Thank You, I'm Sorry.

Four words, two phrases. But what an impact they can have.

People seem to forget how much we need to hear those precious 4. We as a society are becoming self interested and self absorbed. Leaving no time for either. Throughout our Wedding Planning I have made a conscious effort to say both of these things repeatedly to the people who needed to hear them.

The thank yous are mostly directed at our Wedding Elves that I've met. Although, they sometimes get the I'm sorrys too. Whether I'm calling to ask another question about our contract or I'm late for our appointment. But there's one almost elf who has give me a sorry, that was followed by my thank yous, but I feel as though he could use an I'm sorry from me.

I don't know how long it took, or how many people had to look at all of my correspondence back and forth- but Michael C and the Finance Dept at Team Pictage not only deserve a big Thank You, but an I'm sorry too.

I'm sorry for all of the pestering and email back and forth. I was very nervous about what was going on and exactly where I would land. Thank you for taking time out of your days to check on things for me. As a consumer on the other side of the country, sometimes you have to wonder if anyone out there is actually concerned about your problem and whether or not they're even working on a solution for you.

Thanks to all of our emails and the results that I can see this morning, Michael and Team Finance [that's what I've decided to call you, you can submit a team name change to HR] worked to find and fix a problem for me. And I can't even being to tell you how much I appreciate it.

Thank you and I'm sorry.

Pictage, see also Prick

What company preauthorizes a consumers credit card without telling them first? Pictage.

What company preauthorizes a consumers credit card one week before a payment? Pictage.

What company leaves any form of an apology out of all of their correspondence with an unhappy consumer? Pictage.

- - - - -

I don't like the thought of putting this on the internet for all to see. But really, holding on to my money long before it's theoretically yours? Not cool friends. Not cool.

I called the NYS BBB this morning. Let's hope the money actually shows up in my account before I get hit with the IFF, otherwise it's off to the NYS Attorney General. Because in NYS, you can't preauthorize someones credit card without their consent.

Here is your ray of sunshine.

So Friday sucked. In the worst way possible. BUT! Saturday and Sunday were amazing. They more than made up for the suck known as Friday.

Saturday I picked my dress up from the cleaners, who got it done in record time. Thanks Bridal Kare! Then it was off to have the dress fitted. I thought this was going to be a nightmare for several reasons. It didn't even come close. She adjusted the bustle because I wanted to make sure it was up and off the floor. She's adjusting part of my strapless bra so that it fits me better. She's replacing the zipper and fixing the beading... all as if I had purchased my dress from them. Which means I'm saving $300+.

Thank heavens for Bridal Chateau. Honestly.

Today I was setting out to fix the reply card disaster. I managed to end up with this strange white-ish blob on my reply cards. Not cool friends. NOT cool. I took the handy dandy little jump drive back to the fine folks at the Office Max on the Boulevard, and everything was fine. Blob gone; crisis averted. AND he trouble shot his way through a paper jam, and printed proof after proof for me.

In the mean time, my goal was to mail the invites between 3mos and 90 days to the Wedding.

Today is 90 days. Oh well. They'll be worth the wait. ; )

We've made it to double digits: 97

I decided we're gonna do some shout outs tonight. Because I can do what I want here. Right? I thought so.

First and foremost, Amanda. What in Gods green earth would I have done without her? I mean honestly- how am I not myself. Think about it. She doesn't even LIVE in NY, but off she went on an adventure to find me boats. And she was victorious. Armed only with her wits and a UPC Code she set forth on NY/PA. And she won. Hats off to you Amanda.

Next up is Marsha. Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! Marsha is my florist. [ www.vannormsflorist.com ] And I love her to itty bitty bits. She didn't try to sell me things I didn't want. And she LISTENED to what I wanted and didn't want as far as colors and flowers. All too often vendors try to pigeon hole brides- because they think they can. Marsha didn't even come close. Thank you, from the bottom of my weary little heart.

Melissa. Oh, Melissa. How do I love thee? Let me count the calls. [ www.munelitphotographic.com ] I think it's safe to say that I get Mel and she gets me. I met her by chance and thank heavens. We took an afternoon to bond... and a few late night chats. It's fairly safe to say that I can't stop laughing- it's hard for her to take serious-esque pictures of me. I'm working on quiet thoughts for her though ;). Thanks for agreeing to come on this whirlwind adventure.

My very first terrible vendor experience.

I had called a hotel about 2 months ago to set aside a block of rooms for people. I told them I would need 50-100. There are people coming in from out of town as well as people living in town who wanted to spend the night away from home.

They said "No problem!" Started giving me details. I hung up the phone feeling confident and completely at ease. Fast forward to today. Amy! Calls. She was unfortunately confused, she thought I was getting Married 10/19 not 9/19. Since it's back to school time they can only give me a block of 15 rooms.

...

33 is the low ball on rooms. That's doubling up on people who know each other and might stay together. That's expecting/hoping that some of the people will be staying at their parents houses.

So now I look for a new hotel and see if I can find one that'll give me ~50 rooms.

Disappearing Vendors

I will not call Wedding Vendors Elves here. Generally, I don't like calling them Vendors. Because really, I want to pick people who care about what they are doing. Someone else called them Wedding Elves, and I liked it. Helpful creatures! What every girl needs... but moving on.

There are now TWO Brides in 5 months who I've seen have their Photographers run off after the Wedding. Leaving them with no pictures. This makes me more than a little nervous. The pictures may end up costing more than my Rings- and to have nothing to show for it? Well it terrifies me. I had wanted two photographers for the Wedding itself. Whether they be 2 from one studio or 2 independent. But that can also mean double the cost. And double the ditching.

I just want happy elves at my Wedding. Not greedy grumpy vendors. : (