TBH Tina

Wedding Expo Tips You Need to Read

Before we even got engaged we saw that there was going to be a wedding expo happening nearby. We decided it would be fun to go and to even ask our moms to come with us. We know, we know.. we weren’t doing things in order and that’s totally okay.

Before we went to the expo I did a lot of research on tips to manage our way through. I searched on Pinterest, I posted in Facebook wedding groups, and I did some Googling. Taking all of that and our actual experience from the expo, I wanted to share my top tips – which I think are really important to share.

  1. Make a new email address – This will really help for a number of reasons. The first is that it’s easy to keep everything in one place for all things wedding related. It will be easy for you and your partner to access individually, keep all proposals and contracts in one place, and to use it as a “spam” email for vendors. Even if you don’t voluntarily give your email address to a vendor, it’s likely they’re buying everyone’s information from the expo organizers.
  2. Make a new phone number – Ok, you’re probably like, “What? Just go get a new number?” No, not really, sort of.. Relating back to #1, if you make your new email address a gmail account, you can use Google Voice to get a new number for free. You can text through it and any calls sent/received will show as the Google number. It’s so easy too. All you will need to do is download the Google Voice app and it will walk you through choosing a new number and logging in. This will come in handy when your information is bought and/or you reject a vendor proposal and they just keep calling you.
  3. Research vendors ahead of time – Depending on where you are in your planning process, it really helps to research the vendors. Make a list of what each vendor does, look them up to see if they’re your style, then decide if you’ll want to take the time to stop by which vendors and in what order.
  4. Make pre-made address labels with your information – When signing up at vendor booths, whether it be for more information, discounts, raffles, they’re going to ask you for the same information. They’ll want to know your name, email, phone, zip code, and wedding date. I purchased some Avery return address labels, put the above information, and printed them at home. This helped and saved so much time when booths were packed but I didn’t want to pass up on receiving more information. Side note, if you don’t have a specific wedding date yet, you can always say say a time frame (Fall 2021, May 2020) or you haven’t decided!
  5. Enter all the raffles – Seriously, if you are remotely interested in something, enter the raffle! I entered every. single. raffle of vendors I was interested in not expecting to win anything.. but then we did! We won time with the CUTEST photo booth bus.
  6. Have fun! – You’re likely going to the expo with someone or some people who are close to you. Take this time to get ideas and have fun with people you care about. We all know wedding planning can be stressful but if there’s a chance to take some of that stress away, you should.

I want to share a specific story on why the first two tips are important (at least to me). After the expo I started getting phone calls that I won a free boudoir photoshoot. I then started to get emails and text messages too. I opted out of the calls, texts, and emails so I thought I was good. But then, I got MAIL, SNAIL MAIL. Not only that but since my mom had come to expo with us, she started to get the same as well. So it was clear that everyone “wins” to them but also, I find it highly inappropriate to be contacting people who not only opted out but people who chose not to voluntarily give you their information.

Minus the whole boudoir thing, we had SO much fun. Both of our moms were able to attend with us and we were able to spend the afternoon with them. For me, I want to make sure both of our moms are included as much as possible. I’m an only child and Sean is the first of his siblings to get married, so I know both of our moms are super excited.

I hope you all have fun with your planning process as well and make this time so memorable for you, your loved one, and your families. I hope the tips come in handy too.

If you have been to an expo before let us know what tips you have that you think others can benefit from as well!

Until next time,

[Take Me to the Movies] Brittany Runs a Marathon

“It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

I decided to run a half marathon. Not because of this movie but because I love my boyfriend. He’s a big runner and since we met he’s been asking me to run at least one race with him. I basically kept telling him, “ok, one day” or “eventually I will” or just kept giving him some other push off response.

I love Disney, Disney World, and all things Disney. So what does this have to do with running? Well, Disney has a program called RunDisney where they hold races at different parks. They have 5ks, 10ks, half marathons, full marathons, and some crazy challenges that include doing a mix of the aforementioned. One day I’m sitting at work and get a notification that the Disney Princess races opened registration. I immediately text him asking if he wanted to do a 10k together. I knew he’d say yes but didn’t want to click register until he actually responded. Well, when he responded the 10k was sold out. The high of Disney magic and love came over me and so I said, “let’s do the half”. And that’s how I decided to run a half marathon.

