Shut Up and Take My Money!

I am itching to reveal all of our various vendors and sellers through whom we've purchased or contracted goodies, but until it all shows up without issue, I prefer to keep company names quiet (just in case something happens beyond anyone's control - I would hate to have it reflect poorly on these great businesses).  There will be a big list with examples at the end though!

Some to look for:
-Cupcake baker
-Bride and Groom cake baker
-Photographer
-DJ

That said, I feel pretty confident "out"ing a few of them now.

First Up: Our Save the Date designer, Party Monkey, www.etsy.com/shop/partymonkey
Cute layouts, super fast design, excellent customer service, super affordable.  If we had had all of our photos and such ready in time, we totally would have bought the postcard/photo style in their shop.  Still, we printed via snapfish and had a great overall experience.

Second: Our Invitation/RSVP designer, Hydraulic Graphics, www.etsy.com/shop/HydraulicGraphix
I actually found them via a Smashing Pumpkins "Tonight Tonight" style Save the Date on etsy, but continued on to find their ticket-style invitations.  We fell in love with the hot air balloon ticket, and ordered it right up.  A couple days later we were printing the tickets in my living room, and had the postcard RSVPs printed locally for under $30.  The biggest cost in the whole process was actually in the parchment paper and envelopes we chose.  Still, our invitations (sans postage) cost under $100 and looked awesome.

Next: Favor bags from Rooted Manor, www.etsy.com/shop/RootedManor
We loved the simplicity of offering a candy buffet (Steve's cousin in Michigan had a pretty awesome one at his wedding last year, and we couldn't help but steal the idea).  Enter: matching candy bags!  Rooted Manor was affordable and quick, and fixed the misspelling in my name well before shipping our order.

Yes, we caught that typo!

Next up: Our engagement photographer, Seth Beebe
Seth may be our friend from the early days, but he also happens to be a stellar photographer.  We dragged him up to Hubbard Park in Montpelier with all of his fancy equipment, and he was able to capture more than a few candid, lovely shots of us only looking somewhat doofy (not his fault, we come that way default).  He made us laugh, we had fun, and then he did some kind of post-production wizardry to make even my ridiculous face look good.  We got a small selection of the best photos in both color and B&W, and we'll cherish them for years.

See? Magic.  I look good.

Finally: our seamstress, Michelle Thorstrom of Damsel in this Dress, www.etsy.com/shop/damselinthisdress
Now, DitD is based out in Utah, and is a thoroughly unlikely place for someone to buy a wedding dress, right?  Well, thanks to years of geekery and etsy addiction, I felt pretty confident purchasing over the Internet.  DitD corsets are comfortable, adjustable, and customizable with just about any fabric options.  So, in April 2013, I nabbed a gorgeous silver underbust corset and began to build my wedding dress.

Actually, Steve bought it for me <3

Fast-forward to January 2014 - I was frantically trying to find the right fabrics and come to terms with the fact that I wasn't going to be able to make a white wedding dress work and still be happy myself.  So, I went for a light silver skirt, white blouse, and light silver overbust/upper corset jacket.  I dropped $80 on high-end fabric and sent it to Michelle for approval, and got the green light!

Then the problems (and subsequent reasons why I LOVE DitD) began...

I got an email from DitD about a month ago saying that despite the pre-approval, none of the fabrics I selected were going to work (the skirt fabric clashed unexpectedly, the corset fabric puckered, and the Venice lace wouldn't sew easily. Cue freakout. 

Clashing skirt fabric? Michelle wasn't going to let me walk down the aisle like that

Fortunately, they had back-up fabrics that worked, and all made it safely to my hands.  I even got the "puckery" silver vest corset thrown in as well. The items fit beautifully, and even the silver one, once on, looked absolutely perfect.  Here's a sneak peek at the dress...

You didn't really think I'd reveal the WHOLE thing before the wedding, right?

The picture above shows the white fabric option up top, sans sleeves.  I am pretty sure, however, that I'll be wearing the not-as-puckery-as-thought silver version in May.  Just wait and see!  And, as always, I will extoll the wonder of shopping with Damsel in this Dress - I was not going to be allowed to walk away with a sub-par product, nor did I have to pay for the correction.  I ended up paying for the extra corset out of gratitude, but it was never required.  Seriously - small businesses win, especially when they're run by caring superhuman seamstresses.

Michelle also did the entire bridal party set: 8 royal blue overbust corsets with black venice lace trim, and 8 black full length skirts.  Aside from a shipping goof-up (and an incorrectly measured bridesmaid), the massive, truly custom order came out perfectly.  I'll post some photos when I get better versions taken in good light!

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So, even a DIY wedding has some things that just need to be made by the professionals.  Go by word of mouth, scope out your options, and above all: ORDER WELL IN ADVANCE.  The earlier you get this stuff done, the more time you have in case Murphy's Law prevails.