I don’t remember where I first heard this song, but I’ve always loved it for it’s sweetness and honesty. Sometimes you need that one person that can help you block out all the garbage in your life, and refocus you on the happiness and love around you.

*giggle*

I was out walking the Barnster yesterday and when he stopped for a rest, three neighborhood kids came over to pet him.

They started asking me all kinds of crazy questions:

“Where did you get your glasses?”

“I like your flipflops… oh what kind of nail polish is that?”

“Are you married? Do you have kids? Oh no, you just have a dog?”

“You’re getting married?!?!? Is that your ring? Can we see?”

“WOW. That’s nice. Oh man, you could sell that some day and get a lot of money!”

Um, thanks for the advice but I don’t think NEPA Groom will be very pleased.

Wilkes-Barre, PA!

While I was brainstorming some upcoming blog topics, I realized something. NEPA Bride is a pretty far reaching term. Northeast Pennsylvania covers pretty much everything from Scranton to Clarks Summit to Berwick and Hazelton.

I’m a Wilkes-Barre bride planning a Wilkes-Barre wedding.

Ok, ok, I know this isn’t any kind of amazing revelation but it kind of struck me. So many people are looking to get as far away from NEPA as possible, and here I am trying to figure out how I could actually have done this any closer to home without it actually being IN my home.

There are a lot of benefits to being a local bride. We don’t need hotel rooms to get ready in (though it would make for some swanky getting ready photos. Most of our guests don’t need a hotel for their stay either. I don’t mind traveling for weddings myself, but I know it can be a hardship for some people. I have a pretty good idea of all the places we should go for pictures on the big day, and I have the convenience of meeting all my vendors face to face before the big event. In fact, I have an open invite to pop in at the reception venue should I need to discuss something.

I really would like to craft up some Out Of Town (OOT) gift bags for traveling guests, but there’s probably not going to be a need. I’m planning to do bathroom baskets, but in all reality most guests could easily drive home between the ceremony and reception to freshen up.

Maybe we’re not going to need all the snazzy crafts from some weddings (though I still might do them ) and maybe we won’t have the exotic locales that some people choose, but my Wilkes-Barre wedding suits me just fine.

What do you see as the pros and cons to having a very local wedding?

After totally geeking out over Darker Shades of Brown, I realized I might want to back track and share the rest of my research with you. I’ve been bookmarking NEPA wedding photographers for a while now, but I didn’t really sit down and decide which ones I liked until this week. Here are four more candidates I’m looking at, along with my thoughts.

Brent Pennington Photography – The best thing I can tell you about him is this – I’ve met him in person a couple of times and he’s cool.  He’s also got an awesome assistant who I hear joins him from time to time.

Jack Kiska Photography – I’m waiting to get more information back. He seems like an extremely economical choice, and could capture all the basic portraits you need for the day.

Andy Molitoris Photography – I really liked the look of the photos on his site. Rumor on the street is that he’s not doing weddings any more, but I don’t know if there’s any truth to that. I’m waiting to hear back from him as well.

Tammy Martines Photography – Tammy and I have been emailing back and forth for the past few days and I’ll be going to meet with her next week after I return from vacation (WHOO HOO!!). She’s been very responsive and her wedding packages seem to fall right in the middle. Good quality of work, decent prices, and a friendly attitude.

I had a great talk with Daniel at Darker Shades of Brown recently, and I’m sad that we might not be able to afford them, so my research continues with the photographers above. However, he was extremely helpful – I can only say good things about him. It might not happen for me, but I’d encourage other NEPA brides to take a look and give him a ring if it’s within your budget.

And so the photographer search continues!

In late May, NEPA Groom and I went to Hershey to see Coldplay in concert. When we got there, only half of the stadium had been sold, which worked out amazingly well for us. We moved up from row 99 (I’m dead serious) of the last section to the very middle of the first set of side grandstands. WOO!

Then the skies decided to open up and it poured. Like, it rained sideways. Everyone had to take shelter under the grand stands and about an hour later we went back out. It ended up being a perfectly cool and damp evening, and Coldplay went on to play an amazing set. When they started playing “Fix You” I surprised myself with the emotional reaction I had. Maybe it had something to do with us only having been engaged for 2 weeks at that point. I don’t know. But I love this song, and it’s a perfect sappy wedding song.

