Good Things Come to Those that Wait

All week I felt like I was sitting by the phone waiting for a boy to call me as I patiently waited for the lady from Falcon’s Fire to email me the proposal I had asked for. She had said she would send it by Tuesday and when I didn’t hear from her by Thursday, I followed up with her but received no immediate response. I was starting to get a little irritated and impatient but didn’t want to write her off just yet as we both really liked this place. I was afraid this was already going to start the precedent as to how it would be throughout the whole process if we chose Falcon’s Fire as our wedding venue. Dave had remembered from when we met with her last weekend that she had mentioned she was going to be at the bridal show this past weekend so I thought this would be a perfect time to sought her out as well as look at the vendors she said she worked with that were going to be there as well. Once we got there we recognized Karon right away, I was so ready to confront her and ask her what the deal was (I secretly hoped that something terrible had not happened to her and that’s why she didn’t get back to me right away). She recognized us and apologized immediately and said she had been busy planning the wedding she had last night and then on top of that getting ready for the bridal show. She showed me pictures of the new renovations they had done and pictures from the hideously decorated wedding from the night before (I will never understand some peoples taste). She reassured me she would send the proposal to me by tomorrow. First thing this morning I had the proposal waiting for me in my inbox and she even offered to take 10% off of our total food and beverage service in return for us being so patient. I suppose waiting those extra couple days was worth it! I can’t wait until Dave comes home from work so we can number crunch!!

I only quickly brushed over the bridal show experience, more to come in follow-up post.

Possibly the Final Day of Venue Shopping?

Today Dave and I visited the two wedding venues which I mentioned in my previous post. I have linked them again in this post incase you missed them.
Falcon’s Fire Golf Club
The Celebration Golf Club
We really liked both venues. We went to the Celebration Golf Club first because the woman on the phone told us she was not going to be on-site today but that we were welcome to come and look around the grounds ourselves and then call or email her with any questions. I really love the area of Celebration since it is so quaint. The town of Celebration is owned by Disney so everything is so pristine and perfectly manicured. The little town reminds me somewhat of Pleasantville. The venue was adorable and perfect. The ceremony site would be outside under a gazebo and would be a very intimate spot to get married. The reception would be held inside the club house which was a little smaller in size but unfortunately without being able to speak to anyone who could help us to envision how everything would be set up made it a little difficult to put it all into perspective. The food prices didn’t seem too far out of our budget but I will be emailing the woman with all my questions and to request a price quote.

We then showed up at Falcon’s Fire Golf Club. I was a little unsure of this location because every time I looked at their website their fire logo reminded me of Woody the Woodpecker. I was afraid the location would be a little on the cheesy side, but I was quite mistaken! The location was gorgeous. I realized how much I have fallen in love with the thought of a golf course wedding, every which way you turn you are greeted by rolling acres of luscious green. Dave and I got there early so we explored the property a little outside on our own. We then met Karon who is the on site events coordinator. She walked us around and showed us the grounds and each of the rooms which would be available to us. I especially liked the option of having a plan B, and I pray to God that it does not rain, but in that case there is another covered ceremony site incase of inclement weather. We went into Karon’s office where she had tons of information to offer us and went over the food/bar packages. Best yet, she offers an “all inclusive wedding package” which kind of tickled my fancy. Basically she does all the work for us as our wedding coordinator and it comes as one set price. We are certainly able to customize the package to our preference, for example take out the videographer and DJ and replace with a band and make up the cost difference, etc. She gives us a couple of choices for florists, cake makers, photographers, etc. and we meet with them and make a decision on our own. She has worked with all of these vendors before so she obviously knows they are reliable and what they are capable of doing for us. I asked her for a ball park figure based on our head count as I was assuming the cost would be astronomical but it didn’t sound too far off from our established budget. The more we started thinking about this option the more appealing it started to sound. I definitely have a few more questions for her regarding the all inclusive package and exactly how extensive each vendor will be willing to go but it is an option.

