This was a very productive weekend for me, wedding-wise. Sunday morning, FI and I, along with my little sister and my mom and stepdad, went over to the venue to take a look. It was FI's first time seeing it, so I was a little bit nervous that he wouldn't love it as much as I did, but he did! I took a few more photos this time. We're thinking of getting a tent to cover the terrace so that we can use it even if it's raining and if it's sunny, the tent will keep that area shaded. Our ceremony will take place in front of the gazebo (we'll walk out the front door of the house, through those two trees, and up to the gazebo). Cocktail hour will be on the terrace and in the lobby of the building (not pictured), plus we'll have lawn games right off the terrace and some tables and chairs down on the lawn too. Then dinner will be in the ballroom. We're thinking of stinging globe lights and tulle across the ceiling - I've seen photos of other weddings there where they've done that and love how it looks!
After seeing the venue, we met with a photographer. She was SO sweet and seemed very excited about her work. We loved all of her photos, and her style is exactly what I was looking for (more of the documentary-style shooting than posed photos). Best of all - her prices are some of the lowest I've found because she's only been doing this full-time for a couple of years. She had a bunch of great ideas for our engagement photos, and when she asked what hobbies we were into and I said I was a horseback rider, she told me how much she really wanted to do an E-shoot with horses :-) After I told her my BFF has a horse, she even asked if there was any way we could get the horse to the wedding for pictures of me with it in my dress. I think my mom just about had a heart attack there. We're signing the contract and sending her the deposit today!
After that, we met up with my sister and her BF to go eat lunch at their favorite BBQ restaurant. The food was phenomenal, and their catering prices are VERY affordable, so....we're pretty sure we're going to use them for our wedding! We're going to get a ton of food for a price much lower than what I have in our budget, which makes us VERY happy.
All in all, I'm just sooo excited to finally be getting some more wedding things done. It makes it feel more real!