Last Minute

I finally made it to Charleston and have been here for a few days. I feel a million times better because now I get to meet with the people who I have been communication with from Arlington via email or phone and I can now see them in person. The biggest downside to planning a wedding from out of town is the inability to run over to your venue and take measurements or to envision the space decorated the way you want.

Now that I am here were are pretty much assembling and putting together everything. I finally picked up our wedding programs from Kinko's (who are fantastic for those last minute print jobs!). I think I am going to nix the ribbon because that is definitely something I can live without. I finalized the menu (I know, 3 days before is absurd) since we had an additional number of guests who keep kosher. Let me tell you---finding a fully kosher meal is not as easy as it seems! Or at least in West VA! I finally got everything put together with the DJ --- who I really hope turns out to be great---I am a little concerned that he might be WAY too chatty. All I have to do now is hope that this cold spell in the mountains lets up. The one great thing is the foliage---hooray for awesome pictures.

I have my hair trial today as well, so it's a last minute week for me all around. Not for lack of planning (had this one booked since November), but just the strain of planning from 7 hours away and not being readily available to just hop on a plane. Let's hope it all comes together by Saturday!

For all you ladies getting married this weekend or in the next few weekends, what ends are still left untied?

in search of a DJ

Well Mr. Fairfax and I didn't quite get to the narrowing down the DJ conversation.. Anyone have any recommendations for an affordable DJ? We are hoping to find someone who will provide the option to include a little karaoke at some point during the evening. eee! I love karaoke so hard. I'm already trying to think of the best song for me to sing haha.

So far I'm liking the sound of Big T's Entertainment. They quoted me 4 hours for $650, and then $50 extra if we wanted karaoke. Sounds reasonable to me, especially considering MyDeeJay.com would be minimum $900, no karaoke. I also liked DJ Max Powers, his website is pretty lo-tech but I liked his answers on his FAQ page, and he quoted me $500 for the reception, or $575 if I wanted him to do the ceremony too. That sounds promising (but sigh, no karaoke).

Are you all doing a DJ, or a live band? Anyone skipping the dancing thing altogether?

We have started the ball rolling on the hotel room blocks - we're going with the Hampton Inn, on route 50 in Fairfax. Only a mile from our venue and we really liked the look of it when we visited. It's totally non-smoking, free wifi, and we should be able to get a $79/night rate for the Thurs - Sun time frame. I will keep you posted on that!