I now present you with my carpet aisle (no judging, please, haha):

(Photo by Tom McCall Photography)

Are you doing anything out of the ordinary you are a bit weary about?

Lovebug proposed on a Wednesday and we went back to reality on Monday. It was a lovely fairy tale. Here, let me show you:

Ahhh, memories I’ve always told myself that I would never be a bridezilla. And it seemed that this would be perfect. He proposed two years in advance of when we had discussed getting married so we had all the time in the world to plan! Right?

Well it seems that as soon as the fairy tale was over I went into some kind of hysteria about finding the perfect location for our wedding. One might think that I would be more calm and cool given the time frame. One would also be wrong. I have no idea why I got so crazed about this, but I did.  After one measly week of looking at venues I was so worried about where we were going to get married. Looking back, it’s pretty frickin’ ridiculous.

Here’s a sampling of the hysteria I went through and the places that I looked at.  Lovebug and I wanted to get married outside. Since we’re both from the same area, we wanted to get married in the D.C. area, preferably not too far from Southern Maryland.  I looked into a couple vineyards in the area, most notably Ingleside Vineyards in Virginia and Running Hare in Maryland. Both of these options are completely gorgeous and if you’re looking in the D.C. area, I would highly recommend. They didn’t seem right for us as a couple, however, because Lovebug doesn’t drink. It would have been a selfish choice on my part.

In my craziness, Lovebug found a helpful website that included lists of great places to check out in the area that seemed to fit our style.  Finally, a friend of mine who is organizationally talented sat down with me and made up a spreadsheet with all the venues I had in mind. I would seriously recommend this to any and everyone. The spreadsheet included things like the venue name, price, capacity, time allotted, distance, things included with the venue (like linens, tables, catering, etc.), whether or not a tent was included, and what the plan B was if it rained. It was an amazing lifesaver.

The places we ended up seriously considering were Mount Vernon, Sotterly Plantation, Woodlawn Plantation, Old South Country Club, and Mount Airy Mansion. I set up times to tour the places, starting with Mount Vernon.  We loved Mount Vernon but had a few problems with it.  First, the ceremony site, while beautiful could only hold 120 guests, a bit too tight for our 180 guest list. Also, the plan B for rain was in the auditorium, not exactly picturesque. Let me say though, that the food was amazingly yummy. The restaurant does a great job.

Next I had set up to see Woodlawn Plantation and Mount Airy.  When I called to set up a time to see Mount Airy, the woman there, Mary, said that she had to have me come before I went to see Woodlawn because she just knew that I would be “wowed.”  So my mother and I popped in over there just to quickly look before heading to Woodlawn.

Wow. I knew immediately that this is what I wanted for our wedding.  No other venue could have been more perfect. The plan B for rain was absolutely breathtaking and the mansion itself is just wonderful. When my mother and I left there, we both said there was no point in going anywhere else.  We did honor our appointment with Woodlawn, although all I did was think about Mount Airy the whole time.

Lesson learned: stop freaking out about something that will work itself out in the end.  Hopefully, I take this wisdom with me throughout the rest of planning.

Before:

After:

We ended up getting around 60 yards of this fabric, which is really just liner.  Its a gold color, with a slight shimmer to it.  We just used Velcro to fasten it to itself, around the railing.  We are also covering all of the banisters around the park.

What are some of the things that you are doing to to enhance your ceremony/reception venues?

Here are a few pics of our decor, with a special thanks to Charlene Lopez at the Key Largo Hilton, Blooming Design and Events and Edda’s Cake Designs for making our wedding an absolute dream.  The creativity that went into designing this amazing scene was well beyond our wildest dreams.

Our wedding cake… I couldn’t stop starring at it, I was just so obsessed with it!

I loved this centerpiece design because I felt like it was bright, colorful and refreshing.  We had floating votive candles in blue water, a few smaller floral centerpieces and a larger center floral design with a round style vase floating in a square vase.

A view of the amazing natural light.  I had originally wanted white chivari chairs, but due to budget constraints went with the white wood folding chairs… personally I thought they still looked great!

Close up of the incredible centerpiece!

A bar shot

And just because I love it, one more close up of the cake!

Thanks to Emily Harris Photography for capturing every single detail so I can relive it every day!

Thanks to the Key Largo Grande for providing a vision and such an amazing backdrop for Blooming Designs and Events to work with! And last but definitely not least, thanks to Edda’s for a beautiful… and tasty cake!

