The Hunt!

Thank you to Tom for talking me off the ledge yesterday. Time to think about positive things...

We leave for Boston on December 16 and will be looking at wedding venues during our ten-day stay on the East Coast! So excited to finally start getting details for our wedding nailed down!

We are looking at nine venues, which might seem excessive, but I don't think I'd feel comfortable narrowing them down because I don't have a clear vision for a location, and I know I couldn't commit to a spot unless I had seen a good number of them in the flesh (obsessing over website photos just doesn't work for me). When Tom and I were looking for an apartment in Denver, I scheduled almost 20 appointments, so you see where my head is at when it comes to making these types of decisions!

I tried to be smart about scheduling the appointments so that we won't burn out - we're only looking at two places a day, with the exception of our visit to the Cape where we'll look at three. We'd like to find a place that can accommodate our ceremony, although I'd be open to finding a non-denominational church in the area if the ceremony isn't possible. The issue is that we are looking at a late fall/early winter 2011 wedding, or a March 2012 wedding, so an outdoor ceremony isn't an option. I'm a little bummed about that because a lot of the venues we're looking at have incredible outdoor spaces where we could have a beautiful ceremony. Although I refuse to sweat AT ALL on my wedding, so maybe it's best if we just keep everything in the air conditioning.

THANK GOD for Tom's sister, who has been a huge help in getting me acquainted with how this wedding business works so that I don't feel like I'm going into these appointments completely blind. I feel confident that the spots we're looking at are within budget (HI, DAD!), except for maybe the Cape locations, which could still work since we're looking at off-season dates. I'm not ruling you out yet, Chatham Bars Inn! :)

When we first started looking at venues, I was focusing on downtown Boston because I thought it would be most convenient for everyone, most importantly out-of-town guests. But then I saw that downtown Boston comes with a downtown pricetag and my priorities shifted. I'd rather have a really nice wedding that people have to rent a car to get to, rather than an ok wedding that people can walk or take a cab to. We're looking at two Boston venues (Artists for Humanity Building in Southie; Harry Parker Boathouse in Brighton), but the rest of them are on the outskirts... Beverly, Topsfield, Cohasset, Ispwich. And, of course, the Cape.

I'm so excited to set a date and know where all of this will be happening. Then I can really start planning!!