Alicia B. - Wedding Party & Venue

Hey there fellow bride-to-be’s! It has been awhile and for that I apologize. But it has no doubt been a VERY busy month. I had written a blog and had it waiting to send when some major changes happened in our wedding plans. Mike and I have agreed to have three family and friends stand up with us. For me, my Aunt Cory is going to be my matron of honor, my future sister-in-law Penny and one of my very good friends Kassi is going to be my bridesmaids. Mike has asked his brother Scott to be his best man, his other brother Joe and his best friend James to be his groomsmen. Needless to say it has been very busy out here, calling and making lunch/dinner plans to make sure we ask the right way :) Luckily for Mike all his guys live here! My Aunt Cory lives in Chicago and Penny lives in New York! Luckily I have someone here, who can keep me sane other than my Mom and Mike. Haha
So – we scheduled some appointments with some reception sites and we have decided on a site. We looked at the Kiwanis Lodge – coming up to the Lodge is VERY cute!!! It is off the road and lots of greenery before you get to the front of the lodge. When you walk in you walk into the bar area and the seating area. The dance floor is built into the floor which is nice. It is VERY country though which was one downfall of the space. Our wedding is bright colors, turquoise, black and white. Also some of our guests would have to sit outside while others were inside, I was not too happy with that because I did not want anyone to feel separated from the party. I wanted everyone together … especially with most of our guests being out of town guests. It is very cute and quaint and the Kiwanis member was very nice and informative.
A week later we went and looked at the Hilton Garden Inn – we met with Tara Craig. She was super nice. She showed us their HUGE Garden Room, which can be divided into three different spaces. It was beautiful. She mapped out where the tables would be, where the cake would be located, where the photo booth would go. She told us how the lights would be, where the DJ could go, how the sweetheart of bridal party tables could be set up. She had a folder with all the pricing and catering information for us to look at. Mike, my Mom, and I went and we were all thoroughly impressed. And the price difference between the Kiwanis Lodge and the Hilton was very similar. And the fact that our guests could just have to possibly go on an elevator ride to their rooms afterward really eased my mind about having an open bar or bar period at our wedding! :) So the Hilton Garden Inn it is!! YAY! Things are coming right along I tell ya!
There have been a few bumps in the road, but for the most part this has been the best experience ever! My Mom and I have agreed on everything almost to a tee so far – and Mike has been amazingly supportive and offered his opinion when he had one! It has been awesome!
Til next time,
Alicia