I was pretty mad. After a new contract and some back and forth we still have our photographer.

Photo from celebratewithstyle.com

Then in our reception hall search we called a certain place and asked if our date, May 28th was available. Yes, they said, it is available. So we take an evening to visit and talk with the manager. And we asked, are you sure you have our day? He assured us that they did have it available.

The next day, Lilac Dude received a call from the man we spoke with. He said they have a monthly event that he forgot about and that our date was actually not available. Would we consider choosing another date?  I was livid! We asked TWICE and were assured TWICE that our date was open. And now they want us to CHANGE it?

Don’t these people know that May 28th is the most important day of 2011?!?!

Photo borrowed from Gardenia Bud's blog on Save the Dates

As a bride I consider my wedding date to be special, it is a very important day to me, my groom, our families and our friends. It is just another day to vendors, a day that they may or may not have scheduled to work.

I think that what makes a successful vendor is putting your actions where your words are. When your literature or website tells me how special my day is, your people and your practices should too.

Right now I’m feeling like people involved in my wedding could care less about what an important day it is. Have you ever felt like this?

Wedding Hits:

*Our Photographer - I knew from the moment I saw her website and then again when I met her she was the one for our wedding.  I simply cannot wait to see the rest of our photographs.  This was one of my areas where I did not try to save any $ on and just booked the photographer I liked as the photographs are probably one of the most important aspects of the wedding to me.

*Our Wedding/Reception Site- Everything at the venue was amazing.  They accommodated our last minute need to move inside (due to rain…see my misses below) .  Their banquet manager, Courtney,  was FABULOUS and so was their entire staff.  The food was AMAZING and we received so many wonderful compliments.

*Our Candy Buffet – I am so glad I did it.  Everyone was so impressed by it.  My ring bearer (nephew) loved it the most…he walked around all night with various candy items.

*My Hair – I loved my hair and my daughter’s hair.  Our hair stylist, Sarah, from Salon Icon in Virginia Beach definitely did a great job.

*Our Flowers- Claire at Bella Flora was amazing.  Her shop is so accommodating and affordable.  When I saw my bouquet and centerpieces they were EXACTLY as we had discussed and how I had envisioned.

Wedding Misses:

*Our Beach Wedding- I knew not everything would go perfectly.  Our wedding was set for 6:15 and it started raining at 5…. as I was getting dressed and getting my make-up done I kept getting all sorts of phone calls and texts.  At one point they had closed the entire beach and nobody was allowed on it.  At about 6, my groom and I just decided to scratch the beach wedding (which forced us to lose about $650.00 in chair rental fees…..waaah), but with the uncertainty of the weather and the beach opening/closing, we decided it was best.

*The Wedding Cupcakes – Lets just say I hated the frosting (which I had tasted before and didn’t appear to be the same).  My colors were hot pink and lime green.  Icing colors were to be white, hot pink, and lime green.  Let’s just say my cupcakes were not lime green.  I am still trying to get over this big wedding miss and trying to decide how to word my email to this vendor.

We don’t leave for our honeymoon for two more weeks (BEST wedding advice I received) so I will have some time to do my more detailed posts.  All in all it was FABULOUS and we are so happy to be married.  We had an amazing day with lots of amazing friends and family.

Since the wedding was held outside, the guests were mobilized inside the Pickering Barn. The receiving line was short, but sweet. The guests only got to say hello to the bride and groom; no need for long waits at the receiving line.

As we waited at the receiving live, we got to sign the bride and groom’s quilt. In other words, this was their version of a wedding guest book. I thought this was a lovely idea!

Once we were greeted by the bride and groom, I took advantage of the moment and got a picture of the newlyweds. They are a good looking couple!

Afterwards, we found the guest table at the entrance of the venue and left our gift for the couple.

And then, we were surprised by the ceiling. Their colors were 2 shades of green and yellow. I have to say that the execution of this color combination was fantastic. I was so impressed on how they decorated the ceiling. Amazing!

Then, we noticed how big the venue is. This was the reception room. The opposite side of the barn was the dance room which I will show you on a future post.

Towie Bear and I were speechless because of the beauty and versatility of this wedding venue. It is always a breath of fresh air to find local gems in our community. I am looking forward to sharing more pictures of our friend’s wedding. Stay tuned! 

