Finally... We Have a Church!

Today, Ryan and I met with Father Rich at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, and we are very excited to announce that we have a place for our ceremony! The meeting with Father Rich went really well. Corpus Christi is located in a beautiful neighborhood in Baltimore called Bolton Hill, and the church is gorgeous! Our ceremony will be at 5:30pm (which I've been told is good luck) and will be performed by Deacon Fritz Bauerschmidt. Ryan was excited to hear that he teaches Theology at Loyola College. It's starting to feel like it's all coming together. Click on the following link for a website for the church. http://www.corpuschristibaltimore.org/

Also, now that we have a church and a place for the reception, we will begin working with Pier 5 to design our personal wedding website within the next few weeks.

Yay for Bridesmaids!

So... It turns out I actually have friends (other than Ryan). I asked all my bridesmaids and believe it or not, they all said yes! :) Asking my girls has actually been one of my favorite things I have done so far. So, to pop the question to the bridesmaids, I had love2bcreative make some bridesmaids "invitations" for me (See the picture to the left). At the top it said "Will you be my bridesmaid?" and then under the dress (yes, you have to lift the dress up to see it - get your mind out of the gutter, Jordan!), they said "Hard to believe that in just a little while, Ryan and I will be walking down the aisle. And nothing would give me such joy and pride Then to have you there by my side!". I also gave them all a framed picture of us together. Although it was fun, asking my bridesmaids was more nerve-wracking than I thought it would be, but it got easier as I went along. I was so nervous when I asked Crystal (she was the first to be officially asked) that I kind of felt like I was proposing. Even though I thought she'd say yes, a part of me still was a little worried... Guess now I understand how Ryan felt when he had to propose. In addition to the "invitation", I gave them all a Bridesmaid's Contract which I have included below. When I decided to ask everyone in the way that I did, I really thought that I'd be able to keep a straight face and give them the contract and make them all sign it (as a joke of course). But... I guess I didn't do a very good job with that, because each time I gave the 'maids the contract, they all just laughed in my face, most of the time while I was trying to hold in my laughter. At the very least, the contract was good for a laugh - I'm glad they know that I'm trying not to take this wedding thing that seriously!!

*Bridesmaid’s Contract*
Let me just say again how happy I am that you are going to be a part of my special day! Below are just a few guidelines for the wedding that I’d like you to review. Please initial by each point and sign at the end. Just want to make sure they’re aren’t any surprises! Thanks so much! Love ya!
-Wendy
______ My hair will remain at the length it is now or longer.

______ I will not change my hair color without first consulting Wendy and providing a sample photo or hair swatch for consideration.

______ I will use Sally Hansen’s “Maximum Growth-Daily Nail Growth program” every day for the 4 months before the wedding day.

______ I will not gain more than 5 lbs from the weight I was when I was asked to be a bridesmaid.

______ I swear to attend all showers, (bridal & bachelorette), to arrive in a timely manner and do everything in my power to support and “be there” for the bride.

______ I will purchase the bridesmaid dress selected by Wendy within 6 months of the date of the wedding (and not complain about the style or the color selected).

______ I will NOT knowingly get pregnant without notifying Wendy at least 4 months prior to the wedding so a suitable alternate can be found. I will also give my purchased bridesmaid dress to the alternate bridesmaid selected.

I do hereby swear that I will adhere to all of the above & other understood bridesmaid duties for the wedding on September 20, 2008
X_________________________
(sign, print and date)

The 'Maids are as follows:

Becky - the MOH (my best friend from middle/high school)

Crystal - my sister (who will keep me in line and not let me make any ugly decisions!) :)

Stacey - my niece (who is all grown up now!!)

Val - my best friend from E&Y (even though she left me)

Alexis - my soon to be sister-in-law

Melissa - my friend since kindergarten

So, to my bridesmaids... I want you all to know how thankful I am that you are a part of mine and Ryan's lives. You mean so much to us, and we are very excited that you will be a part of the big day!!

As for the groomsmen, Ryan is slowly asking - I think he's about halfway through, but he isn't doing anything as fun as I did... Boys will be boys.

