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sam and dave: the venue

Hope everyone's weekend went well! I'm going to pass you right over to Samantha, so you can get to reading about her venue breakthru. Here she is.

Samsvenue
For me a backyard garden wedding was so befitting. However with the fantasy, came the reality. The more tent people my dad met with, the more my parents came to realize that putting in a floor that fit the entire tent along with drainage systems and gutters, was going to cost a ton. At least as much as renting a place. Plus having the wedding at home, you have to rent everything from silverware and linens to port-a-potties. So for fear I would go all Shining Bridezilla on them, they secretly started looking around the area for an outdoor venue that had a weather contingency plan.
Thursday they came in to the city to hang out with Dave and I. Over coffee and cake (the cake was to preemptively sooth me I think) they broke the news that having it at home could be a potential nightmare if it rained and difficult even if the weather were fair. After a little coaxing I realized that the alternative plan was better than the original. We’re having the wedding outdoors at this place called Dolce within the IBM complex a mile from my parent’s house in Palisades, NY (we still get to have a great brunch at their house the following morning). We still get to bring in our cupcake tree and hydrangea centerpieces. The place has hundreds of acres, a swan pond with koi, a beautiful stone wall and a tent leading into a room with all glass walls (guest rooms too!). If the weather is nice we’ll get married by the stone wall and then all walk to the tent for cocktail hour and then party inside with the large glass windows open to all the surrounding trees. So all bases are covered and I don’t have to meditate, pray and make deals with the world that it won’t rain. I’m hoping for gorgeous spring weather and the scent of lilacs in the air but if it does not happen that way, our guests won’t have to wear rain gear and use port-a-potties… phew.

5 comments:

Anonymous on 11:45 PM

I love how you follow couples through the different stages of planning!

(Would you be interested in following a Portuguese couple living in Britain planning a wedding from far away with 5 months to go? ;)

Anonymous on 9:47 AM

I think you've made a wise decision. We got married at home in December (in South Africa) and the weather was shocking. We had a tent, floors, the works, but everyone still got muddy and our garden was trashed! Also, having it at another venue will allow you to escape the preparation madness. If it's at home things can get quite stressful because everything is going on all around you and you can't have any quiet time to yourself - which you will need!
Good luck!

Anonymous on 9:52 AM

thanks for the anecdote! I'm glad to hear we made the right choice. I feel much better now. It's still close to home and can be personal, just more comfortable and not weather dependent! I'm sure your guests had a ball if not a memorable time!
Sam

Anonymous on 9:19 PM

i'm really enjoying reading about your process, i think we got engaged around the same time and i can relate to so much of what you write about. we had to rearrange our venue plans too for practicality reasons. at first it was a real bummer but now i am really warming up to the idea because it will just make the day go much more smoothly. sounds like you made the right choice!

Devon Weddings on 6:53 AM

We see many brides who originally dreamed of a 'backyard wedding' only to be put off by the costs and work involved! Now one of our most popular weddings is an informal Country Wedding set in over 80 acres of national parkland, overlooking our lily lake and with England's Highest Waterfall as a backdrop - it really is far more cost effective (and less stressful), plus we do all the clearing up for you!

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