Christine Byers Vansaghi, former client and friend!
Thanks for chatting with us Christine!! Lets jump right in …
How are you enjoying married life? Is it what you expected?
Married life for us is somewhat not too different than single life. My husband and I were together for nearly 10 years before we got married. But it definitely feels like we truly are a unit now. Everything is shared and we make decisions with the words “we” and “us” instead of “I” and “we.” It’s great to have a partner like that.
What is your favorite thing about being married?
I think my favorite thing about being married is living with my best friend.
I know your wedding was over a year ago but do you remember what your favorite part of the day was?
My wedding truly was the best day of our lives and a day I must say I probably think of it way more than I should. But in the tough times, especially during the trying economic times, I find myself returning to that day and the happiness I felt. My favorite part of the day was walking up to my husband and seeing him turn around to see me for the first time. We decided to do pictures before the ceremony, so we had to see each other before the big moment. You arranged for us to see each other in such a beautiful setting at Olive Park. We wanted our wedding party to be there as well. Everyone broke out in spontaneous applause when my husband and I embraced. It meant so much that you walked me up to meet Tony!
What was your favorite “detail” about the wedding?
My favorite detail about the wedding was my flowers. I absolutely loved working with Kelly at Fleur, thank you for introducing us to her. The colors I selected for my wedding were kind of difficult to match, and the florist found these orchids that were absolutely amazing and beautiful. They are now my favorite flower and every time I see one I get a smile on my face.
Were there any surprises?
My parents surprised us with a carriage ride from the reception back to our hotel. It was a perfect ending to a seemingly perfect day. It gave my husband and I a chance to be alone and reflect on all that had just transpired. We truly felt like we were living in a dream.
Did you enjoy working with all of your vendors?
I did enjoy working with most of my vendors. My minister was very pushy, but you were right there to address the problem. I also wish my photographer would have adhered to our time line better (you created such a great, detailed timeline) and selected a better place to shoot our formal family portraits. But the photographer was not a vendor you recommended and neither was the minister. So, it figures they would be the ones that would turn out to have some issues.
What was your favorite place to shop for wedding items?
We did a lot of Internet shopping and there really wasn’t one place in particular that stood out. My favorite shopping experience was at Wedding Belles in Barrington. It’s a consignment shop where I found my wedding dress.
What was your favorite part of the planning process?
My favorite part of the planning process was selecting the flowers as well as the catering tastings. Fleur was extremely helpful and creative and Blue Plate was as well. Those companies were willing to do whatever it took to make sure I was satisfied and to get my business. I believe your input in both situations played a big role in their commitment to making sure I was comfortable and happy with everything.
If you could have changed anything what would it be?
I would have hired Greatest Expectations sooner and had you in on every decision I made about my vendors.
Any regrets?
My husband and I decided not to give a speech before the reception began thanking everyone for their contributions to making our special day everything that it was. We regret not doing that. We can’t even remember why we didn’t get up and say something, other than we were running a tad late and had toasts to get through.
When you look back, how was your actual wedding different than you had envisioned it being?
We thought it was better than we envisioned it to be. We couldn’t believe everything turned out the way we wanted it to and we both owe it to you, Heather. We’re sure there were fires that had to be put out along the way, but we’ll never know about them because you dealt with them all. All we have is the memories of the best day of our lives.
Do you remember how you felt the day after your wedding?
We left for our honeymoon at 5 a.m. the next morning and all we could do for the first few days was talk about how amazing the wedding was. To be honest, I actually felt depressed because it was all over. I felt that way for several weeks and still do sometimes when I hear of one of my friends getting engaged or going to another wedding. Working with Greatest Expectations made the experience of planning the wedding and the event itself so wonderful that I wish I could do it all over again! And I feel bad for girls when I hear them say, “I can’t wait for it to be over.” But I think it’s easy to feel that way when you don’t have someone to help you through the stress of dealing with vendors and planning.
What five words best describe working with Greatest Expectations?
Comforting, Enlightening, Fun, Dependable, Easy (she made everything seem easy and was easy to work with)
Thank you Christine, for taking some time out of your very busy schedule to chat with us. We truly enjoyed working with you and your wedding was amazing for all of us! Your continued friendship and support means the world to us!
Here is our favorite picture of Christine and Tony from their extra special day!
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