Venue Search
I’m back from Michigan, having seen the wedding venue options for the grand matrimonial event for WordNerd and IP! I’d say you’re cordially invited, Internets, but our budget’s already a bit stretched. Perhaps I can pipe you in via video teleconference?
Kidding aside, the visit was fruitful in that a) we’re on the verge of deciding on a venue (with our least likely going in now our strongest candidate), 2) I got to taste the best cake in the world and think I’m going to go with this baker (I’ve had other area cakes and nothing’s as memorable as the one I had on Saturday), and iii) I was able to narrow down my dress selection from 22 to a mere seven thanks to help from my mom and sister.
The wedding venue choices are now narrowed down to two. In terms of price they are identical thanks to an extra rental fee from the hotel we’re considering. Of the two, I believe the non-hotel option is best; the rental fee is hefty but we get a lot in return, including a room for me in which to get ready. It has more of a “WordNerd-IP” feel to it — a space for an outdoor wedding, a space for a reception that benefits from great natural lighting, more of a “home” than a reception hall. My sister wasn’t thrilled about it, but I’m wondering if there’s a bit of a disconnect between the two of us thanks to being an event planner myself — I see a hotel and all I see is a place of work (wait, that sounds bad, doesn’t it?). My friends, who visited the site with me a day after my initial site visit, were a more enthusiastic about the place; because they’ve also worked in events, perhaps they’ve also had their fill of hotels. While my sister and I didn’t agree on the space, I have this to say: the woman is invaluable when it comes to bouncing off fashion, color and thematic ideas. She is one creative lady.
The low-lights of this weekend were the following: 1) not being able to find a mariachi band to listen to; we’re still not set on having a mariachi play our wedding, but exploring some options would’ve been nice b) the little atheist-Catholic exchange, which also provoked an online response at FriendlyAtheist.com — while I’m all about defending my beliefs to my mother, I wasn’t that amused at people calling her a control freak; and iii) running into my least favorite people in the world (besides John McCain and Sarah Palin, that is) while seeking out the above-mentioned mariachi band. I asked my mother to please not mention the wedding at that point, and it wasn’t mentioned. But what horrible luck. I’m just glad they were with a group of people and I actually didn’t have to interact with them other than a nod of the head.
The goals for this week are to decide on a venue and to head to the local printer to take a look at their Pantone book — I need to match up the swatch colors that my bridesmaids and I have unanimously decided on over the weekend. Once the venue and date are decided on, I’ll open up the wedding website. I won’t send out any save-the-dates at this point, but I will let people who are definitely invited in on the website address. After these minor tasks, there’s the issue of finally setting up dates in which to go and try on wedding dresses. I have to be an ultimate girly-girl and admit — I am absolutely dying to do this. I had originally planned to ask to see Pronovias gowns only, but I’m now open to other types of dresses. Depending on our wedding venue, certain styles would lends themselves better to the overall ambience.
There will be goals for next week once the date and location are set, including: contacting photographers, celebrants, musicians and/or DJs, and of course, not going absolutely insane at the thought of all the planning that’s yet to be done. But hey, I’m a professional. A professional who will leave the day-of worries in the hands of another professional come August 2009!