The Glö-Couple:
Liz, media coordinator for San Francisco Symphony &
Tom, photographer & freelance sound engineer
Want to meet them?? Liz can be seen vicariously through the San Francisco Symphony’s website and interactive educational site Keeping Score. Tom is alive and well on www.tombalazs.com.
Celebration Date & Location:
October 2011
Liz’s parents’ home
Northport, Leelanau County, Michigan USA
Tell us how you got engaged:
Hate to burst your bubble and sound lame, but we don’t have a big story. (Editors note: Pretty much NOTHING about this sounds lame to me. It all sounds rather fabulous!) It was just “time”. One day we found a ring we liked on Etsy. Two weeks later we placed an order for it and a custom wedding band. Four weeks after that we told our families because we thought the rings would show up about soon. Turns out US Customs had another idea (goldsmith is in Ireland) and the rings finally arrived 3 weeks later. We then celebrated by having a half-baked flash-frozen deep dish pizza flown in from our fave Chicago pizza place, Lou Malnati’s, and cracking open a bottle of 1999 Dom Perignon we’d been saving. Oh, and some french macaroons.
What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:
We’re laid back & (mostly) casual people, so we hope our celebration reflects us. We love the outdoors and plan to have the ceremony on a little deck overlooking Lake Michigan followed by a reception in a tent in the front yard. We’re looking at the woods as our inspiration – they’re full of birch trees, cedar, and many, many woodland critters.
About our venue… My parents’ started bringing me up to Leelanau County when I was 5 months old to camp. When I was three, they bought property. When I was 9 they built a house on it. And when I was 25 they retired to it full time. Needless to say this is a place ingrained in my soul, and it was the only place Tom and I wanted to have our wedding at. Otherwise, we would have eloped! True story.
Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:
We’re looking forward to a laid-back day that includes our beloved dog as our ring bearer (sporting a bow tie to match his “dad’s”, of course), both of us wearing monogrammed Chuck Taylor All-Star shoes, and after-dinner merriment in the form of a bonfire on the beach and star gazing once it gets dark enough. We even included a “Can you bring a telescope” question on our RSVP!
We’ll also be having pies instead of cake. My mom makes THE BEST cherry pie in the world (Northern Michigan is considered the “Cherry Capital”), and an apple. There may be cupcakes too since I’m a sucker for those. Also, the guests will be standing on our beach below us during the ceremony. The deck we’ll be married on will only fit the two of us plus the officiant. Our attendants (two total) will be on the 5 steps leading down to the beach, and the guests below them looking up at us.
What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design?
We received a framed silkscreen from family for Christmas this past year that is the tree with our initials featured on the site. It was silkscreened onto burlap (something else that will be prominent in our decor) with the heart stitched and the names hand lettered. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted it on our website. Interestingly, this family member wasn’t aware of our plan to feature trees and initials in hearts in our decor… she apparently knows us well! We’re doing paper invitations of a somewhat similar design.
Photoshop and I spent many hours together, scanning, clone stamping, and stitching. Taryn also was a huge help in helping figure out how to anchor the tree in place so it won’t drift off the page depending on the viewer’s browser.
Now show us your Glövites and Glösite
Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?
Keep calm. My mother has a saying, “Be cool. Trust the Universe. It’ll all work out in the end.” I tell myself this frequently. Go with your gut too. It usually knows you very well. And read A Practical Wedding. I’ve been a fan of this site since October 2008 (that’s 2 years prior to actually being engaged.) The amount of resources and information on tricky planning/sticky situations is truly awe-inspiring, as are the folks who write it, and those who read it.
What’s the biggest “say what?” moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?
I had had my eye on a particular JCrew gown for months, ever since I’d seen it in a featured wedding on 100LayerCake. When it came time to go dress hunting I was STOKED to be able to finally try it on! Then I went to the website and couldn’t find it. Then a misinformed JCrew customer service rep said it was discontinued.
*Commence surprised sadness/insane search for a used gown at 11pm on a Friday while my fiance was asleep on the couch next to me, watching some inane movie like Anchorman or whatever.*
Two weeks later I was flying to LA to try on a used gown I’d found on OnceWed that appeared to be my size. The night before I flew down I found out from JCrew that no, they weren’t discontinuing it and they were actually fully stocked. And, it was 30% off with free shipping. SAY WHAT?! I went to LA anyway. Tried on the used dress and even though I ended up not taking that particular one (hadn’t been dry cleaned and didn’t want to budge on price), I knew it was THE one. My MOH and I went straight to the local JCrew and ordered a new gown.
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