Florists, Music, Videography Oh My!

Save the dates are out and now I have the task of hunting for florists and music. I started with florists and have had two appointments so far. It is really important to me for the florist to really get my vision, but also work with me on my budget. I love the ones who are able to offer me suggestions for keeping the look I want but finding a less expensive way to do it. I put together a packet of inspiration pictures for the florist to look at. Below are some of the pictures I chose.

Ceremony

Attire

Cake

Bouquet

Reception

My first florist meeting was with Sally Preston of Exquisite Blooms. We met at a cute shop in Little Italy and went through all of my pictures. I felt really good about the meeting and Sally seemed really sweet and calm.  She does amazing work and I would totally trust her. The only thing I am worried about is staying under budget...i'll have to wait to see a proposal.
My second meeting was with  florist/ coordinator Jen Haase from Branches Floral Studio. She also really understood the look that I wanted and even coined the name "Modern Luxe". I don't know about the luxe part...but modern for sure. She also went into a lot of detail regarding her coordination business and it sounds like she really knows what she is doing. It reminded me that I really need to find room in the budget for a coordinator because all of the things she was talking about I do not want to have to worry about on my wedding day. I am still waiting on a a proposal from her as well.
I plan to meet with Dede Barnes from Moments in Bloom sometime in the upcoming weeks. I e-mailed her my inspiration pictures and she said she really loved the look. I was up front with her about my budget and she is willing to offer a lot of suggestions on how to save money.

In addition to florists I have been looking for musical options. We want to have an acoustic guitarist for the ceremony and cocktail hour and then a DJ (a real one that mixes) for the reception. I have found some awesome options for the DJ such as Injoy Entertainment and DJ Daniel Peterson. We plan to set up meetings as soon as Chris has some time. For acoustic guitarists I really love Tini Grey, but he has not gotten back to me regarding availability. I did hear from Kenny Earnest who quoted me a really great price. I am hoping Chris and I can travel up to Long Beach and Rancho Santa Margarita  to listen to these guys perform live.

I am also searching for a coordinator and have already talked to Jen Haase. We have some friends that are getting married the day before us and they have a friend who is a coordinator. Here name is Stephanie Furlong of Furlong Event Design. Based on her website I cannot wait to talk to her! I also have a friend who used to coordinate weddings that gave me Elisa's name of Events by Elisa. I am planning on contacting her soon.

The last little bit of this blog is just to swoon over some videography. I really would LOVE to hire a cinematographer for our wedding to make videos like the ones below. They are just gorgeous! But most of these services are WAY far out of our budget. I did find one gentleman who has a similar style (although not as cinematic) that seems more affordable (last video). :-)



Jim & Stefanie // San Diego, CA. from FortyOneTwenty on Vimeo.


Sunny and Nik Wedding at Andaz Hotel in San Diego from Rustic Red Studio on Vimeo.

Nancy + Alex | September 5th, 2011 from Luke McCain Videography on Vimeo.