Ladies, I found the one!
Dinner alone will cost as our entire wedding budget, which means that we'll have to at least double that but I don't care! We have plenty of time to save and the venue is worth every penny, so full of charm and history, it's gorgeous. We're very happy!
They registered the option for our date but we won't be able to secure it until the price list for 2014 gets disclosed, which I found odd... does it sound common prodecure to you, ladies?
Re: We have a venue!!
I remember for my first wedding, I booked my venue in 2002 for 2004 since it booked out very far in advance. I definitely had the date secured, but I had to wait for 2004 pricing to come out before I could sign with their 2004 terms. Perhaps they do not allow bookings that far out because they do not know the company's plans for renovations or even simpler, they don't know contract terms (like I went through?) I know that when my pricing did finally come out, the terms were generally the same, but the prices did go up by a bit. So, definitely be careful of that. Nothing is worth going into debt over
Maybe your venue has something like that, which you could use to offset the expense?
Congratulations!