I know that I have been gone forever, to the point where I figured maybe people, the few faithful of you that is, had given up on me. I've been swamped to say the least, with all things wedding related, and it was bordering on absurd.
I had no idea that planning something like a big party, where I wear a white dress instead of a black one would be so time consuming. But it is. No wonder there are so many blogs about it.
The wedding was originally planned for Carmel, CA where I am from, I went up there for 5 days, spent the entire time looking at venues, talking to caterers, emailing photographers and arguing with my parents about money. It was exhausting to say the least. It's no secret that the Monterey Peninsula is so damn expensive but I had no idea just how overpriced everything was until I was given a pretty strict budget in a town where the word budget is not in the vocabulary.
I picked a venue (a modern art museum) then came back to LA and spent a lot of time worrying, then crying, then getting mad and frustrated, then fighting with my parents over stupid things that shouldn't have even been an issue. It got stupid really quick, and I started looking at things like a $10,000 catering proposal and a $5,000 photography offer as "No big deal!!"
I realized that I was losing perspective pretty quickly and I needed to come back down to earth. So I started thinking outside of the box, looking around, my scope moving further up and further down the coast. I started to realize how unrealistic it would be to get married where I had wanted to, so I went to San Luis Obispo, where the boy's parents and my sister live, and did the same thing I had done in Monterey all over again. I looked for venues, spent 3 days talking to caterers, photographers and churches and it turns out getting married for a reasonable amount is do-able just sometimes you have to think outside the box.
I'm a little sad that I'm not getting married in my hometown, it's where I dreamed that I would marry someday, and it's where my memories are, I hold a lot of love for that place, I had been saying "it's where my heart is," but I have realized that my heart is wherever my family, friends and everyone I love and hold dear is, and it doesn't matter where that is exactly, as long as they're all there with me on that day.
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Oh so sorry you had such a hard time!
ReplyDeleteGlad you have it figured out now though :)
This is totally true. What you will remember that day is the people who share it with you!
ReplyDeleteAhhh, you're a good girl. I'm already dead set on marrying far, far away from any family :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you have, but have you thought about having an outside wedding in Carmel, like in someone's backyard? Then you wouldn't have to rent a venue. I wonder if it would be cheaper? It'd have to be smaller in numbers, though. But it would save money that way! I know how you feel about wanting to get married in your home town. I would too :) xo
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the only problem with getting married outside is the weather. Summer in Carmel is not your typical summer everywhere else. It's often foggy and super cold, and I'm one of those people who gets cold really easily. I did look into renting a vacation home in the area and using it for the wedding, and the house was either too small for our size or way too expensive (like $25,000 a week). I tried to look at just about every option possible and at some point it just didn't seem feasible :( Oh well.
ReplyDeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteJust came over from Anticipation to check out your blog. First of all I love SLO I just spenf my summer vacation on the central coast and loved exploring SLO. But anyway, perhaps having it in SLO opens a new chapter in your life since your fiancé and sis live there it is still pretty special and cool. Anyway, those are my 2 cents. Hope the rest of your planning goes more smoothly.
Hi Cinnamon, I've been thinking about you and wanted to check in and say hello! You're probably all married by now...hope it was as wondrous as you expected. You are in my good thoughts. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Tracey
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