The couple picked the Pickering Barn from Issaquah, WA. They selected a fantastic site to get married. This facility is able to hold 400 people. It has two big rooms inside the barn. One room was for the reception and the second one was for dancing.

Photo from the City of Issaquah, WA.

Their wedding was held outside and as you can see it was bright sunny day.

They had a group of violinists playing while the guests were being seated and anxiously waiting for the bridal party.

Then, the groom walks down the aisle and his waiting for his beautiful bride.

Here is the good looking bridal party waiting for the blushing bride. The ladies were wearing the a stunning green dress. The groom was wearing a black tuxedo with a white vest, while the groomsmen had a yellow vest.  Those were the primary colors of their wedding: green and yellow.

I got a snapshot of the flower girl, but I missed the ring bearer in this picture since they were practically running down the aisle.

However, I took advantage of the first I opportunity I got and took a picture of the little man. He looked so cute!

And then the moment we were all waiting for. The bride and groom together at the altar. As they were exchanging their vows, Towie Bear and I were so honored to be there because they make a great couple and we could see that they truly love each other.

And then, we end the ceremony with a sweet kiss.

Photo taken at the 2010 Seattle Wedding Show

Wow! There is so much to do. The good news is that I am getting things done. This month I have a couple of meetings with different vendors. I’m trying to remind myself of the following details for each meeting:

1. Florist

-Walk through the wedding venue. I will give her a copy of the seating chart. This will make it easy for her to display all of the flower arrangements before the wedding.

Photo taken at the January 2010 ABC Meeting in Renton, WA

-Determine the placement of the wedding archway. Since we are getting married on the dance floor of our ballroom, I don’t want our archway to be too close from the reception area.

-Go over the flower plan that we discussed on our first meeting. Some flowers will be used twice in our wedding. For example the archway will be used first on our ceremony and then it will be placed on the cake table for decoration.

2.   Photographer

-Walk through the wedding venue. I want to show her what Towie Bear and love about our venue. Our photographer can start gathering ideas in advance of where to take pictures and what angles would work best.

-I already gave her a shot list, but it’s nice to go over it on site prior to the wedding.

-Also, I would like to discuss the policies that our wedding venue has regarding photography. The most important one is to not step on the golfing grounds, especially while others are playing.

3.   Special Events Coordinator with my Wedding Planners

-This is the most important meeting of them all.

-We will go over the Banquet Event Orders.

-Timing will also be discussed. The Special Events Coordinator asked us to give her staff some time in advance to prep for certain parts of the wedding such as toasts, cake cutting, etc.

-The seating chart is an imperative element of our wedding. My wedding planners and I have some really cool ideas regarding the set up for cocktail hour. If the weather is nice, we could have the appetizers and beverages outside on the patio. This way, the changeover inside the ballroom will go more smoothly.

-Our wedding venue has a storage area. It would be nice to go over the boxes that we have and where we could place them during the event.

These and many other details should be discussed in advance. I understand that some details will be missed. However, if I communicate as much as I can, I am hoping for a good wedding day!

It is so affordable compared to everywhere else (it would cost $600 for all day), and it has that attitude I want. Pure, unadaltered outdoors.

Then Orchid Dude and I went to one of our favorite getaway spots this weekend. And found out it would cost one hundred dollars to rent it all day and all night as long as it was a weekday.

This is an example of the creek. Cold, clear water, natural gravel, beautiful scenery. This is perfect. I’m just not sure if I should change my plans or if I can pull off a wedding at an uncultivated piece of land. There is only land and bathrooms, I would have to provide speakers, chairs, electricity, everything. But it is so beautiful it makes my heart swell.

The seating chart was a part of the planning process that I wasn’t looking forward to. And unfortunately, if you have a specific vision and you want your vendors to deliver your dream wedding, then you need to have a seating chart in place.

I designed the following seating chart using M’s (Martha Stewart) wedding tools section on her website. I was able to play around this feature and virtually design how our wedding venue will look like on a logistical standpoint.

Maga Bud's Seating Chart with Martha Stewart Wedding tools

You can take a tour of her seating chart feature by clicking here. With my seating chart, I am able to identify where the following tables will be displayed:

1. Ceremony Kit

2. Head Table

3. Cake

4. Guest Book

5. Gifts

6. DJ’s equipment

7. Kid’s table

We decided to have a kid’s table with no decorations, just board games.

