So as we go along on our wedding planning journey we begin with simple information gathering. As simple as this may sound it is anything but that! I think I have met more wedding professionals in the past month than I have in my entire life.
We’ve been touring venues looking for that perfect place to celebrate our “I Do’s” all the while learning about hors d’oeuvres, sheer overlay, calligraphy, and photography in dark lighting. We began our information gathering at the Center Club where I went with a friend to our first wedding show. This small show was just the beginning, just a couple of vendors and a good taste of what was to come over the next month. I soon ventured to a very large show with hundreds of vendors lining rows of the Baltimore Convention Center, to say that this was overwhelming would be putting it lightly. But it was extremely helpful and having everyone in one place was very efficient. (I’m marrying an engineer – efficiency is key!)
Along with attending wedding shows we have been touring venues – 13 to be exact: the Center Club, Grand Historic Venue, The Four Seasons, American Visionary Arts Museum, The Baltimore Museum of Industry, Gramercy Mansion, The 1840s Ballroom, The Peabody Library, The Lord Baltimore Hotel, The Engineers Club, Legg Mason Building, Grey Rock Mansion and the Walters Art Museum. Are you tired of reading yet? Each of these had something special and we have begun to narrow down our choices but still have not ruled out a couple other options – more on those later! I’ve enjoyed learning about what each has to offer but I also have realized that you need to be very specific about what you expect and understand that not every place will be able to cater to your every need- you’ve got to narrow down what is important and what you are willing to compromise.
One of our favorite parts of information gathering has been meeting the caterers to see what they offer. We were able to stop by the Aisle Style show, put on by Baltimore Bride Magazine, at the Grand Historic Venue, where we met a couple different caterers who invited us to attend their “industry parties.”
Our first party was with Absolutely Perfect Catering at their headquarters in Elkridge. This was a great experience as we got to try a variety of different foods and drinks. My fiancé especially loved the signature drink bar: Blood Orange Margaritas and Dark Chocolate Martinis were top on our list.
Two weeks later we headed up to Rouge Fine Catering in Hunt Valley to celebrate their 8th year of business and mix and mingle with industry professionals while tasting some fantastic food (oh and there was an aerialist which I thought was super cool!). We learned that Rouge has mastered the art of Indian cuisine, despite the fact that the head chef and owner is French and had no prior experience in Indian cooking. He explained that a miscommunication turned into a rumor which pegged them as ‘Indian food experts’ but they took that, ran with it, and I can personally say their Indian dishes were out of this world!
We are just at the beginning of our wedding planning, however this may be the most important part. A couple of takeaways that I would share to others in the ‘Information Gathering’ phase are the following:
1. Make a wedding binder/folder/electronic filing system
- We have received so many fliers, business cards, price sheets, etc this is a great way to categorize all of your information
- I used dividers with tabs which match my Email filing system- that way everything is organized the same way (this keep us all sane!)
2. Have labels printed out with your name and email address when you go to wedding shows. It will save you from writing down your email address over and over.
3. Make a specific wedding email address just for wedding information.
- I used a GMAIL account and set it up with folders for designated parts of the wedding (think: wedding venue, photographer, wedding planner, etc) that way when vendors email me I can filter out who and what I like and save those emails. I’ve also been saving things like emails from wedding websites, Pinterest ideas and promotional emails, which I know will come in handy down the line.
4.Talk to EVERYONE.
- Even if you don’t think you want a live tattoo artist at your wedding – talk to them anyways. They are in the industry and may have some helpful hints about your venue, other vendors, etc. (Who knows, maybe a live tattoo artist would be really cool!)
5.Talk to other brides (and grooms) at the wedding shows.
- I got some of the best information and reviews just by talking to some other women who were walking around the different shows. Many of them were further along in their planning and it was great to get real time feedback.
6. Go to the big wedding shows but don’t forget about the smaller shows hosted at venue sites.
- I have really enjoyed some of the smaller shows hosted at specific venues. It was a great opportunity to see the spaces all dressed up and helped to put things into perspective.
Our next step will be to finalize our ceremony and reception sites and then really start making our vision a reality. Stay tuned to see which venue we choose and how we take all the information we have received an turn it into a really great party!
