Vexing Venue Issues

Ok, so I am still having major problems with my vendor decisions. I think I ruled out all three I previously posted on. The dance floor in the tower just kept bugging me, I decided Brennan's was too ugly, and the Metro sent me a ridiculously expensive proposal.

Here's the run- down from my last trip:

Massimo de Milano was my first stop on my way in from Buffalo. Unfortunately I didn't get any good pics because I forgot my camera in the car, and was too scared to go back and get it. Which brings me to my main issue with the place- location. Its downtown in Ohio City which is great, except for the bums and generally shady looking people crawling around the parking lots. Maybe this is why they offer FREE valet parking
Here's a picture from their website.



It was very pretty inside, with tulle draped from the ceiling and a light, almost ethereal look. A couple of other pros were their straightforward pricing- flat fees per person which included taxes and gratuity, 6 HOURS TOP SHELF BAR (this is unheard of), and a great menu choice. The food is Italian, and you have a chance to try before you buy.

The issues I had were neighborhood it is in, and the size(they told me it an fit a max of 250). I am expecting AT LEAST 250 guests, and it also did not look like it could accommodate that many comfortably. Also, the bar and cocktail area is kind of ugly. There is not a hotel within walking distance either, although the city is right across the bridge, a 2 minute drive. I am still keeping this in mind.

Next stop- Windows on the River. Here is the entrance. Now, some people don't like this industrial look and the green paint everywhere. However, I LOVE it. I think it is so much more interesting then the typical hotel lobby entrance. Also, there is an arcade around the corner.

There are two room choices here. First, the Bridgeview room.


This room was ok. I wasn't overly impressed. The view of the bridge and city was great! Next she took me into the Cityview Room. I am noticing now that I didn't take any great pictures of the actual room, I was so busy admiring the view. Here's one to give you a general idea of the room.

The room is two stories, with a balcony. This was a problem, because any guests over a count of 200 would need to be seated up here. I'm not sure if anyone would take offense at this. Thoughts? Also, my date (July 4) was taken! Waaa! I would have to have it on Friday, July 3. As soon as I mentioned this, she whipped out their Friday menu, a good $13 less per person. Ok, maybe a Friday isn't so bad. Everyone gets that Friday off...... right? Even with the discount, Windows is NOT cheap. It would be a little little bit over our budget, however they include your cake, flowers, and other decorations in the price. Plus, we can have our cocktail hour right on this patio by the river. At night, with the lights.... I think it would be awesome! Check out the view!

I really like (almost) everything about Windows and am still considering it.

The next day, Rachel (my sis) and I went out to Strongsville to check out two different places. They were each about 35-45 minutes from our house. First up was the Belarusan Community Center. I have heard some rave reviews about the food from here (especially the lemon chicken). The caterer was a straight forward no- nonsense woman that I instantly liked, and it is a one room party center- NO other weddings. We can bring our own alcohol (bring on the signature drinks!), even kegs too. It had an outdoor patio, and was very large. Here's the entrance:

There were some things I didn't like- Belaruse is a Russian country, and their country crest or whatever is plastered EVERYWHERE! There is a huge one on the wall by the bar. Ugh! I would have to see about covering that up. It's not downtown, and there is no hotel in walking distance (although there should be some a short drive away.) It's just not very fancy, or interesting. (I do like the disco ball! LOL)

Next we stopped by a wedding factory in the area, Michaud's Town and Country. Ok, the reason I call this a wedding factory is that they have 8 rooms there! This instantly turned me off. The entrance was very pretty though, and the prices were good. It is also BYOB. The only room I liked there had a 300 person minimum, and is HUGE!

I don't think I can guarantee AT LEAST 300 guests- and I would have to pay for any extras. I think this is OUT?!??

Our last stop of the day was Landerhaven in Beachwood. I have heard great things about this place from my friend's sister who had her wedding here. Rach and I were starving by the time we got here, so when they handed us a complimentary tin of fresh baked cookies, I was in heaven. (We promptly stuffed our faces as soon as we left the place! haha) Ok, this place is right NEXT to a hotel, which is great. Free parking, and a nice entrance as well. It does feel a little corporate though, with a big office in the lobby. The coordinator was a mess though- she took us to the first room which at the moment was partitioned into three parts. "Oh, just imagine these all pulled back." Ummmmm...ok. It did have a nice patio area though, with a garden and fountain. Then she took us into the cocktail area for the other ballroom. Gorgeous!

I love the huge windows! Then she peeks into the ballroom, and proceeds to tell us that there is a wedding going on, and that she couldn't take us in there because it was a black wedding and we would stick out. Ummmm....what!?! Ok, we're wearing jeans and I'm carrying a million notebooks, so yeah I think I would stick out at a formal wedding no matter what. She then takes us to see the "private" bridal suite where the WP can get ready. Yeah super private I guess, anyone can get a tour through it while someone is using it. I was very turned off by her obvious unprofessionalism. She gave me the prices, which were outrageous anyways, and then tried to get me to put down a deposit right then and there. Ok, I didn't even actually see any of the rooms, so no thanks. I will not be going back there.

So.... some good and some bad. Still no decisions! I have another idea that I'm working on though, and hopefully can blog on soon.

Wedding Budgets

I found this website today. http://www.costofwedding.com/ I have been freaking out a little lately, becasue I currently have no clue what our budget is supposed to be. Between all of our expenses lately- the new house mainly, we're going to need to rely on ALOT of help from our parents if we are going to have any sort of normal wedding.

I put my zip code in Cleveland in and came out with $24 k. Yikes! When I first started this whole wedding planning thing, the number seemed ridiculously high. We could hire someone to come and finish painting and fixing up our house for that. Or put on the new roof that we desparately need.


