Sunday, July 11, 2010

potential wedding site I: The Athenaeum

First up, the Athenaeum.

I love the building, obvs. It's got loads of character and history, and just the right amount of grandeur for my taste.
 
 
 

 The building has one main room which is used as a gallery, and which I think is pretty close to perfect. It's clean, simple, and seems like it would make a nice backdrop for whatever we choose to do with the space. It certainly is nice to have that kind of freedom, and not have to worry about what kind of decorations would work with this wall color or that horrendous carpet. And it is the perfect size for the size event we're planning here. So, I think I like it.

But...
Of course there's a but. We were thinking about doing the ceremony and the reception in the same place to make things a bit easier and hopefully more cost effective. And I could see both things happening in this space. I can see a ceremony setup and a reception/dinner setup. BUT those are two separate things, which would require a re-set between events. Which would mean the guests would need somewhere to go while things are being moved around. And extra space is not something this building has a lot of. 

There is a small room to the rear of the main room which might hold 50 people standing, and we could just have you hang out there for a bit until things are ready, but you'd kind of be stuck there. In order to get out of the building or even to the bathrooms you would be in the paths of the caterers.

There is also a very cute outdoor space in the back which according to the man showing the space could "easily hold 100 people" but I beg to differ.


This would be a lovely place to have the ceremony, and then have the reception already set up inside, which would eliminate the problem of where would you go in between time, but I have my doubts that it would fit more than 30 people seated. Or it could be our mingling "cocktail hour" space while the main room is being re-set from ceremony to reception, if we went that route. But then we're counting on good weather. What if it rains? Umbrellas? I've already thought to contact them and ask if they have or if we can get a tent to cover the space. So I'll let you know if anything comes of that.

So pretend you're here with me to help me ask questions, solve problems, and generally figure this business out. What would you do?

Thursday, July 8, 2010

a bit of inspiration and some hope





We're going to visit the first potential wedding venues this weekend! There are fancy hotels, rooftops, and pink historical buildings in the mix. Wish us luck!

Saturday, July 3, 2010

for your listening pleasure

Look, we're planning a wedding. I swear. No, there isn't a date yet. Or a location. Did you guys know that this stuff is hard? That it actually takes time and effort and lots of negotiating? That maybe it's not so simple to find the perfect rooftop location in Northern VA (specifically Alexandria) or D.C.? That maybe one of us should have been born into a family with an old plantation ready to host my party for free? Well you should have told me that. Because at first it seems like taking a year to plan a wedding will be more than enough time. What could you possibly be doing with all that time? one might ask. Well can you believe more than a month has gone by since we've gotten engaged? What have we been doing with all that time? I mean, I think we may have decided on our color scheme, I found some flowers that I like, and at least I know I have our cake forks picked out, but the rest? Nah.

At least I have been doing one thing. Creating the wedding playlist is relaxing (a great excuse to have spent the entire morning laying on the couch in my pjs instead of doing laundry or anything else really useful and productive), inspirational, and lots of fun! I have already solicited help from Facebook, but please leave your song suggestions in the comments below! I love hearing what songs are special to other people. Just don't be offended if all of your choices don't end up in the final product, music is a very personal choice and and we both feel very strongly about using songs that mean something to us.

So here we go, a few of my own personal choices. Enjoy!