Wedding Venue Shopping

Brazil has come and gone. It was a fantastic vacation and reminded me how much I miss Darden and the close proximity of so many friends. Since our return almost two weeks ago, we have tried to get serious. The wedding venue list needed to be narrowed for our visit to the Bay Area this coming Labor Day weekend. The entire trip revolves around venue shopping. What an experience it has been thus far.

I find more and more that I have no idea what I want. Winery? Sounds fun with great photos in the vineyards! Beach setting? I love the ocean and the crash of the waves! A wedding in downtown San Francisco? You mean we could take photos near the Golden Gate Bridge, the symbol of the city I grew up near!? The good news is that my finance balances me with some decisive yays and nays as we peruse the internet for photos of each venue we like. What better way to see the venue in action than to look at actual wedding photos?

We also have run into some predicaments. In a perfect world, each venue would slot itself into the time allotted on my master spreadsheet. Unfortunately, some venues have weddings, are simply booked or the event coordinator will be no where in sight. This leaves more rearranging and subsequently some concessions on which venues we want to see. Another interesting problem we've had is venues not returning calls. Last I checked, we are still in a recession. Wedding = $$, so why can't someone simply picked up the phone? I'm not exactly sure. While it leaves a poor initial impression, there are some venues that I still want to see (and they are public). I wonder if I do see a venue on a "self-guided" tour and love it, will we be able to get ahold of the event coordinator the second time around?

I know wedding planning is a massive task. At this point, I'll just be happy to get a venue and date set. I've reached that age where many of my friends are getting engaged. It's a race to scoop up dates in 2012. At least I am trying to be flexible with a window of August to early October 2012.