Where has the time gone?  Between work (sooo crazy!), getting ready for the new house (coming soon!) and the wedding, i have barely had time to breathe let alone update the blog…

And sadly, i really don’t think much has happened since my last post.  I’m really caught up in all the little details and i’m realizing how much it sucks to be such a visual person… i can’t seem to decide on a DIY centrepiece since i have no idea what it would look like.

What HAVE we done? the bridesmaid’s have dresses (yay!) … alfred angelo, black cocktail dresses, very nice; also found our lovely flower girls dress (also alfred angelo, a gorgeous silver).  The groom-to-be and i have looked at tuxes and think we have that nailed down.  I’ve decided on the dessert – from a the delectable Cupcake Shoppe at Yonge and Eglinton (yummy!) and my lovely friends are even going to pick it up for me on our wedding day so i can save the delivery cost!    And i found a venue for the rehearsal dinner – we don’t have to go far, we’re going to stay at the Eagles Nest!  sweet!

Oh and I finally decided on the wording for my invites by the AMAZING Laurie from Designed by Yours Truly … I get them all back tomorrow and can’t wait … she did a great job on the mock so can’t imagine what the real thing will look like! *I’ll post pics after … just don’t want to spoil the surprise for the invited guests.

And sadly that’s it… still to come: transportation, makeup, ring bearers outfits, ring pillow, guest book, hair style, decor, centrepieces, ceremony music, vows, readings, and SO much more it’s crazy!

Will try to post  more often, if only to remind me of how little time i have to do so much!

Thanks for reading…

Well, it took a lot of after-work and weekend visits, but we finally selected our venue.

Drum roll please….

The Eagles Nest in Vaughan.

I actually saw this one with my good friend Stacey and when we walked in the hall we both went “ooohhhh”.  The reception hall has a wrap-around patio overlooking the golf course and a pond.  While it was dark out when we saw it, it definitely made an impact.

What truly sold me on this place was the wedding coordinator Leanne.  Stacey and I just had a hoot chatting with her that night and I just felt really comfortable with her – a very important thing for your wedding.  She was funny, personable, and most importantly, she got my ‘vision’ of the day. 

The hall is large enough that we can have both tables for dinner AND a lounge/bar area, plus we have the entire patio – SWEET!

I took the fiance back to the venue and he loved it too.  Nothing else really measured up to the Eagles Nest, and believe me, we saw a LOT of places – my handy spreadsheet of pros and cons proves it! 

So, happy to have the venue nailed down.  Now all i have left is the photographer, dj, clergy, florist, wedding dress, decor, centrepieces, transportation, wedding cake…

Stay tuned!

Turns out very hard.

Especially when you 1) have a full time job, 2) work at the north end of downtown T.O while your fiancé works closer to home in the ‘burbs and 3) not many event managers work evenings to meet with you. It makes it even harder when you want to try and space the bookings out a tad so your fiancé doesn’t think you’re crazier than he already knows you are. 5 venues on a Saturday – not really gonna cut it. So we’ve been visiting maybe one or two during the week and then one on the weekend, and I’ve seen a couple on my own, but that’s not really efficient.

I just haven’t been blown away by anything, and when I am, the cost is ENOURMOUS! I just want to have a location that we can get married at, have our pics taken at AND have the reception. We want to have a somewhat intimate cocktail reception with our close friends and family. I want yummy food, great tunes and my guests to dance and mingle all night.

Most of the places we’ve seen have been either far too traditional, too expensive, or just not what I had in mind… I just can’t picture myself getting married in a banquet hall, even though one of them has a super cool new lounge. I’m finding some of the trendier places are just rentals of the space and you have to take care of finding the caterer, tables, chairs, linens, etc. I’m sorry, but that’s just too much work and extra money (you should see some of the rental fees – you’d think you’d get the moon for those costs!).

I find that while I know it’s our day, I’m really trying to please everyone… not too far away from our hometown, accessible to hotels, golf course nearby, plenty of bathrooms (this is important to me as a girl, as a frequent wedding guest – location and # of bathrooms is important – esp if you’re competing with other weddings).

So far we’ve looked at the Glen Erin Inn, McMichael Art Gallery, The Royalton (super-cool lounge), Old Mill, Millcroft Inn, and Rattlesnake and Eagles Nest golf courses. We’re off to see Edgewater in the Stoney Creek this weekend (prob too far), the Royal Botanical Gardens, Terrace on the Green and a visit to the new golf course in Brampton – Turnberry.

But how far is too far to drive? Especially when you’re doing an early evening ceremony on a Friday – should you worry about that? Or just go with a reasonable drive (no more than 45 mins-1hour for most of your guests)? And hotels, is a 10-15 min drive to the nearest hotel ok?

Questions, questions and more questions. This bride thing is tough and I’ve barely started!