Weddingbee Blog

A couple of times a year, my venue has an open house that all of the brides are invited to. They have some vendors there (photographers, bakeries, etc.) and they have their in-house caterer make some yummy food for everyone to sample. I really wanted to go when they had one in the fall, but I wasn’t able to make it. This time around, they decided to have it on Mother’s Day (what’s up with that?!) and BM Audrey and I decided to take a trip down to Austin to go! She celebrated Mother’s Day with her mom on Saturday, and I invited Mom Cardy and FMIL Cardy to come along! I’ve been looking forward to it for a few weeks now, because I really wanted to show BM Audrey the venue, and I’ve been DYING to taste the food!

I’ll admit that I was a bit disappointed by the amount of vendors they had there - I don’t have many more vendors that I need to find, but I was surprised at the lack of vendors who showed. Of course, it was Mother’s Day, so I don’t blame them! But one thing I was NOT disappointed in was the food! Holy crap, y’all. It was amazing.

I didn’t get to try anything off the menu that Mr. Cardigan and I really want (bummer!) but I was extremely pleased with almost everything I tried! We also got to sample their frozen margaritas and BM Audrey got a taste of the wine - we approved of everything! I had been a bit worried about having them cater my wedding without ever getting to try the food, but I have full confidence now that our food is going to be GREAT!

While we were there, we met one vendor who I want to hire so badly it’s ridiculous. His name is John John. He’s a wedding butler.

That’s him! (Source)

Yeah, I said wedding butler. Basically, he’s like a day-of coordinator on crack. He’ll help with makeup touch-ups, help keep track of your outfits, help set up, get you some tequila shots if you’re feeling stressed (seriously - he told me he’d bring me shots!) and he’ll even go shopping with you in the planning stages! He was one of the sweetest, most adorable people I’ve ever met, and I couldn’t stop talking about him all day. I called Mr. Cardigan and told him I wanted John John for my birthday present. BM Audrey and I spent the day dreaming of how much fun we would have hanging out with John John on the day of the wedding. It was gonna be awesome.

Then? I got home and found his website. Along with pricing information. And I almost fell off the couch. I mean, I didn’t expect John John to be cheap, because he’s pretty effing awesome. And the services he provides are pretty insane. And he’s a ton of fun to hang out with. But, uh, yeah. I don’t think I’ll get to have John John hang out with me on my wedding day. Even though I had only been dreaming about hiring him for a few hours, I was pretty devastated when I found out how much it was! I was really looking forward to hiring someone specifically to pamper me all day long!

Ah well, such is life. I’m sure I’ll get over the disappointment eventually. Maybe if I just don’t eat anything but grilled cheese sandwiches for the next, um, 8 months, I’ll be able to afford it!

Did you have any extra expenses that you REALLY wanted but just couldn’t afford?