Our First Home

This post isn’t exactly wedding related, but it’s definitely a HUGE part of this Miss becoming a Mrs. – Ryan and I are in the process of buying a house! We started our search at the first of the year, found a new construction that we fell in love with about three or four weeks ago – I believe it was February 3^rd, and we close on the house a week from Friday! March 9^th has officially been the slowest arriving day, ever! Well, with the exception of another very important day in October ;)

We saw quite a few houses during our hunt, and after seeing them we learned that we really liked the newer homes and features that came along with them. As first time homeowners, we are really looking forward to projects of our choosing, not so much repairs and remodeling, so a home built within the last few years was what we were aiming for. Then, we fell in love with a brand new home (surprise!), in an area we loved, and we just had to go for it – as in, the next day Ryan signed the papers and we got the ball rolling. It was a little emotional, but we both woke up the day after seeing the house, and knew it was right for us. Considering the fact that I like to plan, compare, discuss, and discuss some more before any “big” decisions (okay, maybe a few smaller ones too) that’s really saying something!

We are SO excited about this step we’re taking, and we’ve already learned a lot along the way. I have to give most of the credit to Ryan, since he’s the one doing all of the not-so-fun stuff that comes before you actually get to enjoy the house, and he’s been quite the trooper through all of it.

We are counting down the days until we get to hold those keys in our hand and call it our home! I’m sure the salesman who works at the model in the neighborhood is counting down the days too, considering we’re there almost every week asking if we can “just go look one more time?” It’s just so exciting to imagine where furniture will go, and what our place will look like once it has our own "touch".

all ready for us to move in! /  personal photo

I am a tad bit jealous of Ryan, considering he’s ending his apartment lease and gets to move in right away, while I still have a few months of school, a wedding to finish planning, and THEN finally get to move in. However, I am extremely excited and thankful that we will have such a beautiful place to call our home as soon as we’re husband and wife. We are both SO grateful and excited about that. And of course, just because I’m not living there yet doesn’t mean I won’t be decorating until then and getting it ready for my arrival ;)


The only downside to this exciting step is how much of a distraction it is from wedding planning! All I can think about is decorating this room, or painting that one. I'm hoping I will be able to find a happy medium soon!

Has anything non-wedding related taken up a large part of time during the wedding planning? Anyone else recently decided where will be your first place together? 

Reception Music: Dancing the Night Away

Like I mentioned before, I am a big fan of live music, especially as far as the wedding is concerned. We were able to incorporate live music into the ceremony with a harpist, but the question of reception music was still up in the air.

Because we want to dance at our reception, I really only saw two options: a live band, or a DJ.  The band was my first choice. I was hoping for something fun and upbeat, and lots of cover songs to keep everyone on the dance floor.

Something a little like this... /  Image via Moving Colors Band, Dallas

...Or maybe even this ;) / Image via Fanpop

As much as I would've really liked a band to be there dancing the night away with us, when we decided on our venue, we realized a large, multi-person band was probably not the best choice. In fact, their setup would more than likely take up our entire dance floor. Part of the reason we chose the Village Ballroom for our reception was because of the smaller, intimate feel. However, this "quaintness" also carried over to the dance floor, and this didn't quite match up with my desire for live music. I've used this picture of the ballroom before, but it gives you an idea of the size of our dance floor:

See the dance floor back in the corner? / Photo Credit - Piazza in the Village on Facebook

Because we are having a somewhat small wedding (100-120) people, the larger ballroom which holds around 300 would have completely swallowed us and our guests, and we decided that the large dance floor was going to look mighty intimidating if only a few guests were already out there. We really want to encourage the family and friends who come to celebrate with us to do just that - celebrate! And for us, that includes showing off some dance moves and just having a good time, so the Village Ballroom was the best choice, eliminating the option for a band. A little disappointing, but definitely not the end of the world. That led us to our other option: the DJ. 

