Lauren of WeddingGlow contacted me wanting to host a giveaway. I was ELATED. EEEE-LAY-TED.  For serious.  One gander at her Etsy Shop should make you feel the same way; especially if you’re a bride looking for the perfect rustic, charming centerpieces. Look no more, milady!

How adorable are these? They’re customizable — you could get your names, table numbers, just about anything on them!

Get to know WeddingGlow:

WeddingGlow centerpieces are beautiful handcrafted candelabras made by designer and crafter Lauren Mendoza in San Francisco. Just the right mix of modern and classic, they add an elegant enchanting glow to any indoor or outdoor reception. You can choose from a selection of engraving options in her Etsy shop, or order a custom engraving to match your wedding theme, or even have the bride and groom’s names on each one with a heart in the middle. Each candelabra features bright poplar wood contrasted with dark burned edges for a beautiful rustic elegance. They’re made to be durable and pack flat, so they can be enjoyed for years to come!

Up for grabs is a set of one dozen (yes, TWELVE of these) of these gorgeous candelabra centerpieces and shipping is included.  Okay, I’ll give you a second to breathe and believe me when I say Lauren volunteered 12 of these babies.

[inhale. exhale.]

Now you probably want me to shut up and tell you how to win, yes?

To Enter:

1. You must leave a comment on this post telling Lauren and myself why you’d like to win these.
2. Like WeddingGlow and Big Day for $10K on Facebook, and leave a comment on both walls letting us know you’ve entered our giveaway!
3. Follow WeddingGlow and Big Day for $10K on Twitter, and tweet this:  I just entered to win 12 custom candelabra centerpieces from @Wedding_Glow and @BigDayfor10K, enter here: http://bit.ly/yC4Khq
4. BONUS: Favorite WeddingGlow on Etsy! Then leave a comment here letting us know you’ve done so, please include your Etsy user name!

The winner will be drawn at random and announced at 12 noon EST on Friday, February 10.  Lauren of WeddingGlow will get in touch with the winner to arrange customization and shipping (provided by the vendor).

I wanted to put together a little download/print thinger for you guys.  I still haven’t changed my name on everything…

It’s such a pain and I always forget about something.

So, I crowdsourced a few reminders, do you have any to add?

• Driver’s License and everything DMV
• Bank Accounts
• Credit Cards
• Utilities
• Insurance
• Doctor’s Offices
• Memberships
• Email
• Alumni Registries
• Social Profiles

Download/print it here (there’s more detail on the checklist, check it out!).

I don’t know if everyone experiences this, but I figured I’d share in case I’m not alone.

The wedding’s over. Honeymoon has come and gone (dammit). Reality picked right back up where we left it… we came home from the Dominican to a house that looked like a wedding had gobbled it up and spit it back out… twice.

We opened presents, started (and are still working on) thank you notes, cleaned up messes, went back to work (it hit me like a ton of bricks after almost two weeks off), and got back into a routine.

After a couple weeks, this indescribable feeling crept up on me.  As indescribable as it may be, I’m going to try to describe it.

It felt kinda empty.  Not negative empty, but more of a “holy shit that really happened?!” empty.  Like a void in time, not space (sorry for getting all weird on you, here… I realize how little sense this makes).  I started to feel like I didn’t do anything for the wedding, like it didn’t feel like a real wedding, like it was rushed and thrown together (which, if you’ve been reading this blog since May 2010, you know it wasn’t).

There are two main reasons I think I started to feel this way:

1. I wanted everything outside, and, well, the reception had to be crammed into a teensy building because of rain.  I wasn’t heartbroken then, but I really do wish I had pictures that looked back on an outdoor reception; pictures that look like what I thought they’d look like (this goes back to setting realistic expectations and having a Plan B… and C… and D). I think that by not having a concrete rain plan, I set myself up to feel this way.
2. I didn’t do much of the setup that day.  Since we moved it inside, my amazing mother spearheaded Operation: Rodriguez Wedding Setup and Take Down. I thought I’d have more of a hand in it.  If I had, I think I would have been way more stressed out (Mom, I owe you big time); but again, I expected to get my hands dirty and I didn’t to the extent I had planned.

That being said, there were some details that just weren’t the way I wanted (or expected) them to be, not all of my chairs matched (long story short, the venue had nice wooden chairs, but rental company couldn’t match them so it was an ugly mix), I wanted more candles on the tables, It was hot as HELL, and it flew by (I know everyone who’s married says this, but I swear to you: it’s 100% absolutely positively true).

Now for the turn-around.  This feeling is like that feeling you have when you get dressed in the morning in an outfit you think is going to be really cute then you feel “meh.”  But, you wear that outfit anyway, and everyone at work tells you you look great.  The disparity is in your head.  You may feel ”meh” but you actually look great!

EVERYONE we’ve heard from has told us that they had the time of their lives at our wedding.  Everyone has said that it wasn’t too hot, that they didn’t notice the chairs, that it didn’t look like we intended to have an outdoor wedding and pulled it inside at the last minute (thank goodness), and that everything was awesome; from the food to the DJ to our dresses/tuxes, to our informal cake, to the dessert table, kegs, the ceremony… the whole nine.

People loved it.

I blame wedding blogs and magazines.  The reality, budget brides, is that we spend our time looking at these blogs that show us beautifully staged weddings, great details, etc.

