Wedding Dreams, Part II

Remember those checklists I mentioned in my last post?  Well, I'm happy to say that we've managed to check off two major items in the last week!

Photographic Dreams

First, and most important to me, was to secure an excellent photographer at an excellent price.  Some photographers were quite expensive in my mind; others didn't offer exactly what I was looking for; and some are very stingy with the pictures they would be taking of "us" at "our" wedding, meaning they won't give us "rights" or even digital copies of pictures of us without first taking a limb.
This decision was a bit challenging because, between the two of us, Matthew and I know probably a dozen very talented photographers.  Matthew's good friend David took some pics of us for our Save the Date cards, and I debated using someone we know for our wedding.  In the end, we found an awesome photographer that my cousin recommended to us, and I'm thrilled to have this woman shoot our wedding!  Our first conversation lasted nearly an hour and we clicked right away.  I enjoyed "talking shop" with her about her equipment, style, etc...even details like in which format she shoots her pictures (I'm very happy to say that she shoots in RAW :) ).  If you'd like to see her work, you can see some of it here.  We will receive digital copies of every photo, including printing rights, and I thought she was quite reasonably priced! Yay!  After we confirmed her,  I was bouncing off the walls, having difficulty focusing on anything else. :)  Her work is amazing, and I'm really looking forward to working with her.

I'm dreaming of a Yummy Reception Dinner

Next on the list was booking the caterer, which we did the very next day!  I received referrals from two recent bride friends for the same caterer they used for their weddings, which were held at the same venue we're having our reception, and both of these women raved about two things: the company works hard to stay within your budget and they can do EVERYTHING (meaning: food, decorations, linens, china, silverware, glasses, bar, and CAKE!)  I've since found out these guys have been around for YEARS and have an excellent reputation in town....Ranch Catering.
After a couple of conversations with Ramon, we scheduled a complimentary tasting for Saturday afternoon, and he said "Come hungry."  We invited our good friends Bob & Betty to come enjoy some free food with us, and by the end of the almost two hours, we settled on a price and paid the deposit.  The food was super yummy from the appetizers to the cake (especially the cake!!), and we are very pleased with the price. 
Here are a couple of pics I took at the tasting:

First salad we tried. I think this one was the winner!

Grand Finale: The CAKE!
"Before"

Grand Finale: The CAKE!
"After"

Can you tell we liked the cake?  We really had a hard time choosing between all of the delicious flavors!  The big winner was the Chocolate Truffle, then either the raspberry or strawberry, and (of course) the Red Velvet.  Mmmmmmmm!  They're even going to make a "Groom's Cake," which I'd never heard of...but when Ramon said "It's for the groom and you can put whatever logo you want on it..." Matthew replied, "Logo?! Well, that's easy!" If you know Matthew, you can probably guess which logo he chose ;)

Feeling quite relieved (to check another box!) and satiated, the four of us headed down to Petco Park to watch the Padres beat the Diamondbacks...and there was even a cool fireworks show after the game!

Check out our awesome seats - third base line, field level!

Courtesy of Bob & Betty (and their friends who gave them the tix)

Next on the vendor list:  Videographer, and hair and makeup for Laticia :)