Thursday, July 23, 2009

One Wedding, One Change of Heart


well, not THAT kind of change of heart...the wedding has been on since the ring has been on, so to speak.

but pretty early on (i.e., a week after i called the church and learned that they had two available dates for 1pm ceremony times...all the 3pm times were taken...FOR THE WHOLE SUMMER), i realized that booking a venue, even a year ahead, would be a real challenge.

my dream venue literally laughed at me on the phone when i asked about summer availability. 13 months in advance of the desired date.

well, the dream venue was not only rude but absolutey out of their goshdarned minds with their minimums and room rental rates, so dream...nightmare? anyway, moving on...

i was itching to BOOK SOMETHING ANYTHING ALREADY LET'S HURRY UP as if there was an invisible line of brides behind me, jostling, pushing, signing contracts at 1am when i would wake up in a cold sweat, dreaming of my only two possible dates, booked, everywhere.

so, we signed a contract.

it was a beautiful location. i guess. i wanted it to be, for sure.

but...it was also the middle of the summer. in chicago. now, in my mind, i am seeing glimpses of people melting in 100degree+ weather mixed with flash flood, severe thunderstorm warnings. did i mention that it is outdoors?

and, adding to that my guilt over the cost of the venue, concern for our elderly grandparents, and worries about how to decorate/theme/etc the whole event...

well, you can imagine what happened. i'll let you think about what would happen if you told your fiance and parents (if they are involved in helping with costs) that you've changed your mind.

...

i exaggerate. it wasn't that bad. it took a few honest, heartfelt conversations and we found another place.

that i love.

it isn't as unique, cool, trendy as the original venue...but it is less expensive, more convenient for guests and everything is already set up for us (read: no caterer, no outside wedding planner, etc).

so i sacrificed a really outstandingly unique event for one that is much more traditional and ordinary.

what would you have done?

1 comment:

  1. I'm another bride crazy enough to change venues (2 times actually...). Maybe it's something about 8/22, because that's my date too!

    Originally, we were getting married in San Diego at a perfect little beach front hotel that would have been all ours for the weekend - and a wedding of 40 of our closest friends and family. Then, my fiance convinced me that he REALLLLLY wanted to get married in Chicago, so when we came across Mrs. Murphy's Irish Bistro, we snapped it up. Luckily, we only had to pay a $200 cancellation fee in SD!

    Suddenly though, our 40 person wedding turned into a 100 person wedding and we weren't going to fit into the bistro. Cut to 2 months before the wedding and I changed completely. It's SO true that you take as much time as you have because I've gotten more done in the last 3 weeks than I did between when we got engaged (March) and mid-July.

    Anyway, I'm dying to know what your first venue was (I'm thinking Brauer cause they had a crazy attitude with me) and where you ended up.

    Have fun on the 22nd (no rain, no rain, no rain)!

    Michele

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