All About Venues

We're still undecided about a reception venue, with a few choices that seem to be front-runners. One, which we dearly love the thought of, is a tent in Mr. 16th's parents' backyard. It sounds lovely and casual and very much our style. Photos like this one, found here by the very talented, and local, flutterphoto completely capture my imagination:

There are definitely "cons" to the backyard tent wedding, though. The house is pretty far from the church (NW DC to Oakton, VA). We'll have to rent everything and get staff to set it all up. Although the backyard is really big, they do have neighbors, who may not be thrilled about the huge party and DJ. And, of course, there's the fact that we'll be taking over his parents house entirely for at least the wedding day.

So we're looking into other ideas. The church has a hall, which I'm going to check out on Friday. There is a rental fee, although it would cost less than a tent, and while it comes with some dining tables and chairs we'd still have to rent lots of stuff.

There are a few hotels nearby that I've contacted about guest room blocks and a reception. It seems like that would be convenient for our out of town guests. One is even walking distance from the church!

There are a few restaurants and wine bars I've contacted too. Maybe I'm wrong on this, but it seems that having the reception in a place that already has the tables, linens, dishes, etc. can be less expensive than renting it all separately and getting a caterer. I guess we'll know when the quotes start rolling in! Even if the price isn't much different, it does give us fewer things to worry about and vendors to work with.

And maybe that last point is really the heart of the matter. We want to have a nice wedding and a reception where we can spend time with our friends and family, but without going nuts! My new wedding motto just may be "simplify, simplify."

Including Your Loved Ones

So one of the very very first things I said to Mr. 16th about the wedding was "Cocoa can walk down the aisle!" Our flower girl is his adorable little cousin (who is also his god-daughter) and her ridiculously cute little brother is the ring bearer. How cool would it be to have them walk with our little furball!?!

Well. He was not having any of it. And now that I think about it, our high-strung, super high-energy little dog is probably not going to work out at the ceremony. I had resigned myself to this and was trying to figure out how I could at least get a few photos with her while I was in my dress. (Stop by the house before the reception? Have someone bring her to the photos?) Fortunately, that isn't a problem anymore. Since we're having the reception in his parents' backyard, Cocoa can just step outside to visit with everyone and then head back in for a nap in her crate.

This probably makes me a lot happier than it really should. I mean, she's a dog, right? But I love her. And now she can be a part of our wedding. And that makes me smile.

How about you? Including any pets? What would your guy say if you suggested it?