The Date! (And Venue!)

We have been looking forward to posting this one - we have officially booked our venue! We chose the Palm Event Center in Pleasanton, California. And of course, that means we picked a date! We will be getting married on July 9, 2011, or as I (Terry) like to put it, 7-9-11. Always the math nerd.

The (unofficial) decision came on December 23 (Happy Festivus!) when we visited another venue, Ruby Hill Golf Course. In the word of my future mother-in-law: "OMG, this place is gorgeous." And was it! The drive up alone is breathtaking as you wind your way up a little hill littered with mulit-million dollar homes that could easily be rented out for a wedding reception (the thought crossed my mind). Upon walking into the golf club, you find yourself in the area where the ceremony would take place. We would be married under a skylit dome before the banister of the grand staircase. At the base of the stairs is the reception hall which is lined with columns and windows providing a view to the luscious green course. Connected to the hall is a bar and lounge which evokes the feeling of a rustic log cabin. Right outside is the primary location for the ceremony. They really pushed this spot to us, but with a summer wedding, we just don't think that out in the heat is the best setting. All in all, the grounds and venue are beautiful, and the staircase is perfect for a "Cinderella Wedding."

But something just drew us back to the Palm. After our trip to Ruby Hill, we swung by the Event Center (literally a half mile away) to take a quick look inside, just for comparison. Jules and I made a brief survey around the place and silently smiled at each other. This place just clicked with us. We knew this is where we want to get married.

Ultimately, while we had lists of what we wanted in a venue, what made our decision was the overall ambiance of the Palm. We could envision our wedding here, not just another wedding at a cookie-cutter site. We love the barrels on all sides of the rooms, the idea of tea lights everywhere, the romance of getting married at a winery instead of a country club. We can envision a million awesome photo opportunities, and we think our guests will truly enjoy the entire experience. Plus (and this is a big one), we have heard nothing but wonderful reviews about the Palm, both from guests of past parties and from former brides. Those references tell us that we will have an unforgettable experience and a perfect wedding.

So after all the research, the visits, the meetings, the tours, on December 26th (Happy Kwankzaa!), Julie and I booked our wedding at the Palm Event Center for July 9, 2011. Julie's parents were with us through the entire process, from tours to that first down payment, so it was fitting that we all got to celebrate with a nice dinner that evening. We worked with Mackenzie, the most adorable wedding coordinator you can imagine (Julie's words), and we look forward to working with her throughout the next year and a half. The Palm offers a wedding coordinator service for rehearsal and day-of coordination for only $250, so we are gladly taking advantage of having someone available to put out any fires that (will inevitably) arise.

The Palm provides an incredible list of amenities for brides and grooms who book their special day there (do I sound like a wedding expert yet?), including:

Day of Event:

• Bridal Party and Vendor Access to Property 2 Hours Prior to Event for Photos and Set-Up
• 5 Hours of Event Time (i.e. guests on the property, which includes ceremony time)
• Access 2 Hours Prior to Event to Dressing Room with Floor Length Mirrors
• 1 Staff Member per 15-25 Guests (depending on style of service)
• 1 Bartender per 100 Adult Guests
• Team of Palm Management and Banquet Staff to Detail and Execute Event
• Set-Up and Break-Down of Included Equipment
• Choice of Ivory or White Floor-Length Linen
• Choice of Ivory or White Napkins with Standard Napkin Fold
• Glassware, Flatware, and China (excluding specialty items)
• Black Banquet Chairs
• Choice of Family Style, Buffet, or Sit-Down Food Service. All Service Styles Include House Appetizer Table, Choice of One Served Salad, Choice of Two Seasonal Entrees, Chef’s Choice of Two Starches and Seasonal Vegetables, and Palm Breads.
- Family Style and Buffet Include Both Seasonal Entrees for Each Guest
- Saturday Package Includes Choice of 3 Passed Appetizers from Seasonal Menu
• One Toast Pour of Sparkling Wine or Sparkling Cider Per Guest
• One Pour of Red or White Dinner Wine Per Guest
• 4 Consecutive Hours of Open Bar to Include Palm Signature Drink, Mitchell Katz Wine, Mitchell Katz Sparkling Wine, Non-Alcohol Beverages (sodas and juice), House Tap Beer, Standard Mixers, and Hard Liquor (no shots or doubles) From Your Selected Beverage Package. Bar Opens After Ceremony or Upon Guests Arrival for Offsite Ceremony Weddings.
• Cake Cutting Service
• Coffee and Hot Tea Buffet Served After Dinner Service

We feel that this package suits our needs exactly, especially the 4 hours of open bar, which we know both our brothers (and Matt Frankel) will appreciate. Since the venue is on a winery, we are of course limited to drinking only their wines, so we all ventured over for a tasting "just to make sure we like them..." And the wines were great! We're proud to have our guests enjoy Mitchell Katz wines; plus, as an added bonus, guests can go for their own tasting in the mini-wine region of Pleasanton during their weekend in the Bay Area, should they need some entertainment before or after the wedding.

If we had to name some problems with the venue, Julie and I would agree that the location, while gorgeous and perfect for a wedding, is far from any airports. With so many out of town guests, we realize that Pleasanton is less than ideal, even with three airport options (Oakland, San Jose, and San Francisco) in the vicinity. Cab rides will be costly, but I'm hoping we can arrange some kind of shuttle system among the people we know in the area to avoid forcing our guests to incur extra fees on top of the hotel and the flights. Otherwise, this location is truly idyllic, and we can't wait to start planning the rest of the event!

