To continue the catch up trend, I thought I would take you back to right after Ryan and I got engaged. We celebrated with family and friends over Christmas, and set the date for sometime in January of 2009. This would give me time to finish my Masters degree and still plan with some amount of sanity intact, and also hopefully allow us to get married in the small window before my brother went back to Iraq and Mary left for Australia (study abroad Spring 09). So with this in mind, we set about deciding where to get married.
Other locations were suggested by different parties, but in the end having the wedding in Atlanta seemed like the best scenario. We want to showcase our new home here with all of our friends and family. So to begin our venue search, we knew we wanted a few things:
1. The ceremony would take place in a Catholic church. Which one was totally up in the air, as neither of us was currently attending church. However the religion question was easy as we were both raised Catholic and it is closest to what we both wish to practice.
2. The reception location had to hold between 100 - 150 guests, and be reasonably priced (definition of 'reasonably' to be determined at a later date).
3. If possible, the location would showcase Atlanta and the things we love about it.
4. It would not be in a hotel ballroom.
5. It would not be overtly "Southern" looking. [This is not because I don't love this look- I moved to the South for a reason! However, it is not us (yet, but I am trying!) and I wanted something to represent us as a couple.]
6. It would not be "stuffy" or "pretentious." (aka I wanted to be somewhere that I could relax and enjoy myself and not feel like I had to be on my best behavior; formal locations would not be a good fit.)
7. If possible, it would be in walking distance to hotels and other nightlife in case we wanted to after-party and not add to possible drunk driving.
Phew! Looking at my list, I realize why I had such a hard time! Most all of the beautiful locations I found either looked way too Southern for my taste, were too formal, or were not in an ideal location. The other concern I had was the expense, as beautiful wedding locations in the city of Atlanta seem to come with quite a price tag!
You may be thinking I drove myself crazy with these guidelines, but there is a relatively easy happy ending. I already had a location in mind, but I went through the motions and did my research to give hard data to back up the place my heart was set on.
I spent a few minutes at work on my lunch break calling two locations and setting up appointments: the Piedmont Room at Park Tavern, and Magnolia Hall in Piedmont Park.
images from www.piedmontroom.com
I will let you know later how we chose which location was right for us, but before I do: What crazy requirements did you have in choosing your ceremony or reception venue? Did you have your heart set on a place long before you got engaged?
1 comment:
ok, if the counseling doesn't work out, you should become and author.
you're good at this stuff. and you make me laugh.
:)
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