Who knew that venue shopping would be so difficult? It sounds so fun and exciting (to me at least) but it is comparable to car shopping. Long days and difficult decisions paired with pushy salespeople and high prices.
My first venue experience came when I was surfing the net and stumbled upon the site for Belle Victorian Gardens. For me it was love at first sight. The photos were incredible and it had one aspect that I badly wanted; sparklers! I immediately called my mom and shared the news. Then Matt got me to call the venue and we had a great conversation. Matt and I drove out to see it the next day. Unfortunately, garden wedding venues aren't exactly at their peak right now. I looked around and felt my heart break. Everything was dirty, dusty and nothing was in bloom. I decided I still had some looking to do.
Two weeks later I made a ton of appointments and got ready to shop. Mom was scheduled to work but her sweet boss (my dad) gave her the day off so she could drive to Spokane to help me. I started at 8:00 a.m. at the Lincoln Center. Mom met me about an hour later at my second appointment for Arbor Crest Winery. The rest of the day continued just like that. We saw the Masonic Center and Beacon Hill. We also went to a small wedding expo at the Jewelery Design Center. Here, Veronica and Blake met us so we could meet with every vendor and look at wedding rings. The day ended with another trip to Belle Gardens. This time we met with Pam who is one of the owners and we talked for over an hour. My love for the venue was back and I thought I could probably make my decision right there. It was perfect.
Twelve and half hours after I started I was home again. I was tired and SUPER grumpy. Honestly, I don't think I would have made it through the day without my mom there.
Matt and I had previously decided that I would narrow down the choices for a venue and just take him to the top few. We concluded that it was time to make a final decision so I scheduled a few more appointments and we made another trip to Spokane. I took a half day off of school so we could make it there early and have appointments on Friday. That afternoon we returned to the Lincoln Center. We both liked it and found the only drawback was that we couldn't see too many photo opportunities there. We also went to Arbor Gate which is very similar to Belle Gardens but ended up being more expensive and they didn't even offer as much as Pam does. On Saturday we drove up to Bear Creek Lodge which is on Mt. Spokane. I had met Sam, the owner, while I was at the expo a couple weeks before with my mom. I didn't think I would like it very much but he was so nice and made it sound like such a fun place that I felt like I needed to at least see it.
Over an hour later Matt and I were on our way armed with more information and a decision that have suddenly become much more difficult. I thought I knew that we would get married at Belle Gardens but Bear Creek Lodge offers an entire wedding weekend! They have 15 rooms in the package and we can get the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, two nights stay, Saturday breakfast, the ceremony and reception, and a Sunday farewell breakfast all in one inexpensive package. How could we say no? The only thing it didn't have was Pam. She was the best thing about Belle Gardens. She was going to run my entire wedding and I wouldn't have to worry about a thing. I finally decided that I would get married at Bear Creek if I could have a wedding coordinator. Matt had already let me know that this venue was his favorite but he would support me in whatever decision I made. Yesterday I got an e-mail from another girl at Bear Creek. She told me that she was the coordinator and that she, basically, came in the package. We don't even have to pay extra for her. That made the decision for me. Matt and I are getting married at Bear Creek Lodge. All there is left to do is sign the contract.
My first venue experience came when I was surfing the net and stumbled upon the site for Belle Victorian Gardens. For me it was love at first sight. The photos were incredible and it had one aspect that I badly wanted; sparklers! I immediately called my mom and shared the news. Then Matt got me to call the venue and we had a great conversation. Matt and I drove out to see it the next day. Unfortunately, garden wedding venues aren't exactly at their peak right now. I looked around and felt my heart break. Everything was dirty, dusty and nothing was in bloom. I decided I still had some looking to do.
Two weeks later I made a ton of appointments and got ready to shop. Mom was scheduled to work but her sweet boss (my dad) gave her the day off so she could drive to Spokane to help me. I started at 8:00 a.m. at the Lincoln Center. Mom met me about an hour later at my second appointment for Arbor Crest Winery. The rest of the day continued just like that. We saw the Masonic Center and Beacon Hill. We also went to a small wedding expo at the Jewelery Design Center. Here, Veronica and Blake met us so we could meet with every vendor and look at wedding rings. The day ended with another trip to Belle Gardens. This time we met with Pam who is one of the owners and we talked for over an hour. My love for the venue was back and I thought I could probably make my decision right there. It was perfect.
Twelve and half hours after I started I was home again. I was tired and SUPER grumpy. Honestly, I don't think I would have made it through the day without my mom there.
Matt and I had previously decided that I would narrow down the choices for a venue and just take him to the top few. We concluded that it was time to make a final decision so I scheduled a few more appointments and we made another trip to Spokane. I took a half day off of school so we could make it there early and have appointments on Friday. That afternoon we returned to the Lincoln Center. We both liked it and found the only drawback was that we couldn't see too many photo opportunities there. We also went to Arbor Gate which is very similar to Belle Gardens but ended up being more expensive and they didn't even offer as much as Pam does. On Saturday we drove up to Bear Creek Lodge which is on Mt. Spokane. I had met Sam, the owner, while I was at the expo a couple weeks before with my mom. I didn't think I would like it very much but he was so nice and made it sound like such a fun place that I felt like I needed to at least see it.
Over an hour later Matt and I were on our way armed with more information and a decision that have suddenly become much more difficult. I thought I knew that we would get married at Belle Gardens but Bear Creek Lodge offers an entire wedding weekend! They have 15 rooms in the package and we can get the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, two nights stay, Saturday breakfast, the ceremony and reception, and a Sunday farewell breakfast all in one inexpensive package. How could we say no? The only thing it didn't have was Pam. She was the best thing about Belle Gardens. She was going to run my entire wedding and I wouldn't have to worry about a thing. I finally decided that I would get married at Bear Creek if I could have a wedding coordinator. Matt had already let me know that this venue was his favorite but he would support me in whatever decision I made. Yesterday I got an e-mail from another girl at Bear Creek. She told me that she was the coordinator and that she, basically, came in the package. We don't even have to pay extra for her. That made the decision for me. Matt and I are getting married at Bear Creek Lodge. All there is left to do is sign the contract.