Ms.Grrrl Bio|Posts

For a while now, I’ve been lusting over the young, hip bluegrass bands that all my favorite blogged weddings seem to have nabbed — where, oh where could I find such beautiful, talented people to play at my wedding — especially since i don’t have any money for music?!?!  At first I sort of just thought… “tough luck, girl… it’s not gonna happen.”  But, against all odds, I did it — I’ve secured a young, hip, massively talented, banjo-playing singer to provide our ceremony music… and the best part… she’s a good friend.  I can’t believe how lucky I am.

Beau’s mom really wanted us to get a string quartet for our wedding, but that just didn’t feel like us.  We’re not really string quartety kind of people. But I did really like the idea of having live music.  In fact, whenever I thought about my dream wedding, my friend Kelly was always in my vision playing the banjo and singing a love song and making some funny joke about how she knew us when… but Kelly lives 3,000 miles away and I haven’t seen her in a few years and I really didn’t want to impose  on her or make her feel bad about having to say no to me because she’s  busy or can’t make the trip or needs more cash for her services.  But the other day I got up the nerve to send her an email out to her.  I totally thought it was a shot in the dark and it would never come to be.

We had budgeted $200 for ceremony/cocktail hour music (which, we realized, probably wouldn’t get us more than a couple of speakers to plug an ipod into).  So I offered to pay her that money towards her airfare out here.  And… SHE SAID YES!

I can’t tell you how happy this makes me.  I really feel like our wedding is going to feel like “us” because of this one little thing.  I hadn’t really realized how important it was to me until she told me she could do it.

YAY for wedding planning successes!

One of our approved vendors, Sacha Blue Photography, submitted this fun wedding of Amanda and Alise who got married at Tibbetts Creek Manor in Washington State.

Poll: Majority of RI voters favor gay marriage law (AP)

So you know our awesome approved vendor StinkerPants? Well look at what she created!!! The most kick ass blog banners and bumper stickers ever! She’s so awesome she’s giving the bumper stickers away for free for the first 250 comments…or just a freakin’ $1 is if you can afford it(and if your reading this, you can afford a dollar). I’m personally begging her to open up a cafepress shop so I can get me a shirt! Go over and comment about her awesomeness so we can show fellow allies the love.

Using Random.org (oh how you make my life easy) chicncheap has won the ring giveaway!

I cant wait to see what she picks!! For the rest of you, head on over to Turtle Love Committee to get rings that fit your style but don’t break the bank.

I first met Myra Lewis at a wedding in 2008, and she and her team were absolutely amazing. It was a large wedding with many moving parts, but they all kept things under control and seemingly without breaking a sweat! :) You can tell that Myra and her staff and take pride in their work, and always strive exceed their clients’ expectations. As she says, “When it comes to planning the most important day in your life, we believe that you only get to do it once, so we have to do it right!”

Tell us about your business’ mission or vision statement.

Expectations is a unique wedding & event management company specializing in affordable, professional and reliable event coordination services. We understand that love is in the details and take care of every element of your special event to reach perfection. We work with our clients to create events that fit their taste, and most importantly, their budget. We offer various levels of services and customized packages to meet our clients’ needs. Our passion for planning and attention to detail give our clients the piece of mind needed to enjoy their most special day.

What do you love about what you do?

I love the fact that I get to be a part of two people’s most important day of their lives. It is such a great feeling to spend months working on a project, and then seeing the pieces of the puzzle come together. I also love that no two events are ever the same. The couples, themes, and guests are different, which keeps us on our toes to create unique and memorable events.

How did you get into doing what you do?

I have always been the “planner” in my family, and love to celebrate special occasions. In my senior year of college, I took the Wedding Planning course that was being offered for the first time at my university. I received the highest grade of all students taking the course. I realized my passion for planning, and the need for affordable event coordination services. I become a Certified Bridal Consultant, and opened my business in 2006.

What do you wear when you’re doing what you do?

My staff usually wears black suits with turquoise tops, (our business colors). We wear clothes that we can move around in, as our job sometimes requires us to be on our hands and needs, as well as moving items throughout the event.

If you haven’t coordinated a gay wedding, what would your dream gay wedding be?

I love personalized and intimate celebrations! My dream gay wedding would be working with clients that have great style, attention to detail, and most important, that the couple is truly in love with each other, which is the most important item needed when planning a wedding :)

Do you have a favorite “moment” that happens while you’re doing your job?

My favorite moment is when the couple is announced to their guests for the first time, and when they share in their first kiss. In that moment there are no cares in the world, and you can feel their nervousness and stress replaced with happiness, and excitement for what is to come.

Rave and picture time!

