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With everything going on in the past few months, it has been difficult to focus on wedding planning. All of my vendors have been wonderful in terms of communication. But the “what ifs” of meeting with them in person has been hanging over my head. Since the state of VA pretty much shut down, I have been working on some list making, to try + be productive! You can read all about it here. I was hoping to make a few trips to Tampa, FL to meet with different vendors over the next few months. But with the uncertainty of restrictions that may come we were going to fit as much as we could into that time! When restrictions started to loosen, we knew now may be the best chance for us to meet. I was able to set it up so that both of our families could attend! It was wonderful to share the weekend with them + get their opinions. This wedding planning weekend involved A LOT of coordinating, but I am so happy we had our families with us to share the experiences!
As you all know by now, I love to organize + plan! Wedding planning is NO exception. It should be no surprise that I created an itinerary for the weekend – so everyone knew what was going on. With so many events, I thought it may be difficult to keep up with where we were going + when.
FRIDAY
Max + I flew in on Thurdsay night + his parents picked us up. We had a decent drive to Tampa, since the cheapest flight was in to Sanford. So it was a rather late night for everyone. + the next morning started early! We had a church tour to attend! Up until this point, we have only emailed with the coordinator. We had a tour scheduled late last year, but unfortunately we were only able to see the church when it was open for Mass. So this was the first time we were able to see + discuss all of the details as well!
After the church tour we went to a cafe + then we drove straight to the first hotel to discuss hotel blocks. We had 2 different hotel meetings – we were looking for the best rates + experience since guests will most likely make a weekend trip out of the wedding. We are also offering transportation for guests who stay in the hotel to drive them to + from the reception! After the hotel meetings, we stopped by Men’s Wearhouse to see what they offer in terms of rentals. + headed to Panera to meet with our florist. We discussed colors, arrangement styles for the bridal + bridesmaids bouquets, as well as the centerpiece options! We also met with our videographer to start the discussion of the general day-of timeline.
After meeting with our florist + videographer, we went to a cake tasting + if was an experience we will never forget! She had the table set perfectly to try 5 different cake/filling choices that we picked ahead of time to try. She was a total gem + willing to make my vision come to life. I cannot wait to see the final product!
SATURDAY
Since we had a rather full Friday, I tried to limit Saturday’s plans. On Saturday, we had an official tour of our reception space. We arranged a FaceTime tour in December + knew it was the PERFECT place for us, but seeing it in person made it feel real! We learned about different options for spaces we can use + talked more details (of course)! This space is just a dream come true for me! I couldn’t imagine anything more beautiful for our cocktail hour + reception!
To finish the tour, we had a food tasting to choose the items that will be on our menu for the guests. The food was presented professionally + OH MY WORD WAS IT AMAZING! Everything we tried was incredible + I wish I would have put more on my plate! After making our choices, we were able to explore the outdoor pictures spaces. + even typing this now, I am just smiling from ear to ear. I am SO happy with this space!
After the reception space tour, we went to our last To-Do of the weekend – we went bridesmaid dress shopping! I had my future sister-in-law + my little from my sorority met us there! The entire appointment lasted about 2 hours + it closed off a perfect weekend. I promised my girls to have the dresses by mid-July + I held that promise by completing it a month earlier! I am not going to share the exact dresses here but I ended up going with the same overall color scheme/concept. The girls then got to choose which dresses they prefer based on the ones chosen + everyone loved them (at least I think they did!!).
Even though it was a jam packed wedding planning weekend, it was much needed! + it crossed off many items on the wedding To-Do list that seems to keep growing!! This process is all I ever hoped it could be + even more special to have our loved ones experience it with us!
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