Going to the Lakeside and We're Gonna Get Married!

After going through all of our options, weighing the pros and cons of each venue, and referring back to our budget, Zac and I decided on a location:

Wolf Lakes Park

Located in Sanger, Wolf lakes has two equally beautiful sites to choose from:

The English Garden:

And Lakeside:

While both sites were beautiful and offered the same ammenities, the Lakeside appealed to us just a little bit more. The lakeside was spread out on a flat space. You can pretty much see each area of the venue from any location that you're standing at and we thought that it would prevent people from feeling separated from other members of the group. The big sell to us was the large lawn space just to the right of the newly built in buffet. While on the tour of the facility we asked if we would be able to use the lawn for our game time cocktail hour and were so happy to hear that it wouldn't be a problem. We would have to be sure to include games that could easily be set up and removed and that wouldn't harm the lawn. We were so excited! It was really important for us to keep this aspect of the wedding. So to find a venue that was already set up for weddings, provided all the things that we needed, added a bit of formality in atmosphere while still allowing us to have a bit of fun casual-ness, that is also allowing us to sett up an area for games was too perfect to be true. We continued the rest of the tour and were amazed by the beauty of the space.

As is suggested by the name, the venue is right on the lake. Throughout the reception (providing that the weather is accommodating, though I don't think that we will have a problem in May) guests can go for boat rides around the lake. At Scott and Amy's wedding we brought pirate patches and wore them on the boat ride. Super silly, but very us.

As part of the lakeside wedding processional, Zac and his groomsmen will arrive at the alter via boat. The boat will take them out to a little island in the middle of the lake about 20 minutes or so before the wedding begins. They have some pictures taken before getting back on the boat and taking the 5 minute ride to the alter. At first Zac was hesitant about this aspect of the wedding but soon he seemed to be excited. I think he's just nervous about having all eyes on him.

I will be walking down an aisle covered with greenary. In springtime the plant life should be as full as the photo above. :) The lakeside also has a newly renovated bridal room that is twice the size that it used to be and has it's own bathroom. This was definitely an unexpected bonus!

The reception area is covered but the sides are open, allowing the guests to enjoy the whole venue. If for some reason the weather is not cooperating and we have to deal with rain or crazy wind (knock on wood) the sides of the reception area can be rolled down to make a more comfortable space for our guests. I really hope that we don't have to deal with this but it's nice to know that it's an option. It's definitely something we wouldn't be able to replicate if we did the wedding ourselves.

Above the reception dance floor are these beautiful star shaped light fixtures. Zac and I are in love with them. We actually almost bought some very similar (obviously smaller version) light fixtures last summer at Ross for Less. We thought that they would look great in our backyard hanging from the tree, but since we're still working on the backyard, we thought we should wait. Looking at them hanging from the ceiling of the reception space, we totally should have gotten them.

The venue has some amazing spots for beautiful photos. Our photographer has already mentioned a willow tree that would be great for some post weding shots. She says that the lighting is amazing. We found a photo online from another photographer and we have to say that we totally agree with her:

If the lighting on the day of our wedding is anything like the picture above....words can't describe how excited I am!

Benefits:

-Price per guest includes food, tables and chairs

-Venue is set up for weddings so they have answers to questions we haven't even come up with

-Venue takes care of set up and clean up

-Coordinator is available for questions and concerns from the time we book the wedding through the actual wedding day

-Venue includes all necessary accomodations: bathroom facilities, large bride and groom rooms, enough parking for all of our guests, on site catering and bartending,

-Access to the facility the Thursday before the wedding for up to one hour for rehearsal with a coordinator to assist us.

-Invitations to open house event where we will be able to speak with vendors as well as taste test food and alcohol before selecting our menu options.

-Large lawn area that we would be able to use for our game time cocktail hour

Compromises:

-Once we were sold on the venue we decided that we should inquire about our hopeful date of May 5 to see if it was available. Being so far in advance we thought for sure that the day was open for our wedding. Unfortunately, we were wrong. May is a big month for weddings, but it's also a big month for high school proms. We found out that Wolf Lakes shuts down both venue sites for proms and they already had reservations for proms on Saturday May 5 and Sunday May 6. We were slightly bummed that our Cinco de Mayo wedding date wasn't available, but the venue was worth more to us than the date. Plus, we've figured out a way to use all of our Cinco de Mayo themed ideas for another wedding related event. But more on that later.