But you know what? When you have a $10K budget, you can’t hire a team of lackeys to set everything up, stage it for the photographer just right.  You can’t pay for your venue for 48 hours to have almost unlimited time to set up.  You don’t have the money to rent chairs for the ceremony AND the reception (if you’re like us, with 200 guests).

At the end of the day, I think my wedding was a success.  But since I filled my head with images of perfection I found on Pinterest and wedding blogs, I walked away (weeks later, not instantly) feeling a little unfulfilled.  Not emotionally, but weddingally (yes, I made that word up… keep reading).  Could this be a form of postpartum depression?  Am I really feeling this way!?

What do you to do combat this wacky, weird, indescribable feeling? Keep on keepin’ on and remind yourself when you get lost in mason jars and glitter that it’s not about the wedding, it’s about the marriage.

Yep. This e-shoot is fabulous, alright.  Check out the rest of the pictures on Katelyn’s blog, here.

I love these photos, and thought it might be fun to share them with you and share the songs that went with them…

Daddy & I, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel

Mr. Man & I, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Iz Ka'ano

The vendor-bride relationship is a tricky one.  Rather, it can be.  An integral element of our wedding was the fact that I worked with a bunch of people I genuinely trusted.  I had one problem-vendor, and this post is stemming from my relationship with him and some advice I can offer you guys moving forward.

Courtesy: StudioWedAsheville.com, Photographer: Mozingo Photography

My photographer was one of my long-time friends (no surprise there that she knew what I wanted and we worked together swimmingly), my florist was the Harris Teeter in Reston (the lady that managed floral was very knowledgeable and helpful – the ONE time I went, the morning of the wedding), I got the rest of my flowers (that I absolutely had to have and didn’t want to leave to chance) from BloomsByTheBox.com (who’s customer service was fantastic and I had not one worry about my billy balls arriving on time), the venue was a historical property… nothing tough about it, the folks who managed it were a joy to work with, the caterer was our favorite BBQ joint (and they were on time, quick, professional, and provided us with killer food), my dress was a nightmare, but that’s because I bought it from David’s Bridal (so I had to kinda expect that).  The one iffy relationship was that with my DJ.

I wasn’t satisfied with the process used to prepare for my wedding.  I really liked my DJ, just had some issues with the company that pimped him out (sounds terrible, but it’s kinda funny, and that’s how it worked… he didn’t work for them directly). I dealt with the head honcho of the DJ/Entertainment company and didn’t even know who my DJ was until about a week before the wedding, the head honcho was incredibly difficult to get a hold of, and I felt unimportant.

There are a couple things that we, as brides, need to understand:

1. We are just another client to these vendors. This is what these people do for a living, year-round, day in, day out.
2. We are paying for the product(s) or service(s) that these vendors provide; we’ll get them (and if we don’t, we should have a contract to cover our ass and sue later )

That all being said, the differences between a good vendor and an a-hole vendor are as follows:

1. To a good vendor, every client matters (even though we’re one of many)
2. There’s no question – of course you’ll get what you paid for, and then some
3. A good vendor loves what they do and it shows

If you’re like me, and wind up dealing with a not-so-great or not-so-invested vendor, here are a few tips on how to handle the situation (I know it can be tough when wedding planning to keep your head on straight and have the clarity to professionally stand your ground, so you’re welcome for the help!):

1. Stand your ground. This is your wedding, and there is no harm in asserting yourself and being firm in demanding what you’re paying for. As long as you do this respectfully and professionally, you’ve got nothing to lose.
2. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. If you’re not planning on ditching a crappy vendor, and you want to give them a piece of your mind; do so gently.  Remember, if they’re crappy in the first place, what’s to stop them from being even crappier after you tear them a new one while on a bridal tirade? Bad idea. Keep your cool.
3. Keep and refer to your contract.  As long as you have a solid agreement to begin with, you’re covered.  Show these guys that you k now what you’re talking about… “Well, according to our contract… xyz…”
4. Don’t make idle threats. I’d say threats are a bad idea across the board (especially if this conversation is happening prior to your wedding), but if you absolutely must, then make sure EVERYTHING you say is factual.
5. Don’t be a bridezilla. It’s wacko brides who lose their cool and rant and rave about their perfect day that makes crappy vendors have no respect for us.  Keep it together and compose your talking points BEFOREHAND, you’ll impress them, swear!

I’ve noticed a trend: Brides doing things at their weddings simply because they think they’re supposed to.

One example of this is the champagne toast.  We toasted, yes, but with beer.  Because we’re beer people.  I like champagne, but only certain kinds… and I didn’t feel like buying a bunch of bottles, having some leftover etc.

So, I’ve done your footwork for you… taken the guesswork out of buying champagne, so here… learn something:

• Brut: no added sugar, very dry
• Extra Dry/Extra Sec: slightly sweeter than Brut, can contain up to 2% sugar (compared to Brut’s less than 1.5%)
• Dry/Sec: contains up to 4% sugar
• Demi-Sec: contains up to 8% sugar
• Doux: downright sweet; contains up to 10% sugar (and would be my choice… because I hate drinking the kind of champagne that makes your glands perk up and your face look all squished and surprised)

Aside from types of champagne, there are also different flavors… ranging from just about anything fruity to more savory flavors like anise and almond.

Tip: Talk to the person who’s making your cake about pairings of cake and champagne (that is, if you’re following tradition and toasting at the same time as cake cutting).  One of my BFFs had an almond flavored cake (to die for) and they toasted with a fabulous almond champagne (also to die for!).

Happy drinking! (after work, please)