This one gentleman approached us and told us how he was taking a picture of the monument when he realized he captured a picture of Mark proposing to me on one knee. I started to tear and Mark asked him if he could send us the picture.
I've been engaged for about 10 months and officially started the planning process back in March. After I got engaged, Mark asked me if we should look for a wedding planner since he didn't want me to stress out [what an insult! haha j/k]. Of course I understood his concerns, but I declined his offer. I enjoy putting together events and this was the one event I refuse to pass on to someone else, plus it would be a waste of money!
I did tell him I would need a day of planner to keep me stress-free on our special day though!
Anyways, why blog now? A few people have talked to me regarding my wedding with lots of questions on what I was doing and how quickly I do things. I figured I might as well document what I've experienced and share with the world the days leading up to my big day.
FIRST BLOG
The single most important thing we needed to figure out was our Budget! It's important to look at finances and know what you're willing to spend without going broke at the end of the day. Work your budget around the wedding, rather than working your wedding around the budget. Don't plan the wedding then cut things out based on what you can afford, otherwise it will be a large disappointment. Next thing on the list was to secure our date. I spoke with the Priest at St. Leo's and reserved May 19, 2012. The third most important thing we had to do was secure a venue. My logic: church+venue = secured date!
I locked down the date with St. Leos and knew it was time to find a venue. Mark and I weighed out our options between hotels, country clubs, and mansions. Originally, we wanted to go with a mansion but unfortunately we couldn't find any place large enough to support the amount of people we're expecting[that wasn't too far from the church.] We figured, a hotel would be our best bet. Mark and I set up appointments with various hotels: Marriott, Crown Plaza, Hyatt, etc.
After seeing the Dulles Hyatt and meeting Joanna Bentz, we knew that was our venue. We're the "old fashion" type of couple, I prefer dangling chandeliers over any modern lighting, soft tones over eccentric colors, and etc. Although the venue is modernized, the ceilings were higher than other hotels and the space is glorious [we are taking up the entire ballroom!] That means we're able to have an incredible dance floor!!!!
The Negotiation
Luckily with my negotiating skills, I was able to take almost $15,000+ off of our venue! How did I do this? It's important to shop around. Let's put it this way, you wouldn't buy the first car you look at, would you? Do your research! I set up multiple appointments with various venues and asked for a proposal. I then looked at the proposal with Mark and we talked about what we liked and didn't like[very important to communicate]. Then during our site visits, I would take my notebook+proposals and bring up what other places offered [chances are they will match what you're looking for or will try and offer you more.] I refused to sacrifice the food, appetizers, open bar, hours of the reception, etc.
After going back and forth with phone calls and emails to negotiate a reasonable price, we signed and put a down payment on our venue!
THINGS WE CONSIDERED:
1. High ceilings
2. Large dance floor
3. Large capacity--minimum 200 people
4. Food
5. Price
6. Duration of the event
No comments:
Post a Comment