Well once again it was a weekend filled with wedding venue shopping. I must say that there are some pretty nice options in Oregon and then there are some options I would not touch with a ten-foot pole!

For example I went to a venue called “The Water Oasis” and I was very disappointed! First of all we had an appointment at 9am and when we got there the guy who was supposed to show us the property was not even there. Instead another one of the owners was there and he does not usually do tours. Now mind you we drove 60 minutes to get to this location and we had to get up early because we looked at one other place before going to this appointment.

It turns out the guy we made the appointment with was not going to be able to make it! If that was not bad enough, our new tour guide could not answer any of our questions! On top of that all of the beautiful ponds and fountains they have on there website were under construction and were not even running when we got there! Can you believe that they forgot to mention that before we drove out there?

Well it gets even worse the grass was not kept up, the bark dust was very old and by the time we saw that the ceremony area that only fits 75 people we were already disgusted by the property! I have to say though the worse thing of all of this experience was when you find out they do not have bathrooms outside and that they bring in Honey Pots!

Well you can be the judge of this one folks but I would say by the looks of things I would wonder if they are even a legit business! There is one crossed off the list!

Stay tuned I will be doing more reviews….

It is time to narrow the venue field down and select the wedding and reception area that is going to work the best for you. How do you make a good decision on where to have your special day?

Well I am at that point where I need to act soon because I am a little bit more then a year out and venues can go quick. When thinking about all of the main components you have to look at for a decision like this there are three main things that can make or break your choice…

The first thing to consider is how many people you would like at your ceremony. If you are going to have a larger wedding then you are going to have to choose a venue that accommodates that amount of people. If you are going to have a smaller wedding then your options are completely different from a larger wedding and you have to again find a place that is appropriate for the amount of people you are going to accommodate.

After you figure out how many people you would like to have, you have to keep in mind the ever-famous budget! Now this is when you start looking at the $$$ and you start doing a really specific head count. Each person has a per person cost and you have to make sure that the amount you are coming up with is the amount you want to pay out of your pocket.

Once you have a solid number of how many guests you would like and how much money you can afford the last component is finding a venue that makes you happy and meets all of your needs. My fiancé and I would like an outside wedding and reception we currently have two places we are looking at but I am going to go out again this weekend to have a couple more places to compare to. The rule about finding the perfect venue is you can never do too much research to find the perfect match! Wish me luck…

When you are planning a wedding one of the most important lists is your guest list. When you are thinking of all the people you want to invite there are many things to keep in mind.

I am going to be coming up with my guest list tonight. The first people on list will be all of my immediate family and all of my closest friends. While I am coming up with my list my fiance will be doing the same thing and writing down all of his immediate family and friends. My fiance and I have a lot of friends in common so that is always helpful. We have decided that we would like to invite around 120 people but once we write out our list we will see if it is possible to have that amount of people and not leave anyone out. You should have an idea of how many people you would like to invite so you can keep that in mind while thinking of people.

After you both write down all the close friends and family it is time to ask the family for help. I am lucky enough to have a sister who got married 3 years ago so I am having her send me her list to make sure I do not leave anyone important out. If you do not have that luxury then ask your mom, dad or anyone that knows a lot of the same people you know to help you come up with the people you might have forgot about.

After consulting others for help you should have a pretty good list of everyone you want to invite. If you look at that number and it is way to many people for the budget you are working with then you will have to either cross some people off your list or find a way to reduce your cost per person at the venue you chose.

Good luck I hope this helps you come up with a good list!

My fiancé and I had thought that we had are wedding venue and reception area all picked out….we were wrong! It turns out the place we wanted to have our wedding does not allow weddings where we were planning on getting married! What does that mean, well you guessed the hunt is on! Good thing we started planning so early!

We started out by making a new list of all of the places we would consider getting married. Yesterday, which was Sunday for us we took the day to explore all of are options. My fiancé and I love scenic places are favorite places include the mountains, places with a lot of water, and lots of green trees.

The first place we started out at was The Resort at the Mountain. We were really excited to look at this property because it looked beautiful in the pictures online. Well it turns out the property is being renovated and everything will be complete next year around the time we wanted to get married. We looked at the future plans of the property and it looks amazing. The only problem is that there is the two areas we have to choose from for venues are both located on a golf course! We like to golf but not enough to get married on a golf course!

Well the hunt continues……

After you have chosen your wedding colors you can start looking into flowers. There are so many different types of flowers to choose from you have to know where to start.

A good place to start is incorporating all your colors you have chosen into the flowers you choose. For example my wedding colors are red, black, ivory and silver, so my flowers should include these colors. It is up to you if you want to have more or less of certain colors. I decided that I wanted the majority of my flowers red and ivory. I ruled out the color pink for flowers because I feel with the color scheme we are after pink would clash. The next thing I did was start to research flowers.

There are many way to research flowers you can look online at different flower designs, you can look in magazines and books, or you can even drive to the flower store, just to get an idea of what you like. I did all three of theses activities. First I looked online and made a folder of all my favorite flower looks, making note of the flowers and accessories they had used to create different looks. I found out which flowers came in red and ivory and chose all of my favorite ones. Then I looked in a couple flower magazines and books to get some ideas. After I had an idea of what I liked I went to the flower store to see them in real form.

I have not made any final decisions on flowers yet, but I have a pretty good idea of what I like. I hope this information helps you when you are starting your flower planning adventure!

There are many different choices out there when it comes to music at a wedding. Some of the most popular options include; having a private band, hire a DJ or you burn all of your songs on to an i-pod and play the music yourself.

There are pros and cons to each of these choices. The pros about having a private band are that you get to enjoy your own live performances. Also if you have your own band they can play what ever song you want them to play whenever you want them to play it! The cons of having a live band include taking the time to choose which band you are going to hire and the high cost involved.

The pros of having a DJ are that you have someone to host the whole event. Also DJ’s are really good at picking good music and keeping the party going! The cons of having a DJ are again you have to take the time to choose the right DJ and also the cost involved, although they are less expensive then a private band.

Last but not least there is the option of doing all of the music yourself on an i-pod. The pros of this method are you save a lot of money! The cons are that it is a lot of work to do all of the music yourself. Also if you do all your music yourself you have known one to host the event.

Out of these options I think the best thing to do is hire a DJ and let them do all of the work! That way you do not have to stress out about doing it yourself and you are still saving a little money.

There are so many choices when it comes to bridal gowns! How do you even know where to start? When it comes to your wedding gown it is one of the most important decisions you will make for your big day!

The first thing to remember is that there are so many styles of gowns to choose from and if one style does not flatter your figure then there are always other styles that will! No matter what shape or size you are your perfect gown is out there waiting for you to find it!

The next thing to remember is to have your budget planned out before you start going wedding dress shopping. Once you know how much money you have to spend on your dress, you do not have to waste your time trying on dresses that you can not afford. Always stick to your budget when trying on dresses and then you will not have the problem of falling in love with a dress you have to leave at the store!

The color of the dress is another factor. When ever you are trying on dresses make sure to try on every color. I know that every girl dreams of a white wedding dress but you would be surprised by how good diamond white and ivory look on some people!

Good luck in finding the perfect dress! I hope this gets you off to a good start!