Venue Decision!!

James and I will be getting married on June 29, 2013 at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society!! Check out the pictures on their website: www.masshort.org/images

I am so happy to announce that statement, and release all my stress, anxiety and worry about finding the perfect venue that is within reason of our budget. It has been such a LONG process, and we've probably looked at hundreds of websites, visited dozens of venues, but when you know, you know. You know?

So some of you may notice, it has the gardens, but what about the water? James and I realized that ocean front, though beautiful, is squeezing our budget too tight. Kinda like when you try to wear skinny jeans the day after Thanksgiving. Everything else can fit, but it was the ocean that gave us the muffin top. So in compromise, we're going to do our engagement picturs by the ocean.

There are so many unique gardens on the grounds that we can choose from for our ceremony, cocktail hour and pictures. We have the big carriage house for our dinner and it has a huge tent attached, which we will use for dancing! All this space is something we really liked, we have over 30 acres, so our guests can wander, without finding another wedding, or being cramped on top of each other, but also we have all these options for ceremony locations, cocktail areas and different options for the dinner and reception area. This is a huge perk for this venue, not to mention that these perfectly manicured grounds are GORGEOUS and have so many little details that our guests can discover while basking in the warm New England sun!

This is where our ceremony will take place!

This is the other end view where our ceremony will be, and a close up of a lilly pad in the fountain, just pretty, so I wanted to add it! This is the exterior shot of where the reception will be

This is inside, where dinner will be served!
One thing that was important to us, was to find a venue with long rental hours. Some venues will charge you extra to use their location for the ceremony and reception, have limited hours the reception can end or will offer you five minutes with the rental but charge you a million dollars if you want more time. Reality check please, this is the most important day of my life and I'd like to have it last a little longer than a power nap. So when you're looking at venues make sure you ask the question about how long you'll have the location, and it's important to find out if there is another wedding the same day, you don't want to arrive and find some lingering guests waiting for the encore!

Another perk our venue has, is it has tables and chairs for us to use! Granted we may decide to rent different chairs, but this option is great and could save a few thousand dollars, who wouldn't like that?! Seeing what is included in the rental price is a way to get more bang for your buck, literally! Also, if you don't have your heart set on a Saturday in June, like I do, it will spare your wallet! Always ask if they have off season rates or a different rate for Fridays or Sundays. Vendors have plenty resources available for you, and all you need to do is ask!

Now that we have a venue, we can really figure out what to do for all the details that will personalize our wedding! So exiting and I can't wait to make those decisions and share them with you all!

Stay tuned and stay questioning, you never know what it can bring you!