However, after making a few phone calls, and going to visit my venues, my heart started to sink. Frankly, if I can pull off a wedding for ONLY $24 k, I would be ecstatic! Sigh........... I just wish someone would give me some actual numbers to work with.

For the fun of it, I put in my Buffalo zip code, and came out with $14 k. Ten thousand dollars less..... maybe I should change the location.

What's your wedding budget? How did you find out how much money others (parents) would contribute to your budget?

Wedding Colors.....

My biggest obstacle in life is making decisions. I tend to have a hard time making up my mind and actually committing to any one thing(excpet my gorgeous fiance of course!) I always have a million ideas in my head, and I want to try them all! This can be a problem when it leads to my horrible indecision. Do I want to live in Buffalo or move somwhere much warmer? Do I want to stay in grad school or have I had enough? Do I want to continue working in finance or open the organic store like I've always wanted?

Those are all problems for another day though. On my mind today... what is the theme for my wedding? I've been seeing all these lovely inspiration boards... check out http://www.stylemepretty.com/ for some crazy wedding porn. Unfortunately, this orgy of choice is just leading me back to my familiar problems.

I've been obsessed with the color green for awhile now. This was my original choice for a wedding color. Green bridesmaids dresses, green flowers, green shoes....

How cute...

I especially love the idea of having colored shoes...even if they aren't green. Once I started looking through more wedding boards I became obsessed with this:

Black and white damask... how perfect and elegant. A black and white wedding would be so classic. I can imagine the pearls, gloves, and thousands of white candles.

However, I feel like I might need a LITTLE bit of color. What about red? When I was around ten years old, the only colors I would wear were red, black, and white. That would be so cute to have my favorite childhood colors incorporated into my wedding. However, I am in love with these flowers:

Black, white, red, and pink? Thoughts?

Venue Search

So all the planning books I've religiously consulted hammer in the fact that you need to find a reception venue before anything else. I have spent the past three weeks researching, calling, and comparing venues. Also since I am a huge finance nerd, I compiled all of my results into an excel spreadsheet for easier comparing.

I decided to make a grand total of 10 appointments for this past weekend. Because I am planning my Cleveland wedding from Buffalo, I need to cram everything into one weekend (A vendor bender!) If anyone is from the Cleveland area, you would know that we were absolutely pounded with a blizzard on Friday and Saturday. All my carefully laid plans were ruined!!! After making a harrowing trip back(included a broken muffler and burnt out headlight on the middle of the freeway), over half of my appointments canceled on me because of the snow. Waaaaaa!

However, I still made it to three- one of which was my top choice from all the information I had so far.

First choice: Frank & Pauly's - Atrium at the Square

Gorgeous view from the balcony- main reason this place was my original fav:

The food is Italian, and reasonable prices for family style eating. It can fit my expected 250-300 guests, and the are reasonable about decorating restrictions(not that the space needs any!)

Main issue- location of the dance floor. My family likes to PARTY, and that means dancing. The dance floor is like shoved off to the side, and blocked by all these pillars.

The coordinator there told me I could bring in a dance floor to put in the middle, but that seems like so much trouble. Another issue is the bar- their house package is well, WELL liquor, and my fiance will not stand for that. Actually the only questions he asked of anywhere we went was the brands of liquor in the bar packages..(well, at least he is interested in something!) Upgrading gets pricey though. Another problem is that it is downtown, so parking is an issue. I can rent the attached garage, but then either I or the guests(tacky to ask people to pay their own parking?) have to pick up the tab.

Option 2: Sammy's at the Metropolitan Ballroom

View from the top floor windows....WOW

Can you imagine this at night? That's Lake Erie in the background. The ballroom is gorgeous too, decorated in a 1920s style that I could totally imagine my wedding. This would be my vision for this space:

Here's the inside:

Downsides to this venue: no outdoor space- you can't use the roof, PARKING again, and general extreme priciness!

Third option: Brennan's

Brennan's is not downtown- its actually kind of in the ghetto (lol) off W 130th. It's more of a catering hall- they have 4 banquet rooms, which look like most other banquet rooms in catering halls- stuck in the early 90s! Ugly carpet, tacky chandeliers, you get the picture. However, these places tend to look a million times better by candle light, so I'm keeping an open mind.

What do you think?

The main attractiveness of a place like this is the price(reasonable)...AND... its BYOB! Haha... actually it means we get to bring all our own wine, liquor, or beer for them to use at the bar. Not only does it save ALOT of money, but the boy likes it because he can have complete control over the alcohol. Crytal for everyone! Parking is free. Drawbacks are its lack of any sort of originality.

So... what do you like best? Option 1, 2, or 3??

Sis and I at the Atrium...girl risked her life to drive us around Cleveland that day in a terrible blizzard...that's why she's the MOH!!

About me....

I'm starting this blog to keep track of my wedding planning, and to get all of my ideas down in a permanent fashion. I was the last person to expect to become excited at the thought of getting married or planning a wedding, but after a few peeks at some crafty do-it-yourself planning sites, like this - www.weddingbee.com, and I'm officially obsessed.

I currently live in Buffalo, NY, but my hometown of Cleveland, OH is the location of our wedding. I've also lived in France briefly, and have had many exciting adventures in my life.... lots of traveling, friends, and fun! Currently, my fiance and I have been busy renovating our new house, I have a full time job, and am attending grad school part time in the evenings. With all this on my plate, I need to stay super organized if I want to get hitched anytime soon! Its time to PLAN A WEDDING!!!