In the end we decided to book the Lakeside Venue for Friday May 4, 2012.

Location, Location, Location

So, plans had changed once again and Zac and I were headed in a different wedding planning direction. After deciding to have our wedding at a venue set up for events, in order to minimize stress and maximize relaxation for ourselves and our families, the search was on for a location.

Having gone location shopping with Sarah two years ago (I can't believe it's already been two years!) I was a little familiar with the list of possible venues in our area. Zac and I decided that staying in town, or at least within a short driving distance of town, would be the best decision. Any out of town venue that required a hotel stay for us and our family would just complicate things and create unnecessary issues.

As a way of finding locations that we perhaps hadn't thought of (or even hadn't heard of) I checked out some wedding photographer websites. I figured that if the photos of the location look good perhaps they were worth checking out. We made a list of locations to check out, called and made appropriate appointments and got ready to go on some tours. Before heading out we reviewed our list of necessary spaces. Zac made the point that no location was going to be 100% what we needed. Each place was going to have it's own set of benefits and compromises. We needed to decide what compromises we were okay with making and what things we weren't willing to budge on. With that in mind, we began the search.

1. Engelmann Cellars

After seeing photos of this wedding at Engelmann Cellars taken by photographer Ken Keinow, we decided that checking out the location was definitely worth it. The winery is located in Fresno, west of 99 on Rolinda. They have wine tasting on the weekend and during the summer they have movie nights out on their expansive lawn. People can bring blankets and enjoy some wine and a movie. How fun, right?!

From the pictures we could see that there were photo opportunities in the vineyard...

...orchard...

...and barrel room.

The wedding would be outside on the lawn in front of a backdrop of wine barrels.

We also noticed that we could have access to the large screen used for movie nights to play a slideshow or video during the reception.

With the outdoor lighting we could achieve the fun, casual, somewhat whimsical look we were going for.

The information for holding a special event at Engelmann Cellars was as follows:

- Rather than a rental fee for the facility, the winery asked for a minimum wine purchase.

- The minimum purchase for an event our size was 10 cases of wine (which ended up being $1680.00)

- They offered minimal chairs and tables (the number wasn't specified) that could be rented at a competitive price. (We could also choose to forgo their rental and rent seating from another company.)

- We would need to bring in our own caterer, dj or band, etc.

Zac and I thought it sounded good, so we made the drive to check it out. After arriving Zac spotted something that was a deal breaker. Right by the patio which connected to the tasting room was a nice, big, green port-a-potty. The had constructed a really cool sink out of a wine barrel that was right next to the facility, but Zac and I were still turned off by the port-a-potty. We looked around for a minute or so but it seemed kind of pointless. We both knew this wasn't the place.

Benefits:

-Wide open lawn space with plenty of room for separate ceremony and reception seating not to mention space for our game time cocktail hour.

-Freedom to decorate and accessorize the venue

Compromises:

-Completely open space provides little depth for photo opportunities (with the exception of the surrounding vineyard).

-Guests would have to use a port-a-potty,

- We would be spending more money on wine than we probably wanted to.

In the end we realized that it was very similar to having the wedding at someone's house but with less benefits.

2. The Grove

The next site on our list was Hobb's Grove. We saw photos of this wedding taken by photographer Ryan C. Jones. From the photos we could see that the space was nice and open but there were a lot of trees that added some interest and depth.

After contacting the venue we received an email with the following information:

-The rental fee would be $2950.

- We would have access to the location from 8am - midnight the day of the wedding. All music had to end by 11:pm and the grounds would have to be cleared by midnight.

-We would have access to the facility for 1 hour for rehearsal the day prior to the wedding.

-The venue offered chairs, tables, and linen (with limited color options) for up to 200 guests.

-They offered a large bridal room and groom's room, each of which had air conditioning and their own restrooms.