Holy shit you guys.

I think I’m in love.

I’ve started looking at photographers, initially to put a better estimate in the detailed budget I’m working on. And then I ran across Darker Shades Of Brown Photography, based out of Scranton. *drools*

Clearly, I will be making some calls. I don’t know if these guys are in my future, but it sure as hell doesn’t hurt to try and make that happen! I got chills looking at their work.

All photos are by Darker Shades of Brown, via their blog. (And FYI guys, if you happen to see this and have any kind of problem with me posting your pictures, just give a shout my way. I’m just really impressed and wanted to spread the good word )

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I forgot to post about this last week, but I’m excited to announce that the NEPA Bride & NEPA Groom proposal story was featured over at A Blog Of Her Own. Shaba has been collecting proposal stories and sharing them on her blog. I love reading other proposal stories and getting a peek into the special moments between other couples. 

So thank you Shaba for sharing my story!! Go check it out guys!

All right, humor me with this Not Wedding Related post guys. I’ve held my tongue for a week on this cause honestly, I’m not sure how I feel. I’m still not sure but I think I just need to talk it through.

NEPA Groom has been a Philadelphia Eagles fan since he was born. I’ve been a fan by association for four years, and a fan by choice for the past 1 year. Our idea of a good Sunday afternoon in the fall is as follows:

+

+

= FUN.

But with the signing of Michael Vick last week, I’m not sure how to feel any more. A lot of people are really angry and want to boycott the Eagles. I understand that, and I certainly think they are right to be upset. Other people feel he paid his time and deserves a second chance to make things right. I can kind of see that too.

What I can’t see, and I can’t stand, are people ripping each other apart for having opposing views. I’ve been watching people bicker back and forth for a week now on facebook and twitter about this, and really, guys? I have a news flash for you all – no matter what you think, he’s here. This is a shitty analogy, but I feel it’s like finding out my sister (if I had one) was dating Michael Vick. I don’t think she should, and I told her so, but she’s my family and I love her and I want to be there to either celebrate when it works out, or to help her get back on her feet when it doesn’t. Yelling and fighting with her isn’t going to help.

I am an Eagles fan. I was and will still be an Eagles fan, but I don’t support the hiring of Michael Vick. I think it was a mistake, but I would love it if he proved me wrong. He’s got a great opportunity and he could do a lot of good to stop dog fighting, if he follows through. I’m not holding my breath, but I’ll be watching. And if he doesn’t hold up his end of the bargain, then Andy Reid – get him the hell out of Philly.

*puts away the soapbox*

Thanks to everyone who commented on my little rant last week. It felt really good to just get that out of my system. I knew when I started planning that this kind of stuff would happen, but I didn’t quite realize how much it would get under my skin. I’m doing my best to move past it, and will keep repeating my new mantra: “Not your wedding, too bad. Not your wedding, too bad….” 

So, with that being said, I’m thrilled to announce we’ve booked A Touch Of Class Catering at The Golden Palace our October 2010 reception. YAY!!

The banquet coordinator there has been so patient with us. After I reviewed The Golden Palace, we had to reschedule our trip back with both sets of parents due to NEPA Groom’s encounter with some broken glass. Ouch:

He’s doing much better now, thank goodness!

In any event, I’m so relieved to have this booked, since it also takes care of finding a florist and a baker. We were nervous about taking our parents down there together, and there was a bit of tension, but I think it worked out in the end. They’ve gotta get used to each other at some point, right? The banquet coordinator has clearly been through this before… once we committed she pulled me to one side of the desk and made a point of saying “Ok, now you’ll sign the contract right here, etc etc”. I am in control.

Next up, I’m tackling a more in depth budget spreadsheet. I made a quick version to estimate our total cost, but I think this will help eliminate the tension I mentioned. If all the parents are working from the same playbook, we’ve gotta score a touchdown (woo hoo lame football analogies).

All right, this one is almost cliche but I looove it so you have to allow it. Well, really, it’s my blog so I ALLOW IT.

Enjoy!