porcelainbride's Green wedding

So I finally got an email back from The Jefferson Hotel about their pricing, terms and conditions. It turns out, they're not as over the top expensive as we'd originally thought. Last night we were going through their menu's on the website and decided upon a mock up menu for our guests. We'd originally planned on doing a buffet for the meal, but since that was for a garden wedding & this is much more formal, we've decided on having a plated meal/banquet for the reception. We need to go up to Richmond sometime next week because Chris needs to help his uncle out with something for the store which leaves me without much to do while we're there. I've decided I'm going to set up an appointment to view the jefferson with a friend of mine (who lives up there and is like a second mom to me) as well as discuss the prices, terms & conditions etc. I'm going to see if i can get the deposit money from my dad before we go so that if everything sounds okay, I can go ahead and put money down then and there and not have to worry about it again. I'm so excited!!!

I really don't mind spending a lot of money on food, so long as it's top notch, good quality food. Chris and I have been known to go out and blow $300 on a meal for just the two of us before so if that's any reflection of our passion for fine dining and good food... then i guess it's a pretty good reflection! haha. With the Jefferson having both the Mobil 5-star award and the AA 5-diamond award, i'd expect the food to be sensational.

Now, as for beverages... I'm very torn. Chris thinks we should go for full cash bar. I think that's asking too much from our guests, and is pretty tacky. My dad says we should go full open bar (coming from the man that doesn't drink other than one glass of wine with dinner, and only on christmas!) I think we should pay for drinks for the cocktail hour (estimate 2 drinks per guest per hour) wine for dinner (estimate 2-3 drinks per guest for dinner) and the champagne toast (one per guest), as well as for non-alcoholic drinks after dinner. However, once dinner's done, you're left to fend for yourself if you want liquor, wine or beer. I think that's fair enough- besides, after all that, you should be pretty nicely liquored up. Not to mention, with it being a seated dinner, the reception's cut shorter than if we did a buffet, so dancing etc. will only be for a couple of hours. Then we'll have an after party at a bar for everyone who didn't manage to get drunk off the drinks we provided, and they can pay for themselves at the after party. Does that make sense?

Unfortunately, the Jefferson doesn't allow ceremonies in their Rotunda (which is kind of where I was hoping to have it) but they do allow it in the Flemish room which can hold 100 people. However, we can use the Rotunda for the cocktail hour without having to pay extra for it. They also have a grand piano in the Rotunda so I'm thinking perhaps we could get someone to play that to provide music for the cocktail hour.

EEEEEE!!!! can you tell i'm excited? haha.