8. Appetizers

9. Beverages

10. Buffet

11. Bar

A well planned wedding takes time. I strongly recommend for you to design your seating chart in advance and share it with you venue and wedding planners.

Image from www.almansorcourt.com

It was imperative for me to sit down and go through every details of the banquet event order. I was so grateful that our Special Events Coordinator emailed us both forms in a word document. This made it easy for me to edit or add any missing details.

Image from http://www.bps-catering.cz

On the BEO, you’ll most likely have the following information:

1. The amount of money you’ve already paid the venue which is the deposit plus any other payments. Please make sure the total you paid is accurate.
2. Arrival time for staff and guests. The arrival time is a key piece of information because it tells you when your vendors can access the venue for set up.
3. If you are having a plated dinner like us for the rehearsal dinner, please review the total number of plates ordered. The number of attendants you give to the venue a year before the wedding may have changed.
4. If you are doing a walk through, then make sure they set up the room ceremony style.
5. If your siblings have babies, then request high chairs for them.
6. Make sure the colors on your linen requests are accurate too!
7. If you have wedding planners, please make sure they are listed as the day of contact. You don’t want the banquet staff asking you about something that you don’t remember and don’t want to go over on your wedding day.
8. Also, make sure that the timing of events goes according to the wedding day schedule that your wedding planners designed. I am referring to the ceremony, cocktail hour, buffet, toasting, etc.

These and many other details are extremely important to have clear between you and your venue. Good luck!

Tlaquepaque Chapel

Thankfully when on holiday in Sedona, we vacationed at resort that was walking distance to a quaint little Spanish-town replica. It was everything I ever imagined and much more. A quaint Spanish chapel with a large mural lit with candles and old wooden pews. What’s more is that it fit into my fiancé’s idea of a small wedding as it would limit our guest list to what we could fit in the chapel. The chapel seats 45 and we would have 7 people on the altar (2 bridesmaids, 2 groomsmen, the 2 of us, and the minister).

Stay tuned to hear about the beautiful reception venue. . .

The view from our Hyatt suite

The gown

DIY hair flowers

DIY USC garter

The bouquet

MOH and bridesmaid bouquets

The Boutonniere

DIY flower petal holders

Gazebo flowers

All pictures taken by Kris Labang.

More “details” to come I promise!

From CrawDaddyCove.com

Of course we knew going into it that we had planned our wedding during hurricane season, but the discounts were a little blinding.  We purposefully chose our weekend, the first weekend of hurricane season, hoping that given the history of the Keys, we would be fine.  We also chose a location, the Key Largo Hilton, that had amazing indoor spaces in case of rain and storms that can typically pop up in the afternoon hours at the beach.  With that being said, I do think it is a great idea for brides to look into wedding insurance.

Think of all the planning, all the details, every little thing that goes into your wedding… Did you know that wedding insurance can cover:

No Dress

Lost Deposits

Lost Rings

Severe Weather

Transportation Shutdown

Ruined Photos

Call to Duty

Damaged Gifts

Sudden Illness

and so much more!

I have done some research, and thought I would provide you with some options.

Travelers Insurance has a wedding protector plan

WedSafe by AON

Fireman’s Fund has Weddingsurance

So, who’s got wedding insurance? Do you think it is needed?

The Pier House at high tide

Both Nick and I had our eyes open looking for locations in PA for our wedding for some time, and nothing stood out. Shortly after seriously considering the Outer Banks as a viable option, we stumbled upon the Kitty Hawk Pier. As a child, I would often go to the Kitty Hawk Pier with my father while he fished. The pier had been built in the 50’s and was a public fishing pier until 2003 when Hurricane Isabel tore through Kitty Hawk. The pier was closed until 2006 when a Hilton Garden Inn was built on the property, and the Kitty Hawk Pier was renovated. Aside from the stunning concept of having our wedding reception “on the ocean”, the ballroom is beautiful and everything we could have wanted. We fell in love with it. And I couldn’t be more excited to think that this is where we’ll be getting married. This is “it”, and we couldn’t be more pleased.It was our first step in our wedding planning. We signed the contract in September and, wow, what a rush! Did I mention my parents even came to the Outer Banks on their honeymoon. The island’s down there hold so many happy memories; I’ve always called it my second home. And now it will hold even more positive experiences.

