Runaway Bride

Two posts on one day! I had actually been saving up the previous post for awhile now because I had been too busy (lazy) to edit and post it. And no, I am not blogging about running away from my FI in a scary looking spandex bridal outfit, but this pic is pretty funny isn't it??

What I am really bloggin about is the possibility of a Destination Wedding. The past few weeks have been pretty rough for me- stress from work, school, house, family, and wedding planning has gotten to me. I am no closer to making up my mind on the wedding venue. I had a pretty bad episode with my family over Easter about the wedding plans. Everyone has their opinions of what I should do, and some others were downright nasty to me for no apparent reason. I am dreaming about taking a nice long tropical vacation!

This has gotten me thinking. FI and I decided that one thing we both really want is an amazing and exotic honeymoon. He wants to lie on a beautiful beach- I want to explore a foreign city. We came to a compromise- one week on the beach, one week exploring. I have been obsessed with the idea of going to Bali. The island is supposed to be beautiful and offer plenty of beaches and exploring all in one. It is also in Indonesia, which means we could fly in by way of Hong Kong or Singapore and get in a few days in one of these exotic cities. It's win- win for both of us!

Bali has a great exchange rate right now, and I've looked up some accomodations that seem like a fantastic deal- now all we have to do is get there.

During my honeymoon dreams, I started noticing all the pictures of the care- free bride and groom saying "I DO" in the breezy tropical air. They look sooo happy and content. Why can't I do this??? This would solve ALL my problems!

Well, not quite, but it just seems so awesome. There are whole villas you can rent in Bali, often for less than $100 per person per night. The villas come with a full staff- chef, maids, butlers, even a chauffeur and car. We could have our ceremony there and then have our staff cook us a delicious dinner- all for the cost of food from the markets! How amazing does this sound? I know that not many people would be able to come around the world for us- probably just our parents, siblings, and MAYBE a few other close friends or family members. It does seem as if the cost would be sooo much less than a normal wedding and soo much more enjoyable. Plus we will be ON our dream honeymoon as we are getting married. What could be better than that?

Downsides are the fact that we both want all of our friends and family to be there for the big day.

I guess there always is the AHR (At home reception), but this is not quite the same. It also seems difficult to plan a wedding that will take place thousands of miles away without even going there to scope anything out. I'm sure it would be doable, and probably less overall work than a big wedding here. I just don't think I would care as much to have everything perfect when I am already in an amazing and tropical surrounding. The natural beauty of the island and the close intimate celebration would be enough for me.

What do you think? Anyone else struggle with a tough decision over a DW?? I don't want to upset and offend my family, but this is OUR choice. This view might sway your opinion!!:)

Decisions, Decisions...

Well loyal readers (is anyone out there???), I've narrowed my venue list down to three, no easy task. However, it is much much harder to decide from this shorter list. Help me!! I've been having wedding nightmares, and I just want to get this decided.

Choice #1 : The Lakeside Courthouse

I blogged about the courthouse in my last post and why I thought it was so divine. After a few more weeks of thinking about it, I haven't changed my mind. I still love it. I think this option could be as expensive or as cheap as we want it to be. With everything I want to do, it will probably come in at about mid- way between my three final choices. I also thought of some easy ways to cut costs even more.

1. Change the date- not my favorite idea, but if I had it on any other Saturday other than the 4th of July I probably would not have to pay for parking.
2. Be reasonable with rentals- No I DO NOT need the gorgeous chivari chairs (tear), nor do I need to pay an extra $1000 to have glass glasses at the bar
3. Cut back on decorations and other extras- the space is already gorgeous.

Choice # 2: Windows on the River

I also wrote about Windows in a previous post, but let me sum up why it made it to the top 3.

1. WINDOWS!!! I love the view of the city, and the awesome downtown location.

2. The possibility of having an outdoor patio for cocktails.

Cons are:

1. I can't have it on Saturday July 4th. That date is taken, so I would need to do it on the 3rd. I'm not sold on a Friday wedding.

