It's official!!

It's the first official post in my wedding blog! That must mean things are happening...

Yes, they are. Money has exchanged hands. Deposits have been made. Contracts are being signed.

Things we know for certain...

The Date
October 30th, 2010. That has been the planned for date for a while now, but with venues locked down, it most certainly is the date.

The Ceremony Location
The Chapel at West Parish. It's right across the street from the house, and Brian and I walk by it all the time. We'd never been inside, but Saturday morning we had a meeting with the facilities manager and got the tour. If we didn't want to spend a penny on decorating the chapel, it would still be absolutely beautiful. It is a bit dark, though, so I think decorations of some type are in order. I think one of my favorite things about it is that since we are having so few people, we won't wind up with a big, empty church. The maximum capacity is 120 people, and we're looking at between 75 and 85, so it's perfect. I'm going to try and get over there soon to take some pictures of the inside for planning.

The Reception Location
Danversport Yacht Club. This place has everything that we're looking for in a reception hall. They include so much in their wedding packages that we will have to worry about very little. They way they do business is also very refreshing. All of the taxes, gratuities, and fees are built into the per head price. And it all goes towards the minimum spending. That's fantastic. So many places put all that stuff in tiny letters at the bottom of their information packets. And they tend to be very restrictive as to what can go towards the minimum spending. Also, most venues don't start the off season until the first week of November. Not Danversport. We are off-season. That really only affects the minimum spending, which we would have met anyway, but it's nice to know if a lot of people wind up not coming, we won't be scrambling to buy more services or food just to meet the minimum.

As far as my priorities go, I really just want to get the photographer booked, and then I can relax. All the big stuff will be taken care of. We'll need to find a DJ also, but I am far less fussy about that than I am about my photographer. I do have one in mind right now. Her name is Lisa Rigby and I think her style perfectly matches the feel we want for the wedding. My favorite part is that you get full resolution digital files for your own personal use. This means that I won't have to pay $8 for a 4x6 print or something obscene like that. Nor am I limited to a book done by the photographer. It would be nice for me to be able to do my own.

It seems fitting that so much is falling into place the week of Brian and my 3rd anniversary.

Hooray! Planning! I'll get some pictures up here as soon as I can.