Cleveland Rocks!

Jess heads home for the first meetings with her vendors.

By Jessica Solloway

Last week I went home for my best friend's wedding shower, and for a whirlwind of appointments for my own wedding. Between meetings with the florist, the cake maker and animated ooohing and aaaahing over serving platters, I felt like I was transported out of my normal life and deposited (via Southwest Airlines) into wedding world. 


Since clearly I've never done this before, I didn't know what to expect. I think I've mentioned this before in my other posts, but I am not the kind of bride that has the crystal clear vision of what each centerpiece, cocktail napkin, or tier on the cake should look like. I know what my style is, but I am not obsessing over every minute detail. (Should I be?) Maybe that's because I'm not in that phase of wedding mode yet, but I like how relaxed things are so far. (Talk to me in three months and I'm sure my tune will change.)

The first stop was to Blooms, to meet with my florist Arne. He did the flowers for my best friend Rachel's wedding in December, so I had seen his work and met him before. He's low key, thoughtful, has a great sense of humor and beautiful taste. I felt totally at ease putting the look and feel of my wedding in his hands. I explained to him that I wanted my wedding to feel warm and romantic and I knew he "got" everything about the vibe I was going for. My mom and I spent over 2 hours with him just talking and walking through every step of the wedding process and how his work would be incorporated. And the coolest thing is, he will actually put together sample tables for me to see before the wedding. I cant wait to go back for my next meeting!

Then it was off to my very first cake tasting. We heard wonderful things about a woman named Pat Hoose who has been doing wedding cakes for 30 years. We went to her house, tasted several types of her delicious cakes, and looked through her book. I was able to determine what kind of look I wanted my cake to be. We'll probably meet again to go over more details, but just looking at other cakes she had done, I was sold! And of course I ate every bite of cake .. obvi. (I was off the wedding diet that day.)

Then we went to The Ritz so I could finally SEE where I am getting married. And it's beautiful. Although it's a big hotel, it still has that cozy, but elegant vibe. And it's right in the heart of downtown Cleveland. Now, before you start bashing The Cleve, it's really a great city with awesome restaurants (Iron Chef Michael Symon owns a few), a cool history (aside from that unfortunate incident when the river caught on fire), eclectic neighborhoods, and amazing sports teams. Hello .. have you seen the Cavs lately?

So, to sum up...I am very lucky that I didn't have to go to sixteen different vendors before finding people I love (I think I'd go nuts if I had too many decisions to make). I have still not reached Bridezilla status. I do however still love cheese. Next on the agenda is getting my save the dates out which are really cool. My mom works with a graphic designer that whipped up an idea my fiance and I had.

I had a great time at home and am looking forward to the next time I go back to Cleveland and meet with the vendors again! And best of luck to Sara whose wedding is quickly approaching!