We have a Venue!!!!!

Yay!!! We decided on a venue. Although there were some really nice ones, when we walked into this one our jaws just dropped. It looked way better in person than it did online. The staff was super nice and they worked with our budget to give us exactly what we wanted. Plus we can have our ceremony in a seperate ballroom whooch was very important to me. I think my favorite part was the bar which had a waterfall flowing over one (of three) flatscreens behind it. And we can have a slideshow and/or a video playing on the screens througout the night. Awesome right?

The only negative is the venue is a 40 minute drive from my hometown, which my parents were kind of making a fuss about. We dont think its a huge deal though since over half our our guests will be travelling over 500 miles, so a 40 minute drive for the locals is not the end of the world. And once they see this place they will completely understand our decision.

Well, i guess now the real planning begins!

Decisions, Decisions

So tomorrow Mr.  Modern and I are taking the 10 hour drive to Ohio to check out our top wedding venue picks. My hometown is near the Ohio/Michigan boarder so we are also looking at  a couple places in the Detroit area.  So here are a few of our top contenders:

Arnaldo's Banquet Center, Riverview, Mi 

Pros: We can have both our ceremony and reception there, the prices are very reasonable and even includes gratuity, it a little more unique than the average ballroom

Cons: We would have to pay for 180 guests instead of the 150 we were planning and we are going to have to negotiate down to get plated dinner service since we only budgeted for 150 people, we would have to pay for chair covers

Parkway Place , Maumee, OH

Pros: Very good price, we can bring in our own alcohol, everything is included, we love the larger room

Cons: For a guest list of 150 they would put us in the smaller room which we were not impressed with from the photos online, we are not sure if they would allow us to rent the smaller room for the ceremony and the larger one for the reception

Crowne Plaza Toledo, Toledo, OH 

Pros: Nice looking ballroom (from the few photos they had online), easy for our many out of town guests since it is a hotel

Cons: a little over our budget. Hopefully we can negotiate….

Plymouth Manor, Plymouth, MI

Pros: nice ballroom, have rooms to accommodate both ceremony and reception, reasonable pricing

Cons: They have a 200 person minimum for Saturday and we can only afford 180 max, so hopefully we can negotiate this as well

Valentine Theater, Toledo, OH

Pros: We hear its very nice but there were very few photos online, they have several spaces to accommodate the ceremony and reception, its downtown near a lot of the city's best hotels

Cons: We have to chose from a list of approved caterers, we have to rent chairs, tables, linens, cant use candles

So, which would you chose?

Wedding 101: How to choose a venue

Goodwood House wedding venue - 35, originally uploaded by Wedding Photography by Jon Day.

Next week Mr. Modern and I will be going out to town to scout (and hopefully book) a reception venue. Since the perfect venue is a very important aspect of our wedding we wanted to book it as early as possible so we could be sure to get our date and not have to settle for whatever was available. Also, it’s a great for negotiations since we have plenty of time to make a decision.

I started by making a making a list of things that were important to us in a venue such as being able to have the ceremony and reception at the location, being inside, having the venue available until midnight or later, good food, modern/unique décor, and a general wow factor. Then I made a chart with all of these factors and all of the venues within our per plate price range (which is why it is important to have the guest count and budget at this point).

After looking at photos, virtual tours, and reviews online and emailing back and forth with venues we have narrowed it down to 5 venues between 2 different cities , my hometown of Toledo and the metro Detroit area, which also had some nice options.

In order to help us decide I compiled a list of questions to ask each venue. Some of these I found online, some were suggested by newly married friends, and many were just questions I had:

• What is the facility rental fee?
• What is the cost-for food?
• What is the cost-for beverage?
• If you can hold your ceremony on site, what is the ceremony fee?
• What is the set-up/break-down fee?
• What is the staffing fee? (including bartenders, waiters etc.)
• Is there a fee for security personnel?
• Are there adequate coat check and bathroom facilities?
• What's the cancellation policy?
• Is there a payment schedule? What kind of deposits are required?
• Are there any hidden costs? (Before you sign the contract, read it carefully.)
• Do they have a liquor license? Will they allow you to bring your own liquor?
• Is there a space for the bride and groom to change and/or relax?
• Where will you take photographs? Is there a park nearby, or do the coordinators have recommended spots on the grounds?
• Is there a venue coordinator?
• Where can your guests park? Are there extra fees for parking? Do they have valet parking?
• Especially in museums or private clubs, are there limitations on decorations? Do they limit food and drinks to only certain areas of the wedding venue?
• Are candles or other open flames allowed?
• Are linins included?
• Do you have banquet tables or just round? Could we use both?
• Is there a separate area for the cocktail reception?
• What is the length of the facility rental? Is there an overtime fee if your wedding reception lasts longer?
• Do you have use of the entire reception site? If not - what areas can your party use?
• Does the site have any music or noise restrictions?
• Are there any decorating restrictions?
• Will there be another party during, before or after yours? If so, how will this affect your event?
• Ask if they are doing any remodeling or redecorating from now until your wedding day. You don't want construction going on during your reception.
• Is there a cake cutting fee?

Wedding Planning 101: What to do First

To Do List, originally uploaded by LaLaLewi.

As soon as I got engaged I hit the internet to find out what I needed to do next. I knew my wedding was not going to be right away but Mr. Modern and I are planners so we needed a game plan. These are the best tips I found on the net:

Size
Make a rough draft of your guest list to get an idea of about how many guests you think you want to invite. This amount effects many things such as budget and what venue you can use. Plus everyone will be asking about when the wedding is and if they are invited, so if you have a rough idea of who you plan to invite, you know what people not to make any promises to.

Budget
Another important thing you need to determine is your budget. You should really try to be realistic and research the price of the average wedding in your area. You have to consider the size, time of year and style in coming to this number, and how much you can really afford. I you already have a date in mind, figure out how much you can save per month from now until that date, and that can be your budget. Mr. Modern and I decided on an amount that we could save comfortably, without changing our normal spending habits too much, and what we thought was worth spending on one day.

Style
By style I mean formality. If you want a casual affair, it may not make sense to check out ballrooms, and if you are thinking black tie, having it in your back yard may not work out.

Location
Do you want a destination wedding? Would it be easier or cheaper to have it in you hometown?

Time of Year
Even though you may not have an exact date in mind, it’s a good idea to think of the time of year you want. If you have always dreamed of a spring wedding, so have many other brides, so you need to book your dream venue quickly. Or if you are considering a winter wedding in the Midwest, you might want to determine if weather would be an issue for out of town guests that need to travel.

This could also effect your budget, since off season weddings can be substantially cheaper. And it can effect your theme (winter wedding in July?).

Time of Day
And lastly time of day. Having a wedding brunch can really benefit your budget, but it could also put a damper on your black tie dreams. And if you want to party late into the night, you may need to reconsider inviting a lot of small children.

These things really helped us shape the vision of our wedding day, and hopefully they can help you.