First and Final meetings

We just got home from a busy weekend in St Louis, and it feels great to have accomplished so much! The 5.5 hour drive from Milwaukee is a lot easier than the 8 hours from Oklahoma, and for that I am thankful.

First, we went to our venue, the 9th Street Abbey, for a meeting with our event manager. She was wonderful! We went through a long checklist of details and she was more than helpful in suggesting ways to make the day run as smoothly as possible. She is going to be on-site for our whole event, which I feel is really an added benefit to choosing an experienced team like Patty Long Catering Company. We essentially got a Day-of-Coordinator included in the cost of our venue and catering. Then, we made a quick stop at Square One Brewery and Distillery to meet the event coordinator for the rehearsal dinner. Although new to the position, she was also delightful and we were happy to snag some refreshing beers - try the Oh Hawaii, brewed with pineapples! - before moving on to our appointment with the pianist, Dave Becherer. He played through our song selections and was amazing. Once I told him I had played in many wedding quartets, he really spoke to me like a musician and was open to my ideas. I can't wait for him to unveil (har har) our unique song choices on October 5!

The following day, Ben was off playing golf with friends, so I spent the rainy morning coordinating RSVPs and decor ideas with my future mother-in-law. Since it's a hobby of hers, she has generously offered to make us wreaths for the beautiful green Abbey doors. Speaking of floral projects, Ben and I also made a trip to Harold's Wholesale Florist to scope out flower quantities. I came in with a spreadsheet of approximate quantities and types of flora I will be using in the bouquets and boutonnieres, and the employee who helped us was so enthusiastic and encouraging. The $75 second prize we won from the Blooms By the Box contest doesn't go nearly as far as it would at the local wholesaler, so if you have one in your area I would highly encourage checking there first! I left feeling really confident about this DIY project and I look forward to doing it! I will have to do an update about planning for bouquets after I place both orders (which should come in at around $100 out-of-pocket! For reference, some bridal bouquets alone cost that much.).

Finally, we got to see a few close friends (including the bride and groom in the photo below) for puppy playing, dinner, and birthday drinks. I can't believe it has been 2 years since this picture was taken and that now it's almost our turn!