Moon dude and I at our reception location

Here are some pics!

Dogwood’s tips for choosing the right beach:

1. All Access. First and foremost we wanted easy access for our guests which meant a location within a reasonable distance of an airport was key.  We chose to keep it all within an hour of the closest airport.
2. Cut the Cost. Of course, planning a wedding on a budget means you have to find a budget friendly place.  This was important for not just the wedding costs but for our guests as well.
3. Rain Check. Once we got those two things out of the way my practicality kicked in! Next item… a place with a good rain plan. We wanted to make sure that the location was not only beautiful on the outside, but also on the inside incase of the “r” word.
4. Beach Bums. Since this all hinged around getting married on the beach, of course we had to make sure that the beach was great! Keeping in mind the budget, we decided to go with a place that had its own natural décor and in not much need of much else but the two of us and some vows.
5. Keep em’ entertained. As with any vacation you always need activities.  I am completely comfortable relaxing in a hammock for hours on end with a good book, but we had to keep in mind our guests.  We needed a place that could keep everyone happy, entertained and enjoying life as much as we are.

Can’t wait to share our fantastic destination with you in Part 2!

As I mentioned in a previous post, having a wedding in Washington, D.C. seemed easy at first with all the gorgeous museums and monuments around town. However, the more we started looking into various venue options – including museums, historical homes, and organizations – our choices actually seemed pretty limited. Since we were really trying to avoid hotels, we spent weeks searching high and low for the perfect spot and I’m happy to report that we’ve found a venue that is the perfect combination of size, beauty, location, and most importantly price. Drum roll please…The Carnegie Institute.

The venue is split up into separate rooms (something we were really trying to avoid at first), but it’s set up so that all our guests will sit in the same room, the ballroom, and the band/dancing/drinks will be set up in the absolutely beautiful rotunda.  The Carnegie can hold up to 200 people (it’s a squeeze) so, even though we’re hoping to keep our number to around 175, if more people do end up showing up, we wont be in too much trouble.

Other AMAZING things about the Carnegie:

1. Its right in Dupont circle, which is really central and a fun neighborhood.  It gives us plenty options to go out post reception as there are numerous bars around there.
2. It does not cost an arm & a leg – AND they have tables & chairs for us on site!
3. They do not have any crazy rules – we can have open flames (ie. candles), we do not have to protect any historical things, we can use any caterer we want.
4. We do not have to end our reception at any particular time.
5. They allow us to bring our own caterer!
6. Its GORGEOUS

Can you tell we are excited??!?!

This site has a golf course, a restaurant and a ballroom. We love this place! The food is great and the atmosphere represents both our personalities. Towie Bear and I knew from the beginning that we wanted a summer wedding. That’s why we decided on Maplewood Greens because our guests will admire one of the greatest things that the Evergreen state has to offer and that is its verdure.

The following are some pictures of our wedding site. Please note that these images were taken last winter, therefore, Maplewood Greens still had their Christmas decorations displayed.

Guest Table

Lovely Area for Pictures

Ballroom

I am absolutely pleased to know that we will be able to celebrate our ceremony and reception on the same site. This is a feature that not all of the venues offer so you’ll need to keep that in mind. We made this decision because some of our guests will be traveling to WA for our wedding so having the whole event in one site provides flexibility. And we’ll save money too!

Is it possible to spend less money by celebrating your Big Day in the same site? Of course! You can benefit off of this idea by paying less hours of photography and videography time. You can also take advantage of not spending too much in decorations. The flowers that you use in the ceremony can easily be transferred into the reception area.

Once you and your groom decide on where you’ll get married, my suggestion is to:

1. Take pictures
2. Measure the room(s)
3. Ask yourself if you like their food, linens, etc.
4. Ask the venue if they have a decoration policy
5. Is the changeover doable?

If you take pictures, you’ll be able to envision your wedding day. You and your photographer can identify in advance the best areas for pictures. You will also determine if the color palette can be admired inside the venue. Please be aware that some sites may have a strong color scheme around the site that will possibly not go well with your theme.

And finally, ask yourself if the venue is suitable for a changeover. How much time do they need? For example, Maplewood Greens has a patio where guests can enjoy cocktail hour while the changeover is in process. I asked our Special Events Coordinator about their experience with changeovers. She gave us a detailed explanation on how they make it work. This was definitely a deal breaker. We instantly knew that Maplewood Greens was the site for us.

