Wedding at the Courthouse: Summary

Hello all! Well this is getting a bit ridiculous- over a year later, and I can't manage to finish a few recaps of my wedding day. It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that married life is a bit busy, and I also have a very hard time with uploading large pictures to blogger. Here is a link to my Flickr if anyone is interested in courthouse wedding photos.

So, according to my google analytics, I have around 250 visitors per week! I know most of you must be here for courthouse tips, judging by the number of e-mails I get (but no comments:( ), so I'd like to give a quick description of our reception.

I walked in at around 6:00 when people were just arriving, and I was blown over. This place is the most beautiful reception hall I have ever seen when it is set up. The tables were set up correctly into 5 long banquet style, and 12 rounds of 10. The centerpieces of ostrich feathers and gold birch branches and place cards for the long tables were in the correct spots. The bar was set up with my high top cocktail tables and long black linens with the wedding crosswords on top. The make shift photobooth was all ready with the props. The DJ was there. The cakes were on the cake table looking delicious. It is SO HARD to completely envision everything you have planned, and the reality was better than anything I ever hoped for!


After ooing and awwing over everything, I went over to the photobooth with some of the bridesmaids and took some silly pictures. We had the photobooth in the nook off the to the right where the elevator doors are. The bar was behind the columns in the hallway area, almost in front of the door to the nook on the right. Then I got one of my signature drinks (mojito), and proceeded to chill at my cocktail hour and talk to everyone who came out for me. This experience was almost surreal -people I have known from every stage of my life were all there for me and having drinks with me. I got to talk to many people that I wouldn't get to later in the night. DON'T MISS YOUR COCKTAIL HOUR!

My husband and I are living in Buffalo, NY, so we had Anchor Bar chicken wings at our cocktail hour, which they will ship. My caterer was amazing, and charged us a small fee to set these up and heat them. The cocktail food table was set up in the hallway behind the columns on the right in the middle. Guests went crazy over these chicken wings, it was one of the best decisions we made. Guests also loved the wedding crossword I made and had printed, and many of them were filling them out. It was such a great ice breaker and conversation starter, I urge people to do something like this.

Almost before I knew it, it was time to get introduced. The DJ was set up on the left hand side of the room, dead center. We came out for the introductions from the grand staircase on the other side. About acoustics, I couldn't hear anything the DJ said on the mic from back in the staircase area. There are certain places where the acoustics suck, and that cannot be denied. However, people in the main hall could hear mostly fine.

The whole bridal party were introduced, and then my husband and I. We walked straight to our cake table, and cut the cake to "Sexyback." After a little cake smooshing (by me only), it was time for dinner.

I know many people have questions about catering. We had a buffet, and it was perfect. Stations are also a popular option, which I also looked into, but we didn't go for. Ultimately, stations are usually way more expensive, and also have a bit of a more casual vibe. I decided that I would rather have everyone eat at once and get it over with, and then we can move onto the dancing! Stations work best for weddings with constant mingling and no sitting, and if you want everyone to sit and pay attention, there is not much point to having them. I am also against sit down meals for almost any wedding, and especially the courthouse, and I will explain why. The courthouse has no kitchen, so your caterer will either make the food ahead of time, or will bring a make-shift kitchen. Sit-down wedding meals at even a catering hall with a kitchen are usually not that good. They are rushing the food to get so many out at once, and some people may want less or more, and it ultimately leads to wasted food. Also there is the general confusion over who ordered what.

Our buffet was hot, replenished often, and delicious! Everyone took as much or as little as they wanted. We had a carving station, which is the right way to do beef at a wedding, and I got many compliments on the food. In the very back of the courthouse, the columns were draped off by our caterer, with the kitchen behind. The buffet table was set up directly in front, and tables were called up.

After eating very quickly, my husband and I made table rounds for about 45 minutes. This brought us to about 9:00 and time for the first dance. Being on the dance floor by ourselves with a slow song playing, the music was echoing. It wasn't awful, but the echo was there. Not all songs will do it. Our first dance was "I'll Look After You" by The Fray, and it is a song that lends itself well to echoing. The dance with my father to Frank Sinatra had much less acoustic issues. The fast dance songs when there were many bodies on the floor to absorb the sound had even less issues. And we had tons of people on the floor- after the parent dances, everyone got down! We had dance circles, line dances, slow dances- a little something for everyone, and it was amazing! Our DJ was pretty good, there were a few instances where I didn't like the song he was playing, but it mostly worked out. At around 10:30 most of our guests disappeared for 15 minutes to watch the fireworks on Lake Erie (it was 4th of July)!

We had a completely stocked bar with 10 varieties of beer, 6 kinds of wines, champagne, and any kind of liquor and mixers you could ask for. If you need to be cheap, DON'T DO IT ON THE BOOZE! People will talk about that for years. On the flip side, we still get compliments on our bar. There were alot of people at the bar at any given moment. I might change the bar's placement more towards the center to put people where the dancing was and encourage more people to mingle. You will have to judge what is best based on how many guests you have and what kinds of tables. The photobooth was popular as well, and the props we had such as wigs, leis, and Hawaiian skirts made it out onto the dance floor!

