puttin' on the ritz

i was never much for all the glitz of being engaged and planning a wedding. i know a lot of people say that (and this blog might contradict it) but to be honest, i never thought--nor did my closest friends--that i'd ever get married, let alone be engaged before i hit 21. so it was only natural that when ryan and i decided to get hitched, i didn't expect a big diamond--or any diamond at all. we're both pretty broke, and to be frank, the bigger and sparklier and more impressive an engagement ring is, the more it frightens me. so we picked out a modest substitute of a small princess-cut peridot with two tiny diamonds as sidestones. since then, two very discouraging things have happened:

1. ouch...

for whatever reason, whenever i wear my engagement ring (even if it's only for a few hours) i get a rash on my finger. like, a terrible, dry, red, itchy, open wound kind of rash. my first thought was that soap or sanitizer from work was getting stuck under it and irritating my skin. but since that occurred to me, i haven't been wearing it when i have any sort of chemicals around that might get on my hands. and it still happens. then someone suggested that even though the ring is gold, many times the setting itself is made with a stronger metal, and i might be allergic to that metal. i didn't think this was the case, as i've never had a reaction to any other jewelery...but i took their advice and painted a couple coats of clear nail polish topcoat on the inside of the ring and setting. but nope, i still have a reaction when i wear it. and consequently, i've stopped wearing it.

2. ouch!!!?!

this bit i really have a problem with...because my ring has a stone that isn't a diamond, people don't take me seriously when i tell them i'm engaged or mention "my fiance." i suppose it could be that i'm young, also, but i don't really look young. people usually think i'm five or six years older than i am...but i always catch them glancing at my ring and trying not to raise an eyebrow. my typical reaction is to stare right back and secretly curse them. seriously, what is that about?! i don't want to waste money on a hunk of rock, and i don't particularly like that kind of rock to begin with, so why should i lug one around? of course, now that i need a new ring that i'm not allergic to, and have found a certain affinity with champagne diamods that have visible intrusions....i kind of want a diamond ring. and yes, it has everything to do with being taken seriously. the other day i went to talk with a vendor (sans my fiance) and she actually raised an eyebrow and said--in the snottiest voice i've ever heard from a professional--"are you even engaged?" yes i am, thank you very much. oh, and by the way, fuck you.

so now i've been secretly looking for a substitute diamond for my diamond substitute...and have fallen head over heels for a few artists on the ever-wonderful etsy.com


prime example: Rob and Leighanne Thompson

not only are their rings simplistic and gorgeous, but they do custom work as well. i've got my eye on ordering a variation of this ring. perhaps with a slightly larger diamond (champagne of course) and a thin wood inlay as seen in many of their other designs. it's androgenous enough that ryan could have a matching one (sans rock). i showed him, and he approves. i'm excited to see that their shop is open again (they'd closed it for a week or two to catch up on custom orders) and to see that their prices are very very reasonable. that's always important when ordering custom handmade pieces, but especially with our starving-artist-student budget.

conspire

so after freaking out for approximately 48 hours about trying to decide which photographer to hire two years from now, i finally snapped out of it and realised that i really did like six steps' portfolio just as much as scott's at olive. and then i realised that my subjective pre-concieved bias towards olive didn't outweigh the $3000 difference anyway. and then i realised the fact that he just happened to be sitting next to me at work the day i was searching for an acceptable (and budget-friendly) substitute could not possibly have been chance. even though i typically say that there's no such thing as luck, and usually opt for chaos theory, i cannot deny the fact that deep down i still hold onto the almost childish notion that the universe will ultimately conspire in my favour. so i called him up. and he seems wonderful. i really appreciate his humble and magnanimous philosophy when it comes to offering his talent up for such a college-student-budget-friendly price. and i think i've fallen head over heels. so that's spectacular. and now i need a post-coital (jk) smoky-treat. thank you and adieu.

anti-click?

i'm starting to freak out about the whole photographer thing. as much as i hunt for a more reasonable price tag, the more i think i want scott or no photos at all...but that's certainly not true, is it? considering that the photos are the most important bit--to me, anyway--and i feel like it's the only think i haven't cut out of the plan yet. but like i told him, i'd rather have no photographer at all than hire someone who lacks his creative eye, his talent, his knack for composition, art, and capturing emotion... arrrgghhghh...

if i was ready and willing to spend thousands of dollars on a spectacular wedding, i wouldn't be so concerned about paying over $4k for a photographer to document it. the thing is...i've sacrificed the whole wedding because i don't really care about it. i just want the photographer. but photographers (particularly the really spectacular ones) shoot weddings. not cocktail parties that don't last more than a few hours. well, okay, i'm sure they'd be happy to shoot cocktail parties that don't last more than a few hours...but they'd charge the same price as they would for shooting a wedding for eight hours. because they could book that wedding instead of the cocktail party. and that, my invisible interweb friends, is the problem. well, not the problem so much as my problem.