This is the patio that guests may use during the changeover and cocktail hour.

Once you measure the room, you’ll know how many guests the site can handle. You can also ask yourself if the dance floor is big enough. How many staff members will work on your wedding day? Do you like their food, linens, china and furniture? If you do, you’ll save a lot of money in this area too! If you want to do some draping, hang picture frames, posters and/or decorations around the walls, please ask the vendor about the policies they may have in place.

Dance Floor

My suggestion is to gather all of the questions that you want to ask while interviewing and site seeing with your groom. Also, take plenty of pictures and read the contracts. You don’t have to read the whole contract at the meeting; you can ask for a copy and read it in the comfort of your own home.

The task of finding the perfect venue is not an easy one. However, once you check that off your checklist, you’ll feel so much better and accomplished. You can create a priority list that will make it easier on finding out what you want for your Big Day. Good luck and best wishes to you and your groom.

When looking for our venue, I did have a brief list of “needs”: I needed a place where we could have our ceremony and reception in the same place. I needed a venue that was entirely indoors, or had an easy (and free) rain plan. I preferred a place that would let me choose my own caterer. And I needed somewhere fun, somewhere that felt alive and exciting and playful. What better place than a kids museum?

This picture was taken from the second floor, looking down at another event in the main area where our ceremony and reception will be held. Isn’t the globe great?

It’s certainly not the perfect venue for every bride (but then again, Iris Dude wasn’t perfect for everyone either – just me, and that’s all that mattered!) but it felt right to me and Iris Dude. We walked in, immediately knew we had found it. It was perfect! And on top of that, it fit our price range, and the staff is amazing (helpful, accommodating and so supportive!)

This is the guest information desk, looking back towards the area where the reception will be held. We’ll clear this desk off, and use it as the bar. I love being able to use something other than a regular table for the bar! It makes it much more exciting looking.

Plus, how could you NOT love a venue that includes a pirate ship?

We’re trying hard to think ways to play up the atmosphere – fun, playful ideas. Any suggestions??

The Matthew's House

The Matthew’s House is an old mansion in Cary, North Carolina. The mansion is gorgeous, and they’ve added a separate (but connected) large room that serves as an event space. However, their catering prices were fairly expensive, and the woman there rushed us through the tour and didn’t give me any time to ask questions, saying she was very busy, and we could email her if we had questions. (This was at a scheduled appointment on a Tuesday morning, by the way.) I’m sorry, but if you can’t give me 30 minutes on a Tuesday morning (when we had a scheduled 1 hour appointment), then I should consider somewhere else.

Delightful Inspirations

Delightful Inspirations is a cute event space in Raleigh, NC with in-house catering (they also have a selection of linens and china, so you don’t have to rent them from somewhere else). The man who runs it is very nice, but the ceremony area is outdoors, and there’s no good “rain plan”; I’m so paranoid about weather fears that to have an outdoor ceremony, I had to have a good rain plan.

111 Place

111 Place is an event space in Cary, NC. It’s a very pretty space, and you’re allowed to bring in an external caterer (they have 10 you can choose from). They are very reasonably priced, and their event manager responds very quickly to emails. However, there is already a lot of color there. The carpet, walls, furniture, etc, was all blue and green. It was a very pretty space, but clashed terribly with my desired black/red/silver color scheme that I had in mind.

So, out of those three venues, the one I chose was…none of them. Call me picky, but I just knew my perfect venue was out there! I’ll write my next entry on the one we eventually chose (because I was right – I did find my perfect venue!)

Blossoms, how many venues did you have to look at before finding the perfect one? Buds, what did you look for when finding the right venue for you?

My Fiance and I have known that we wanted to get married in D.C. for a while now. D.C. has been the backdrop of our 3 and 1/2 year relationship and home of all our adventures together. We first met through friends at an Adams Morgan dive bar; our first real date happened at the well-known Adams Morgan eatery, Lauriol Plaza; our second date was a bar crawl though U Street corridor, then a concert at the 9:30 Club. The restaurants and bars in Georgetown, Dupont, and Columbia Heights are where he and I fell in love and thus this city is near and dear to us.