-An event coordinator would be available for the set up as well as the ceremony and reception.

-There is a large parking area that is well lit.

-The venue would be responsible for trash disposal after the event.

After going through the list and discussing the set up of the venue and everything they had to offer, we weighed the benefits and compromises.

Benefits:

-Being a venue that regularly accomodates a large number of people for a variety of events the place provided plenty of available parking space, not to mention bathroom facilities for our guests.

-We had freedom to decorate the venue with limited restrictions.

-They offered a coordinator who would assist and be available for any questions or concerns through the day of the wedding. (This was a big deal for us as we would really love a coordinator who is familiar with the venue. We would feel bad asking one of our family members or friends to play the role as they would be missing out on the fun of the wedding.)

-The rental of the location included the tables, chairs, and linens.

-We would have access to the facility from 8am to midnight the day of the wedding.

Compromises:

- The $3000 rental fee did not include a caterer or alcohol. Not that we expected to get away with food, drinks and location for $3000 but the cost of food and drinks in addition to the rental fee would be more than some places that offered all of these things.

Realizing that the rental fee would only be a good deal for us if we were having a large wedding, we continued on our search for a place that was less expensive or at least offered more for the price they were asking.

Other places that were suggested to us:

Fig Garden Swim and Racquet Club

Copper River Country Club

-Appellation California

-Wonder Valley Ranch Resort

-White Horse Inn River Terrace

-Banker's Ballroom

-Holland Park West

-The Grand 1401

Hmm...We Hadn't Thought Of That

Once the decision was made to have a fun, casual, outdoor wedding on May 5th, the next thing we had to decide on was where to have our wedding. We immediately had offers from family and friends of family who graciously offered their homes for our wedding. How generous right?!

Before we went to check out each place in person, we sat down and made a general outline of how we wanted the wedding to go down, from the arrival of our guests, to the our own departure at the end of the night. This gave us a good idea of how we wanted the wedding to look and feel. It also allowed us to see what kind of space we were going to need for each activity/event throughout the wedding. In the end we came up with this list of spaces we needed to make sure the wedding went smoothly:

1.  Adequate parking space for our guests.
2.  Separate dressing spaces for both Zac and I. (We don't want to see each other before the wedding.)
3.  A large lawn area for cocktail hour. (More details about that later :D )
4.  Enough flat space to accommodate chairs for the ceremony as well as a separate space for reception seating, tables, and a dance floor.
5.  Access to power for outdoor lighting, dj equipment, and any catering equipment that might require power.
6. Bathroom facilities for guests.
7. Adequate space for a catering crew.
8. An interesting backdrop for photo opportunities.

Both places that we were looking at (number one being Zac's paternal grandparents' place and the second one being the Rogers') definitely had #8. Zac's grandparents has an almond orchard on one side of their house and an amazing garden that surrounds the other sides of the home. The Rogers built their home from the ground up and it is quite impressive. The house is right on the water and has an amazing front drive with a big gate....just beautiful.

For both locations we knew that we would have to provide the basic elements necessary for the ceremony and reception. This meant renting chairs for the ceremony area and another set of chairs in addition to tables for the reception area and various tables for the guest book, cake, gifts, etc. Tableclothes and napkin linens would need to be rented for all of the tables, as well as serving ware. We would also have to rent a dance floor.

A benefit to having our wedding at a private residence would be the ability to have an extended period of time to set up and organize the decorations. We would have access to the homes and could take at least a week if needed to start putting up decorations and play with things to see how we would like things to look. We would also have more freedom with what we wanted to use as decorations or vendors, as many locations have restrictions on decorations and who they allow to work on their premises.

In looking at each location, one concern we had was dividing up the space to accomodate all of our needs. Yes each place had a large open lawn space but it was hard for us to imagine that it would be enough space to house seating for the ceremony and a separate seating and dance floor for the reception. It was important to us that these areas be separate. We didn't want people sitting at their reception tables to watch the ceremony. Both locations had a great open space but that space seemed perfect for all of the wedding activities and it obviously wasn't possible to do everything in one spot.