More Wedding Progress

We've checked some more things off the list.... Woo-hoo. The DJ is booked - we're going with Music Masters. Given the way that the Harbor Club room is set up with the DJ booth above the dance floor, these guys were pretty much our only option for music, so we thought we'd go ahead and book them. Please send any special requests for music to me - Ryan loves country music and line dances, so the more we play of that, the happier he'll be (haha!).

We have met with 2 photographers, Klose Photography and Perskie Photography. We have decided to go with Perskie for the wedding. We met with them yesterday and gave them our deposit. We all know how much Ryan hates having his picture taken (we've already warned the photographers that Ryan is like Chandler on "Friends" when it comes to pictures) and also looking at wedding pictures, so I think this is one aspect of the planning that he is grateful to be done with. He has been a really good sport about everything so far though... as much as he hates to admit it, I think he has finally come to terms with the whole marriage thing and might be starting to get excited about it. Of course, all the excitement is on the inside, so the only way I know he's ok with the wedding stuff is because he isn't too grumpy when we are talking about all the details. I'll take that though - no complaints here. I have included a link to Perskie's website below and also a direct link to an album for one of the weddings that they shot at Pier 5.
Perskie's Website http://www.perskie.com/
Pier 5 Sample: http://www.perskie.com/samplealbum/pier5/start.html

We have also started asking our family and friends to be in the wedding party and hope to have this completed within the next few weeks. Stay tuned for a blog post about that. We have narrowed the church list down to 2, and are just waiting until our #1 choice will let us actually book the date and make it official. August 20th is the big day for that since they won't let us book more than 13 months in advance! More details to follow shortly...

Updated Hotel Information

We wanted to let everyone know that we've added an additional hotel to the list for the wedding. We have blocked off rooms at the Courtyard Baltimore Downtown/Inner Harbor for Saturday night (9/20/08). We were able to get a rate of $199/night, and there is no minimum stay required. The hotel is within walking distance of Pier 5 - It's less than .5 miles away and probably a 5 minute walk. We realize that the 2-night minimum and rate at Pier 5 isn't ideal, so hopefully, this will make things a bit easier for our guests. Ryan and I will be staying at Pier 5 for the wedding, and of course, we'd love for all of our out-of-town guests to stay there (it's a beautiful hotel), but we understand that the Courtyard might be a better option. I have included the link to the Courtyard's website below:
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bwidt-courtyard-baltimore-downtown-inner-harbor/

Information for reserving a room is as follows:
Individual guests will make sleeping room reservations directly with Marriott reservations at 1- (800) 228-9290 on or before Wednesday, August 20, 2008. When making your reservation, please identify yourself as part of the Chick-LeNoir Wedding rooms group staying at the Baltimore Downtown Courtyard.

Some Other Wedding News - Congratulations, Dad and Linda!

I thought I'd change gears a bit and instead of talking about our wedding plans, I thought I'd say Congratulations to my Dad, who got married himself! He and Linda tied the knot on July 3, 2007 while we were in Nags Head, and it was absolutely beautiful. My sister, Crystal and "aunt" Tracy took care of the planning, and I don't think anyone was disappointed with the way it all turned out! Good job, girls!! I also wanted to say thanks to Becky for bringing the fancy camera and playing "wedding photographer" for the day and taking a grand total of 639 pictures of the wedding. What fun it was to go back the next day and re-live the wedding by looking at all the pictures. We spent hours doing that, and it was so great to go back and see how beautiful the decorations were, how beautiful everyone looked, and how much fun everyone had! I have posted just a few pictures below so you can see some of the highlights. Crystal and Tracy did such a good job, I'm beginning to wonder if they missed their callings. Either way, I will be signing them up for my wedding!

Tracy and Crystal - The Wedding Planners

Dad, Crystal and Me - This is one of my favorite pictures from the day!!

Our Family

And the Winner Is....

