Ready...Set...Plan!

Many people have been asking for wedding planning updates, so I created this blog for their reading pleasure…enjoy!! (And to those of you who doubt my blogging consistency, I will be doing my best to improve and post more regularly!)

After our return from Mayo/Minnesota, Randy and I decided that we needed to get our wedding planning in gear. We decided that booking a venue needed to be our first priority. We needed to find a place where we could have both the ceremony and the reception. We already decided on some definites: indoor ceremony, Saturday night, and plated dinners. We decided to visit a few places: White Eagle Golf Club in Naperville, DiNolfo’s in Homer Glen and Broken Arrow Golf Club in Lockport.

On Wednesday, we went to White Eagle and met with Lillian. She was very helpful and informative and made our first venue visit very pleasant. She gave us a lot of information and showed us the beautiful ballroom. This place met our criteria and had other additional perks: no extra charge for the ceremony, a guarantee that only one wedding/reception would be occurring at a time and free valet parking & coat check.

After visiting White Eagle, we went to DiNolfo’s. The gentlemen we met with there was knowledgeable and experienced. This place was beautiful, had a lot to offer and met all of our criteria. However, we just weren’t feeling it. We left there thinking that White Eagle just might be the place for us.

An appointment was also scheduled to go look at Broken Arrow. We contemplated canceling it and going with White Eagle, but we decided to just check it out anyway. This morning, we went and met with Pete. Like the other banquet managers, he was very informative and experienced. He was a straight shooter and was open with suggestions. He showed us around the facility and explained its amenities. The prices were less than DiNolfo’s and White Eagle, but we would either have to get married outdoors or in the center of all of the dinner tables with our guests seated at them. That was not something either Randy or I liked. We talked in the car in the parking lot and decided that White Eagle was the place for us. It just felt right. We had a few questions that we wanted answered first, though. Randy called Friday afternoon and left a message for Lillian. She called him back in the early evening and answered each of his questions. He must have liked her answers because he reserved the date for us! (By this time, I was at work.) She will be sending out the contract for us to review and sign. We will also make our deposit when we return the contract.

I am thrilled! We have a date! We are really getting married! I will become Emily Beal on October 10, 2009! Yippee!

It also means a lot to me that Randy has been so willing to work with me on things. If it were up to him, we would get married at the courthouse and follow it up with a pig roast. (No offense to those of you who may like that! It is just not me!) I am lucky to have someone who loves me enough to spend such a large amount of money with me to throw a beautiful and wonderful event! I love you, Randy!

We still have tons to do, but I feel a huge weight has been lifted off of our shoulders. We can move on from here. If anyone has any suggestions about vendors (DJ, photographer, bakery, etc.), bring ‘em on!