Vendor #2: Photographers

Image courtesy of Cathy & David Photographers

We are so excited about Cathy & David Photographers, our wedding photographers. I love the expression and emotion they captured in this photo. They are actually based in Indiana, but have an incredibly reasonable travel fee. They have been so responsive and flexible. We are so very excited about working with them on our wedding day. I would encourage brides to look outside of their market for wedding photographers. We were able to find a wonderful photographer who offered what we were looking for at a reasonable price and who was available by not constraining ourselves to a Chicago-based photographer (although there are also many wonderful Chicago-based wedding photographers).

Thanks to a Talented Friend

One of our best men in our wedding (yes, there are two) is also a very talented photographer and graphic designer. He is a part-time wedding photographer in the Nashville area and graciously took some engagement photos of us over New Year's. He has also been designing (and re-designing) our Save the Dates. Apparently, while I do not care about the steak knives, I do care about the Save the Dates. Who knew. Here are a couple designs he has done for us and they are just awesome. I am so lucky that such a talented individual has been willing to spend his time designing these for us for free. It is so much fun to pick out pretty designs without having to check the what they cost before you fall in love with them. I actually think we are leaning towards another design that I don't have a jpeg of. But they are all so great, I just can't decide. Please leave me a comment and let me know which one is your favorite!

Favor Idea

Image by Brooke Reynolds via inchmark

These would make such cute favors. Make using instructions from Brooke here. The favor options we are considering now are: none, seed packets, or to-go bags for a cookie bar. I think I am okay without favors. The fiance favors the sentiment behind giving seeds that people could go home and plant. I think this could be cute and economical; perhaps I need to start looking for cute seed packet design ideas. I don't think this idea could work for those. As far as to-go bags are concerned, I was just planning on a stamping some brown paper bags. Hmmm.... what about velum for the seed packets?

Hmmm... to DIY or purchase?

I love this chalkboard that I found on Etsy. I was thinking about doing this myself. Although I haven't found an awesome old frame to use. And this one is green, which matches my wedding colors. Hmm... I'll have to think about it.

No post today

No post today, because I am running behind here at work, but here are a couple of our engagement photos for your Thursday.

Wedding Ceremony

Image from 2000dollarwedding.com

Because we are getting married in the Catholic Church, we don't get the freedom to come up with our own vows or wedding traditions. I am a little jealous when I see people come up with such meaningful new traditions, like Sara and Matt did (love their wedding quilt--pictured--made from pieces of fabric donated by friends and family). We are stuck with a pretty traditional service--we got a little book with our choices of readings. And we are not necessarily excited with our options. I think we can pick some other bible readings, so if you have any suggestions for something you found that isn't in the Catholic church's booklet, please let me know. On the plus side, it is one aspect of the wedding that is pretty much set (as in, I don't feel any pressure to come up with creative ways to express our love for each other, because, really, I don't think I could do it--how do you meaningfully articulate that feeling and commitment you are undertaking?)

I also don't think we have much freedom to write our own vows. I asked my fiance about it and his opinion was that he was okay with traditional vows. I am too. While we could draft something more personal, I don't think that you can really improve upon the sentiment in traditional vows--for better and for worse, in sickness, and in health--pretty much sums up the commitment we are making to each other. Faith explainedit well here: she and her fiance chose to "stick with the short simple, and old-fashioned words in our ceremony. We wanted to be connected to the longstanding supports of tradition, community, and strength we have available in our personal faiths." I agree. As an alternative, I was thinking that perhaps we could toast each other at the reception as a way to share our more personal feelings about each other and our marriage. Has anyone been to a wedding where a bride and groom have done that? Do you think it would be too much talking (and not enough eating and dancing) when combined with the other toasts?

The Economy, Relationships, and Two Careers

Image source: http://trainscorner.com/

Yesterday Meg posted about the economic problems and weddings (and then posted this great comment later) and I mentioned a bit about how the economy is affecting my fiance and my decision about where we will start our married life. So, I thought I would write a bit more on the subject, because it is one that I think affects many relationships. Job decisions are difficult when they affect one person--you. They are even more difficult when they affect more than just you--you, your spouse and, if applicable, your children. Growing up as a military brat, I experienced this first hand. By the time I got to ninth grade, I had attended five schools in five years. My girlfriend (and BM) is currently in Munich, (which I think is awsome--see the picture) because of her husband's job. But finding work has not been easy and a recent law school grad, she has been frustrated by the career sacrifice.

We have decided that my fiance will leave his job working with his parents to join me in DC next year, so I can accept my better-paying job offer. In better economic times, we had thought that I would be able to get a job where he is working so that he could continue to take advantage of a unique career opportunity that also allowed him to be close to his family. That has not turned out to be the case. So, he is taking a leap of faith and sacrificing his career opportunity in the hope that he will be able to find something challenging and worthwhile. I know that we are the lucky ones, because so many are suffering so much more than us from the economic downturn. But, it is difficult to have to decide how to prioritize two careers. It puts a burden on both parties. We have tried very hard to recognize that this is a decision we are making together because it is the best for us as a couple, but its not always easy when the decision appears to benefit one of us more than the other. When we met with our priest on Valentine's day he said, "compromise is not always 50/50." How true!!

I do believe in my heart of hearts that everything happens for a reason. And that we will make the best of this opportunity and that, hopefully, it will open up doors to opportunities we could not have imagined or planned for. Marriage is scary. It requires a tremendous amount of faith to say, no matter what happens, we are going to do it together. But, I also hope that together we will have the the courage to take risks and take advantage of opportunities that come our way even if they come from the most unlikely sources. I wish each of you the best and my thoughts and prayers are with you as you deal with whatever impact the economy has on your relationship and as you contemplate the enormity of tying your life to another's.