Royal Fig Catering

So after several attempts to be sneaky and get around the Austin traffic (totally failure btw) we made it to our meeting with Royal Fig Catering. She was so gracious and didn't even seem phased that we were late (the extra little take out box of flowers from Park Crest Floral we gave her had to have helped!) Kristen was great! She talked us through setting up a menu and gave great suggestions about what would go well together. One of the great things about Royal Fig is that they only use locally grown ingredients so you go by whatever is in season (which of course makes your food taste amazing!) Everything they create is made from scratch AND they take care of day-of coordination AND will order (and set up) all the linens we need too. They provide waitstaff and bartenders and best of all they have worked with our venue several times (which most people have not since its new). Overall I was blown away.

They also allow you to set up a tasting so that you don't have to book anything until you've actually sampled their food. We set up a tasting for December 22nd so Sam could be here (ONLY 4 MORE WEEKS BY THE WAY!!) and at that time they'll let us sample all the appetizers, main dishes, side dishes and even the signature cocktails they are going to make for us. 

I was really excited as we left that meeting and she sent us our quote later that evening... that was when the trouble started. We had told her we would have a certain number of people because we weren't really sure, so when the price came back there was a little bit of sticker shock! However, when broken down- it's really not expensive compared to a lot of other places I've seen when looking at some of the all-inclusives and things. Plus its totally customized and so much more than just the food!!! Nevertheless we actually looked at our guest list and we're looking at closer to 100 people so I email Kristen back and she gave me a quote that was much more palatable (and realistic). 

My mom and I are ready to go ahead but we're encountering some trouble from the peanut gallery. Needless to say we're still on the rocks a little bit about it but hopefully things will all work out like their supposed to!!  

Wish me luck!!

What do you mean you're a florist and your not going to show me actual flowers?

About a week ago my mom and I had a big wedding planning day!! We scheduled several appointments in with vendors in austin over the course of the entire afternoon.

Our first stop was Just'in Blooms and Roses in Round Rock. Our visit started out pretty rocky and didn't improve a whole lot. First we barely found the place because there was no sign outside or anywhere. Then we walked up to a door that said closed and met a woman who left a lot to be desired... We were then ushered to another door and greeted by another woman. She was really nice as she had us go through a sheet deciding what we wanted and how many people would be involved, etc. but she didn't really listen to the whole "we're on a budget" thing. She also never showed us an actual flower or anything she had put together. She just had sample cards with the flowers on them that any florist can have. Needless to say,  when I got the quote she emailed me later with a ridiculous price tag.. I laughed and deleted the email.

After we left there, we made the trip to downtown austin to meet Chris Howard from The Photography Shoppe. We left in plenty of time but did run into a few problems along the way. A) we had a hard time finding the place because its in an office building and none of the buildings downtown seem to have numbers on them and B) I don't have a whole lot of experience parallel parking so that was an adventure all in itself... (luckily after a few tense moments we found one I could just pull forward into). After we found his office we let him go through his whole speech but we had already decided we were going to book him when we met him at the bridal show the week before. Their packages are unbeatable and his portfolio was great (added plus he looks a little like Heath Ledger from 10 things I hate about you... and don't worry I'm about 98% sure Sam doesn't read this)

So we officially have a photographer (wahoo!!)

Next I introduced my mom to Pita Pit for a quick lunch before we headed over to ParkCrest Floral Design. LOVED THEM! We actually walked into a flower shop with pots of flowers everywhere (imagine that?!) and she kept picking up flowers until she created a mini bouquet that I actually liked and could hold in front of a mirror (which was super exciting!) We spent most of our time there putting stuff like that together and she really "got" that we didn't have a huge buget for flowers and showed us some great centerpieces that aren't super expensive. She did give us a cute parting gift with some of the flowers we'd been talking about (see picture) However, we had to rush off to make our caterer appointment, which we were 30 minutes late to because of stupid Austin traffic : (


(I'm going to make the caterer a separate post because I have a lot to say about it : )

Consultations

The meeting with the DJ went great! We got an awesome package for 1/2 price so of course we had to take advantage! We're going to have cool lights and they are going to MC the whole night too, which is important! Its going to be great too because our guests can request songs via their website!

If you want to put in a song request go to Infinity Audio DJ (click the link)
Then click on Client Login & Song Requests and choose Guest Song Request from the drop down menu
Put in "morris" in the group name  (no password) and then pick your songs!

Before the meeting my mom and I decided to go (completely last minute) to a bridal show I heard about on the radio. It wasn't the same as the usual ones I've been attending... It was kind of like the red-headed stepsister of the regular one, meaning it was a lot smaller and there were only 2 cake vendors!! It turned out to be good though we met a photographer and a florist that we set up consultations with. I'm really excited about the photographer and the florist is to help us get an idea of how much things cost. We also planned a catering consultation from one of the places Danny (at the Hummingbird House) recommended. I want to try to set up one more consultation for next week too just to round it out : )

I'll keep you updated!

Favors and a DJ

So we've had a small hiatus in wedding planning. The past month or so not much has happened because my mom was finishing up school and work has started to get busy, but I have made a few developments. 

I officially have a maid of honor : ) but I haven't asked my bridesmaids yet so I'm not telling who 

I know its a little early and I'm totally going out of order but I got my wedding favors already! It was an awesome deal that I couldn't pass up and it was something I really wanted!! So I'm pretty stoked about that...

I also might be getting a DJ pretty soon too... 

I got an email from Infinity Audio offering 50% off their packages if I book by November 15th- so my mom and I are going to go meet with the people on Sunday and see if we click with them. Hopefully so because they have some pretty good packages with fun lighting : D I'll let you know how it goes. 

Next we really need to get working on catering because Sam informed me that he cares about that aspect a lot. I want to be able to do a tasting while he's here if possible but if I don't start looking that's not going to happen! The venue recommended Royal Fig catering so I think we'll start there- wish me luck!!