Another thing that we hadn't really thought about was the bathroom situation. Obviously the homes have bathrooms, but not nearly the amount of bathrooms we would need to accomodate 100-120 guests plus bridal party and event staff. Even if they had, we didn't really feel comfortable unleashing 120+ people into the homes of the people who had so graciously offered their yard spaces for our wedding. Our only solution to this problem would be port-a-potties. Zac and I were not super excited about this option. Even though the wedding wasn't going to be super formal, we did want it to be semi-formal, so the idea of people dressed up in nice clothes having to use port-a-potties didn't sit well with us. It felt just a little too casual.

One of the reasons we were really leaning towards having a wedding at the home of someone we knew was that (in addition to having a little more meaning to us, since the place belongs to people we love) we anticipated our costs to be lower than most wedding venues since we would be doing things on our own. As we started to make a list of the things we would need to get and people we would need to hire in order to make our wedding work, we saw that we were mistaken in our assumption. We determined that we would need tables, chairs, tableclothes, chair covers, linen, serving ware, a caterer, a bartendar, outdoor lighting, bug candles/repellent, a dance floor, etc. Then of course we would need to get a photographer, a cake and all the other things that go along with a wedding that we already expected. After looking things up we realized that having our wedding at a venue that was already set up for a wedding would probably be equally or less expensive, and would require less work to organize than setting up the wedding ourselves.

So in the end we decided that perhaps having a backyard style wedding, though casual in atmosphere would be more work and take more effort than we had expected. No doubt we would have family and friends who were willing to help us accomplish the task of setting up and taking down the wedding decorations, as well as coordinate the day's events, but we much prefer that everyone gets to relax a little and have some fun.

We are incredibly grateful to the people who offered their homes and time to host our wedding. It's such an amazing gesture and it has meant a lot to us. Although we have decided not to have our wedding at either of the homes that were offered to us as venues, we have decided that one of them, Zac's grandparents' place, will be the site of our engagement photos in just a few weeks.

Our photo session and a variety of other events are quickly approaching and I have a lot to get done in just a few short weeks......

Fairytale Wedding?

Years before Zac popped the big question, we had taken a trip to Paso Robles with family to see Daughtry perform at the Mid State Fair. Before heading to the concert, we went wine tasting at a few of the wineries in the area. One of the stops we made on our winery crawl was Eagle Castle Winery.

I fell in love with this place. The rolling hills, the big gate entrance, the moat surrounding the building, and its large wooden doors. It was beautiful. While looking around I noticed a table with a wedding photo album and some pamphlets with contact information. They host weddings?! Amazing. From that day on when I envisioned our wedding, I pictured Eagle Castle.

I had looked at photos of Eagle Castle Winery weddings online and they looked really beautiful. So after we got engaged, I decided to contact Eagle Castle Winery and get some information about booking the winery for our wedding. We wanted to have a spring wedding so we asked to get details for a May wedding on the rooftop terrace for about 100-120 people.

A few days later I received an email from their events coordinator with the details. To have the wedding on a Saturday in May, we were looking to spend about $90 a person. This was for a limited menu, a no host bar and did not include the price of a coordinator the day of the wedding. Unfortunately for the items we would want/need to add on, it was just going to be too expensive.

Zac thought for sure that I would insist that we find a way to make it work, since I had talked about it for so long. I guess he thought that my heart was set on it. Afer reading the details of the email I just laughed. It was obviously out of our price range. It definitely made me stop and think about why I liked that venue so much in the first place. No doubt it is a beautiful location....but really, that's all it is.

While it is certianly a pretty place, a fairytale wedding was not really what I had pictured. I have never been the girl who wanted to be in a ball gown wearing a tiara on my wedding day. Also, the atmosphere calls for a more formal affair and that really doesn't reflect the relationship that Zac and I have. We are silly and carefree and our wedding should mirror that. The wedding is about us, not the location.We both agree that we want our guests to feel comfortable and enjoy themselves instead of feeling too formal or awkward.

So, while we will still enjoy visiting Eagle Castle for some wine tasting, we've decided to find another location for our big day.