Cake!

Oh my. I am all caked out, but in a good way!

My mom and I made 120 cupcakes on Friday for a bridal shower that we went to on Saturday. I guess you can say it was my first big job. It took us all day. Literally. It was fun though and the end results really payed off. I forgot to take a video of it, but I did take lots of pictures. I made like 4 or 5 different frosting designs and added blue flowers to make everything pop! 

Today, after getting home from celebrating a birthday, I decided to make cake pops. I had the urge to also make a cake too so Minnie Mouse popped into my head. Below is a video describing what I used and briefly how I did it. It was so much fun! I did it all myself and will donate it to my new taste testers (aka my mom's coworkers). hahaha.

Wedding Venue #3 and #4

Joe and I visited the Signature Room.

I didn't take many photos of the view, but the Signature Room is on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building. The view is the skyline of Chicago. It is absolutely beautiful. I've been to the restaurant numerous times and they are fantastic, the food and the service.

This is a video I took quickly to view the space. 

Again, as you can see, the view out those windows are amazing. 

Imagine a wedding photo like that?

Pros:

1. The view.
2. It's classy. It will definitely fit the black and white wedding theme I want.
3. I think Joe likes it....it will be impressive. 

Cons:

1. It's expensive. It isn't the best place for a bride on a budget. 
2. We'd have to cut the budget to almost nothing for decor. I mean come on the decor is the skyline! This means though, that we can't put any of us into the decor like we would at Kitchen Chicago. 
3. No sit down dinner. To help with the cost, it would be either a cocktail reception or dinner but no drinks at all. Maybe Champagne to toast to.
4. It could not be in December, it is actually more expensive in December. Way more expensive. haha. I think it would also have to be on a Sunday. 
5. Parking fees - The guests would have to pay for their own parking. Parking downtown is either hard to find or expensive. 

Carnivale!

This place is fantastic. I went there for my 21st birthday.

The place was so pretty and colorful! I didn't take any pictures of my own of the room I liked but here are some photos I've found.

Here is the room I really liked when the manager? gave us a tour. 

It is called the Samba Room.

The place is super colorful but I love it. It has warm colors and it just feels like a party in there! 

They have picture frames on the walls that I can cover up with my own photos to mimic my engagement. 

Pros:

1. I love the colors. 
2. They have really good food here. 
3. There is no need for extra decor with all the color. 
4. Everything is included meaning food, tables, chairs, linen (unlike the loft type places).
5. Window view of the express way which is pretty cool.
6. Joe likes it!

Cons:

1. It is pricey 
2. I'd have to have it in the summer. December is more expensive. 
3. Is it too colorful? I couldn't have a black and white theme...?

melissaisaiphotography.com

Blah Blah uninspired

I just feel so down. These last two weeks have been stressful for me. Leaving my job has been the primary reason why I haven't been myself. I feel like there is so much on my plate with switching jobs, school, and just life. I did get a phone call from For Eyes though, and a tiny bit of my excitement for this job came back to me.

Stress has made my school work limp. Limp and uninspired. I had a critique today, and I saw my work. I'm just not happy with it. I could do better.

I am starting to feel happier, but to feel even better I'll post below my favorite piece from Graphic Design this semester.

It's Joe's mom's birthday so my night will be dedicated to that. I made cupcakes yesterday so it is my duty to deliver them with Joe and find her a nice gift. 

'till the next blog,

Melissa

A New Leaf - Wedding Venue #2

When I was searching for lofty type spaces in Chicago, I stumbled upon A New Leaf. The pictures I saw caught my attention, and I knew I had to see what it looked like in person. I'll talk about the pros and cons after the pictures. Again, you can get a better a feel about the place from the pictures. If you want to view their website, you can click here to get more information.

40 of these chairs and 8 tables are available for use. 

These are the stairs that lead to the dance floor.

Stairs again. I thought they looked cool. 

This is where Joe and I would put the dance the floor. It was large enough for sure! 

If you look at the previous picture you can see that there are two steps that go into a random hallway. 

There are a couple of windows, and I thought it made a good photo op. 