Well, when it came time to begin the process of looking for a venue, I had no idea about D.C.’s capacity situation. A couple short and exciting days after our engagement, I’d Googled my way to a lengthy Excel spreadsheet of venues in the area (I still have this so if anyone is planning a D.C. wedding, let me know). At first glance, I cut down the venue list based on price alone. It is not uncommon to see a $12,000 price tag on a venue JUST for the space for one night! This process basically cut my list in half  immediately.

After my initial venue massacre, I began calling and emailing the remaining venues to ask the next 4 basic questions: What is your capacity, what is your catering policy, what is your alcohol policy and what is your amplified music policy. To my chagrin, the remaining half of the venue Excel sheet was cut in half yet again based on the first question – capacity. While its nice having a large family and lots of friends, this has really run us into some major issues. Almost everywhere in D.C. where we would or could consider getting married for a relatively decent price catered to 150 people OR LESS (unless you consider hotels). Our problem? A guest list of 220+.

They tell you that the #1 way to cut costs at your wedding is to cut guests, but what if that really is impossible to do?

A few years back, a club called Plush opened and shortly closed. Unfortunately, in Vegas, “local” clubs aren’t very big. Vegas’ loss is our gain. Meet my new venue: A night club that is now rented out for parties. Can you say FABU??? (Perfect would be a perfect word, but I try not to use the word perfect when talking about my wedding!) This is the most excitement I’ve had since getting the ring!

A professional photo! By Dott Photography

So not the best amateur photo...but that is the room

Not our set up but another amateur photo!

Another professional photo courtesy of Dott Photography

Wedding Sites and Services

Periwinkle Dude and I both grew up, went to school, now work, and have family & friends in the big apple – so we were pretty certain we wanted to get married in the New York area.  We looked into a few Manhattan venues, but quickly learned the capacity limits were not very high on the limited number of places that might be construed as affordable, and all the “big names” with great big ballrooms to match were out of our target price range.

I grew up in Long Island and knew there were TONS of reception halls in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties so we decided to check a bunch of them out.  With so many options it seemed like we’d have no problem finding the one for us.  We also looked into some Westchester options just for good measure.    Although we saw a lot of beautiful places, none jumped out at us as being “the one”.  All the advice we’d received till then led us to believe we would know when we found “our place”, and unfortunately that didn’t really happen.  There were a couple venues we visited early on that impressed us more than some others, but I never felt the gut reaction I’d been told about, so we kept looking.  Weekend after weekend we spent time visiting venue after venue until we’d seen…

The Periwinkles' Reception Venue Tour, created with Google Maps

…A LOT, and more!   Some would say (including Periwinkle Dude) we saw TOO MANY options*.   But we persisted, and oddly enough the more sites we visited, the less I was sure we would find one we both loved.  We agreed on the search criteria, but just couldn’t match it to a single venue.  And as you can see from the above map our options were quickly running out — we were literally exhausting the possibilities one by one!

Periwinkle Dude and I realized after a while that 2 of the sites we visited early on were our favorites of the bunch, so we agreed to choose between one of them.  Narrowing down the playing field and choosing one of the survivors sounded like the rational thing to do… but unfortunately that was easier said than done.  We scheduled appointments to re-visit Site A and Site B one after another on the same day, and afterwards I felt more confused than ever.  To be honest, either option would’ve been great.  And I think on some level I knew that at the time.  But after investigating 50+ venues I felt the need to choose the PERFECT one and as you other perfectionists out there know that chase can last forever.  Lucky for me, Periwinkle Dude helped me realize that the longer we took to decide the longer we’d have to wait to get married, so… we placed holds on BOTH venues which gave us 72 hours to decide, and boy were those days painful!  Time was my enemy and Periwinkle Dude was determined to beat the clock so on April 30, 2008 we were FORCED to choose the winner.

After tossing and turning for nights in a row, researching both extensively, going back and forth and forth and back analyzing cocktail stations and dinner menu options, changing my mind more times than I could count, and nearly driving my new fiance completely bonkers… we decided to book The Estate at East Wind (marked in green in the above map) in the East End of Long Island for our wedding reception.

Which meant… one decision down, LOTS more to go!!!

*Teaser: As you will learn, Periwinkle Bud experienced more than her share of “too many options” during the planning process!

Did anyone else have a hard time choosing a location for your nuptuals or reception?  How many reception venues did you research or visit before you chose one?  If you haven’t chosen one yet, how many do you plan to visit?  Am I the only one crazy enough to examine 50+ venues?  (You don’t have to answer that last one…)