I think I finally have a reception site. Warning: rant.

[ocbride2007]

So FI has been dragging his heels about planning all summer, when I really wanted to get stuff done before school started. And of course, come August, no plans and school starts. So I just start doing it on my own. I called the priest, picked a day, and we went in and reserved it. FI was getting excited, but wasn''t into looking into sites just yet... wedding is just over 10 months away, and he seems to think that we have plenty of time to book a site for late July. I''m sure you all will agree, that with a summer wedding, the sooner you book, the better. And we wanted to have asian food, and a hotel, but are only having 150-20 people - most ballrooms require over 300.

So I called a caterer and got quotes, we went to see the place this weekend, and we liked it. Caterer is the same as his sister used 2 years ago, so we know they are legit. So I though on Sunday that we had decided, and I could go back to sleeping regularly (I''d been having dreams that we couldn''t find a place). Then on Sunday night, FI says he''s not sure about the hotel. It has a 200 minimum, and maybe we won''t have that many guests. Maybe we should look into other hotels that let us bring into caterer. Monday morning, I''m calling other hotels. Then he says, well, maybe we should have american food, maybe we should do it at a restaurant, maybe we should do it at a museum, maybe we should do it outdoors. All within about 1 hour. Meanwhile I am calling and getting quotes left and right, and spend all monday morning doing it, instead of preparing for class. So, a good 5 hours wasted, and he sends me a message during class, saying that he talked to his mom, and he thinks we should go with the original hotel. After that, I was pretty much exhausted. But happy to have a decision.

So after some negotiating yesterday, we faxed in a contract today. But the person wasn''t there today, so I don''t think they sent it in to the hotel yet. So I''m mildly worried that maybe the hotel will let it go since they didn''t hear from caterer. I''m sure it will be fine, but after this rollercoaster of we''re going with them, we''re not, we are, I am a little worried about it going through.

But if everything turns out well, we have the ballroom booked, and we''ll be the only wedding there. (The last thing I want to see is other brides on my day!!) And it is about 2 miles from my house, 3 miles from the church, and 1 mile from the airport. Close to FI''s parents too! All my family is from out of town, so they can stay right in the hotel. So I think everything will turn out ok, but I''m still anxious and hoping nothing goes wrong!

 

[firebirdgold]

Congratulations! It may have been a bit painful, but at least you got there!

 

[codex57]

Which hotel is this? Are you in Orange County, CA?

And 10 months is NOT a lot of time. It''s a good amount of time if you space it, but it still gets kinda tight towards the end. And that''s if you''re pretty good about spacing the stuff out. But, as we all know, stuff happens. So, it''s best to not wait and get things booked/done as early as possible so you have time to deal with problems that will pop up.

 

[ocbride2007]

I''d rather not have the exact hotel posted... because someone could check other threads for wedding date/etc... But yes, I am in OC, CA. The hotel is in the south coast metro area. And that was making me more nervous - tons of weddings in OC every summer!! But the caterer sent back a confirmation, so it looks like we are officially in. Now, I just have to worry about getting all the other things I need done in the next 10 months, and within our budget. Hotel and catering took up well over 1/2 our budget so far, but at least we are expecting to get most, if not all of that back from cash gifts at the wedding.

Most men (except you, codex) don''t seem to understand the urgency of planning these things. And I''m in law school, commuting every day from OC to LA so I don''t have a lot of time. So yeah, I would love to get as many things taken care of as soon as possible!! Alas, at least a good portion of the stress is gone now!

 

[jesterjigger]

Sounds painful, but you must be relieved that it''s settled. What kind of Asian food were you considering? Congrats on getting a location set in stone!

 

[ocbride2007]

We''re having a seven course seafood meal... It''s Chinese, but typical at Vietnamese weddings. It has shark fin and crab soup, lobster, shrimp, duck, fried rice, etc. It''s easy - his family will have no complaints because they''ve had it plenty of times before, and my family (who consists of about 10 people to their 100) will be excited to try something different. Most of them are from small towns in the midwest, so coming to CA, experiencing new cultures and eating different food will be something they can tell all their friends about for a while.

 

[jesterjigger]

Oh, cool...sounds like it''ll be a great experience for every one. One of my cousins had a wedding with Indian food that was a hit. And I''m currently in South Korea, which is why I thought I''d ask. Are you going to post some pics of the venue?