When Noah proposed to me I didn’t know where to start. Instead of planning anything, I spent a solid 2 months of staring at the ring and showing it off to friends and family. Sure, every little girl has some idea of the big day. They grow up playing wedding. Find boa scarves, absurdly large hats, apply red lipstick and awkwardly walk around in high heels to the tune of a wedding march. Me, I had a nose in a Nancy Drew book and played school. For my wedding, I was hoping to just go with the flow and treat it as if it were any other event. WRONG!!! Secretly, I was overwhelmed. Every little thing I saw was a potential wedding idea. Pretty colors. Textured fabric. Vintage looking centerpiece frames. Christmas/twinkle lights in all shapes and forms. PHOTOBOOTHS. At some point, an entire magazine was labeled with post it’s, courtesy of Brides.com. All things shiny and pretty on a blog were bookmarked. Enough was enough. I was losing steam.
A phone call to Pheebs was desperately needed. “Create an inspiration board. Find items you love and create a wedding book and create your vision. Collect items that allows you to imagine your wedding” --- Wise words a la Pheebs. Thus began a more focused plan. Noah’s laptop, pinterest (pinterest.com) and I were best friends for several months. I ruthlessly abandoned all of my previous bookmarks and post its. My current inspiration boards are still heavily filled with pretty items, but aesthetic style and decisions became very clear. I wanted a space with grounds. I wanted one location to have the ceremony and reception. I wanted a place that reflected our relationship. Candles, flowers, branches, greens, chocolate and chandeliers were consistent inspiration board contenders. It was obvious that I needed a cohesive look that could potentially allow these random ideas coexist. In a couple more months’ time, I not only realized that not all items that I love will be reflected in our wedding, I found my venue.
Until we reached a venue decision, there were many “misses” that led to signing on the dotted line. A cozy rooftop hotel in NYC was our first stop. The hotel was eclectic. The tapestries provided character. The colors were bold. The staff was incredibly helpful. The delicious and conveniently located hotel restaurant. A exclusive hotel only garden location for engagement photos. Unfortunately, the hotel was quickly dropped due to high, on and off season pricing and restriction with capacity. Another miss was a landmark estate outside of NYC that had the makings of a beautiful site. The estate was tucked away in a quaint little town. If you weren’t looking for this site, you could easily miss it. As a matter of fact, I missed the turn onto the estate. This venue offered a planner and caterer, built into their pricing. The planner and I got along marvelously. We had a simpatico when it came to likes and dislikes. It was closer to having a water view and backdrop in our photos. Yet again, the venue was a bust. The last venue on our list was an estate museum. We didn’t get very far with the estate museum mainly because well… it was just awfully managed and disorganized. We took this as a sign and moved on.
Ultimately, our venue decision was lush with green, well maintained country club. After all of that, a country club? Yes, folks. New York Country Club fit all of our needs. The catering manager was a dear to work with and the space on its own was a star. In a snapshot, the ceremony and cocktail hour could be a dual indoor or outdoor event as it was enclosed with glass doors. The backsplash was a beautiful, green golf course. The drive up to the country club felt regal. The reception hall offered high ceilings with chandeliers, exposed stone walls, a grand piano and enough room to seat our maximum guest list. It was a no brainer. New York Country Club is our venue and we quickly made the arrangements to negotiate and sign contracts. Both Noah and I love our venue very much and have more say in the vendors we prefer to use, formality, and cost. We didn’t break the bank!
If I could impart any nuggets of wisdom, it would be that finding your venue should be based on your own personal needs, instead of going with the hype of a locale. Finding a venue will take some trial and error, so allot enough time before rushing into a decision.
With that I bid you Adieu,
Lia
P.S. Here’s half my magazine stash that I labeled with post it’s.
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