Location Vocation, part 1

The minute we returned from our engagement trip, I hit the books to find the perfect wedding location. Even though I knew we had at least 18 months until the day, I was eager to get going, and hopeful that an early booking would prove financially fruitful. Seriously folks, finding a venue was, like, my job.

Spoiler alert: It took over SIX MONTHS to find the perfect place. Thank heavens I started so early!

The first place we looked was quickly written off (due to financial reasons) and then later revisited (they dropped the price), at which time it became our first choice. It was the Houdini Estate and Park in Laurel Canyon, right next to Hollywood.The story here is that Houdini’s mansion used to sit on this property but burnt down during a fire in the ’50s. Some theorize that he never even lived here, but merely owned the property. But whoever lived here enjoyed beautiful stonework-laden terraced gardens, a spring-fed pond which burbles down a stony waterfall, beautiful views, and more. Recently the property has been redeveloped and restored. The guest house has been remodeled and expanded, and the land resuscitated enough to allow people to rent the space for the first time ever.

The place doesn’t exactly lend itself to easy party-planning if you’re on a budget, because of the multi-leveled land and the fact that amplified music can only be played inside the guest house. But, if done correctly, one could have a SPECTACULAR party here. Our dream was a semi-gothic, midsummer night’s dream theme (sans Shakespeare references). The price was right, because the place is newly available to the public, and they’ve yet to generate a reputation. We thought it was a done deal.

I’ll spare you the long-winded details of how this plan fell apart, but the summary is this:
The “owner” of the property decided (just as we were negotiating the contract, after 5 months of discussions) that he wouldn’t be booking 2009 parties until January of 2009, if at all. He wanted to treat 2008 as a “trial” season and see how well the park booked. We were disappointed, and out of luck. In the end, I’m glad it didn’t work out. But, for a few days, it was a cool dream, and for a few more, it was a bad nightmare. I’m not sure what the current status of the place is, but my advice is “buyer beware” - considering the questionable reliability of the joint.

Here’s some pros and cons of the place, in case you’re interested:

Pros:
* Unusual and exciting location
* Lots of land space to play with
* Cheap (at the time), probably not for long
* Overnight rental included, so saves a bit on hotels
* Pool
* Fun history
* Ability to bring in caterers and alcohol of choice

Cons:
* Complicated layout
* Complicated and disorganized management
* No amplified music outdoors
* Renovations not yet complete
* Lack of night lighting outdoors on terracy, unsafe terrain
* Kind of loud road noise from Laurel Canyon Blvd.

It would be a great weekend rental for out of towners, or for someone who can afford a party-planner to deal with the negotiations, setup and tear down of the event. It really is a unique and lovely locale - just clearly not meant to be for us. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, so we plowed forth with a vengeance to find our “meant to be”.

Stay tuned for more on our location adventure….