venue has been chosen

Paul, one of my beloved maids of honor has turned 28.  He officially became older on Saturday, but the roommates just attacked him with some birthday cakes and forced him out of this Call of Duty haze to come outside and bond with the real world.  He did not enter this warzone without first equipping me with all of the essentials that I needed in order to complete the "computer center of doom".  We have hooked up my mighty netbook to my 32' TV and we have set up a wireless keyboard and mouse.  As I type this, I am currently sitting on my bed with a full-size keyboard on my lap and a full-size mouse perched mightily atop a book.  My trusty 10' netbook is sitting on a little perch directly beneath my television.  This is quite the epic blog post.

Joe and I were able to meet with Jeff Walker, the executive director of the Automotive Driving Museum.  Initially we had much frustration in attempting to get a hold of him since our original contact at the museum had left her position abruptly.  We had started to lose faith and we thought that the wedding venue of our dreams would remain just a distant dream.  After our meeting with Jeff, we realized that he wasn't attempting to dodge our questions or make life difficult.  We realized that he was a very busy man put to the task of running an entire venue pretty much on his own.  Event planning cannot be first and foremost on your priority list when you have an entire musuem to run.

So, with renewed faith and a stable contact person...WE HAVE OUR VENUE!!!

Next on the agenda, securing a caterer.  We thought that we were already set with our first catering choice, but it seems as though we might actually be able to save almost $7500 if we go with the second catering option.  We need to investigate and taste some food before we sign any contracts.  I think we're up to the task.

-ri

353 days and already we're cracking....

The venue that Joe and I had decided on had a wonderful added bonus: the sweetest Events Manager on the west coast.  I have been informed that she no longer works there.

The venue that Joe and I had decided on had a "preferred" caterer that we loved.  Their menu was perfect and the food was SO tasty!  I have been informed that the venue has signed an exclusive catering contract with a restaurant that is nothing like the catering company that I'm in love with.

What a burn.

-ri

ONE YEAR TO THE BIG DAY!

We officially have one year to our big day!  I've created a set on Flickr and I've committed myself to at least one photo a day until our wedding day.  EEEE!

I believe that we have finally settled on our venue.  However, we are still making a visit to the Santa Barbara Zoo tomorrow (free admission!) and the San Diego Wild Animal Park in 2 weeks (free admission x2!)  We just have to make the deposit on the venue and then we'll get to move on to obsessing about other things.  (Free food!  Free cake!)

Attire hasn't been first and foremost in my mind, but this makes me giddy: