Date? Venue? Aoy!

When we first got engaged I knew the first thing that had to be done. Picking a date. David and I weren't really set on a certain date, but I knew I wanted to go for 2012. 2011 just wouldn't financially be feasible. We *hope* to have a house before we get married, so the later the date the better. BUT I did NOT want to get married in 2013. I'm not a fan of odd numbers. Plus I told Dave if he wanted me to wait that long then he should just take the ring back. So it was totally out and waiting until 2014 just was OUT of the question. So we came to the conclusion that if possible we really wanted May 30th (our anniversary) OR November 4th (the day we got engaged).

When we began talking about venues and such, David didn't really have anything in mind. All he wanted to have was a sit down meal and wanted it to be formal. I, however, knew that I wanted to be ON the beach or at least across the street. We began researching venues and started our site visits.

The first site we went to was The Palace in Somerset, New Jersey. The venue is gorgeous from the outside. But once we walked inside, there was NO way in hell I was going to get married there. First off, you wouldn't be the only bride there. I'm sorry, but the last thing I want to do on MY wedding day is run into another bride. So that was one mark against them. Then as soon as we walked into the ballrooms all I saw was the tacky old Victorian decorating. It's fine for other brides, but not for me. I'm more modern. I like clean lines, bright colors, and NO GOLD. So I was extremely turned off. The only good thing about it was the pricing was AMAZING for what you got. Everything custom to you. Amazingness. But not enough for me to book it.

The next venue we went to was Oyster Point Hotel in Red Bank, NJ. I was IN LOVE with this venue and so was David. It wasn't on the beach, it was on the river but it was absolutely gorgeous. It was extremely modern and chic. The venue was big enough for my guests. The hotel rooms were absolutely gorgeous. But once I saw the pricing, I almost died and my dreams were shattered. =[ Womp. Womp.

We went to a few other venues plus I had been searching online. Everything I found and fell in love with was out of my price range. Or at least I THOUGHT it was out of my price range. My father and mother were giving me a certain amount of money (that was to be decided once we booked) and I honestly knew that David and I couldn't afford to add too much to it. Plus, I think it's ridiculous to pay over $140 for a person to eat at your wedding! lol. So we searched and searched until we found our venue.

We visited Merri Maker's at the Water's Edge for a bridal show one Saturday afternoon. David came along and so did my mother. When we pulled up I loved the large circular window on the top floor. It looked like an enlarged beach cottage, but I was worried it wouldn't be formal enough (still kinda am?). Once we got in I thought the cocktail area felt amazing! It was open and you could see right out to the ocean! Beautiful. The food was great as well! We then walked upstairs to the ballroom. Once I saw the windows up there I thought it was so unique and different with the big circular windows up there! I sat down with one of the coordinators there and went over pricing. I told her I'd like to bring my father back and have him do a walk through with me. It was honestly the best bang for our buck. The pricing was amazing for what we wanted. It was on the beach. The windows were great and would make for some awesome pictures. It was ONE wedding at a time. The only downfall is that it wasn't as formal as I would have liked. But it's all about compromise right?

We went back a few days later and booked. We mentioned to the woman that we had a 200 person guest list. The venue's limit is 210. So, let's hope we fit comfortably! lol. ;D We booked that night and the date thing was one of the biggest concerns. I was also excited that we were able to have a beach ceremony! I was very anti-church wedding, David and I are of different religions and I did NOT want to sit through a lengthy ceremony lol, plus beach weddings are just GORGEOUS. So that was one of the first things that I told the woman. Which automatically put our date of November 4th out of the window. They stop doing beach weddings October 6th. We then looked at May, the 30th wasn't on a weekend so it wasn't going to work and the only dates available for a reasonable price in May was my mother's birthday or mother's day. =[ Wah. So then we began looking and none of the other dates really screamed at us.. but we decided we wanted a fall wedding because we just love the colors and the weather would be gorgeous. That's how we ended up with.... October 6th, 2012!

All pictures of the venue were taken by ME. Please don't take without

giving credit.

Foyer when you walk in

The Bridal Suite

The Bridal Suite part 2

Part of Cocktail hour area

Stairs

Upstairs ballroom

Sweetheart table area

Bar area upstairs

Outside garden area from Bar area
*will be taking pictures here*
*notice the cute colored bungaloo doors?!*