The race isn’t until late February 2020. So while I train I joined a bunch of Disney Facebook groups for runners. One day someone posted the trailer for an upcoming movie called Brittany Runs a Marathon and I thought, wow this looks funny and motivational, I’ll watch it. I watched it and here’s my review.

Screenplay/Originality – This movie is loosely based on a real Brittany. Writer and Director Paul Downs Colaizzo was actually roommates with Brittany when she decided to change her life and start running. He was inspired by her and decided to write this and in a way, made it a bit of a love letter to her and honestly, millions of movie goers. It’s definitely original and the screenplay is fantastic but there were just two points that I didn’t love, love so I couldn’t give it a perfect score.
Rating – 4.5

Acting – Perfect acting. Jillian Bell was the perfect actress for this role. She really embodied the character and hit every part of her storyline perfectly. The way she takes us along on the ride for Brittany’s personal transformation was just so real and relatable. Now I will say that Jillian Bell looks nothing like the real Brittany but this is an instance where the movie character doesn’t need to look like the real character, minus that the actress starts out a bit overweight (naturally or with prosthetics) since that’s such a crucial point and the reason this film came to be. Also, a huge shoutout to Jillian Bell who actually started to run and lost 40 lbs while working on this film to truly understand the real Brittany’s transformation and journey. Every other actor was also a great match to their role. I’m not sure if anyone represented a real person in real Brittany’s life, but I liked them all for different reasons.
Rating – 5

Entertainment Factor – I thought this was going to be an LOL cutesy and inspiring movie. I did laugh and it was inspiring, but it was also real. There are some hard hitting scenes in the film. Every emotion was touched in this film, purposefully and so eloquently. It really makes you understand why people say “it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon” about so many different things in life. Things take time, life is a journey, going from zero to marathon is a journey, and so is this film – a well-rounded trip of emotions.
Rating – 5

Audio – There isn’t any over the top audio in this film but what there was, was good. The music selections were great and fitted at the right time.
Rating – 5

Visuals – I’m not usually a fan of shaky camera angles but the few that are in this film are done at the right moments. There aren’t any annoying camera techniques either.
Rating – 5

Trailer – When I saw the trailer originally I didn’t remember it showing anything emotional or serious. Rewatching it now there’s a little blurb. I think it was hidden in the fact that, for me, it came off as being more comedic, which in a lot of cases it is. Honestly, the trailer doesn’t do the film justice. It makes it seem like there are going to be some dull moments in the film which isn’t the case since the movie flows quite well. Because I didn’t think this was the greatest trailer, this is my lowest rated category for this film.
Rating – 4

Overall, this is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. I was very, very impressed by it. In the end, it received a 4.75 on my rating scale.

Brittany Runs a Marathon is currently on a limited release. They’re planning to open in more theaters depending on how it does in the ones it’s already opened in. If one of your local theaters is showing this film, please go see it. It’s really a good one.

Until next time,

[No Reservations] Patsy’s – Great American Restaurants

“Food is common ground, a universal experience.” – James Beard

If you’re from Northern VA you’ve probably heard of the Great American Restaurants (GAR) family or at least one of their restaurants. They currently have 13 restaurants – 12 being in Northern VA and the last in Gaithersburg, MD. Sweetwater Tavern and Coastal Flats are probably their most well-known with each having three locations.

GAR is not only known for the food but for their great service and for being a great company to work for. They’ve even been on Washington Post’s Top Workplaces list for the past five years. In 2018 they came in at Number 2 for large companies.

Randy and Patsy Norton are the patriarchs of these fantastic restaurants and the family that leads them, and after 50 years together and almost just as long in the hospitality industry, they’ve finally agreed (with much persuasion from their children) to open two new restaurants with their names.

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