And the Finalists Are…

The long day of revisiting reception sites has come and gone. We learned a lot, saw a lot and heard a lot about wedding packages and crazy wedding stories from those who have been planning people’s big days for many, many years. An example? When asked how big our wedding party might be, our guess was “big.” One woman replied that she once worked with a couple who’s wedding party was 35 people strong. Must have been a huge honor to be included…

Gavin and I loaded up the blue Focus with my Mom and Dad and headed out to run the reception site gamut up and down Butterfield. Gav’s Mom met us later for the last two.

Visiting sites a second time was a smart idea. At second blush, we really didn’t like some of the ones we thought were going to be favorites, and loved those that were at the bottom of the list when we started.

Arrowhead in Wheaton is the favorite by far. The location is convenient and private, the ambiance is simple but impressive (European plush) and the view is unique and pretty.

The problem is that our winner is also the most expensive site by far. Nothing can be easy, it seems! This is the only site that offers no discounts and doesn’t include much outside food and booze. They do, however, have all of our preferred dates available and we’re penciled in for two of those. They’re ours for the taking if we win the Lotto. (Which my parents kind of did last week when we found out my little brother, Mark, won full tuition to Drake!!! Congratulate the little stud when you can.)

The second choice in terms of the inside, but not the location, is The Abbington. The inside has beautiful chandeliers, non-Holiday Inn-esque carpeting (hard to come by!) and neutral settings.

The Abbington, however, is in the parking lot of the local Wal-Mart and McDonald’s and was also the site of our high school varsity sports banquets. Our friends like to make fun of it. Wait until you all get married and find out how cheap it is for what you’re getting.

I digress.

To combat the expense of Arrowhead and the bankruptcy of my parents, I have devised a plan for Arrowhead. A proposal, if you will.

After trying to reason with the resident event planner, Ellen (who was also our favorite planner of the whole day), that they’re charging $30 more per plate for no extra service just because this event is called a wedding, I will launch into my marketing savvy and do an impromptu pitch if needed. A discount for a couple months of free public relations while they are opening their beautiful new facility that no one knows about. Plus, I can offer her lots of young local guests at her venue that evening who are not yet married and will be looking for lovely sites soon enough. How can she resist!? They should be paying us to have our wedding there!

:: arms crossed, nose in the air ::

Since that’s unheard of unless I sell sponsorship of our wedding on eBay, I welcome any suggestions about what a wedding planner at a new venue needs to hear to get her to want to make us the exception and give us a discount.