Venues

Finding a rental hall is next to impossible in this area.

Oh, don't get me wrong - it's not that they aren't available.

But, even if they weren't all booked up 2 years in advance, they're all way out of my price range.

About a year ago, long before we were engaged, I checked out a place called Windows on the River. It's an old converted powerhouse building. It's just the type of setting the FFG and I would like to have this little shindig - brick walls, city view, even a great spot on the river that spills out in to Lake Erie. It'd be perfect for an urban-jazz coffee house. Good news: they cover everything - food, rentals, bar, centerpieces, cake. Bad news: it's still out of our price range.

But, ever since my mother attended a wedding there about a month ago she's been obsessed. I mean obsessed. She spends every conversation talking about what a great deal this place was. I even diplomatically tried to direct her toward researching some other details for me before she drove me nuts. No dice.

So, I finally emailed them. And, sure enough - even after asking them if they can give me any breaks by excluding some of the extras or changing the menu - they can't budge much on the price.

So, after close to two months of engagement, I am no closer to having a venue booked.

So what's next? Well, we have a friend who is an ordained minister and has offered to officiate our wedding. We're going to talk to him in a couple weeks in our first pre-marital counseling session and see if his church has a place where we could hold a reception. That would kill two birds with one stone: ceremony and reception site (both of which are still in question).

Wish me luck... this is going to be tough.