This is leanneisgettingmarried's Pink Wedding!

So yesterday we went out to Cherry Hill to check out the venue and talk about all the details. Long story short - we absolutely LOVED it! We booked for August 21st, 2010. Our ceremony will take place under a large oak tree next to a winding creek. Our reception will be held in a marquee tent on the property. We will be having a southwestern style buffet dinner with woodstone pizza as our late night lunch.

What I love most about Cherry Hill is that almost everything is included. When we booked the venue we booked:

-onsite salon and lounge available for us from 9:00am to 7:00pm
-stylists and make-up artists for 10 services (any combination of hair and make up, as long as it makes 10)
-ceremony venue
-ceremony seating (set up, tear down)
-ceremony outdoor PA system along with DJ
-marriage commisioner
-amazing photo locations
-bar/lounge with pool table for our guests to mingle while we get photos done
-weatherproof reception tent (cement floors, real washrooms etc etc)
-Linens, including tablecloths, napkins, chair covers with ribbons, table skirts for head table etc, head table risers
-southwestern style buffet meal
-non-alcoholic punch fountain (an alternative to pop and water for those who aren't drinking alcohol) from 2:30pm-1:00am
-four foot tall belgian chocolate fountain (biggest in Canada) including non-stop fruit, dainties and other dippable treats (this was a total splurge, but it will be so worth it, both as a spectacle for the night and Mark just loved it so much)
-powerpoint projector and screen
-bar service (no corkage fees, bartender fees, no liquor license needed = less $$$ and stress for us!)
-dance floor in tent after dinner (no need to move tables)
-DJ from immediately after ceremony until 1am, including sound and light show for dinner, program and dance
-late night lunch, woodstone pizza station

I am so relieved as there is now SOOO much done! Janice (venue owner) and her staff are on the property the entire time our wedding will be going on, and they take care of set-up and take-down of everything from linens to setting up my cupcake display.

For dinner we are doing a buffet style so it's more casual and everyone can eat as much as they want. Because we have a small number of guests in a larger space, we will be seating 6 per table rather than 8. They will set up the chairs so that no one's back needs to be facing the head table, an idea which I love. For alcohol, we will be serving two bottles of wine per table for dinner. We will then be giving each guest two drink tickets so they can toast with us if they like. After that, it's a cash bar. It's great because we now know exactly how much our costs will be, we won't have any overages at the end of the night. Mark is so thrilled with the chocolate fountain and I think it's totally worth the extra we paid for it. It will remain stocked for two hours along with fruit and dainties that are non-stop.

We are sooo excited, and it's so nice to have a date to tell people and to start booking everything else.

Things I can think of right now that we will need on top of this:

-Photographer
-My dress
-Mark's suit or tux
-Flowers and centrepieces (Mark's mum was a florist for 10 years - she can hook us up)
-Cupcakes and/or cake
-Rings
-Wedding party outfits
-Invitations
-Favors

What's great about a lot of this stuff is that can be done way ahead of time so I won't be going AS nuts closer to the date.

I've got a few ideas for photographers that I will be booking appointments with soon.

I'd like to do cupcakes instead of a traditional cake, so I'll be going to a few different bakeries and inquiring there.

I'm not too sure what I'd like for my centrepieces yet. Something nice and bright, but I can't decide if I want to go the glass/water/candles route, or if I'd like flower arragements, or a combination of both.

Mark's aunties are helping us make our own invitations - they are both so crafty.

Mark's mum works at a jewelers so we have good connections for the rings and will probably get them soon as prices are only rising.

I already know what I want to do for favors. My mum passed away last year so I want to incorporate her into the wedding as much as I can without it being cheesy. We loved to garden together, and we had a bit of a bonding moment over a flower called Columbine. I have found bulk Columbine seeds online and will use those are our guest favors in some sort of container/envelope with custom stickers and tags or something.

I need to go and start looking at dresses soon to get an idea of what I like. My only certainty is that I want straps, and no large train.

I'm struggling with the choosing of my wedding party and it's really stressing me out. I can't decide who will do what just yet, but we are working on it.

I just wrote soooo much so I'll be surprised if anyone got this far! I'm just so excited and needed to gush. I can't wait for this now!

I saw the booth for Cherry Hill Estate at the Wonderful Wedding Show and absolutely fell in love with the place. It helped they had a chocolate fountain on display with free samples ;)

When Mark's parents get home from their vacation next weekend we are meeting with the coordinator there to see what they have to offer - and what it will cost!

The food their sounds so good too, it's totally our style.

I'm so excited, but really impatient! I want to go and see it now!

www.cherryhillestate.com

Hi!

I can tell I will get addicted to this, and quickly!

There are so many great ideas and inspirations here, I cannot wait to look around further!