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So...

A lot happened over Spring Break, and we made some solid plans.



Jon and I went to see 5 reception places: Village by the Sea, the Coastal House, Spring Hill Farm, the Red Barn, and Clay Hill Farm.

Village by the Sea looks rather quaint and pretty online, doesn't it?
Well, the website fails to tell you that if you get married in the gazebo, you are literally 20 feet from the driveway to the hotel. Oh, and if you get pictures, you can see the road that goes right through Wells, Maine. As far as by the sea goes... I was not seeing any sea.

I was really disappointed it in.

Oh, and the hallway smelled like baby diapers.

I should not be so harsh... I am sure people can have nice weddings there, but the whole place felt pretty white-trash to me. If I were 18, straight out of high school, pregnant, and hoping to marry before my boyfriend left me... Village by the Sea would be awesome.



Again... too harsh... it really was not THAT bad.


However, after leaving the place I felt incredibly depressed and that maybe we had made the wrong decision o marry in Maine.



Our second stop was the Coastal House... about a mile down the road from VbtS. It was SO much better... but it was very... ummm... puppy mill?

The lady was very nice, and they were obviously used to weddings. The facilities were nice and open. It was very clean. Yet it felt like a box. No personality. It just was not us.




Again, depressing.


We also saw Spring Hill Farm. It was very beautiful, situated on Knight's Pond. It was family owned and operated. The banquet hall was nice and it had huge decks all around. They would put out tiki torches! Yes! The room, as I said, was very pretty. We liked who we met with, but she (like the others) were very: Hi, here is the place, let me know if you have questions.

I was reminded of what Ethan used to say about his comp sci students: they do not even know what to ask, which means they REALLY have no clue what is going on.

The same was for us: how the heck am I supposed to know what to ask? I have never been married or engaged before. I have never done this! I do not know what I am looking for!


The last place we visited was the Red Barn.... GASP! GORGEOUS. Amazingly stunningly fabulously beautiful. Everything was wood, open beams, nice covered decks, two fireplaces... sigh.

Oh, and did I forget to mention about $30 bucks more per head? Yeah.


Now I admit, Maine is much much much cheaper than good ole Chester County as far as prices go. I am extremely pleased about that. But still, $30 more on about 200 people? $6000 is no small chunk of change, especially when you are fronting a good majority of your wedding price. There is no fantasy here, mommy and daddy have not given me carte blanche. Jon and I have vowed to put up $10k, they will cover the rest.

No matter what, having about 200 people is freakin EXPENSIVE.


No offense, but we hope that having it on a Sunday in Maine will lower our numbers. We figure those of you lovely folk who really want to be there will... those of you who dont, wont.




SO we did not go with the Red Barn.



We actually decided to go with Clay Hill. They have won awards for their food and service. We met twice with Rachel. The first time for about an hour and a half, the second for over 2 hours (when my mom was there, naturally). She was FANTASTIC. She explained everything that we ever wanted to know. I describe the place as kitschy and cozy. I really like it. It will be a Maine wedding, and thats what we hoped for. The price is right... the grounds (a bird sanctuary) are gorgeous. This will allow us to spend more on a TROLLEY!!!!! YAY! :) Anyway, we love it, are super excited, and we put down money!!!!




Jon and I will be married at First Parish in York, Maine on Sunday, Sept 14th, 2008 by Rev Dr Richard Knight.

The reception will follow at Clay Hill Farm in Ogunquit, Maine.

The whole shabang will be photographed by Deb Cram, who we loved and adored when we met her. She is freakin AWESOME.




So yes... big decisions made... now we just need....

flowers
dj
invitations
dresses
centerpieces
hotel rooms blocked
honeymoon plans
a realtor
a house



Not necessarily in that order. Sigh.

Engagement Photos

Check em out.

planning

Well, Jon and I are in Maine for the week of Spring Break.

We have appointments pretty much all week, which makes it much less of a Break and more of a busy time. We actually had to forgo our *awesome* plans to drive to Arkansas (visit the Johns on the way) and go digging for diamonds at Diamond Mine State Park. Sigh. Some day.


We drove up on Sat and stayed with Grammie on Sat night. On Sunday, we visited First Parish and had an appointment with Rev. Dr. Richard Knight.

No, he does not have a round table in his office.


It was sort of our first "marriage counseling" session, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It actually made it more real to sit down with the Reverend and talk about marriage and what we hoped and expected. He was really incredibly nice, though slightly soft-spoken. I hate to say it, but he reminded me of the guy in Something About Mary who is the fake cripple. Shrug.

We also got some homework to do. He said he would love to do our marriage counseling and said that in the next session he would probably ask us to come in and have a fight. AWESOME!

I have to admit, Jon and I rarely fight. I am sure it is not because we AGREE with everything... but I think we just know each other well enough now to anticipate the answers, and to be okay with our differences.



Anyway, it went well. We went back to Grammies and hung out with Jon's brothers and sisters and the kids. We hung out with Grammie after they left. She really is remarkable. She is 89, lives alone, and does not act a day over 70. She has been really blessed with great health and a great spirit. Overall, a very special lady.