Hallway

This is the first floor in the front of the space. I thought it was another perfect photo op!

Dance floor again!

This is the first floor. 

There are stairs that lead to a second floor. (Not the dance floor, that is separate).

Stairs.

This is a video I took of the space. I think I showed the place best with this video. 

Ok so this place was nice. We knew from the moment we walked in, it was too small for a sit down dinner for 130 people. After that we kind of strolled around the place and took pictures. 

Pros:

1. It was nice and those tables/chairs were pretty.
2. Good photo op with the store front. 
3. The place is located in Lincoln Park. Since we want a Chicago city wedding, the location is perfect! 
4. Multiple floors can be beneficial. 
5. You get all floors as well as the courtyard garden. Good for smokers I guess? It wasn't breathtaking or anything, but perhaps it looks better in the summer? 

Cons:

1. The place was too small! After seeing Kitchen Chicago I realized it is possible to have a sit down dinner so A New Leaf turned me off. Even for a cocktail reception, the people would be scattered on any of the three floors!
2. The dance floor I talked about was completely cut off from the rest of the place! What if some people don't want to dance? I won't get to see them or pull them onto the dance floor! This was a big turn off. 
3. The place only has 40 chairs!!! Those chairs are so beautiful, but even for a cocktail reception I think I would like more then 40 chairs. 
4. You have to pick from their list of caterers. It is an extended list which I appreciated, but I don't like their list very much. 
5. No parking lot. This wouldn't be that big of a deal but Joe and I had a hard time finding parking for one car! Image a whole wedding party trying to find parking in the Winter! Yikes! That was a turn off. We are trying to save money so Valet is not something we want to consider and want to avoid if possible. The only parking garages are a few blocks away.

The price is neither a pro or con. It is a con when comparing it to Kitchen Chicago, but it isn't horrible. It is $3500 for a Sunday and $4000 for a Saturday night which is better for your budget then other lofts I've seen online. It really adds up for the bride on a budget when adding food from their list though. That is why we decided that we will not be having our wedding at A New Leaf.

Check out a fantastic photographer for your wedding day here!  

Goals for the summer

I've been so busy with school and getting a new job, wedding planning has come to a halt. 
There is just so much going on. I've been so overwhelmed. When I gave my job my two weeks notice, the stress started. So below are things I am looking forward to. Whenever I feel down the best thing to do is have hope for the future. 


The first thing I am looking forward to is my birthday! April 20th is just a couple of weeks away. I am looking forward to celebrating another year with family and my close friends. The following Saturday night will be a girl's night. A few of us will spend the night at a hotel and go out. Where? I am not so sure yet, but who cares? It's a mini vacation and I am looking forward to that. 


Summer! Summer means no school. It means walks in the summer breeze and finding new places in Chicago. I can't wait to shop along Michigan and State with my Paycheck from my new job! Summer means more wedding planning and shopping for my wedding dress! This takes me to my Summer Goals. I want to accomplish something this summer. I want it to be productive and still have a lot fun. So here is my list of things I want to accomplish. 

1. Start a healthier lifestyle of working out and eating better. Being engaged means wanting to look fabulous on my wedding day so the sooner I start, the better.
2. Be creative! I want to do a lot of art projects just because! 
1. I hope to take lots of pictures and have fun with photography.
2. I want to learn how to make jewelry!
3. Shop for a wedding dress! This is going to be super exciting, and very nerve wrecking. I can't wait though. 
4. Along with 3 comes the inevitable goal of wanting to get a lot of wedding planning done! 
5. Visit art galleries.... a lot of them! 
6. Open up my very own Etsy shop online. I want to sell invitations for all events. This is my biggest goal, but it is something I really want to accomplish. 
7. God
1.  To pull out my journal and write it down (sermons and notes from the Bible Book Club). I forget things, and the best way to remember or reflect on things later is to write it down.
8. Monkey in a Box - Cake decorating. I don't know exactly what my goal is for this, but I want to keep doing it actively over the summer.

