and the search continues..

So I went and saw three places ...

Plus I need to call a bunch of places... I am running out of cell phone minutes. I need to find a landline I can use.

I really really just want to find a place I love, that won't put us all into the poor house.

Thats not too much to ask, right?

So lets see about the places today:

Venue 5
* Its a vineyard that basically will let us use the grounds
* They have nothing really other than the space
* They are pretty lax on what we can use to decorate..
* It could be a pretty place, if we fix it up....BUT I don't know how they will feel if I tell them that the rental place will drop off on friday, and pick up on Monday. eek. They don't come pick up on sundays.. and they like to deliver the day before because time is not guaranteed.
* We would have to buy all wine from them - but can't bring beer. However, we can bring champagne (they don't make champagne there)
* The ceremony would/could be on the pretty lawn with the vineyard in the backyard
*However, we'd probably have to set up the reception on the asphalt in front of the tasting room.
* We could use anything we wanted on the property - they have the lawn, the huge asphalt area, a loading area with a nice overhang patio, they said they'd clean up for us, and the tasting room. So we'd have a lot of rooms/areas that would be nice for our guests to spread out some.

Venue 6
* Its a big boat
* We could do the ceremony on one side and the reception on the other
* They provide the tables/chairs
* We could decorate, but they are pretty strict on how and what we can use... ie - no petals on the floor..and we can't throw rice/birdseed/bubbles/sparklers..anything..
* I could pretty much use the whole 2nd floor for my dressing room - which really isn't a lot of space, but it would be nice, plus it has its own little deck that my bridesmaids and stuff could hang out on while getting ready.
* They have pretty good security, in fact we'd have to provide them with a detailed guest list and if you aren't on the list - you aren't coming in. -- Which can work both ways - it cuts down on unknown guests but that means it is mandatory people RSVP.

Venue 7
* Its the top floor of a golf course clubhouse
* The ceremony area ( a balcony/veranda area overlooking the golf course) is really narrow - each row would be 2 chairs wide on each side of the aisle... and the aisle is tiny. My uncle and I are not tiny people.
* Something that really kind of makes me wonder is -the minister would also be the dj... plus he runs the place. He seems like a nice person, but do I really want him doing everything?
* The reception area is okay, but the ceremony site isn't. I mean maybe if it was wider... I mean if we have 4 people to a row.. how many rows back would people be? Would they even be able to hear the vows??!?!
* Once the ceremony is over, they would disassemble the ceremony set up and put out cute little tables and chairs on the veranda. It would be a nice place to sit and get away from the crowd/dancing area.
* The menus are okay, but he can't guarantee price until 2 weeks before the wedding.
Another thing that bugs me is this - it is an all inclusive type place - minister/dj/ceremony/reception/food/alcohol...etc.. but they don't guarantee the food price at all?
WTF? So if we have a reception booked a year later and we sign a contract, the food price could theoretically shoot up $50 a person... and we'd be stuck.

That really irritates me.. and I dont know what they are thinking with that.

I like 5 and 6...