A bride recently asked for my recommendations for some of my favorite ceremony and receptions sites in Milwaukee and I just couldn't help but share some of them with you all.
I love Villa Terrace for its obvious beauty and mediterranean style and their garden is so lush and beautiful. Villa Terrace is perfect for smaller ceremonies and receptions (about 80 person sit down dinner) and can also be rented for photography purposes. So, you could have a beautiful engagement session there or make it one of your stops on your wedding day.
The Eisner Museum is a venue that I consider a little bit of a secret treasure. Not many people are aware of the space for events, which I think makes it that much cooler. The Eisner obviously has a lot of character of it's own, so it's great for couples looking for something a little bit out of the norm. The Eisner can also accommodate a larger guest list (up to 650!).
Edit: My mistake, apparently the Eisner has closed. So sad.. it was a great venue, and regardless of not being open, is still one of my favorites. Thanks for informing me, though!
The Iron Horse Hotel has some serious style and I am completely obsessed with their event space, The Gallery. The space is perfect for smaller more intimate affairs and has a great ambiance. As a bonus, they have a library (pictured above) filled with old wooden tables and chairs, reading lamps, and a fireplace... the perfect place for cocktails. And, the smell, seriously it smells SO good in the lobby!
Anyone else want to share their favorite spots in Milwaukee?
Hi everyone - Wow. I can't believe it's been almost a month since I have written a post. I think there comes a time in every bride's planning process where taking a break becomes inevitable - be it a nice break because things naturally die down to a lull, or a forced break, like I had, where decisions had to be reconsidered. All in all, a break. Additionally, it's usually during this time that Murphy's law kicks in, and it can feel like the whole ceiling is toppling down. That's what happened this past month. It seemed like every corner I turned, with the wedding and with everything else in my life, it felt like the road was so steep and so arduous. There were times I really felt like I was on an island, and there were other times where I felt like I all wanted was to be on an island. Alone. I think every bride to be goes through this. The set up of a wedding is a lot of fun, but it's also a lot of work. However, underneath the wedding, is an entire life change. They say the three biggest stressors in life are getting married, having kids and loosing a parent. Well, based on that, I imagine every bride goes through what I went through this past month....and the one piece of advise I have is....to just find comfort in the love of your fiance and wether the storm.
So, now that my storm is over - well, at least manageable, onward with the planning.
But first some decisions....
After a whole month of looking at other venue options and feeling like I was beating my head against a wall, we decided that the best thing for us was to stick with what felt right. When we walked into Rancho our hearts just knew that this was the place we were meant to be married. A lot questions made us rethink the practicality of our choice, but in the end we believe there are enough workable solutions to ease the comfort of our guests. The minute we made the decision to stay with what we had, it felt like 500 ton bricks were lifted off our shoulders!
So, how will we ensure the comfort of our guests? We originally thought that the only option for hotels was in Santa Monica, which is an hour away. My brainiac fiance came up with a brilliant idea that I think will work wonders. Since none of the events are at a hotel, we don't need everyone to stay at one central hotel. In fact, it would be better for them if they could enjoy the beauty of Malibu, and treat this wedding as a mini-vacation. The idea - BEACH HOUSES. In Malibu, like every other vacation city, there are hundreds of georgeous beach front poperties for rent. Families could easily rent these out for the weekend, and it would keep them right in Malibu.
For the people who don't mind doing the gorgeous drive, we would still keep block rooms at a hotel in Santa Monica. And for others who wanted a closer option, and didn't care about the "niceness" of the lodging, there are several beach front surfer type motels in Malibu. So three very different options, and each guest can choose which is best for them. Amy, our wedding planner, is already on top of finding the details behind renting beach houses. Fingers crossed that it will be an easy process!!!
Driving up the hill versus shuttles was another concern. We still haven't fully found the answer for this yet. We are thinking of having shuttles for people going up and down the hill, but the logistics of that still need to be determined.
Anyway, we made some great progress, and got peace of mind that we have a solid decision made.
We've also been working on a really creative save the date, which I'll write about this week. And I've been working with Amy on choosing a decorator. Since the decor is where the majority of the budget goes, I have developed a detailed RFP (request for proposal) that we are sending out to prospective decor firms to see what it is like to work with them, get a sense for their creativity, and their thinking. I'll write a post on that this week as well!
