Wedding Planning Whirlwind!

My Monday this week was spent in a wedding-planning haze.

In the morning, Kyle and I met to go over the budget and some venue options. While we were meeting in the living room, Oliver was (unfortunately) puking nearby. It made for a delightful ambience - especially the parts when I would leap off the couch and run after him with a plate saying, "If you're gonna spew, spew on this!" We actually ended up identifying a new venue option and got a tour appointment that afternoon. Hurray!

Then, Kyle left to have lunch with his parents and find out how much they were willing to contribute to the wedding cause. I met up with Lindsay and two of her bridesmaids (also my friends), Kristine and Dawn, for lunch at the delicious Cafe Rio. Over tortilla soup and chicken tacos, we discussed decor ideas, bridesmaid dresses and menu options, as well as the standard gossip. :) After lunch, we stopped in at Old Navy to browse the 30% off of sale sale (check it out!) and then went to Kristine's house for leftover 4th of July red velvet cake. 

We then piled into the car and headed up "the hill" as we call it here, to Palos Verdes where the next venue was located. We toured, discussed, priced, and discussed some more. We talked about chiavari charis, pipe and drape, cake fillings, and bridal dressing rooms. Kyle and Lindsay decided to put a hold on the venue until the end of the week, and I think they're committed to making this venue work if they have to. But it's not perfect, you know? And as their wedding planner, it is my job to find perfect. 

So, today, I made calls, sent emails and visited websites until I scrounged up a few more options. One of my options is a beautiful garden estate venue in Orange County for $10,000 less than they are currently looking at spending. However, it's not by the beach, so it was nixed. (If you want the details on the venue, email me and I'll send it to you!) Later in the day, I was contacted by one of our early choices that we wrote off as too expensive. The coordinator there asked me what she could do to make this work; I told her our budget and she said she'd work on it and send me a quote tomorrow. It pays to ask for discounts!

{the front facade of the super-expensive venue!}

I am loving this experience. I am a natural researcher, always looking for more information. I am a bargain hunter, heady with the thrill of saving money. I am also just loving spending time with Kyle and Lindsay. They're such lovely, lovely people and previous to this, I didn't get to see them as often as I would have liked to. Plus, their wedding will involve basically all of my oldest friends, so I get to hang out with this fabulous group of people planning an insanely fun, happy party. This is the best job ever!