Searching for a DJ was actually a very, very short process for Mr. Coach and I. I spent some time searching for a few DJs I liked based on their reviews, pictures, websites, etc., but I knew we needed to get some more information and meet a few of them before we decided.  After emailing back and forth with about five of them, I had received quotes from the majority and each of them, with the exception of one, quoted me almost identical prices. The exception was Randy Ro Entertainment. Needless to say, I set up a meeting with Randy immediately. Mr. Coach and I decided we would meet with him first, and if for some reason we didn't want to use him, we would consider some of the more expensive options. We weren't really expecting to be too picky going into this meeting. We have a lot of ideas about what songs we want played, so we really just need someone to manage the playlists, as well as emcee the events happening during the reception.

Luckily, the meeting went exceptionally well. We loved getting to talk with Randy, he was very helpful and listened to what we had to say, and we decided to use his company for our DJ services.  We actually gave him the deposit right then and there, after deciding we'd be crazy not to use him! He has experience working at the Piazza and in our ballroom, which was a plus because we wanted someone who knew about the size and what "type" of wedding it would be. 

Side note: As far as pricing, we found out that the exceptional rate he gave us was because of his close proximity to our venue, and the fact that he really doesn't like to lose business that is literally right next door. Totally makes sense - and worked out perfectly for us! We get a first class DJ for half of the price of others in the DFW area.

Have you had any pleasant surprises so far in the planning process? Tell me about your reception music - did you hire a DJ or band? Anyone having someone man the iPod as an alternative?

Ceremony Music: Hiring a Harpist

           
Let's talk about music - for the first of many times. Music is a pretty big part of Mr. Coach's and my life, both individually and as a couple. We really enjoy live music and going to concerts together, and in my opinion, we can both really appreciate a great new song or album. Because of these things, I knew that music would be a pretty significant part of our wedding day festivities. Not just in the form of great music at the reception, but also when we had to decide how to incorporate music that we liked and music that was “us” into the wedding ceremony.


I have always really liked the idea of live music for my wedding ceremony. I’ve experienced weddings where the Bridal Chorus was being played as a recording as the bride walked down the aisle.  It doesn’t make too much of a difference until she reaches the end of the aisle, stands next to her husband to be, and the song cuts off with a very unpleasant, and abrupt end. No good.


I’ve also experienced weddings where the flower girl literally RAN down the aisle, or made it about half way and decided she had to turn around and go back because she didn’t drop enough rose petals the first time. Adorable? Yes. Does a CD track account for unpredictable flower girls? No. 


So, for these reasons, among others, I have always wanted live music, played by professionals who can react to unpredictable moments, as well as fade the music off at the perfect time. Now it should be easy, right? Find someone who can play the piano, and more than likely they’ll know Canon in D like the back of their hand. But what I would really like to have is someone who can not only play the traditional wedding ceremony music, but also some songs that represent Mr. Coach and I, as well as some that our guests will recognize and enjoy. 


My first thought was string instruments. I had recently seen a string quartet performing at a local mall (yes, it is a very nice mall), playing everything from Lady Gaga to the Beatles. I loved that it still sounded beautiful and “wedding-like” because of the instruments they were playing on, but was also unique and would allow us the freedom to choose our own, possibly not-so-traditional, music.

Image via Dallas String Quartet

Although I liked their musical diversity, after more thought, a string quartet didn’t feel quite right for our ceremony. I was worried about having a full band at the front of the chapel and I didn’t want things to feel too formal. So, I continued to search. Luckily, after some online browsing, I stumbled across the website of harpist, Jenny Glass. Her tagline, “Music from Classical to Coldplay” made a great first impression on me. She had some sound clips on the website that I was also really impressed by. Jenny and her harp would be much less crowded than a quartet in the chapel, and more flexible for where we positioned them. I was also less worried about the music feeling too formal, and just feeling romantic and elegant instead. 

            
I emailed Jenny, and she invited me to the Fort Worth bridal show to hear her play. She was literally one of the kindest people I have ever met. I listened to the Demo CD she gave me, and after Mr. Coach and I discussed it, we decided she was the best fit for our ceremony. Literally, one of the easiest decisions we've made so far, and I’m so excited to choose the songs we like and hear how beautifully she can play them on her harp. 

Image via Jenny Glass, Harpist

Jenny's harp outside the Piazza! / Image via Jenny Glass

What were your reasons for choosing the type of ceremony music you had/are going to have?  Anyone else having a harp - I'd love to hear your song choices!