I am excited after viewing our two suggested venues today. I hope we make a decision soon and we plan to stick to our goal of making a decision by the end of the month. Feel free to check out both locations and let me know what you think. Unfortunately they don’t offer as many pictures on the website as I would have liked but by all means take a peek!

Falcon’s Fire Golf Club
The Celebration Golf Club

Venue Shopping – Day 2

This weekend Dave and I visited two wedding venues in which we both liked equally as much. Each venue offered a little bit of something in which we are both envisioning our wedding to be. Saturday morning we met with Heather at the Eagle Creek Golf Club. The grounds were immaculate and we had our choice of three ceremony locations. If we chose this venue we would choose to get married on the driving range with our guests facing the view of the lake. After the ceremony, the cocktail hour would be held on the terrace and the bartender would serve drinks through the snack bar window. A little touch that we thought was kind of cute. After cocktail hour and photographs our guests would make their way up stairs to the ballroom which is circular in shape with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the rolling greens of the golf course. We sat down with Heather and we discussed details of what we were looking for and she came up with a price quote of which was quite reasonable and in the ball park figure of where we are trying to come in at. Both Dave and I agreed as we got in the car that Eagle Creek Golf Club is a leading favorite.

We had our next venue meeting with David at Dubsdread. We had been to this location before for my work Christmas party which has been held in a different room so we knew somewhat of what to expect. I loved the rustic feeling of the ballroom and with the high arched ceilings and general look of the room not a great deal of decorating would be required. The room rental would include the use of the greeting room in which would flow guests out to the terrace, the terrace where the ceremony would be held, and the ballroom. Our guests would have proxy to all areas throughout the entire wedding. We were lucky enough to see the place already set up for a wedding that was going to be held tonight so that definitely helped put things into perspective. Dubsdread offers an intimate feeling as well as will allow us to incorporate our personal touches. We sat with David and discussed details and he is going to send us a proposal today or tomorrow. I am excited to receive this as I see Dubsdread being another one at the top of our list of wedding venue choices!

Both venues seem to be extremely flexible as far as menu selections and extending time which is important to both of us so we are extremely grateful for that. The only part that we are uneasy about is that the open bar at Dubsdread is based on a consumption basis. I suppose this could go either way, good or bad. We set our budget and they will let us know once we are getting close to that budget and to see what we want to do, close the bar or keep it open and add more money. With more thought this could work in our favor as those that are non heavy drinkers may cancel out the cost of those that are heavy drinkers.

Dave and I have made a goal to have our wedding venue selected and booked by the end of September. I think we are close to this goal! I already have so many ideas swirling around in my head and can’t wait until I can finally start envisioning these ideas for real!!

Mid Week Update

First, let me start out by saying a great big thank you to all of you who have taken a peek at my blog and have joined my following. How exciting! As per the request of one of my readers and I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner but by using my shoddy and self taught HTML skills I have gone back and added links to all of the places we have or are thinking of visiting. We have added another one to the appointment list for this weekend.

Dubsdread is located in College Park on a golf course. My work Christmas party has actually been held there for the past two years and I have always envisioned having a wedding there. I love how they decorate for Christmas as they make it so cozy and intimate. The banquet room opens up into a beautiful terrace where the ceremony could be held. Every year the food is always delicious, in fact we liked the food so much at my work Christmas party the first year that we went back for dinner on Valentines Day! Take a peek at Dubsdread here!

