How did you know you found the one?

heidi1068

Venue, that is.  I think I have narrowed it down to two possibilities and I am confident that I've looked around enough to know that the chances that there is something else out there that might be what we are looking for are really slim.  (The three other possibilities all have something wrong enough with them that we have taken them off of our list.)  Neither is absolutely perfect and they are very different, but I really like them both and think either of them could work.  But I am absolutely terrified that I am going to end up picking the "wrong" one.  Did anyone else have this fear?  How did you choose?

jennuinne

Partly I got sick of looking and felt pressured to just make a decision.  Not deciding was more stressful.  But every now and then I wonder if I should've kept looking b/c I may have found something better.

But, it was affordable and suited us, our style, was on the water and allowed us to bring in any caterers or alcohol we wanted.  And it was in Seattle, which was important to me especially b/c our OOT guests had never been here.  There weren't two that tied.  The harder decision for us was DW in Hawaii v. wedding in Seattle. 

What are the pros/cons of your 2 choices?  Do they both fit into your style of wedding?  Is FI equally torn also?

MrsH8172010

It was a long search for our venue but we ended up finding the perfect one. We really wanted something that was on the water but had a really nice building for a reception. We also wanted to find a venue that we really liked the event coordinators. We searched and searched and it seemed like everywhere we found was either on the water with a not so nice building or just a building and nice garden. We almost went with a different venue that we really liked but it wasn't everything we hoped for. When we were finally getting tired of searching we looked again at a venue near us that is on the water and we found out they just had just built a gorgeous new building for wedding receptions. They also even have a tent for the cocktail hour which is nice! It seemed like everything we were looking for and I am very happy with our choice.

Oh and the event coordinators there were super nice and helpful which was really important to me : )

Sorry that was so long!

fancynewbecca

Agree with PP... looked at LOTS of places and got a little tired of looking. We had chosen another venue and our hearts were SET on it, but when we got ready to make the deposit, they backed out, so we had to keep looking. Eventually we found a venue that is great with our budget and the right size for our guest. Also, they were very helpful aand let us know that there are lots of different options depending on what we want.

Don't worry about choosing the wrong venue. Everything will fall into place and if you think it's right, it probably is. I second guess everything but have to trust that if FI agreed with me, it's probably okay. He's not going to lead me in the wrong direction. )

jennyann28

We had also narrowed it down to two.  The one we ended up choosing was a little bit more expensive, and a little further away, but in the end, I liked the owners MUCH better than the proprietor of the other place.  She gave me a weird vibe that I just couldn't get over.

trishaselby

Jennyann- what place are you taking about is it in Arlington?

heidi1068

FI isn't worried about the decision.  He insists that he really likes them both and would be happy with either one.  Before we got the price quotes back, his first choice was B (below).  The pros and cons are basically:

Venue A ("classic"): pros: beautiful location (indoor and outdoor both great), excellent price, on-site coordinator seems really good to work with; cons: can't go over 156 guests (we were originally planning on inviting 200 but have decided we could cut back to 150 if necessary, that said, I'm a little concerned about not going some place with room for a few extra people, just in case); also, our guests would be split among two rooms (they are connected by french doors that would be opened, but there is still wall between them)

Venue B ("contemporary, slightly quirky"):  pros:  very cool venue with good indoor and outdoor spaces, can accomodate over 200 people; cons:  quote came in significantly higher than the other (but I plan on trying to renegotiate for a consumption bar, which I think will save us money)

We technically can afford either, but it would be awesome to save the money by going with the less expensive option.  I'm really nervous, however, that we are going to be under too much pressure from the guest list and am not thrilled with the idea of using two rooms for the reception, even if they are connected.

jennyann28

Trisha - it wasn't in Arlington.  It was in Snohomish, Swan's Trail Farm (not related to the chapel).  Really cool venue, but we've never looked back since making our decision. 

trishaselby

Oh jennyaa- we checked that one out too. So funny! We looked at a few simialr venues. I thought you were talking about A Country Location, that was our second contender, and Tazer was 3rd. We loved Tazer but it wasn't exactly what we were looking for. I love the grandness when you drive up, it literally took my breath away!

jennuinne

I guess you just have to decide if the extra cost is worth the piece of mind of not stressing about your guest list.

whatchamahu

It looks like our venue process was very different from everyone else's. We chose the first venue that we ever looked at, and never looked at any others. I looked online a little bit to compare prices after we stumbled across our choice, and that was it, we booked it a week after we first saw it.

BrandyL10

The second FI and I walked into the ceremony room and it had a waterfall we were sold. And after the spiel the wedding consultant gave, it was too good to be true! They take care of everything!

dreamwinds

I've had two places in mind for the last two years (we talked about getting engaged since about 2-3 years ago now). We knew we wanted the feel of a destination wedding, but close enough to where we lived so we don't have the tiredness of traveling a lot. We wanted to be near water and good food and a general relaxed environment.

It kind of made our choice eas(ier), but not really easy, as we found out prices and started to budget out the rest of our wedding, but it worked out in the end. A good wedding coordinator is invaluable in negotiations I think.