Here’s how this train of thought linked up: I was clearing old unread email when I found one linking to photos from an event I attended back in June. Following the link to the photos, I then clicked on the link of the host site because I thought it was an odd name for a photography business.

Turns out, it wasn’t really a photography business. It’s a different sort of business altogether. One that’s a great idea (easily imitated by those with time to do so independently, but then again, there are oodles of people out there providing services we can easily do on our own, so clearly, that’s not the point.

It’s called Unique To You. The business, run by Dawn Nahhas (she and her husband Don - who I’m pretty sure is also on the testimonials page, but nevermind - had taken the photos to which the initial link led), is clever: create a special day for a friend or loved-one by surprising him or her with a day-long scavanger hunt. Scrolls arrive containing directions and gift cards that lead the subject around the city, perhaps to a favorite day spa, store, or location. The festivities end at a restaurant where subjects are greeted by loved ones. Everyone party.

It’s a cute idea and the website counter lists a lowly 113 visitors. Check ‘em out and at least up the count if not support a local entrepreneur.

Aren’t you glad you live in a small, relatively centralized county like Sacramento? Well, you should be. Obtaining marriage licenses is crazy easy. There’s a helpful website full of FAQ answers and during normal business hours a live and helpful person actually answers the listed phone number.

Walk-ins are allowed, but appointments are encouraged. We made an appointment during their first slot - at 8am - and were in and out in about half an hour. Bride and groom must be present, at least 18 years old, and have photo ID. That’s about it. There is an online application form the site asks you to fill out, but it didn’t seem mandatory once we were there.

Actually, the only criticism we have about the system is this online form. You enter your info, diligently check it for mistakes, and it prints out, nicely filled. You’d think perhaps that info gets zapped over to the clerk’s office for easy import into the actual license document. Not so. Best we could tell, someone then re-enters the info.

Accordingly an important word of warning: Check Their Work. Twice. Then once more after that. And again after they fix the mistakes you found on previous readings. My name is frequently mangled, but in this case, they badly butchered my groom’s name and the word “England” - didn’t even know that was possible. Of course, in our rush to correct the litany of typos on his section, I noted only that they had not forgotten the oft forgot “a” that turns my name from “Christina” into what it is.

But what I didn’t notice was the missing “i” before the not-forgotten “a.” So we had to go back and file an amendment after the wedding to get it corrected. Not the end of the world, but an unnecessary extra hassle.

Out of all wedding chores - getting the license is the easiest part. Grab your fiance(e) and your IDs (and your checkbook or cash - no credit or debit cards accepted) and head on down to 600 8th Street. You’ll be in and out in no time - allowing for typos, of course.

For other county services, keep reading . . .
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Bouquet detail, photo by cd

We tried to save money on flowers. Swear to god. We gave it our absolute best shot. We met with two florists - one in Sac and one in Davis (sister-in-law of a friends’ wife, did their wedding, lovely stuff, too costly for us; plus, in-town is just easier). We ended up going with Twiggs - located on J Street, conveniently next to The Raven - into which you’ll probably want/need to duck after contemplating the cost of flowers. Flowers that while pretty and nice smelling, will die and leave you with zero tangible benefit. You can’t eat them. You can’t drink them. They look really great, sure, but if you’re a non-weak bride, flowers will make you angry.

I hate being made angry by flowers. I love them. I take endless numbers of flower photos. I’m all flowers, all the time. But that sh*t is expensive.
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photo by Rachelle Stogner

Freeport Bakery. ‘Nuff said.

Oh, but I’ll say more anyway, of course.

With the recent closures of several Sacramento bakeries like Philipps and Brioche, the Sacramento vendors are harder to find. No matter, though. I knew I wanted Freeport from the start and after an initial scare when they said they were booked on our day, we ended up able to get our wedding cake there anyway.

There’s not much personal attention involved in cake buying - at least not after the initial tasting session (which is the BEST part of wedding planning, by far). I don’t need to be all BFF with my bakery, and given my hatred of the industry’s prey-on-emotions ways, I guess there’s no point complaining that it was very arms-length.