Next post: Introducing our pastor and our first Christmas together

Winter Break Wedding Planning

Winter Break!!!

Right this very moment, Terry is on his way back from Buffalo, and this time he gets to stay home for good. He is going to take Monday through Wednesday off work - a well deserved break - which gives us 16 full days off together! I am so lucky that Terry's job allows him this long break, so we can enjoy each other's company, spend time with family, celebrate the holidays, and, of course, plan our wedding!

My wonderful parents have offered to visit two additional venues as a preview for us before we come up to the Bay Area. If these places are comparable to or better than Palm Event Center, we'll go back to check them out ourselves.

Bridges Golf Club

Bridges looks gorgeous but doesn't have an indoor ceremony space, which is a must-have for a July wedding in the Bay Area. If we end up loving the rest of the venue, we can look at other ceremony spaces.

Ruby Hill Golf Club

Ruby Hill is also beautiful, but the reception space looks a bit tight.

Hopefully my parents will be able to give us a better idea of whether these spaces might work for us. In an ideal world, we'll make our deposit on a venue before the new year! Once we make that first big decision, we'll be able to slowly start planning the rest!

Cash and Carry

If you haven't noticed by now, Terry and I are using a common motif throughout our blog. Well, we're going to try. One of our favorite songs is "Hard to Concentrate" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Each of our blog titles (so far) has a lyric from the song, which we hope to incorporate into the wedding.

I love Julie. (Terry wrote this when I walked away from the computer, and it seems wrong to delete something so sweet.)

Anyway, in keeping with our strange titles, this post focuses on budget. Terry and I are getting close to booking a venue, so we need to start thinking realistically about the type of wedding we can have, given our extensive guest list. We want a big, formal wedding, but we don't want our parents going into debt because of it. We're hoping to cut costs with a DIY wedding, but there are some areas we simply have to delegate. We're planning without a planner, so here are the areas we think we can tackle on our own:

DIY:

• Website
• Booking all vendors
• Invitations and save-the-dates (though we'll likely call in a friend for help on this one!)
  
• Centerpieces
• Favors
• Decorations at the ceremony and reception
• Hotel and transportation reservations for out of town guests
• Photo albums post-wedding
  
• Ceremony music
• Fashion (gown, bridesmaid dresses, tuxedos, etc.)
  

Call in for help:

• Photography
• Reception and cocktail hour music
• Cake
• Flowers
• Favors
  

I've been looking at various sites that offer budget worksheets to help us figure out what to expect. I will try to share some costs along the way, especially if we find some great deals!

Here are some wedding planning budget worksheets that have given me some perspective:

• About.com
• Wedding Wire (This one provides an Excel-oriented worksheet that can help you track your estimates, actual costs, expenditures, and payments. It also creates fun charts and bar graphs that I can only imagine being useful in case of making some sort of loan presentation...but they are fun and colorful nonetheless.)
• My Wedding Workbook

I've also checked out magazines and talked to friends about what to include in my budget estimates. The list is outrageous, but it's best to be prepared...

• Reception (50%) - site fee, food, beverages, cake, rentals, ceremony fee, and service charges
  
• Music (5-10%) - band for cocktail hour, DJ for reception
  
• Flowers/Decorations (5%) - bouquets, boutonnieres, floral decorations, corsages
  
• Photography (10%) - photographer, photo package, additional prints, digital prints
  
• Attire/Beauty (10%) - gown, alterations, veil, shoes, undergarments, hair, manicures, groom's tuxedo, shoes, and other accessories
  
• Other expenses (15%) - rehearsal dinner, post-wedding brunch, favors, transportation for bridal party, officiant's fee, marriage license, stationary (invitations, save the dates, thank you notes, etc.), and millions of gifts to thank all the people who make the wedding possible

Some other ways we are looking to cut down on costs:

• Hold the rehearsal dinner at my house in Fremont. Luckily, it's my dream location anyway, so this one works out all around.
  
• Don't overdo the flowers. We agree that we want to keep this area to a bare minimum. Our centerpieces will be non-floral, and we will focus on candles around the reception instead of flowers, so our flower expenses should only be corsages, boutonnieres, and bouquets.
• Research! In just the few months we have been engaged, I have found more cost-saving ideas than I could have imagined. The truth is, anyone can have a terrific wedding, whether you have a $10,000 budget or a $100,000 budget; you just have to be willing to put in the work. Thankfully, our year-and-a-half engagement allows us to find great deals!

Areas we are happy to pay for:

• Reception/ceremony venues, food, and service - we want our guests to have fun, and we want the day to run smoothly. We are willing to pay for professionalism and great service.
• Photography - after it's all over, we'll have these pictures up for the rest of our lives.
• Along those lines, the attire - let's face it, we all want to look our best on our wedding day!
• The date - yes, I know July is in the middle of peak wedding season. But it makes sense to get married during the summer, when I don't have to take time off of work or leave my students sans teacher. It also makes sense in the long run: our anniversary will always be during the summer, when we can more likely take vacations. Plus, we need it to be a Saturday so that our out-of-towners can make it up for the big day!
  

Who knew wedding planning would make me a financial planner?