Weddingbee

When I finally got ahold of her, she cited personal issues and promised that the photos would be in the mail shortly. They weren’t. She continued ignoring our attempts to contact her (even some strongly-worded emails my dad sent, one of which mentioned seeking legal recourse). At the end of July, two months after the wedding, she agreed to meet with my parents and hand over the CD of unedited images, the DVD of finished images, and the slideshow DVD. She stood them up–didn’t appear at the meeting.

A few days later I drove down from my college town and Mom and I went out to her studio in Harrisonville (about 30 miles outside Kansas City). When we showed up then we were able to get the CD of unedited images, and some (about 300) edited ones. Kristy promised that the remaining edited images would be mailed to me in a few days, along with the slideshow DVD. That was the last contact we had with her.

In the middle of August my parents stopped by her studio again, only to see a notice on the door that it was temporarily closed. Since that time, I’ve been contacted by four other brides who had also hired Kirsty. One was having trouble getting ahold of her own wedding photos, three had upcoming weddings and were unable to get ahold of Kristy to go over details.

Of the photos that we received, many are of wonderful quality. However, she didn’t even take (or edit) many photos that we requested–there are only two images of the getaway, none of us with our families, very few of me and Mr. Blueberry, almost none of me alone, just one of Mr. Blueberry alone, etc. We’re missing several key poses. That once-in-a-lifetime event is over, and we’re not at all satisfied with what we have to show for it.

That is my honest review, and I did my best attempt at being even-handed even though it is such a touchy subject for me.  I get angry and even start crying sometimes, just thinking about what we have missed out on and will never get back.
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My cousins Nathan and Lacey (can’t wait for their wedding in October!):

Love this one:

And this one:

Still have cake cutting, toasts, and more dancing to go…
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(I. LOVE. THIS. IMAGE!!!)
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Then it was time for FOOD!!!

My parents bought this from an antique shop and are now, no kidding, using it to refill the dogs’ water dishes. Really. From wedding to water dish:

Not one, but two chocolate fountains:

Mmmm….baklava. brownies. warheads. kiwi.

My mom bought most of the serving dishes; the rest were things she already owned or that we borrowed from friends and family. In keeping with the wedding’s colors, every piece was either classic clear glass, cobalt glass, or silver. We combined those pieces, mixing them throughout the length of the 14 foot buffet, adding depth by placing taller items and more highly-stacked plates toward the back, with lower/flatter items at the front.

Unfortunately, the idiots our venue owner told us to hire decided to disregard my instructions, resulting in several of my handmade tags paired with incorrect items, and charming setups like this:

Aah yes…scattered grapes on a doily. *just* the look I was going for.

They also didn’t set out any of my kourambiedes–Greek wedding cookies–aka my most favoritest cookies ever. Which means that there’s still a couple boxes of them in my parents’ deep freeze. Awww darn, now I guess I’ve got to eat them all.

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I love this one…

Aww!

Mandi and Stefanie reading:

As Mr. Blueberry says his vows, I think “haha I’ve got him now!”

Getting ready to do the rings (see me nervously twirling my engagement ring that was on the wrong hand?)

Poor Katie had to hold two massively heavy bouquets. She’s a good friend:

Then it was unity candle time!

Smoochy!

Yay! One of the few times in life when grinning like an idiot is acceptable:
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OkIloveyoubyebye!

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then a few more…

Mr. Blueberry and the minister walked up the aisle first:

Then Grandmother and Granddad:

Then Grandma and Uncle Gene:

Linda and Bob:

Mom and Maxie:

Katie and Chris:

Four flower girls, one right after another:
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Dum dum da-dum, dum dum da-dum…

(Mom says Dad looks sly in this one–I think he’s just excited to be getting rid of me!)

The hand-off:

The hug:

Fix the train…

And begin!

More tomorrow…
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