soontobeamrs's Pink wedding

Ugh! I just wrote a nice long post, saved it then went back to proof read it - it was all good. I come back a little while later, and it had dissappeared!?! So this is attempt #2.

This week we started the stressful project of looking for a reception hall. I didnt realize it would be so difficult.

Wedding Venue Option #1 is our hometown community center. It holds upwards of 300 people, and is fairly plain (hardwood floors and white walls). The fee is around $600, but one particular catering company has dibbs, so we have to go with them (we cant bring in any other company). I have been to several weddings there before, the food is good, just a little on the plain side (think Thanksgiving dinner - Turkey / Roast Beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, etc). It is convienent for us and my fiance's family since we all live in this town, but not so convienent for the OOT guests, the closest decent hotel is 30mins away, and cabfare is upwards of $60 one way. Plus, the ceremony location is 30mins away.

Wedding Venue Option #2 is a large attractive reception facility in a larger town 15 mins away from the ceremony location (the town with the decent hotels). It is fairly plain as well, but is laid out nicer and is larger then option #1. The fee is $900, and we can bring in whichever catering company we choose. The only negative is that they are almost all booked up, the only date still open is July 4th (also my brothers birthday). We are lucky that we can be flexible with the date, since the ceremony location doesnt need to be booked (aunt's private property), but we were hoping for later in July or even early August.

Wedding Venue Option #3 is a museum. They have a reception hall that can accomodate up to 140 people, plus an outdoor courtyard with a large tent,stage and a patio leading the indoor hall outside. The fee is $450 and we can bring in whichever catering company we choose. The date we had originally wanted (July 25) is already booked, but almost every other Saturday in July and August are free. The only negative is that our gueslist was up around 170 people, so we would have to cut back a bit. It is 20mins away from the ceremony location, and about 5mins away from the decent hotels.

The man from Option #1 is not calling us back, even though we have left 2 messages already. Im a little hestitant to go with some place with poor customer service...
Option #2 seems ok, except that we are not loving the date.
We are going to see Option #3 early next week. Hopefully it looks as nice as it sounds! The picture to the left is the front of option #3. Living in such a small town with no large cities near-by really limits our options. Hopefully one of these three places works out...

*Fingers crossed that this post works this time!*