Part II.

I wish I could have found a better picture of Ansley to post but there weren't many options! As I said in my previous post, Ansley almost won out as our reception venue. In the end The Fox just worked better because of the size but I am lucky because my Bridesmaids Luncheon will be at Ansley. They just finished renovations at the club and I can't wait to see everything that they have done. I practically grew up here and I know that it will be special.

I never thought that it would be as difficult to find a rehearsal dinner venue as it was. There are so many incredible restaurants in Atlanta but we kept running into a space issue. Most restaurants were happy to accommodate between 50-75 guests but we knew off the bat that our rehearsal dinner would have at least 100 people. If all our wedding party brings a date (I hope this doesn't happen!) the wedding party alone could have up to 43 people including us. We visited several other venues including Anthony's, Villa Christina, and Ray's on the River but finally decided on Paul's Restaurant. Every native Atlantan knows of the famous chef Paul Albrecht, formerly of Pano's and Paul's. I know that the food will live up to his stellar reputation. The people we have been working with at Paul's have been great and I am really looking forward to the rehearsal dinner.

So, I never thought that one of my most favorite vendors would be such a simple idea. VistaPrint has been the source for one stop invitation shopping! This website is incredible and the prices cannot be beaten. It is not the easiest site to navigate but if you are patient and search for what you are looking for, you will not be disappointed. Here is the copy of my rehearsal dinner invitation (the wording is obviously not the same). We also purchased the matching envelopes and they came in this week, looking great! I also ordered the tri fold brochure to leave for out of town guests at the hotel when they check in. These "brochures" are typically used for business advertising but they made the perfect wedding information brochure. We were able to upload pictures of ourselves to them, change the background color to match my wedding colors, include directions to all the weekend events, a letter from Deaner and myself, wedding itinerary, and restaurant locations. They should be delivered this week! I saw a copy of my Bridesmaids Luncheon invitation this weekend and I THINK that this is the invitation. I also ordered these note cards for writing thank you notes. I changed the color, font, and added the linen finish. They turned out awesome and there is no other place (that I have found at least) where I could order 100 note cards for $37!! Now I just have to wait until after we get married to use them! Check this site out, it is well worth it.

The last vendor for this post will be my wedding invitations. For years I have saved a file with all the wedding invitations I have received so that when the time came, I could have a reference as to what I liked best. Surprisingly enough, I picked something that didn't even resemble anything I had ever received. I hate that I haven't figured out how to attach a PDF yet to a post so I can't show everyone exactly what they look like! Reaves Engraving, which is located in North Carolina, did a fantastic job and I love my invitation. I had a monogram made that is embossed on the top of the invite and it could not be more "me". I'm going to have to figure out a way to post a picture of it.

Coming up next: grooms cake, after party, wedding dress, caterer, flowers, and bridesmaids and groomsmen gifts. I am going to have to become a bit more succinct!