Final visit to the Fairgate

On Friday, July 3rd, Kevin, my mom, my Aunt Debbie/florist, and I will be travelling to the Fairgate Inn for our final visit before the Big Day! I'm so thankful that my Aunt Debbie can come along. It will be nice for her to see the venue in order to help me plan a better vision for the flowers. They have also been doing a lot of work out there to make things fancier for the 2009 wedding season. It will be nice to see how those improvements have altered the look of our space. This meeting will be the last chance to go over how I want my tables to be set up, where the favors will be placed, where the cake table will be, what will be on the guest table, where we will place our photo booth, how the buffet line is going to work, a chance to scope out where we can get some great photographs and narrow down the rest of the details. Thank god my mom is going to help keep me sane. Luckily she and I have very similar taste so I can leave decisions up to her with a peace knowing she won't choose something I'd hate. (With the exception of the wedding dress she made me try on with the floor-length matching all-lace jacket!!!) Sorry, mom, I had to mention it. :)

We have a lot of little details to coordinate for the setup of our reception space. We are renting our centerpiece vases, as well as using the Fairgate's candleabras, we are using the fairgates creme linens, renting our black linens and renting our chair covers, we have purchased frames for table numbers, and purple glass votive holders, we will fill them with extra-long burning soy tealights, we are placing the favors at each table setting, we are setting out the plates rather than keeping them in a stack by the buffet, and some tables will have flower petals. Since the venue will handle all the setup and teardown (FABULOUS!), I will have to be very prepared with all the stuff we'll need for each table. My friend Karen suggested that I put together a box for each table, label it with the coordinating table number, and fill with all the reception centerpiece items that will need to be laid out by the Fairgate staff. She also suggested including a diagram of what I want so they will know how all the elements need to be set out. I am definitely going to take her advice. Looks like I better start collecting boxes from work! The great advantage to this venue is that we can bring all the stuff on Thursday at the rehearsal. That means, all the flowers can be dropped off and all the table stuff. They will spend Thursday night and Friday morning setting it all up...That means that my mom, Kevin's mom and I will get to spend the first half of my special day relaxing, not stressing about setting up the reception site.

We have some things that need to be done relatively soon. We need to buy the favors and wrap them. We need to buy the sparklers for our farewell at the end of the night. We need to print out all the table numbers and put them in the frames. We need to make a seating chart and design the seating chart display for the reception. We need to finalize our rentals for the linens, chair covers and the vases. We need to order the flower petals. We need to get all the guys to go get fitted for their tuxes. We need to design the ceremony programs. We need to meet with the pastor to go over our actual ceremony. We need to give our finalized song lists to the DJ. We need to finalize our registry and remove items we don't really want/need. We need to drive to Eugene to pick up the soy tealights. We need to figure out our bridal party gifts. We need to finalize arrival and departure times with the photographers and videographer. We need to check with the wedding night hotel about leaving our stuff there early and how to keep a car there so we can drive home on Saturday morning. We need to let people know about the family get together at my parents house on Saturday, the day after the wedding. We need to get a box to put our wedding cards in at the guest table. We need to write thank you notes to everyone for gifts we've received. We need to pay the final cake cost and decide if we will need the extra sheet cake. We need to cancel our other cake appointment for the bakery we no longer plan to work with. We need to staring bleaching our teeth and start tanning pronto! We need to breathe. There is so much more but I just can't think of it. This a good list to start with though. Now that it's 1.04am, good night!