Venue Hunting

So we have been discussing and doing some research on venues just because of the fear that having the wedding near Christmas or in that time is going to potentially be problematic due to holiday parties. We want to find a space that is big enough to fit the (recently cut) guest list that is currently sitting at about 325 for our probably Yes and Maybes, and not including our 25 probably No's. So I think we are in pretty good shape. Thad and I just sat down during a break and went over it trying to figure out who we missed and who we think we can get away with not having. It is sort of disheartening when you cut people. I think mostly for me because I know that no matter what I do someone might feel sad... But hopefully that's not the case.

Regardless, I started poking around for possible venues. And I've honestly been a little discouraged at the lack of indoor areas to have a reception. It seems like it should be easier to find a venue that can fit a lot of people indoors because we live in Oregon aka the temperamental weather state. I got to thinking that maybe the reason that so many people get married in the summer is simply because there aren't many locations indoors; or ones that are know they are one of few so they charge a billion dollars.

Maybe it is because we are looking at inviting a lot of people... But to us a wedding isn't just about getting married, it is about sharing it with our friends and family. It sure would be a lot easier to run down to the courthouse and get married...

A few nights ago I did what I was supposed to do and complained to one of my (unofficially asked) bridesmaids who is way more intelligent about locations in the area than I am. She had all the good ideas. :-)

Then as it happened the next day I was talking to Thad about it and he was like well it can't be that hard to find a ballroom big enough I'm going to one tonight. I was a bit surprised but it turns out that the business department is throwing a big Christmas party here in Newberg at the Chehalem Cultural Center where there is a 5200sq ft. ballroom! WOW! And here's the best part... No catering required! BINGO.

So I tagged among on his groups tour to give input on how they could light the area to be visually appealing for their party while having the secret agenda to look at it as a possible venue. Tha and I both talked about it and looked at pricing and it is pretty cheap to rent and it is a pretty good location. Caleb Thurston (who graduated from SH and was our director at one point) works there so we feel like we have some good connections to the space.

It is a large room that use to be a red brick schoolhouse that has been built around for integrity of the building. It has wooden columns on the sides and some wooden paneling type things. The ceiling have some round lights and some interesting white modern metal chandeliers. I really liked it. Mostly because it feels like a blank slate that we could do a lot to in order to really make it our own. It is cheap enough that we could get it for 16 hours and not feel super rushed to get it set up and torn down which I really like as well. But I think that there is a lot of potential to light it and decorate it in a way that is different and would really be unique to us, rather than walking into a pre-set up space.We both really like the space but we don't want to just go with it because it is the first one that we have really seen. But I am partial to it just because it seems to fit what I would want in terms of being able to personalize it more than I think is possible at some other places. And knowing someone in charge of the space makes me feel like I could ask more questions and have more liberty to work with the space...

So we both like it and think we may choose this location, but we also have made two appointments for seeing places this Saturday. One is at the West Linn Country Club and the other is at The Oregon Garden in Silverton. So it will be interesting!