“Myra and her team were exceptional. With only 4 months to plan a wedding for 100 people, Myra helped us create an elegant yet informal wedding that was truly fun and special for everyone involved. Even our guests commented on how professional, respectful, and helpful the team was — and I couldn’t agree more.” – Jennifer married 05/08

“Wow, where do I begin? Myra was amazing to work with. She was my day of coordinator and went above and beyond in every way. I told her how dear my grandmother is to me and she checked on her every half hour. I had a very detailed vision for the venue and she made it look better than I dreamed it would.” – Becca married 09/08

“They really do stand by the name of their planning company because they “exceeded my expectations”. That day was perfect and she kept me calm assuring me that she would take care everything and she really did! I was able to enjoy my event knowing that I was in good hands with her and her staff.” – Selena married 11/08

“Knowing that everything was in their capable hands meant that I could relax, spending time with family before the wedding rather than worrying about all the details.” – Meredith married 10/08

“I initially hired her based on her affordable rates, and I have to say that she and her team were one of the best investments I made for my wedding day.” – Lindsey married 10/08

California Upholds Gay Marriage Ban (ABC News)
18,000 Same-Sex Couples Who Married Before Prop 8 Can Retain Rights

All you have to do to win(LAST DAY IS TODAY)?? Comment on this post!

So You’re EnGAYged is lucky enough to team up with Turtle Love Committee to giveaway TWO rings. You can pick an engagement ring and a wedding ring, two wedding rings, whatever you need.

To enter, simply comment on this post below with the two rings you would pick. A random number will be drawn and the winner announced May 25th. Comments will be closed May 24th. Please see rules below.

“Turtle Love Committee sells unconventional wedding and engagement rings for cool people.  The jewelry you select as a public celebration of your relationship sets the tone for the future.  The value of the ring should be based on the love and commitment it symbolizes, not the financial expense it represents.  A ring from the collection at Turtle Love Committee is priceless – it represents an emotional commitment, not a financial one.

Each relationship is unique, and the jewelry collected by the Committee is carefully selected for design and quality to include the perfect ring to fit your lifestyle and your relationship.  It doesn’t matter what kind of a relationship you’re in, or with whom.  We’re confident that if a distinctive ring fits your relationship, you can find the right piece with TLC.

Welcome to the Committee!  We think you’re cool.”

Rules:

* You must be getting married within the next year

* This is open to anyone regardless of sexuality. So we’re super excited to see our straight allies submit away!

I have been doing some exhaustive internet research to try to our wedding venue, or at least some potential spots. After taking a look around the internet at the potential venues in the MD/DC area, I settled on some criteria.

1) It had to be unique. We aren’t into chandelier covered ballrooms, so it had to be a place that we felt like, “Yeah, that’s our style.”

2) It had to allow us to bring in alcohol. After going through sticker shock as I looked at some of the all inclusive options, I decided that supplying our own beer, wine, and liquor would help us save money. Plus, we can share some of our favorite beers and wines with our guests this way.

3) It had to be in the city. The main reason we are having a big reception is to celebrate with friends we don’t normally get to see, so we wanted it to be very easy for out of town guests to visit. Baltimore is easy to fly into, has lots of hotel options at different price points. We really didn’t want a lot of guests to have to rent cars, or drive home after partying hard with us.

4) The less expensive the better! Although this is a challenge in Baltimore or DC.

5) Big enough for up to 150 people for a cocktail style reception with a band and dance floor.

So, I narrowed in on my first choice: The American Visionary Art Museum’s Sculpture Barn. It’s a unique space right near the inner harbor of Baltimore. It’s an art museum for self taught artists. I haven’t been there yet, but so far, it seems like the best option for us. Nice enough to get our parent’s approval, but it is still something different. We can have the party in the Sculpture Barn, and our guests can mingle in the Wildflower Garden and explore the museum’s exhibits. My plan, right now, is to visit Maryland this summer, and see the venue while we are there. Until then, here are some pics of the space set up for a party. (Images from AVAM)

Anyone else in the middle of their venue search? What criteria are you using? Have you been to the AVAM before? If so, please tell me you thoughts!

For the newly engaged out there, I have some advice. Get yourself some thank you cards ASAP! I had read that advice before: ”Every bride needs stationary!” But I didn’t feel much like “every bride.” I kinda figured that thank you cards would literally the last thing I needed, like I wouldn’t need them till the very end of wedding planning after we returned from someplace exotic. I expected wedding presents; that’s a given. But I didn’t expect engagement presents to start pouring in. We didn’t have an elaborate surprise engagement story. We didn’t exchange engagement rings. We aren’t planning on having an engagement party. So, I really figured our engagement would be largely ignored because we didn’t fit the mold. Boy, was I wrong! Our families have shown an overwhelming amount of support and love with flowers, dinners, a book, and cool pieces of art. Even when we got an oversized-snowglobe-picture-frame-thing that we weren’t quite sure what to do with, we couldn’t help but feel so grateful for our families’ support. We are some lucky girls! My favorite engagement present so far has been a pair of champagne flutes made by an awesome glass artisit from my parents. Anyway, if you just got engaged, be prepared with thank you cards! I feel so bad that I haven’t written any thank you’s yet, with traveling and hosting family in town and school and work, but I have promised myself that tonight will be the night that I conquer the thank yous.

I found some letterpress Paper Source cards that come with recycled paper envelopes at a paper store in Vancouver. I am a huge sucker for letterpress, and Ginger indulged me. It’s so tactile, I love it!

Also, while I am on the subject of letterpress, I was so excited to stumble upon Yee Haw Industries booth at JazzFest this weekend. I love their stuff, and now I own not one, but two of their awesome prints. Go check out their etsy store!

Because I love my B-horror-movie-watching fiancee, this one just went up in our kitchen.