessions with 3 photographers.  Then each photog chooses one pic of each couple and puts it up on a website for voting.  Whichever couple gets the most votes wins a free session and some prints as well as a dinner. How lovely is that!?!

The GTB and I went and froze our butts off. We were outside for about an hour and half – but had a blast. It was so fun meeting other couples and the different photographers. Posing outside in the city was exciting…although we were right near shack shake (I wanted one so badly but more outside wasn’t an option).

The photos will be up tomorrow and open for voting so I definitely plan to send to every single person I know.

Stay tuned….

optimism doesn’t suit me well…

So I started out the week optimistic and things just turned for the worse.  We were supposed to hear back from a possible venue by Monday and we hadn’t heard anything.  Finally, we heard something yesterday….what we did hear was that we wouldn’t get a proposal until this upcoming Monday.  To make matters worse…my photographer, who i was going to book when I had the Thompson, is now telling me she has a request for the 5th from someone else and if I don’t pay her deposit, she’s going to have to go to this other person.

awesome.

I really just don’t know what to do at this point.  And really when I say WE…i really mean the GTB (groom to be).  This other venue, Elizabeth, was found by the GTB.  He’s been the one contacting the guy.  I don’t have his contact or I would be doing it and I learned last night that the GTB really doens’t have this guys contact but has been going through his friend who is contacting this guy.  Really?  No wonder we haven’t heard back from him.

It’s just frustrating.

And now, my photographer might take another job because I don’t have a venue and feel like it’s risky to pay her deposit without a confirmed venue/date.

FML.

happy birthday marie!!!

Today is my maid of honor….er…MATRON of honor’s birthday!!

She’s 1,500 miles away from me, or really I’m 1,500 miles away from her…but however you put it, we are not in the same town, not even close.  So I can’t celebrate with her!  I can’t even remember the last time we were able to celebrate birthdays.

This is her first birthday as a MRS. so I’m sure she’ll be just fine.  I’m not even sure how she’s going to celebrate.  Do you do something nice and simple with your hubby or do you go out with your girls.  Wonder how much things change when you get married….

anyway…

Happy Birthday MRS. Marie!!!  Wish I could be there.  Here’s your birthday hug and kiss!!

ummm…yes please

wedding planning can be exhausting…i think pajama jeans are just the solution.  I can sleep in them, go to work in them, it’s a time saver.

Hello valarie’s new spring/summer wardrobe.

feeling a bit more optimistic

so today is sort of off to a rocky start.  I wasn’t able to finish up my list of to-dos this weekend which puts more on my list during the week.  blah.  This morning on the crowded subway, a man offerred me his seat…the only time anyone offers anyone their seat is if the person is extremely old or pregnant.  nice.  Now I really HAVE to go to the gym today, if only to make myself feel better.

Yesterday of course was the superbowl.  The saints won – I was rooting for them.  I stopped by my friend Kayla’s place to watch the first half then zipped home to zoey to watch the final half.  Thomas and I had been out for quite some time Sunday and we hate leaving zoey alone for too long.  We actually visited a potential venue Sunday – we had brunch there.

It’s called Elizabeth and is on Elizabeth street in nolita. It definitely does not fit in with our color scheme (which took us FOREVER to agree on) but if it fits within our budget, then we’ll have to go through the headache of deciding on colors…again.

Fingers crossed that it works. I started writing addresses on our STDs (i can’t help but say that…) so if this place is a go I can just put stamps on them and pop them in the mail. I’m already REALLY behind on sending them as it is. I only filled out 23 of them but I think that’s a good start!

This week is going to be good…I can feel it

canada dry or schweppes?

I’m sick.  Drinking ginger ale.  I wasn’t able to go to work yesterday but luckily Thomas could take care of me and bought me some ginger ale.  He asked if I preferred canada dry or schweppes….and I really don’t know so I’m drinking both. thoughts?

We were supposed to check out a couple of places yesterday but I just didn’t have the energy to go with him, so Thomas went alone.  All in all it seemed like a good trip.  He ruled out two of our places.  One is still a viable option so I’ll need to go see it myself and ask the million questions I have.

We still have more to see.  Hoping to see Astra and River Cafe today.

Fingers crossed

My heart is still set on Gramercy Park Hotel but my budget doesn’t like it…

if at first you don’t succeed…

quit?

no, that’s not it…

but that’s what I want to do.  This whole wedding planning stuff is STRESSFUL

Somedays I just want to say, screw it, let’s elope.

I’m working on the venue and have just been contacting everyone I can think of.  I contacting restaurants, bars, wine bars, famous people so I can use their homes…everyone.  Hopefully something will work out that’s within budget. Especially since this wedding is already going to put me in more debt than I would like, I don’t want to add to it…

So if you know of any place, had dinner somewhere or drinks and thought, “hey, this is a nice place for a wedding” because I’m sure you are always thinking that when you go out for dinner or drinks, then shoot me the name of the place.  It could be THE PLACE.

Now back to contacting vendors….

wedding planning isn’t fun anymore…