I know it's been a LONG time since I have written an update. I know, I know.
Here's the deal. I need advise!!!
Everything was going smoothly. More than smooth...we were on a roll getting things crossed off on the checklist.
Until....
Until some very close family members brought up some concerns about having the wedding at the ranch in Malibu. From the getgo, we always planned this to be OUR special day that the guests would share with us. But, WE were the driving force....not our guests. It was OUR special day that would always be remembered, and a day that the guests would likely forget over time....so we were planning it so it would be magical for us. Well, REALITY check.
For anyone planning a wedding at a non-traditional venue (not at a hotel), here are some things (some very REAL and legitimate things) that will inevitably come up:
Where are kids going to be able to nap in between the wedding and the reception?
Where are people going to be able to change or freshen up in between the wedding and the reception?
If it is a summer wedding, where will people freshen up after the bharat?
What is the radius of all of the events over the three to four days, and how will guests be getting there? It's fine if guests need to rent a car, but how far will they be driving in an unknown city.
How long does it take to get from one place to another?
These are all things we thought about moderately, but none were big enough concerns for us. We thought the awe-factor with such majestic Malibu views would eliminate these issues from being big. Probably naive on our part, but that's what we thought. A majority of the people (friends, family) have advised us not to worry about it and to let the guests take care of themselves.
But over the weeks, this issue has just been nagging at us both so we went back to see what our option were. We called Amy, our wedding planner, who was wonderful through the whole process, to help us navigate options.
She came up with a BRILLIANT plan.....have the reception at a hotel closer to the sangeet venue...one that is close to the beach....and one that does indian weddings really well.....and of course, one that is in our budget. And for the wedding, pick a location that is right on the water (so I get my mandap overlooking the ocean on a bluff). This plan was perfect, and everyone would have been happy. In this plan the wedding would have been at Terranea (a gorgeous hotel in Rancho Palos Verdes, on a bluff, overlooking the ocean) and the reception would have been at the Hyatt Long Beach. It took Amy two weeks to get an answer from Terranea - and they said no. - they didn't want to host just the wedding, without a reception. Funny thing is, that the hotel, which is BRAND NEW, is going through bankruptcy (or close to it), yet they feel it is bad PR! Go figure! So, our wonderful plan is no longer an option.
Which puts us back a square 1. I would love to get some of the readers thinking on this one....I don't know what to do!
Here are the current facts (I am pointing out all the negatives to give a picture of what people have trouble over....obviously there are a lot of pros, which were explained in my blog post about the venue here). So, the issues.... 1. More than 80% of our guests will be flying in from the Eastt coast or Midwest 2. The central hotel will be in Santa Monica 3. The Sangeet will be in Cerritos on Friday night - - - a 45 min drive from Santa Monica 4. The wedding and reception is in the hills of Malibu on Sat - - - another 45 min drive from Santa Monica in the other direction 5. Given the distance, we are going to have the wedding and the reception in close timing so that people would not be bored. But this means they cannot go change in between, unless we try to get some rooms in this the private estate house, which is questionable.
Here are the things running around my head: 1. We have already put down a hefty deposit for the Malibu ranch, and there is a chance that we might not get it back 2. I want my guests to be happy and stress free, but I need to balance that with what we wanted from our wedding ..... mandap overlooking the ocean, nature, art.....all of that. I can't sacrifice that, RIGHT? 3. I can't blow up my budget and have the entire thing be at Terranea. That, unfortunately, can't happen. 4. We were done with the venue searches....the box was checked.....and it feels exhausting to even think that we have to go looking for something all over again. We tried one option, gave it a damn good effort, and it didn't work out....do we keep looking? And at what point do we tell our concerned family members, that we tried our best but that we couldn't find a reasonable solution? And if so, how do we work out their concerns to the best of our ability?
Or do we make out of state family guest comfort our #1 criteria and diminish focus on everything else (basically shift from having it be "our" day to throwing a really great party)
So, what do I do? I'm going nuts....and need advise!!!
