The Under-6-Month Freak Out! Oh, and Celebrity Chefs

So, there are only 5 months left until my wedding day! I felt like I got so much done early (reserved a caterer, reception location, ceremony location, DJ, met with my florist, got me dress and bridesmaid dresses figured out, and generally planned the whole "feel" of my wedding), but there is still so much left to do! Now is the time when we move from broad, albeit important, decisions to the tiniest of details.

I feel like the next few months are when it is most likely to forget an important item. Will I forget to order favors for my guests? Will I forget to ask for extra spoons, thus ending up with people eating slices of cake by hand?! I'm probably exaggerating here, but this stems from a dream I had a few weeks ago in which we got married, started the reception, and I realized I had completely forgotten to order a wedding cake! The encouraging part of this dream is that no one really cared and we ended up having a great night anyway.

I guess the best advice I have been given (that keeps me sane) is that something will go wrong, no matter what, but it won't be a big deal because you will be happy that you've got that special someone by your side and everyone will push through whatever problem it is so you can have a wonderful wedding day.

Today I tackled getting a rehearsal dinner location. E and I were thinking of having it at Mildred's/New Deal Cafe. I called and got some info from them, and it seems like it will work. After talking to my mom (always take mom's advice), I decided to call a couple of other places to get a baseline idea of costs to compare. I decided to check Amelia's, my favorite fine dining Italian place in Gainesville. I went to their website and filled out a contact form. Now-in case you don't know this about me- I WAAAY prefer emails to phone calls. I sound much more intelligent in typed form. Well, don't count this blog. Honestly, I don't try too hard to sound smart since we're all friends here. :o) Traditional internet happy face for good measure. Well, their contact form asks for a phone number and email address, and it's the annoying kind that won't let you submit the form without filling all the fields. So I'm thinking, "great, some maitre d' is going to call me asking if I want to reserve a dinner time and won't actually know anything about private dining." I can just imagine him asking, "okay, what time? And do you want your guests to eat chicken or fish? Other options? I don't think so, people are always happy with either chicken or fish. No I don't know what the contract looks like."

Anyway, I hit send and figured I'd let it go to voicemail and hope they try to email me. As is usual, however, I have also been expecting 2 other phone calls, both car- and doctor-related, so I answered when I didn't recognize the number. To my surprise, it was the Head Chef of Amelia's, Andy Fass! I felt so privileged. I 'met' him once before. I use quotes because he just came to check on our tables food and refill our waters. I love it when chefs and owners take enough interest in their patrons to check on them personally. It reminds me of when E and I ate a romantic dinner at Manuel's Vintage Room, and right at the table next to us was Manuel himself, enjoying some of the restaurant's food! He was just chilling, watching people enjoy his restaurant. In between courses, he checked up on us and introduced himself!

It seems silly, but I feel like I'm meeting a celebrity each time I meet a local restaurant's owner or chef. Let's blame that on the Food Network. So, anyway, Amelia's Chef was very nice on the phone, and willing to answer any of my questions. He will even send me the sample menu himself. I don't know why, but these are all +1s in my book. We'll see where we end up. Honestly, I think we would still pull for Mildred's because of the ease of parking and variety of interesting local fare, but Amelia's will definitely give them a run for their money.

Besides that, I also have 2 meetings already set up in the month of January to check in with my florist (I changed my mind on EVERYTHING since the last time we spoke, just as she predicted) and have meeting #2 with the minister. I also ordered our rings and the invitations, so I will be super excited to see those when they get here. Luckily, I don't have to worry about the cake yet since I'm going with a big-box-baker instead of a local business (sorry, but you just have to compromise on some things when it comes to money. The price difference is about 50%).

Up and coming items include the limo, a veil, favors, going over details with the caterer, ceremony pianist, and various decor decisions.