Bathroom Burglers

My mom and I had an amazing meeting with my florist, Viv at Petal Play Designs, yesterday. I came equipped with my laptop so that I could show her all the photos that I have been collecting, as well as my room layout from Perfect Table Plan. We walked through our plans for the day and listed all the items that we will need to set every table. Viv is very conscious of my budget and so, to help offset some costs, I walked out of there with a long list of things to buy and to do. I am so excited that I can actually start moving on some of these things!

The three of us talked for a long time about bathroom baskets. My reception venue is owned by the Lincoln Park Zoo and the bathrooms have a bit of a public outdoor restroom feel to them. They have tried really hard to use nice finishes, but you can't avoid the floor to ceiling tile. My mom has taken on the task of warming them up with candles and little floral arrangements as well as amenity baskets. Viv agreed to supply the decor and to help my mom collect any extra amenities at the end of the evening. Thats when she laid the bad news on us.

A friend from high school also got married at Cafe Brauer and used my florist. She borrowed some fancy basket from her mom and purchased soap and lotions from Anthroplogie to dress up the restrooms. When Viv went back to collect her items at the end of the night, everything was gone- as in the ENTIRE basket, all of her toiletries and the little vases that she had purchased for arrangements. I had assumed that the mouthwash and tampons would be gone, but I never thought that someone would take the container! Viv was under the impression that the catering staff had cleaned her out, but she wasn't positive. She stressed that we shouldn't put anything in the bathroom that is valuable. We hadn't had anything in mind, but it really bugged me that I would have to worry about that.

I saw Miss Sundae's cute baskets and I thought I would just throw this out there as a word of caution. For my venue, I have to rent everything and so I open myself up to theft quite a bit more than someone using a hotel or banquet hall. I am a little more worried about my guests not being able to use my mom's carefully planned baskets because they are MISSING! Any words of advice or horror stories to share?