Location, Location, Location

Ok, so as you can probably tell from the frequency of posts this week, a LOT of wedding planning happened the weekend my parents were here.

You know about the dress, but another major decision? We picked our reception venue!

As you know, we started looking at catering halls before my parents’ visit so we could narrow down our top two to show them.We ended up with Chateau Briand and The Riviera at Massapequa.

I have to say, I was honestly torn between the two places. They are completely different styles, with one on the water with a more rustic, old-time mansion style, and the other more reminiscent of old Hollywood and Sinatra and packed with Art Deco details. They both had great food and wonderful staff that were willing to accommodate just about all of our requests.

As of the Saturday of my parents’ visit, we had decided (well, I had decided…for some reason everyone left it up to me. So. Much. Pressure.) on the Chateau. The Fiance and I agreed that we wouldn’t be disappointed with either place, and the Chateau had a few extra amenities (like a free hotel room on our wedding night and a few extra meal options) that it was tough to say no to.

Then I woke up Sunday morning, signed onto my Google reader (with which I follow several hundred wedding blogs…as part of my job…I swear), and the first thing to pop up was this sweet, quirky wedding in a rustic venue. It was exactly the type of wedding I fall in love with over and over again. And I knew right then that I could never have that in the venue we had picked.

So I talked it over with The Fiance, my parents, and his parents, and in the end we decided the Riviera was just more our style. Plus, they had offered us a free chocolate fountain, but since I have a phobia about combining chocolate and big white dresses and The Fiance hates chocolate anyway, we asked if they could swap it out for an extra meal option. They readily complied AND threw in two other extras, including an “expresso” bar (I can’t decide if they’re being cute or just didn’t use spell check…but when someone is giving you something for free, it is NOT the time to correct their spelling).

Last night we went to sign the contract and drop off our deposit, and I have to say, I know in my gut we made the right decision. The Riviera is so much more "us," and we both love the water so it’s nice having such a great view of it. I can't wait!

So many big things are getting decided! This whole “getting hitched” thing is starting to feel more and more real…go figure. I paid a deposit on one other vendor, but I’ll save that for another day!