i'm getting ready to just beg. and i haven't even gotten to talk to him at all yet, except for a few awkward emails...

my only shred of hope here is that despite his fabulosity, he might be willing to book me a sunday evening in octobre for a lot less, since it's three hours instead of 8 or 12 hours + all the getting ready bullshit that i still don't know why brides do, unless it's merely there to fill up the 8 hour minimum that they're paying for.

okay, ryan is being impatient. i stop now. goodbye imaginary friends.

do re mi fa sew

Francine just returned my call, and said that she'd be happy to make my wedding dress, assuming that she's still sewing when it's time to start threading needles. That's great news! Unfortunately, when I emailed her to show her the dress I've been ogling, I discovered that I apparently wrote her email address down wrong when she gave it to me over the phone. Shit. I took a stab at what I'd gotten wrong, and hopefully it will work this time. Hopefully...

On a lighter note, I didn't mind her calling me 'Michelle' because she pronounces it the right way / the way i like it / the french way. Mee-Shell. Gotta love that.

So today once Ryan and I are home, I'm going to drag him to the park down the street and take some photos of him that I can turn into some sort of art installation (or at least touch up, crop, and print to hang on the wall). Mayhaps I'll post them if I'm feeling zesty for all of you imaginary friends of mine out in the interweb. Heh.

click again!

well...i just spend a few hours trying to find the lost portfolio. unsuccessfully. i'm assuming that the combination of being bored out of my mind and completely exhausted yesterday amounted to me hallucinating a perfect portfolio which was really a montage of the best shots of many, many portfolios. but in the end, i've found six photographers i'd be happy to hire. here they are, in no particular order (okay, that's a lie):

olive juice studios >> $4200+
vada photography // blog >> $4000+
six steps photography >> $1200+
noah wolf >> $3500/5hrs (custom quotes avail.)
serendipity >> $2500+
perspective studios >> $2800+

no matter who you are, please, for the love of god, tell me what you think.

to bookmark or not to bookmark...

in the grand tradition of me having simultaneously wonderful and terrible luck whilst searching for potential vendors...yesterday when ryan came home from work, i excitedly brought up the webpage of the photographer i last posted about, only to discover that while the price was still right, the portfolio was definitely not the one i had so nearly orgasmed over. not to say that it wasn't still a great portfolio...it just wasn't the one i thought it was. that'll teach me to browse ten websites at once, right? so now begins the hunt for the lost portfolio (which i apparently didn't bookmark, since i thought it was the one i blogged about--which i did bookmark). so now i'm back to browsing mnbride.com, but i cannot seem to locate that portfolio again. truly strange. i wish i wasn't so stupid.

but on the brighter side, i found another photographer i like in the process. although i haven't been able to locate their rates. bummer.

click!

i had the most wonderfully bizarre experience just now. i've been sitting at work since 10am (after having worked since 5am) pilfering the wifi (yet again) and after a few hours i decided to snag one of the big comfy leather chairs by the fireplace. and in walks a guy and two girls and they sit down in the other three leather chairs by me, and start talking photography. they discuss wedding details, experience, wants and needs, contracts, et cetera... and the girl says something along the lines of "i'm still in shock--i've been all depressed about not having enough money to spend on really great photography, and when i found you guys, i was just like wow that's gotta be out of my price range, and when i checked the rates, i was just like...WOW!" and while this made me raise an eyebrow for a moment or two as i tried to sneak a peek into his portfolio and pricing sheet, i was unable to judge either of them from my angle. at least without standing up, walking behind them, and leaning down (which i did not do, although i'd hardly put it past myself). i made a mental note to try to talk with him when their meeting wrapped up, or at least ask for his card (or the name of the studio or a web address--anything) but of course, with my luck, he made a quick escape and held the door open for them and walked them out to their car, so i didn't want to intrude and resorted to cranky interwebbing. after about an hour, i decided that what she said was like a little ray of hope for me (seeing as i, too, am obsessed with a photographer out of my price range--scott at olive juice) and decided to do a quick search of photographers on minnesota bride. lo and behold, after looking through a number of mediocre (and overpriced) photographers' portfolios, i stumbled across something amazing. six steps photography--while they have a name i find slightly curious--has some really excellent photographer action. and by excellent i mean kick-ass. like, competing-with-my-current-obsession kick-ass. and so i took a deep breath, held it in, bit my lip, and clicked the link for rates...and just about came (yes, right in the middle of a coffee shop. and yes, the coffee shop where i work). their packages start at $1200. and aren't stingy by any means. scott's start at $4200. but i think the most interesting thing was that when i looked at six steps' about section...there was a photo of the man who had been sitting next to me while he met with some potential clients. small world. so bizarre.