Venue Search Continues: Morgan Creek Golf Club

I went to the Morgan Creek Golf Club today. And I think I may have found the venue! I took some pictures so you guys can see and so I can show my FH later tonight. But I am so excited. I loved Trinity, the sales rep, and the venue. Here's some pictures:

This is the ceremony site. Notice the pond in the background...it has duckies. :)

This is the inside of the reception area. Those gorgeous drapes and chandeliers are there permanently so you save on the decorations. You get to chose from a bunch of colors for the linens with no extra charge and the carpet design isn't that bad either.

A close up of the chandelier. I love it!

So now all I have left to do to finalize this venue, is get my FH there to see it. He's been busy with work and biking up in Tahoe so hopefully later this week I can lure him away. :) Oh and next Tuesday we get to go and try some of the food. Yum!

Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn

I'm so excited!

Saturday night I had dinner with my wonderful sister-in-law to be and her hubby. The best part? She agreed to be my matron on honor! I'm so very happy. Her husband and her both know a ton about planning a wedding, they just got married three years ago themselves, and her hubby is now a wedding DJ so they know about most of the places we're looking at. I love getting all this first hand info! Her hubby recommended one venue that we had already looked at, The Ridge, in Auburn. He said that Ruby, the wedding coordinator there, is just the greatest.

He also recommended the Morgan Creek Golf Club in Roseville. I'll be headed out there this week to check it out.

I feel so much less stressed now that I have my wonderful, talented sister-in-law as my Matron of Honor! We share similar taste and I know she'll take care of me. It was so great to see how excited she was too!

Now I'm excited to start planning!
Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn

Promising Venue Ideas

Ok so today I found two possible venues- which will (I'm pretty sure) fit into our budget and I'm excited about. Here they are:


1.) The River Mill in French Camp, CA












2.) The Japanese Gardens in Micke Grove Park.

I can't wait to go check these out! Has anyone heard of them or seen them in person? By the way, that wedding at the Japanese Garden was gorgeous! Be sure to follow the link attached to the picture and check out that photographer's work!

Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn

Finding a Venue

Finding a venue for our ceremony and reception has proven to be the most stressful decision.so far. Because of our limited budget plus my semi-specific vision, I have been looking for almost 2 months (officially) and still haven't found anything promising. I did however come up with a very organized and useful chart that I'd like to share. Trust me it helps to have something you can glance at to remind yourself of important details rather than looking up the websites one at a time. So here we go!

Venues:	Miners Foundry	Centerville Estates
Fri/Sun. Prices:		$4,458*
Sat. Prices:		$4,990*
Distance from RB:	133.87 mi. 2hr 44min	68.48 mi. 1hr 43min
Distance from RC:	55.12 mi. 1hr 13min	109.9 mi. 2hr 09min
Insurance:	Min $500,000 req.
Vendor Limits:
Time Limits:	Whole day	9am-11pm
Parking:	Yes	Yes- Directed.
Set up and Clean up:	$25/hour with a 3 hour min.	Clean Up
Tables and Chairs:	Many options	Yes - wooden
Linens:	At extra cost
Dishes:
Included Décor:	Candelabras, Hurricane Oil Lamps	Umbrellas
Coordinator:	No.
# of Events:	1	1
Max # of Guests:	200 for stone hall
Taxes or Other Fees:
Bathrooms:	Yes	Yes, 3
Dressing Rooms:	Bride	Bride & Groom
Bar:	Available	Indoor & Outdoor
Backup for Rain:		Indoor Space
Misc. Pros:		Electricity outside
Misc. Cons:
Dance Floor:		Indoor & Outdoor
Venue Amenities:	Historic, Stone Walls, Indoor	River, Lawns, Patios
Website:	Minersfoundry.org	Centervilleestate.com

Centerville estates: * possibly less for a small guest list

I was trying to get the chart to fit into your view, but I think it may still cut off a few letters. Usually my chart is about 4 venues wide. I currently have about 4 pages of this plus more info to update and venues to add . You can add or change the rows to whatever is important to you. Oh and in case anyone starts to wonder, RB is where most of our family is located and RC is where we're located. 

I cannot wait until we decide on a venue! Things will get so much easier. :) Hope this helps everyone- I know it made things easier for me.

Forever Dreaming,

Katelyn

Planning Update: Guest Lists and Venue Hunting

This Sunday, my friend Kiki and I will be going to a few different venues and seeing if anything causes me to become obsessed with one of them. Sounds like fun, right?! I will be sure to post pictures and comments as soon as I can afterwords, but today I wanted to share a few things with you.

First off, I had way too much fun reading Brides.com bridal horoscope or as they like to call it the Bridescope. It was almost completely on with my wedding ideals- even with the couple match up.

"The Sagittarius woman is a complex mix of wild and wise, thoughtful and impulsive. She's an independent, can-do type, always expanding and growing. She loves to learn and may have a teeming bookshelf that reflects her many interests. But don't expect to mistake her for a bookworm. On the outside, she may be wild and lusty (think Britney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith)—or at least her strong personality will be evident. Deep down, though, there's an inner good girl who's capable of lasting monogamy. Just don't use the term "settle down" around her. This freedom-loving sign won't be told what to do! Sagittarius is symbolized by the centaur, the legendary half-human, half-horse that was caught between two natures—his primal desires and his thirst for knowledge. Although the Sagittarius woman can be an animal below her mythological belt, her sign rules wisdom, morals and higher learning. She's often sticking her hoof in her mouth, blurting out tactless-but-truthful comments. But with her deep generosity she'll make it up to you later. It takes a strong man to rein her in, but the one who does will enjoy endless adventures, laughter and all the gifts of her fiery nature. With her direct remarks and ribald humor, she's often "one of the guys" and may be more at home in the company of male friends. Finding—and recognizing—her own femininity will be this tomboyish sign's challenge. Her wisdom and generosity abound when it comes to helping friends and loved ones discover their higher callings. Though she may give "tough love," nobody will champion your greatness like a visionary Sagittarius woman. The surest way to alienate Sagittarius is to try to impose limits on her personal freedom and drown her happy-go-lucky optimism in doubt. If she finds a commitment restrictive, she'll head for the hills. Sometimes a mere whiff of responsibility makes her draw back in fear, and this can be a definite weakness. The lifelong lesson for this sign is to discover how commitment is the beginning of adventure rather than the end. Should she discover this curious paradox, Sagittarius makes an excellent (though at times exhausting) partner and playmate."

Yes I'm impulsive, and optimistic, and excited. (Sagittarius all the way!) It was great. Try it out here.

The second thing - I just got back my wish list from my parents. A list of everyone they would invite if they could and I added in my side of the guests. Let me tell you, it’s stressful! We want to have 75 guests or less, and I'm at 55-60 and that’s without Justin's extended family.I do have his immediate family on there though. That's also after probably 1 hour of cutting down the list and feeling guilty after being cut throat. "How close a friend are they?" is something I had to ask myself a lot.

But some of it was fun. I liked knowing that I now have more than half of the list taken care of, and most of those entries have addresses attached! Can I just mention how much I love Wedding Wire's guest list tool? I will be so prepared when it comes to making out the invitations. Score!

Hope you all are having a wonderful week!

Forever Dreaming,

Katelyn