Wedding Venue Shopping – Day 1

Total Visited Venues = 3. Venues to include:

Winter Park Farmers Market
Winter Park Civic Center
Paradise Cove at Buena Vista Watersports

David and I awoke early and excited to start our day. This weekend was the first weekend since we got engaged that we were not traveling and finally had a chance to visit wedding venues. Our first appointment was at noon with Kristen at Paradise Cove. I was extremely excited for this one as I had scoured their website time and time again looking at photos of past weddings and had fallen in love. Since we woke up so early I suggested we hit the Winter Park Farmers Market since they are there every Saturday until one and that way we could check out the building without having to make an appointment. We wandered around the area eating yummy bagels filled with assorted cream cheeses and veggies while poking around at the different vendors. It was hard to get a good feel since the area was so filled with vendors with their goods and tents set up. The inside of the building is an old train depot and it certainly has potential. It has that very old rustic feeling and the train literally runs right behind the building. My only concern is that the building itself is too small for what I am envisioning and our guests would be too cramped. As many of you know the one stipulation that I have for our wedding is to have a band and I fear they would not fit into this venue. The outside patio and terrace do offer a nice getaway for a fresh-air break. Although for the price of this location, it’s kind of hard to pass up. See pictures here of the Winter Park Farmers Market.

Leaving the Farmers Market we saw a sign for the Winter Park Civic Center and we anticipated just doing a drive by to see what it looked like. We pulled into the parking lot and Dave insisted on going in and just looking around if they were open. I was against it as I didn’t feel comfortable popping in without an appointment. There we met Cindy, who was so helpful and provided us with bride magazines for the Central Florida area and floor plans for other venues in the Winter Park area. David and I walked around the grounds outside and it was gorgeous. It would be more of a ballroom setting and I am sort of against having just a ballroom with hideous carpet and no windows. I want our guests to be able to move freely around the grounds and be able to venture outside at their leisure. The room at the Civic Center included a large stage and I envisioned the band to be up on the stage, although on the downside, the look of the ballroom somewhat reminded me of my elementary school gymnasium with the stage. The high vaulted ceilings were a bonus and sort of gave a church like feeling. See pictures here of the Winter Park Civic Center.

We then arrived at Paradise Cove. We were a bit early and Kristen was still in another meeting so the receptionist said we could walk around the grounds and she would come find us. At first glance the place looked a bit dirty and in need of some TLC. The ground was sandy and sticky, etc., yet we were later informed there had been a wedding the night before and the Brits partied pretty hard. The staff was there cleaning it as we were arriving. We really fell in love with this place and it’s exactly what I envisioned. The entire grounds would be ours and our guests could mill around, play on the beach, take a long walk on the dock, watch the beautiful sunset and all around have a great time as we celebrated our marriage. The wispy moss trees where the ceremony would be held added such an intimate touch. We loved Kristen and she seemed to be a great person to work with. We sat with Kristen as she explained what was included in the rental package and I could tell Dave was crunching numbers in his head as she talked. We discussed our budget and the type of food we had in mind to serve our guests. She threw out some helpful ideas and we left feeling pretty satisfied. Once in the car out came “Digit Dave” with his number crunching. We both agreed that the facility seemed a little pricey for the four short hours that would actually be our wedding celebration and there may be some additional costs that we had not anticipated. We discussed how the actual ceremony would be short of course but after that come pictures, then dinner, and then that does not leave us much time to enjoy our wedding reception with our friends and family. That is a lot to shove into four hours. We would need to purchase at least an extra hour or two to get the full enjoyment of our wedding day. After all, you spend a whole year planning for only four short hours! In the big picture, it seems a bit ludicrous to me. After discussing it over with Dave it just does not seem feasible for us to put so much money towards this one piece to the puzzle of our wedding. Although perfect for what we are wanting, it’s kind of hard to swallow. I wouldn’t say this venue has been completely crossed off our list but we now know we need to visit other options. Today was only the first day of venue shopping and I feel prematurely disappointed. I do know that I need to understand there are so many other places out there and this was only the beginning of the many places we will see in the weeks to come. View Paradise Cove at Buena Vista Watersports here.

Tomorrow, as per Dave’s request, we are headed to a bridal show at one of the big hotels near Disney. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog entry on our experience. I told Dave we have to enter every raffle, who knows, we may be the winners of free wedding flowers or a honeymoon!! Now that would be nice.