And the DJ is...

Okay, so sorry again for the long wait, but wedding planning has slowed down a bit since we booked all of the big ticket vendors. This week I put the deposit/check in the mail for the DJ, but overall, not much has happened. I think I needed a break!

We decided to go with DJ Maxim Glikman because:

1. CULTURAL REASONS- My fiance and his family (and several friends) are from various areas in Eastern Europe, mostly Moldova and Ukraine, some Russia. Therefore, we needed a DJ who could not only play Russian pop/dance music (who had a collection), but could speak both English and Russian at the wedding to accommodate both languages/cultures.

DJ Maxim fit the bill because he specializes in MCing/DJing Russian/English/American weddings. He speaks Russian and English flawlessly and is willing to translate at the wedding reception.

2. FAMILY CONNECTION- My future mother-in-law has worked with his cousin for several years, and he is well known in the Baltimore Russian community.

3. PROFESSIONAL- We thought he was nice and also very organized and professional when we met with him.

4. REASONABLE & KIND- He helped us stay within our budget!

Anyway, he is our last "big" vendor, aside from catering---which is to be done later---don't ask, the linen rentals, and cake (which is also done a little later).

I will probably start looking at dresses in the next month or so. Anywho... I will try and post more often!

Florist Booked!

Hello all! It's been a long time since my last post, but nothing other than the flowers have really happened since then.

I am very excited about my florist, Randy Woods, owner of Wicked Willow floral design in Catonsville. Aside from his designs being beautiful and modern, here are some other reasons why I chose Randy.

+RESPONSIVENESS. He returned my emails w/i 48 hrs or less, which I totally did not expect, but loved, and got the proposals to me when he actually said he would. EVERY OTHER FLORIST I met with either never contacted me after our 1st meeting, or promised a proposal one day and did follow through until 1-2 weeks later, after I reminded them. Yep, there were florists I never heard from again. I didn't even ask Randy to be so attentive, he just WAS.

+HELPFUL. He knew we were on a tight budget, and boy was he sensitive to that and worked within it giving suggestions, NOT UPSELLING.

+FLEXIBLE. Going back to the budget issue---Randy was very willing to stay in our budget. After receiving his first proposal, I sent him back my own proposal with how much we could actually pay for each item. He honored every single one of my prices/items, including dropping the chuppah rental down, and we worked together to get the centerpieces so that they were to my liking and my price. He even let me add some details to his contract and signed it for me. He's just a really nice guy and a professional business person.

+KNOWLEDGEABLE + HONEST. I literally told him at the end of the first meeting that he was the "Dr. of Flowers" because he knew so much! All sorts of blooms and their fancy scientific names. He also knew what was reasonably priced and expensive and was honest about that.

+NICE! I really liked his personality at our first meeting. Really nice guy. Calm, yet pleasant and not too serious. And very creative.

So I think Randy makes an excellent addition to our vendors :) Now onto the DJ!