I should be getting back to work now. Instead of doing Graphic Design work I've been typing this blog. HAHA! Back to work.

Search for the perfect venue! Kitchen Chicago

So far Joe and I have visited 3 venues.

I'm just going to talk about one today. That one is Kitchen Chicago.

I stumbled upon another bloggers blog. That Chicago blogger is BudgetBridesChicago.

She had found Kitchen Chicago and I knew that I had to check it out. I made an appointment to view the space with my fiance. Pictures can describe what I saw better then I can with words... so below are several pictures I took with my trusty iphone! 

The space has two floors. This is the view from the balcony/2nd floor.

This is where we were thinking of having a dance floor. 

HAHA that's Joe talking to the owner. 

I really liked the windows. I think some color lighting can set the mood.

First floor. (Those tables are available for use)

I loved the high ceilings!

The stairway can make a great platform for a speaker? Maybe?

Good photo op? I think so!

Taken with my iphone 4 fisheye lens.

Joe is eating the city. This window is in the hallway outside of the space where the bathrooms are.

This door looks way cooler in person. 

Good photo op #2? I think so again!

Me down by the elevators.

Fire escape also makes for a great photo. I am thinking the photographer can stand from the p.o.v that I took the picture from and Joe and I can hang out on the stairs.  

Around the corner. Another photo op. I am thinking grunge (real chicago) meets chic.

Joe and I are hoping we can have access to the roof. haha.

So as you can see there are plenty of great photo opportunities. Joe and I also really like the idea that we can put a lot of input into what goes on in the space. We can decorate it however we want. There are no restrictions on the space, and we can use whatever caterers/vendors we want. This is a really big perk. A lot of lofty type spaces have certain restrictions and you have to pick from their cater list which means food will be pricey. 

Ideas for the space? 

Food = Joe and I 100% if we pick Gino's East.

• Cheese sticks (my fav)
• Hot Wings (Joe's fav)
• Pizza - Stuffed crust of coarse (my fav which is also very Chicago)
• Fettucini Alfredo (Joe's fav)

Decor 

• Black and white
• Table seating - Instead of table numbers there will be pictures taken by myself on each table from different places in Chicago. Please be seated at the blue line please. HAHA! 
• In the hallway (where that cool door/window is) we are thinking about having chairs and pictures on the wall to represent the way he purposed to me! haha

There is also another room not pictured. There is another bathroom in that extra space. There is a blue coach. We are thinking that we could put a photo-booth in that spot. It may be a DIY photo-booth with a digital camera on a tripod, props?, and a backdrop. 

Those are all the ideas I have for now. I am uber excited to see all these ideas and plans to fall into place.

I don't know if this is the place Joe and I will pick, but I do like how it inspired Joe and I to get creative...

the best part? The space is only $2000! Yeah, you heard me correctly. 

'Till the next blog, 

Melissa

melissaisaiphotography.com

First post! What's on my mind?!

Weddings are on my mind!

Hooray to the first post!

Getting engaged was the best moment of my life. It was amazing. Joe is everything I could ask for and more.

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           The ring is absolutely gorgeous.

Planning a wedding? Well, that is the hard part. It's been fun so far, don't get me wrong, but it has opened my eyes to the wedding business. They weren't joking around when they say the average bride pays well over $20,000. My budget is to stay under that. Way under that. Is it possible? I sure hope so!

The most expensive part/ most time consuming (in my opinion) part of planning a wedding is the venue. I am a bride in Chicago and it sounds easy right? Big city lots of beautiful places, but those beautiful places also come with a hefty price tag. I've seen some venues charge over $150 a plate per person! If you multiply $150x130people that is almost 20g in itself!

My goal is have a wedding that screams Joe and Melissa. I want to have fun.
I do have a few things I do not want. As a graphic design student I want to create my own invitations. I do not want them to look anything like a wedding invitation. I do not want chair covers. Why not just have pretty chairs? Why decorate them with hideous chair covers? Finally, I do not want my wedding to look/be in a banquet hall.

This is going to be a challenge, but I am so excited to plan my wedding with Joe right by my side.