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!

It happened!

So, some big news....

I'm ENGAGED!

I'm so excited to start the real planning process.  Enough with this "future" wedding business.  It's HERE!

Darryl and myself celebrating at Libertine in Hollywood with some of our friends.

I can't wait to start my life with this man. He's my favorite person in the world :)

I'm also in love with that sequin top -- I have to wear it a lot to get my money's worth, haha!

Tank: Ladakh "Burlesque" sequin tank
Skirt: H&M (you can't see it, but it's hot pink)
Bra: Victoria's Secret
 

Engagement Rings

Darryl and I have been casually shopping for engagement rings and took a trip to a smaller store (Single Stone in San Marino) that specializes in vintage style custom designs (which I LOVE!)

Everything was beautiful, but what surprised me were the yellow gold engagement rings!  I rarely see yellow gold engagement rings, and when I do they are hideous.  However, these were NOT!  Darryl didn't like them because he thought they looked too "costume-y" (boo).

Sigh...

My favorite yellow gold rings weren't on their website but here are some rings that we saw:

And my favorite platinum ring.....

A 2 carat platinum ring with a knife edge band.  LOVED the knife edge... too bad 2 carats is too big!

Future home.

As usual, I begin posting during high stress times/times that I should be studying...

If you haven't already noticed, I love aqua blue/green, accents of pink, and white and black when it comes to home design--hah.

Some inspiration for my future dream home:

 

Adorable laundry room setup.  

Too bad washing machines tend to leak or create a mess at some point in their lifespan!