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I felt like the Goldilocks of wedding venues. We visited eight, three in Southern California and four in Northern California. This one didn’t have enough room, this one didn’t have a coordinator, we didn’t like the coordinator at this one, there wasn’t an easy way to park at that one, the bathrooms had a leak at this one, there were too many ducks and too much duck poo, etc. etc. etc.

We had specific criteria in mind.

- needed to accomodate up to 200 guests (we have big families!)

- outside ceremony area preferred

- lots of outdoor spots for photography

- easy parking for guests

- private venue (we didn’t want another wedding going on at the same time)

- a coordinator or point person that we got along with (after meeting some coordinators we did not like, this became even more important!)

One night, after returning from the Wild Animal Park, we stopped by a vineyard that had a rocking party going on. There were twinkle lights and tons of people and everyone looked so happy. Unfortunately, it was a private party so we couldn’t do any wine tasting, but the boy remembered it and immediately suggested the vineyard when we first started looking for venues.

It fit all of the criteria, and the added bonus was that their coordinator was so nice and accommodating. We felt immediately at ease with her, and it made the decision that much easier for us. I was also swayed because the boy loved it so much, and if you keep reading my posts, you’ll soon realize that this show is mainly being run by me. It’s very rare that he has an opinion!

So after 8 venue visits asking about chairs and kitchen space and parking attendants and changing rooms and set-up times…we made the big decision and put down a deposit for…

**Trumpets**

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It’s been a busy week.  I got my dream job offer, flew to DC, found an apartment, and have packed 7 fridge-sized boxes since yesterday in preparation for my big move to DC this weekend.  Although this means my fiance and I will continue our long-distance relationship for another 6 months or so before we re-evaluate our next move, NYC (where he lives) is a lot closer to DC than Africa was (where I was living last year).

The best part about visiting D.C. last week was meeting with my good friend Kate from grad school.  She is the one friend I have that is engaged at the same time as I am and I seriously don’t know what I would do with out her.  She is the only one who physically can listen to me talk about wedding details for HOURS upon end with feedback after every sentence.  My mother has actually forced me to call Kate when she can no longer stand my endless analysis. I hope you all have a friend like her too!

Anyway, Kate is an extremely creative, cool and classy gal whose most recent wedding DIY project I am planning on stealing is inspiring me to do something similar.  I’ve asked her to share with us her homemade SAVE THE DATES inspired by her venue.

She, like me, is in love with her wedding reception venue, hers being at the Headlands Center for the Arts, old army barracks in Marin County near San Francisco pictured below.

She asked the on-site wedding coordinator to send her a high resolution image of the venue to use as a stamp for her Save-the-Dates.  The results are oh so classy, cool and personal.

Not only does Kate regularly help me with wedding planning but she saved me this week with my blog post, since I am in the middle of a big move, and generously shared  all the details of her DIY Save-the-Date cards with me to share with you.  Enjoy.

Kate:

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Justin Fone shared the positively charming video from Maureen and Nathan’s Napa Valley wedding with us.  Maureen and Nathan are from London and held a beautiful destination wedding at the V. Sattui Winery.  The whole event was filmed in Super 8mm film - which is so classic and timeless…

Maureen & Nathan from Justin Fone on Vimeo.

… and paired with this hauntingly beautiful melody - sigh.  Lovely.

E.

PS - Justin is based in SF and LA, but spreads his fabulousness all over the world!

We have two beautiful real weddings for you today!  Starting us off will be the unique and beautiful vineyard wedding of Lori and Brian, captured by Allegro Photography.

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I love this romantic wedding Alison Hotchkiss, creative director of Alison Events, sent over last week for today’s real wedding feature. You’ve probably seen a number of Alison’s gorgeous weddings floating around the blogging world…..she is definitely a favorite among the wedding bloggers!

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Laura and William were married at the beautiful Historic Del Monte Building in Sunnyvale, California.  They were lucky enough to snag Jo and David from Allegro Photography to capture their event!

Meet Laura, the beautiful bride, and William with his handsome groomsmen!

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San Francisco’s City Hall is one of the most gorgeous and glamorous wedding venues I have ever encountered.  I am *in love* with the elegant flooring, beautiful rotundas, and amazing staircase.

All images via SF.gov

It is definitely not cheap (prices range from $5,000 to $30,000) but if you have a large party to throw, where better than here?  And everyone always says that they should’ve just “gone to city hall”!  Here is an example of a couple who did just that!

E.

PS - I just realized that I obviously do not know how to filter my Google Analytics correctly.  I was amazingly excited to see tonight that we have actually had 7,000 visitors in the past two months, not 4,000 as I had originally posted.  WOW to all of our fantastic visitors - thank you SO much for reading!