My mom had a candy bar with all green candy set up as a surprise to me during this time! It was on the cocktail table in the right hallway. We also had the favors set up in the entrance to the courthouse, to the left of the security desk. We had packs of sparklers with our monogram on them, and boxes of our cake. I also later mailed prints of the photobooth pictures in our thank you cards.

All too soon, the night was over. We had an after party set up at a bar downtown, so alot of us went over there. The security guards were great to us all night. Here is a little tip- they will know what time is in your contract to shut down, and start herding people out. The beginning time is much more flexible. Your caterer will have access to the hall all day, so what is the big deal in starting a bit earlier? My contract said 6:30, but my invitation said 6:15, and some people came at 6:00. They will not turn people away..I think you can stretch this at least a half hour. At $525/ hour, every little bit helps.

Another tip- my biggest gripe of the night is that the lights were not dimmed enough for dancing. The electrician is in your contract, and should be on call for you. The ball got dropped on this, and the place remained in full light most of the night. Now it is gorgeous in there, so not a big deal, but I spent about $250 on led candles, and they did not really get seen. Make sure someone takes charge on this.

The bathrooms- not great, but not too horrible. Stick a bathroom basket in there and call it a day.

The courthouse is amazing, so take advantage! You do not need many decorations because people will be too busy staring. You can also get away with being a bit goofy (wedding crosswords, photobooth, Hawaiian skirt props) because of the elegance of the courthouse.

I'm still willing to answer questions (daas325@gmail.com), and I have a budget post in editing, because I know a huge questions is: "how much!" Well, I am going to answer that for you soon!

Courthouse Acoustics

I've had two comments on this issue, so I want to try and give my opinion. My wedding is still two and a half weeks away, so I can't be sure on how this is going to turn out. I can say that I hired a DJ, mostly because the bands I looked into seemed really expensive, and then they are limited on the music they can play. My friends and family like to get down to some current music, especially later in the night! The DJ is the brother of my best friend, so I trust him, have heard him before, and am getting a little bit of a deal.

Last week we stopped by the courthouse to check it out. Adam the DJ met me there, and he walked around, listening to the acoustics. It is very hard to tell where the echo will be when it is completely empty inside. He is going to set up on the opposite side of the staircase, with big speakers on either side of the pillars. I spoke with guards there, who have sat through many weddings, and offered the advice that sometimes it sounds good and sometimes it doesn't. Great help! Hopefully Adam can show up a little early to set up, crank the music, and make any needed adjustments. When the building is full of tables and people, the echo might be absorbed too. Here is a picture of the layout we are going with. Depending on the final count, the buffet will be either set up on the dance floor and taken down, or set up against the area they curtain off for the kitchen in the back.

Also, I am sooo glad to help anyone who is having a wedding at the courthouse! There was virtually NO information out there when I started planning, so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to e-mail me! daas325@gmail

Downtown Cleveland Map

Even though I had the invitations designed by a professional, I figured I could handle the map all on my own. Some custom maps can cost upwards of hundreds of dollars. It took me several hours with PowerPoint but I'm quite pleased with the results!




I used google maps, and the tracing tool in PowerPoint to make this. A very good tutorial was over at Weddingbee by Miss Ballet Flat. The icons were either free on the web, or found in PowerPoint clip art. Hopefully this will help our less downtown savvy guests!

Would you try making your own map?

Countdown...

Its been awhile readers... the past few months have been pretty stresfull and frustrating. Its down to the end now...

2 and half months before the wedding, and here is my to- do list:

1. Finish my registry (my shower is in 3 weeks...yikes!).
2. Finish purchasing the bridesmaids dresses off e-bay.
3. Buy my shoes (I'm lusting after J Crew green silk shoes).
4. Buy my birdcage veil.
5. Purchase peacock feathers to go in the invitations.
6. Get the invitations printed, address the envelopes, and mail them.
7. Finish buying the ostrich feathers for the centerpieces after getting my refund from the e-bay seller that ripped me off (let me know if you want to know who this seller was).
8. Figure out fans/ bouquets for the girls.
9. Finish buying the LED tea lights from the Christmas Tree Store.
10. Make sure the girl from the knot is still going to sell me her gold chargers.
11. Send pictures of hair and make- up to my cousin Mary who is doing said hair and make-up for me on the big day
12. Book the limo (must STOP procrastinating, I got an awesome rate 2 months ago and NEVER booked...)
13. Decide on cake - and subsequently buy cake stands
14. Figure out when I can go into the Courthouse with the caterer and DJ to finalize layout and logistics
15. Send wedding band ideas to our jeweller
16. Decide on honeymoon
17. Gifts for parents, bridal party, etc
18. Buy a tripod and out together faux photo booth
19. Decide on buying a camera or getting last minute videographer off Craigslist
20. Finish collecting wooden wine boxes and have my dad put together a card box
21. Order linens online (that's right, I'm buying them, its cheaper)
22. Buy some clothes to wear on my bachelorette part in VEGAS!!! woohooo
23. Finish collecting corks, and prepare them for place cards
24. Make a hair appt for highlights and brows, a dr appt...
25. TRY NOT TO LOSE MY MIND!

What have I actually gotten done since December...well I'll try to write a few posts, but I bought a dress, am having it altered, booked a DJ, asked bridesmaids, planned a trip to Vegas, had invites designed.... so I've been busy! I'm BACK

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?

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.

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!!