We're Registered!

We did it!

And we had fun!

It took 2 days, and some wine tasting in between to get us through, but we are officially registered at four places:

For fine china and crystal:

For bedding and bath:





For basic kitchen stuff, plus silver and glassware:

For pots & pans and "fancy" kitchen stuff:

I am pretty sure we registered for more items than any bride and groom ever - we went nuts! We even registered for some furniture so that we can get a discount after the wedding. 

Here's a sneak peak at a few items for which we registered...

Our china, which is Herend "Queen Victoria":

This bedding:

These super fun accessories:

B was a master with the scanner and all-in-all it was pretty painless :)  I think what I've decided about all the wedding stuff is that if I wasn't so busy at work, I would be having a LOT more fun with it all. I was able to take a break from work for *most* of the weekend and it really made the wedding stuff a lot more enjoyable!

More updates soon!

What Matters Most?

Everyone told me I needed to prioritize during my planning, especially as far as the reception was concerned.  I get it..I should splurge on the really important stuff and skip on the things that aren't as critical.  You can't do it all...and it just one night (yes, one super super special night...but still).

The first couple of things were super easy - there was no question that the top three were:

1. Photography
2. The Band (I know, I know - this really should be #1 but photography is forever!)
3. Lots of personal touches

Basically I want this to be one big part I was easily able to fill in the rest of the list:

4.  OPEN BAR - with plenty of booze
5.  Chick-Fil-A (I swear I will make this happen)
6.  Awesome Non Chick-Fil-A food & lots of it
7.  A cool get away vehicle
8.  Gorgeous, bright & happy flowers
9.  To feel absolutely gorgeous (so I guess, dress, fun jewelry, colorful shoes?)
10. To spend lots of time with all the people closest to us (aka - our awesome guests)

B would probably add the cake and koozies to this list...me too :)

The Ingredients: Ceremony & Reception Sites

Once we decided that we weren't going to run away to Cheeca we started checking out places here in Charlotte.  I immediately nixed the country clubs - they're amazing, don't get me wrong, but I wanted something different.  After a bit of searching we found it.  The most. amazing. reception. site. (in charlotte) EVER.  The new Mint Museum Uptown.  We've got the fifth floor space, which has floor to ceiling windows on one side of the room that give it an amazing view of uptown.  There's also a 4000 square foot terrace.  I can't even imagine how awesome it will be at night!   Here's a link to the video tour the Charlotte Observer put together:  video

Once we found a date that worked for the Mint and our church, St. Peter's Episcopal, we booked both as fast as we could.  I never knew the wedding venue market was so competitive here in Charlotte, but I guess when wedding venues are limited, brides book WAY far in advance.  Even 14 months ahead left us with limited options, insane!   I digress...back to the church.  I've gone to St. Peter's since I was about 11 and I've always dreamed about getting married here.   The church is one of the oldest in Charlotte and still has many of the original details, like the rich wood pews.  The church also has a gorgeous mosaic inside that gives the front of the church a really rich, warm feel.  I know our wedding day will be extra special because of the gorgeous setting.