2. It would be the most expensive- even on a Friday. However, the price does include hors d'oeuvres, dinner, drinks, the cake, and some flowers, so that helps.

3. The room I like has a balcony that overlooks the rest of the room. The problem is that the lower room can only fit 200 people, and anyone over that would have to be seated on the balcony. Would this offend anyone??

4. The room itself is very very GREEN. Green carpet, paint, etc... it would be too overwhelming to almost any other color I brought in.

Looking at this, I realize I have more cons than pros. Does my love of the view outweigh all the bad stuff??? Would it for you?


AND... Choice # 3: Party Center

I haven't blogged about this location before because I haven't actually been to see it yet. Then why would I even consider it? Well, I actually have been to see it, but the last time I was in there was around 10 years ago. IT is owned by the family of my best childhood friend ever. I am actually in her upcoming wedding that is taking place there this September.

My mom contacted her father a few weeks ago because I had been procrastinating. I just felt bad about potentially contacting him if I decided I didn't like it. However my mom is all excited now because his prices are amazing. I can't believe the highway robbery other venues are committing when I take a look at how much less he can provide me with the SAME things for.

So, here we go with the PROS:

1. I've known the family forever, so I know they would so a REALLY good job! I would completely trust my event in their hands.

2. It would be by far the least expensive option, and the least amount of work for me. My parents like the idea.

3. I will be at my friends' reception taking place almost a year before mine, and can decide what I do and don't like about it.

4. It's literally a quarter- mile from my parents' house.

Cons:

1. It's literally a quarter- mile from my parents' house, which is in the middle of BFN. (butt- f***ing NOWHERE!). Where would the guests stay?? I would need a shuttle to and from a hotel somewhere. Also, not a cool fun downtown area like I wanted!

2. It looks nice in the pictures, but it really is just another catering hall, just like every other one. No originality here! If I go crazy with extra decorating or other things it will just erase the whole point of having it there to save $$$.

3. He's not sure if I can have it on the 4th... he said he might not be able to get anyone to work. WTF?? All the other days I potentially wanted it were already taken.




And I guess Option #4...keep looking.......... I am starting to get MAJORLY frustrated here though, and might not be able to take it anymore. So what do YOU think??

The one??

This past weekend's visit to Cleveland was mainly for my Grandmother's 70th birthday party, but of course I got a little venue hunting in! I had really high hopes for this one- the Cleveland Lakeside Courthouse downtown.

FI and I got there early Saturday morning and walked up to the imposing black doors. Once inside, the guard grunted and made us walk through the metal detector. Good thing we were on the list! Keep in mind this is the actual Courthouse building during the week.

Those doors are HUGE and heavy! Then we walked in and..............

Words cannot express how I felt on seeing the inside. How lucky we were to see that it was set up for a wedding that day! The gold chairs looked amazing in there. The ceilings are so huge and beautiful. The space really does not even need any decorating. One thing I would like to use in there would be all long tables,like this:

I really like that look. There is also a balcony at the top of a beautiful curving staircase.

They had a bar set up there. The balcony can be used for the cocktail hour, or just a place for guests to come and observe all the action going on below:

I LOVE this.

Other pros include bringing our own caterer and alcohol, which gives me complete creative control. It is downtown by the water which I really wanted and close to many many hotels. If I keep the 4th of July date, there will be traffic, but guests can stroll outside and have prime fireworks views, and there is an orchestra playing in the square all day.

So what are the drawbacks you ask. Why am I not running in a frenzy to sign the contract NOW!!!

1. small thing I know.... buuuuttt, this is a public building during the week, and the bathrooms totally reflect that. The look like ramshackle gas station bathrooms. Not much you could even do to make them nicer.

2. EVERY last thing from a fork to a gorgeous guilded chivari chair has to be rented and brought in. There are no kitchens, so an over abundance of glasses and plates need to be brought in. This stuff all adds up.

3. It costs $525/hour to rent this space. I would also have to rent the parking garage for $500. Yikes!

4. No windows! Ugh.. it seems like everything is a compromise.

5. More vendors and MORE work for me!

Sigh... what do you think?