Hi,
I'm just starting my venue search and I'm completely overwhelmed. Everything I'm finding is so expensive and it's tough to keep track of which place includes what for the price.
My front runner at the moment is an outdoor fall wedding at the villa at Springwood. The woman I spoke with on the phone seemed very helpful, though busy, and I'm a bit worried about interaction based on some reviews. But the place looks gorgeous on the website and all the reviews mention how lovely it all looks (I will see it in person in 2 weeks). It also looks like you can customize your event a lot which is good b/c I want a non-traditional ceremony and reception. The food is done on-site which in my mind is a plus (assuming it's tasty!), one less vendor to worry about, though a bit pricey. You can also bring your own alcohol (money saver), and I'm hoping with the landscape I won't need to decorate as extensively. One thing that came up in multiple reviews though was additional charges for various things, though no one seemed to specify what these "things" are. Maybe it's a problem, maybe it wouldn't be for us if we don't want the extras.
FYI - we are looking at roughly 50 people and I'd really like to keep my budget as low as possible. Having just started it's tough for me to say what's reasonable, but ideally under $10k for everything (dress, food, venue, photos, EVERYHING) would be best. I suspect Springwood would bring my total closer to $15k
