Castle Green - Venue search #2

So.... this place looked VERY promising online.

Boy were Darryl and I disappointed when we went there!  I understand that it's a historic place, and the outdoor area is very nice, but the indoor area was just depressing.  It was extremely dark, jewel-toned, and ancient, and I felt like the little kid from the Shining and crazy Jack Nicholson were going to come down the stairs screaming any second. I realize now that I need a more modern (or at least neutral toned) interior for my reception.

Also, the outdoor area is nicely manicured and has a beautiful fountain, but it's way too close to the street.  Cars are honking and making loud noises literally feet away from where you'll be having your ceremony.  The facility director's comments about my concerns regarding the traffic were, "It gets quieter between 3:30 and 5 when your ceremony should take place because it's right before the dinner rush!" Despite her "reassuring" comments, I still couldn't help but dislike the lack of tranquility.

Another negative?  (They just keep on coming!) There is literally a 10 square foot size space for the bride and her bridesmaids to get ready. It was dark, awkwardly shaped, and creepy looking. I guess I wouldn't mind getting ready at my house and driving over to the venue, but I had hoped for a large, brightly lit, carpeted room for my ladies and myself to drink some mimosas, chat, laugh, and listen to music in while gettin' our hair and makeup DID!

The unsurprising verdict? PLEASE show me the next place!

Venue-hunting is not as easy as I thought it would be :(

Ambassador Mansions and Gardens - Venue Search #1

LOVED IT!

Well, there are multiple mansions and gardens on this campus (the Ambassador Campus), and I loved the Terrace Villa, Fowler Garden, and Great Lawn.

Merritt Mansion interior

Italian Garden

The Merritt Mansion and Italian Garden were definitely not my favorites!  The Italian Garden itself isn't too bad, but it's flanked on both sides by two dated and ugly buildings that do not go with the garden (the Fine Arts Hall and something else related to the campus). The Merritt Mansion is also too dark, brown, and ancient. Don't get me wrong, I love dark wood floors and details, but this was just depressing and does NOT go with my potential color schemes.

 Fowler Garden

 Terrace Villa interior - upstairs.

 Another view of the Fowler Garden.

Now, on the other hand, the Terrace Villa was light, airy, and gorgeous. It had a more Italian feel to it versus an old Colonial feel at the Merritt Mansion.

Once I stepped into the Fowler Garden, I could imagine Darryl and myself getting married in front of what they call the "gazebo" (the building with three archways) with our guests seated on the grass and walkways. Also, parking is super convenient and cheap for us to provide for our guests. It's a short walk from the Fowler Garden, and only costs $250 for 299 stalls.

The only negatives?  Well...

• The indoor seating capacity does NOT work with my number of guests.  We're going to have around 170-200, and the Villa only holds about 100.  We could potentially seat guests outdoors as well, but we don't want our guests to be so far apart.  
• On the other hand, we could skip the Terrace Villa completely and do an outdoor reception on the Great Lawn (sorry, no pictures), but I'm not sure if we want that since bathrooms are far away and we kind of wanted to have an outdoor ceremony and an indoor reception :( 
• Also, the sound restriction that's in place by the city states that our DJ can play music up to 65 decibels. From what I've learned in audiology class, that's like loud conversation! I want the music pumping for the dancing that's going to be going on!

Verdict? On to the next one!

Love.

I said I would stay away, but posting pretty pictures makes me happy.  The majority are from random Tumblrs, but some are from HouseBeautiful.com and OurFutureHouse.

My future office is going to have these stripes + pink accents + stark white furniture!

Light up the sky.

Just some of the many reasons why I want to have an outdoor reception.  Thank goodness I live in LA!  But, knowing my luck, it would rain on the day of my wedding (even if it's summertime).

(photos via my classmate's blog: http://sadiesadie.tumblr.com/)

Hello, gorgeous.

99% sure these are peonies.  I LOVE PEONIES!

Just shorten the stems, replace the pink [felt wrapper?] with Tiffany blue (or another color other than magenta), and we are good to go!

Hodge podge.

Even though this has a hodge podge of colors and looks a bit cluttered, I can't get over how it looks!  It's just so bright and fun as dusk approaches.  I may steal the colorful hanging cranes idea for my future wedding!

Via: http://ruffledblog.com/2010/10/indie-beach-wedding-in-ubatuba-sao-paulo-brazil/

Busy bee.

For the next week I'll probably only have periodic updates.  I was posting 2 or 3 entries a day for a while there... so now I'll be more like a normal person :)

Martha Stewart Weddings has some of the best ideas for DIY showers and even receptions.  Here's a great idea for indoor decorations:

Indoor decorations can be tough to decide on.  You don't want to be tacky with streamers, but who can afford luxurious bouquets to put on the table?  I think these pom-poms are so simple (like streamers) yet make a huge statement (like a fancy centerpiece)

Not only does Martha Stewart give directions on how to make the pom-poms, she also has directions for customizing the luminarias and napkin holders also shown in the picture.  These will be at the top of my list whenever I help plan a baby or bridal shower!

Centerpieces

This one is a little bit too simple because it's monotone, but that can easily be changed by using different pots, or a different bowl, or different flowers.  Sadly, I do not like butterflies.  They're too tween birthday party-esque.  Blech.

This one is more my taste, but the colors are also a bit too bland.  Also too much stem is showing for the flowers.  Good inspiration, though.

"Light grenades"

A variety of pink-ish roses as the centerpiece.

4 candles surrounding it.

White table cloth.

Black chairs.  

Outdoor reception?

Yum!

I love the simplicity of the centerpiece and tables.  I can't really tell if the chairs are black or just dark wood, but I wouldn't mind either. 

Gorgeous!