We slept over Jason and Michelle's and today Jon, Michelle, and I went to see three different reception places.


The first one, Village by the Sea was 1) not within sight of the sea and 2) smelled like diapers. I mean, it was nice enough, I suppose... but I got sort of a white-trashy feel. Tamra, the wedding coordinator, was very pleasant, but the whole thing felt awkward. Let's just say this: if we got married outside, our pictures would include a charming view of Rt. 1.

The second place we stopped at was the Coastal House, a strictly events facility. It was nice also... Cheryl was extremely pleasant and sort of had a been-there seen-it-all attitude. Again, it was very nice... but rather sterile. There was little to no personality, but it WAS a viable option. It just would not have felt very Maine-y.

The last place we visited was Clay Hill Farm. This place is very campy. It is set back in the woods and is a bird sanctuary. Therefore, it is full of flowers and birds and a pond and a barn and all that good stuff. Rachel was wonderful to speak with and we just really liked the place. As I said, it was kind of campy. There are several (well-connected) rooms and decks and the decor is kinda strange and the ceilings low... but it really gave us a sense of family... people who love working there and take pride in their services.


This could be it folks!


It also means though that we may get married Sunday, Sept 21st.

If you can come, great... if not... believe me, we will treat the guests who DO come even better!



Tomorrow we will see Spring Hill Farms and see how that goes. It seems like a cross between Clay Hill (large beautiful grounds) and the Coastal House (big open clean reception area).

We should have a decision by tomorrow afternoon!!!!! YAY!!!




We will let you know....

It's been awhile

I know it has been awhile since an update... I have just been incredibly busy.

Since getting engaged, there has been some kind of crazy whirlwind of activity.


On Friday of last week, we went to movie night and watched Clue with Reverb people. We had a blast, and there is another movie night this Friday that Jon and I cannot make.

Sat we were supposed to go to the jewelers, but we had stayed out too late and were tired. Instead we went to breakfast. Then I went to a meeting in Merion to discuss who was going to be where and in what group for Project this summer. I CANNOT WAIT! Go Project Purple! :)

After that, Jon and I went into the city to meet up with Mike and Mary. They made a celebratory dinner for us of steak with bernaise sauce, broccoli, rice, and leek soup. We also had cheese and crackers and cake! Oh, and champagne. It was a royal celebration. :)

Sunday morning, we went to church with his uncle. They did a "laying on of hands", so the service was pretty long, but the church was neat, and it seemed like a tight-knit community. After that we went to brunch at the Magnolia Grill. Then, Jon and I rushed off to rehearsal.

THEN! We went back to Jon's house to celebrate his brother in laws birthday. It was a busy busy busy weekend.



This past week was also rather packed, although I stayed home Wednesday and Thursday. I was pretty sick with feminine issues, which I have not been for quite a long time. I am not sure what caused it, but I was miserable. In fact, Tuesday night Jon and I were supposed to drive out to Donegal to help write camp curriculum, but I was so sick we had to turn around about an hour into the drive. :(

On Monday (yes, I know, going backwards) we went to the jeweler to get my ring re-sized and lowered a bit. I will not have it back for 2 weeks or so. :( It will be just as gorgeous though!

On Friday I was feeling LOADS better. We hung out with Jon's family.... er... my family to be? SCARY!

Tair, who is 3, is absolutely thrilled to be the "ring man". :) He is adorable.

On Saturday Jon and I went with everyone to Shady Maple for a yummy breakfast. We went to the gift shop afterwards and the kids picked out new tart warmers for Jon. I swear, the guy has more candles than I do.

I worked on Sat night, which was HORRIBLE AWFUL TERRIBLE. It was so busy and I was so tense afterwards that I went to Wawa and got a sandwich and stayed up until 2 eating and watching tv. Yikes.

On Sunday morning, I slept in, then went to rehearsal, which was actually really good and productive, I felt. Then Jon and I went to Mike's family's house and celebrated his birthday with an asian dinner and presents. We had a really good time, and hopefully worlds won't collide over the fact that we have seen Mike and Mary more than once in a month. We also made plans to go to the flower show in Philly on Thursday! It's like we are actually friends! :)




SOOOO... that was my exhausting week... which will be followed by an exhausting two more weeks....

Today ~ write an 8 pg paper that is due Wednesday
Tuesday ~ mix music with Josh
Wednesday ~ class til 7, then a meeting for a class that goes to Peru!
Thursday ~ flower show
Friday ~ Paige and Brian and Lea and Tim and Laura are all coming into town, so dinner with them
Sat ~ Turkey Wow III in Ithica, NY
Sun ~ drive home, rehearsal at Jons
Monday ~ meet with Steph to write camp curriculum
Tuesday ~ holy cow, nothing so far
Wednesday ~ class
Thursday ~ nothing
Friday ~ drive up to Maine for spring break... which will consist of WEDDING PLANNING!!!!



Hopefully my head will not explode by the end of the month. If it doesn't, I am sure that I will be much more relaxed after that. :)