The inside of the cake was perfect - just as moist and delicious as one would expect from Sac’s top bakery. The outside came out very nearly like what we’d spent quite a while describing to the cake consultant with whom we met. We carefully measured and determined the width of the stripes on the cake - which were to start wide on the top stripe and be thinner by the bottom stripe.

All the stripes came out the same, non-interesting width.

And, though one side of the cake had straight, even stripes that curved beautifully down the side, the other side - the side displayed toward most the guests - had more wobble than paving stripe in landslide country. What’s up with that? Why the wobble? And why have THAT side facing out when the other was better. The problem is very obvious in the above photo. Especially when you can compare the two sides.

All in all, though, the cake was what we wanted and I’d recommend Freeport (not cheap, but never less than tasty). Oh, but, Freeport, if you read this, you should include more than one excess cake box. Granted, we ended up with more cake than we needed, but we could only take home half of the excess because there was only one cake box. Oh well.

For more:
Day One: The Series
Day Two: The Dress
Day Three: The Photographer
Day Four: The Music
Day Five: The Cake
Day Six: The Flowers
Day Seven: The Legal Stuff
Day Eight: Random Other Stuff

photos by Rachelle Stogner and Robert Nicholson (top right)

What kind of music do you want at your wedding? Canned from a DJ? Live from a band? A bit of both? We knew our goal was a kick-ass dance party after the day’s formalities concluded, but what about before that point? Initially, we contracted with a DJ company to provide a sound system and cue classical tracks at the appropriate point for the ceremony. But after a dear family friend (and my former music teacher) offered to help coordinate live music, we opted to go classy for the ceremony. Budget-wise, what we saved on the DJ’s ceremony services and an extra hour of his time pretty much balanced out the cost of the trio we hired. And, though my fiance and I weren’t in the room to enjoy the bulk of the trio’s music, we hear it went very well.

The Trio: Through our friend’s help, we found - heck, she found and contracted, the Kelley Maulbetsch Trio - a NorCal based group of talented players. We had a cello, violin, and flute trio. They knew all the wedding standards plus all the traditional classical music that makes a place seem all warm and wedding-y. And in a small-world moment, Kelley Maulbetsch turned out to be the former roommate of one of my close friend’s now fiance. Crazy! They’re union players - and we love unions - but the rates are fair and the performance was excellent. You really can’t beat live music. Want to hire them? Contact Kelley at kelleymaulbetsch at gmail dot com.

Now for the DJ . . . .
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So, you’ve heard about this whole football-recruiting-CIF cluster, right? Teams suspended, seasons ended, coaches resigning?

I can’t get past a soundbite (Rich Ibarra reports video) I heard on the news the other night. One student, lamenting the team’s suspension, said the students love to play and that football is the onlything that keeps them off the streets and now that’s being taken away from them.

The tone to me implied that CIF’s sanctions were a sentence on these players. No football = back to the streets: to drugs, violence, dead ends. No, buddy. You know better. You don’t have to resort to the worst of street vices. You were unfairly screwed out of your sport by the grown-ups. But you have tons of options. Coaching younger kids? Volunteering? Focusing on school work? I dunno, get creative.

I really dislike that sort of mindset. It’s a fine line between crediting a program with giving kids positive alternatives to less desireable activities and buying into the mindset that without activity x there will be no choice BUT gangs/drugs/etc.

These kids know there are positive things they can do with themselves. And eventually, high school ends, so learning now to take charge of one’s options is as good a lesson as any learned on the field.

photo by Rachelle Stogner, Rachelle Photography

When both the bride, the groom, and most of the wedding party are shutterbugs (not to mention when the bride’s father is a former wedding photographer), picking the right photog quickly becomes one of the most important decisions a couple can make. Like, second only to the decision to get married in the first place.

As mentioned earlier in the series, the internet and especially Flickr helped research in this category tremendously. Though I did pick up a few cards at various wedding expos, only one of those photographers made it onto my “people to call” list. When the first few desired photogs were booked, and both independently recommended Rachelle, I figured that was a good recommendation. Was it ever!
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