sooo as of today we have officially changed all of our crap over from being virginians to californians. awwww! and with it went any chance of us getting resident discounts at various venues in fairfax county. damn. that can make a $200-800 difference in costs!
(look at him. my babe is so cute <3)
you see, finding a venue in a major metropolitan area, especially when you live 3,000 miles away, is no easy feat. there are some really REALLY beautiful wedding sites in the dc area, but they
know they are beautiful. and
you will have to pay for beautiful. it also doesn't help that i'm trying for the ever-popular fall wedding. we're shooting for the stars with a late september - early october timeframe. at least it's not june, right? but ah, if money grew on trees....
i
wish i had a
friend with a
huge house and a
huge yard...but, i don't. and as a former wealth researcher, i can tell you that anyone with that kind of crib in greater washington is too rich to be my friend. shame.
so far, the venue search has been an emotional rollercoaster. thank jeebus for schniz. she finds all the diamonds in the rough, gives me lots of options to consider, and pursues our leads with gusto. my girl is on top of sh*t. she's even going to visit a couple places on our behalf this weekend. hands down, awesomest wedding goddess there is.
i'm sure something will bubble to the top soon, but i suffer from chronic impatience. and acute indecision. apparently these are two less than great qualities to have when it comes to planning a wedding. but by now, i think schniz has learned that her sharing places with me before contacting them to make sure it's a fit is like dangling a warm, juicy piece of bacon in front of a starving puppy.
speaking of juicy, let's talk about the good stuff. where the hell is it that we are looking?! i'm sure you are dying to know! i can share some of the places i know of, though schniz has some things out there that she's keeping guarded for now. remember, operaqueenie = starving puppy.
in order of how badly i wanted them...the rejects / ones that broke my heart (and why):
the barns at wolf trap (vienna, va) - out of budget
the katzen arts center (washington, dc) - only available mid-may to mid-august and can't book until february
birkby house (leesburg, va) - out of budget
sheraton reston (reston, va) - waaaay out of budget
in purgatory...:
arlington arts center (arlington, va) - no red beverages allowed (including wine!), though i am wavering on this as days pass....; has to be an evening wedding (how do i feel about that?); must rent tables and chairs from caterer (significant hidden cost?)
in order of how much i am currently excited about them...current contenders:
prince george's ballroom (landover, md)seneca creek (boyd, md)harbour view (woodbridge, va)great falls grange (great falls, va)darnall's chance (upper marlboro, md)keep in mind that my venue budget line is $2,500. so, for anyone on the interwebs who is looking to get married in the dc area with 100+ guests, and on a tight budget, and is somehow reading this lame blog, there you go. i hope this helps!
