In a perfect world, with our ceremony location decided upon, we would have immediately moved on to booking the reception venue. Every location would have been within our budget and have our date available, giving us more options than we knew what to do with.
In that perfect world, I would have been cool, calm and collected. Just a serenely happy bride.
Like this:
The world is far from perfect, however, and we were faced with an extensive waiting period before we were finally able to lock in a date at the cathedral. That waiting period meant I agonized over every passing week, convinced that by the time we had a date, all of our favorite vendors would have already been booked. I kept nagging B to call the church office again, even though we had been told more than once that we would be contacted as soon as more information was available, and that no one was getting a date before we had selected ours. B has known our priest for a long time, and we were incredibly lucky to receive this kind of preferential treatment. Deep down, I knew this and was grateful, but I still insisted that he call and check every week. *hangs head in shame* Looking back, I don't think this was B's favorite side of me.
Beware of BRIDEZILLA!
Now, if I could go back in time Bill and Ted style, I'd tell myself to take things slowly and not get too attached to any particular vendor. I would remind myself that we had decided long before we even got engaged that our top priority was being married at the Cathedral, and that doing so might involve making other sacrifices. Above all else, I would have told myself that wasting time and energy planning a wedding without a date was ridiculous. But Rufus never did show up with that time-traveling phonebooth, so instead my past self got a little bit crazed, and I regret that now.
Even though we were without a wedding date, I proceeded to research venues and email vendors. I deluded myself into thinking that this would put us ahead of the game when we eventually got the date. Forget the fact that we hadn't even had a discussion with our parents about the budget yet!
Brides, I do not recommend this strategy.
But back then, oblivious to the stupidity of this plan, I formed mega crushes on several venues.
Callaways:
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I've been to a few weddings at Callaway's and absolutely loved it. As far as I was concerned, this was our top pick. It was elegant and classy, had great food, and came highly recommended. Although it was the venue located furthest from the church, it would be worth the travel time, at least in my opinion.
Holiday Inn City Centre:
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I'll be honest. I wasn't crazy about the color scheme of the Starlite Ballroom at our local Holiday Inn, but I loved the venue itself. It's on the top floor of the hotel, has plenty of room in the round ballroom, that gorgeous chandelier, not to mention a spectacular view of the city at night. The room used to rotate slowly, but apparently it doesn't anymore. It was definitely still a contender, though.
Washington Pavilion:
Swoon. Seriously, I loved the idea of having our wedding reception on the stage of the Great Hall. It would have been so us. And I loved the fact that it was basically a blank slate, so you could really fill the space with your own personality.
If you would have asked me last summer where our wedding was going to be, I would have told you with 100% certainty that it was one of those three venues. But I would have been wrong.
Coming up: We (or should I say I) learn that sometimes your dream venue turns up in the most surprising way!
Were you an overly-hasty wedding planner? Did you fall in love with a vendor before checking their pricing or availability?
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