After much anticipation, we have finally picked a reception place! We signed the contract on Wednesday! We will be having the reception on September 20, 2008 in the Harbor Club at the Pier 5 Hotel. We looked at so many places, and all had really great and different characteristics. There are many things we like about Pier 5 - it's in the Inner Harbor (where we had our first date and got engaged), it's on the water and the Harbor Club has many windows, it's very unique and is not a huge corporation (which will hopefully allow us some flexibility), and most importantly, we can almost afford it! We are so excited (well, I think




I'm probably a little more excited than Ryan, but that's ok). It's almost starting to feel real. Next step is to pick the church... stay tuned...

I know it seems kind of early for this, but I have included information for booking a hotel room for the wedding. We have blocked off rooms at 3 hotels in Baltimore which are all owned by the same company and have a free shuttle between all 3. Unlike a Marriott or Hyatt, these hotels do not have more than 100 rooms each, so we want to make sure that our guests get a room if they think they want to stay downtown for the night of the wedding. You do not need to put a deposit down to book the room - you just need a credit card to hold your reservation. The links for each hotel are included below:
Pier 5 Hotel http://www.harbormagic.com/Pier5/pier5_default.asp
Admiral Fell Inn http://www.harbormagic.com/AdmiralFell/admiral_fell_default.asp
Brookshire Suites http://www.harbormagic.com/Brookshire/brookshire_default.asp

Rates are as follows:
Pier 5: 2 night minimum, $239/night
Admiral Fell Inn: no minimum, $199/night
Brookshire Suites: no minimum, $189/night, Breakfast is included

If you would like more information to make your reservation, please email me at chick-lenoirwedding@comcast.net and I will give you the phone number and additional information that you will need to book a room with the rates above.

Still Looking... But We're Almost Done!

Since the last blog, we have looked at 5 more places: Hyatt Regency Baltimore, Admiral Fell Inn. Pier V Hotel, Evergreen House, and the Belvedere.

Every new place that we look at makes the decision that much harder, but it's been an interesting experience to see all the different set-ups, decors, etc.

We looked at the Hyatt in Baltimore on Friday afternoon. It was pretty and it would be plenty of room for our little wedding of 125. The one drawback with this place is that there really isn't anywhere to go outside (i.e. for cocktail hour), but otherwise, it's still on the list. Click the link below to see pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/udchickie/BaltimoreHyatt

We looked at the Admiral Fell Inn and Pier V Hotel on Saturday. The Admiral Fell Inn is a historic hotel and it has a ballroom that takes up the entire 5th floor. It also has a rooftop terrace/deck/balcony that wraps around the ballroom on the 5th floor and has great views of the water and city. We aren't sure if the ballroom has the capacity for us, but it's definitely an option. We hadn't actually planned to look at Pier V, but it is affiliated with the Admiral Fell Inn, and it ended up working out well. Pier V is a much different atmosphere than the Admiral Fell. It's completely modern, has bright pretty colors, a mural in the lobby, but it was really cool. We looked at the Harbor Club Room which is on the 2nd floor of the hotel and also has a balcony/deck that wraps around the ballroom and has great views of the Inner Harbor and the city. The dance floor also has a disco ball! Click on the links below to see pictures of Admiral Fell and Pier V.
http://picasaweb.google.com/udchickie/AdmiralFellInn
http://picasaweb.google.com/udchickie/PierVHotel

We also looked at the Evergreen House which is actually a museum owned by John Hopkins University. The gardens were gorgeous and are an option for a ceremony location. Receptions are held in the Carriage House which is just down the hill from the gardens. A tent is attached to the Carriage House and the entire area is used as the reception venue. The one downfall is that the tables are kind of separated from the dance floor, but otherwise this location was beautiful! Click on the link below to see pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/udchickie/EvergreenHouse

The last place we looked at was the Belvedere. This place was gorgeous and is a historic location (it has A LOT of chandeliers). The room for the cocktail hour is interesting - it has a lot of dark wood and huge mural of Baltimore on the walls (way back when). The ballroom is great - it's big and has lots of room. We also found out that this place wasn't as expensive as we had expected. Click on the link below to see pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/udchickie/TheBelvedere

Ryan and I definitely have our favorites, but we would love to hear everyone's thoughts so please feel free to email me with your opinions! Only 2 more places for us to look at. We hope to make a decision within the next 2 weeks!