Ideas

Ok I'm writing a list of things I want to talk to Paul the Wedding Planner about so thought I should copy it down here so I don't forget to share anything I come up on.

As you know, the theme is Big Band Punk so musically, we're going with the neo-swing sound of the late 90s. K turned me onto Squirrel Nut Zippers but they were right up there with the Brian Setzer Orchestra and the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. I checked out 90s swing revival in P-Cola and the first thing to pop up was the Swinging Dick Tracys. I have no idea how much they charge but they sound pretty good.

Check out: dicktracyband.com

And they're local which is a total plus because there won't be a travel charge. In fact, many of their pics have them playing right down town and they have a gig coming up at the place across from the event space we're looking at... have you checked it out?

5elevenpalafox.com

Take a listen and tell me what you think. Their "about" page indicates that they can play a host of genres and I'm assuming they lend that big brassiness to all of it and that's really what we need. For the punk aspect anything like Less Than Jake or the Velvet Underground incorporated into the list should be pretty baller.

Band is a big deal. So's the bar. And the food. Should I post the catering menu options up here for you to see?I'm probably going to be commenting on this post as I get more ideas. Ciao.

Day 3

Ok- comments are few and texts are rampant... so I'm going to have to post on what I have so far (post comments so I don't have to try to remember!) The Gatsby dress is a hit but a shorter dress has been suggested for a more "punk" look. I can see the potential- bright heels would rock!

The birdcage veil is also choice. Sara and I found a DIY Bride book that shows how to make one yourself (dude they're $80 minimum on Etsy, it'd be clutch if I can make my own) but where to get Russian lace?

Drew and I are meeting with Paul from Nancy's Haute Affairs. They're a full service caterer and also do event planning. I've heard a planner is worth his/her weight in gold (especially with the back-to-back training I'm doing) so I might go with that. They also have a warehouse full of goodies to help with the theme (Paul was really excited when I told him about it.) 

What else? Oh I'm trying to decide on colors. I want bright! Blue is a given because of Drew's kilt:

http://www.scotweb.co.uk/tartan/US-Forces/61653?filter_searchterm=air%20force

(Look at the US Forces Air Force Tartan #1)

And of course purple is my favorite color and the red thread in the kilt against the blue makes it look purple so I think that's fine. There's also yellow thread. So conservatively speaking, purple blue and yellow should work together marvelously.

Day 2

Bridal show in P-Cola on June 3. K and Sara- want to go? K I don't know your summer plans but you're closest, and Sara that might be a good week to visit if you aren't out visiting your mom.

Couple things to google:

lightinthebox.com for dresses
etsy.com for accessories
5 Eleven Palafox for a possible venue
Nancy's Haute Affairs for catering and planning

Need some opinions:

The boys will be in kilts. Drew will probably be in the AF kilt and his groomsmen will be either A.) in black kilts with accents that either complement his kilt color or bridesmaid dress color or B) his men can each have their family tartan (which is kind of different for the Irish folks, their tartan is by county, not clan) but if they do that they'll be various colors which might be a cool scheme too- bridesmaids would have a different color dress that corresponds to one of their kilts so it's kind of wacky but still ties together.

Day 1

Ok ladies, Mr. Johnson asked that I not make a clogged blog of the family updater (elmorejohnson.zooloo.com) so... here we are! Our very own meeting place for all things wedding. And I KNOW that there's a real chance you're sick of weddings... damn frilly girls and all this getting hitched and what not... but tough! I neeeed you, I'm quite ill-informed of the business of big shabangs and this definitely counts as one of those!

So... this is an open forum but so everyone knows, Kaitlyn is MOH. All secret, back-door, hush-hush, sneaky business should be conducted with her. I don't really know what that might be other than a bachelorette party. Vegas is awesome, just throwing that out there. Gambling and dancing and gyrating men, oh my! Actually I hear Zoomanity is amazing, and it has nakie men in it. Nice.

The big plan is still being formulated, so the sky's the limit. Feel free to throw in any ideas you have. Right now I'm set on a "Big Band Punk" theme. Imagine Glen Miller meets the Drop Kick Murphys. Great Gatsby meets Steam Punk. That sort of thing.

I set up comments so anyone, not just google account holders, can comment. Feel free to make them big comments, like a post. Maybe I can make this thing into a team blog so you can write posts. Hmm I'll have to look into that.