True Brides {PJ + Natalie}

True Bride Feature # 3 is about PJ and Natalie - a baci designer stationery client (yay!).  Natalie and PJ are the couple behind the invitation suite we showed you a sneak peek of a few weeks ago :o)  They were married September 3rd, 2011 at the Portage Country Club in Akron.  We got caught up in so many wedding plans ourselves that we completely missed posting this before the wedding!  Better late than never though, right?

 Natalie had this to say about their engagement, "At the time, we were together for 4 years, so I knew eventually it was coming but he still managed to surprise me with the actual proposal."  She also said this when asked what the first thing she did as an engaged women was, "Pick out colors and venue.  Decided on our wedding party and asked them to be a part of our wedding."

Time for the wedding questions!!

One thing you were worried about when planning your wedding?

I didn’t want my parents and PJ’s parents to stress over the financial burden of hosting a wedding.  That was my main worry, because I didn’t want the wedding to cause arguments and didn’t want our parents to worry.  Both sets of parents want the best for us and our wedding.  In both families we are the 1^st wedding, so it is easy to say yes when not realizing how much things actually costs. We  just kept an honest and open line of communication and it has limited the amount we all have to worry.

What was the easiest vendor to book?

Honestly, all my vendors were easy to book because of referrals and when I actually met them we had an instant connection and I knew they were the vendor for us. 

What was the hardest vendor to book?

The cake!  We went to multiple cake places before, but once we tasted Leaches Bakery, it was no question we found the perfect cake!

Is there anything special that has been done for your wedding?

I feel like everything has been special to our wedding.  All weddings are a direct reflection of the couple and are all unique to what we want and our vision for our big day.  I tend to be more traditional, however, I put a bit of a spin on all the different elements of our wedding to express PJ and I as a couple and our personalities.

How was wedding dress shopping?

It was really fun and not so difficult.  I tried on so many wedding dresses and I liked all of them.  However when I put on the one that I am wearing for my wedding, I just knew that was the dress.  I thought I wanted a ball gown, but after trying them on, I realized I was lost in the dress (because I am petite) and it didn’t go with my country club theme.  When I was doing serious dress shopping, I took my mom and maid of honor only. It was a special time to spend with my mom and sister.

What’s been the most stressful part about the wedding?

The guest list for sure!  I have a big family and it was difficult where to draw that line on who is invited and who isn’t.  It was difficult to cut some of the people I see every day (co-workers) because family was taking most of the spots.  It caused arguments between myself and my parents, but it all worked out in the end. 

What’s been the best part about the wedding?

We have been planning for a year and a half, so taking our time and being able to really think about what we want and enjoying all the different components has been really nice.  It has been really great having our 2 families together and getting closer and becoming 1 family.  My shower weekend was a great part of the wedding.  My fiancé’s family came from out of town and we got to spend a lot of time with them and they met my family and it was a really good time.

Was choosing your wedding party hard or easy?

It was really easy to choose our wedding party.  We chose the people we are most close too and decided to keep it small and more intimate.  The bridesmaids consist of my 2 sisters, dearest cousin, and best friend.  Groomsmen are PJ’s brother and 3 of his closest friends.  When it came to the little kids in our wedding, we knew who we wanted, so we just made a position for them.  For example I have an 11 year old brother.  He is too young to be a groomsman, so we made him a junior groomsman along with our little cousin.  Then we have 2 flower girls. 

Have things gotten any easier as the wedding day approaches?

Yes and no.  It was like everything has been planned and booked, and now it is time to meet with all the vendors again and finalize all the details.  Now we are working on our seating charts and that can be difficult.  Another thing that made things more difficult is the fact my fiancé and I do not live together and so we decided to purchase a house to live in after the wedding and that is stressful with looking at tons of houses and the financial burden that brings.  Everything is so exciting but can be so nerve wrecking at the same time, so something I remind myself and fiancé is we are a team and need to work together and not against each other to make it through the stresses of the wedding and house hunt. 

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to the now Mr. & Mrs. Lukasewski!!


Stay tuned for more of their gorgeous stationery after the wedding season comes to a close - we'll be playing some serious catch up on showing you what we've been working on :o)