Well clearly this post is all about the venue search. And oh, boy, what a search it was. I didn't realize when we started looking at venues 1) how crazy expensive places were and 2) how many venues were out there! Even with my specifics of having a non-religious outdoor venue, there were just so many options! Before we got to our top list, here are just a few we looked at:
1. Rejected Venue #1
I found this venue before Mr. Chipmunk even popped the question. It was dreamy, old-worldly, on the Columbia River, and G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S. I still sigh a little bit every time I look at it. The one negative I knew in advance was that it was about 2 hours east of Portland...not super convenient for any of our relatives. I thought that might all be okay-- I mean, just look at that building! Look at that stone bridge! When I finally contacted them about rates, though, they were simply out of our budget. *sigh*
2. Rejected Venue #2
3. Rejected Venue #3
This one was right in the Portland area, so it would be convenient and close for most of our relatives in Oregon. When I contacted this venue, they were also way outside of our price point. I seemed to be hitting a similar chord...clearly our taste was more expensive than what we could truly afford! Time to start retooling the list, and looking at maybe slightly smaller venues.
3. Rejected Venue #3
This beautiful Victorian style house is actually super close to us, and very convenient for in-state family members since it's just one hour south of Portland (most of our in-state family lives anywhere from 2 hours south to 1 hour west of Portland). When I called this venue in October, they were very affordable and flexible...but they had already booked our Sunday date of September 9, 2012. And most other September dates. And most late August dates. We thought about changing our date, but when we went to go visit the venue, we noticed that it's right on the corner of 2 very busy streets. And traffic noises were very noticeable from everywhere within the grounds. Plus, there was something about it being *so* close to home that made it a bit less exciting for us. But we did feel like we were getting closer with this one, so at least we were moving in the right direction!
How did you start to figure out your direction for your wedding venue? Did you go through numerous rejects like we did?
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