Taking Music to the Next Level!

Now that we have our venue in place it is time to start thinking about all the other vendors we are going to need to complete our big day. My fiancé and I have been to a variety of weddings but the wedding that sticks out is my sister’s wedding. We feel like the reason her wedding was one of the best was because of the DJ she hired. Her wedding is where we met again and danced the night away!

He was the first thing that came to both of our minds when we thought of having the best of the best. My sister and husband raved about him and the way he conducted the whole event. Well my fiancé and I went to a wedding last weekend and he was the DJ at that wedding as well! Again we were overly impressed by his work! When we saw him at the wedding we asked him for his business card and talked about setting a meeting that very next week.

We had our meeting with him last night and my fiancé and I were both blown away by all he has to offer! His name is Shawn and he works for Event Team Entertainment. He and his company take the word DJ to a whole other level! If you are looking for the best in the business you will not be disappointed! His services are anything but standard with packages ranging from picture backdrops, customized songs, game show options, even a new feature called dancing in the clouds! All this and more to make your day anything but ordinary!

The Right and Wrong Venue

Well folks you will not believe it but I was able to find the perfect venue for my wedding! I guess you could say it all just fell into place! I was looking at two different locations and because of the process of elimination it was an easy decision.

I am from the Portland area so I have been looking at locations that are close to Portland. My first choice was “The Aerie at Eagle Landing” it was a beautiful venue and it pretty much had everything I was looking for. The only part of the venue I was not impressed with was I felt it was the entire area of where the wedding and reception would have been held was a little small. They venue is set up so that the wedding is held outside and then the reception is outside about 20 feet away from where you have the ceremony and then the reception also has a small inside area. The layout is like a house with a garage style opening.

Like it said it was my first choice because of how immaculate everything was kept on the property. What they forget to mention is that they are going to nickel and dime you all the way down the individual linens and place settings you will be using! They give you a $35-$50 per person figure for the catering but what they forget to mention is with those figures the only thing included is the food! Not the linens, or place settings, or even the staff! They charge you for the individual staff members! If that is not bad enough they also charge you for an extra $600 if you happen to choose a date that is considered “popular” for brides! If you ask them about this charge they will try to make up a reason for this additional fee but that is the true reason for them charging it.

Long story short I did end up finding the perfect venue and they do not nickel and dime you for every last thing! Check back in a few days and I will fill you in!

More Venue Shopping….

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….

Narrowing the Venue Field

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…