After my proposal, I received an outpouring of calls, texts and Facebook posts from friends and family congratulating me on the big news. Talking with one of my friends the following day I already set my mind on having my wedding on a 3 day weekend, which pretty much limited me to Labor Day weekend, Memorial Day weekend and Fourth of July weekend. The benefit of having a wedding on a 3 day weekend is that our out-of-town guests have better chance of making it in town for our nuptials.

James’ birthday is in August, mine is in October, our dating anniversary is in February so having a May wedding nicely spreads out the major milestones in our lives. So Memorial Day weekend it is! When I talked with my mom the day following my engagement, she was adamant that I start looking at venues immediately. “Mom, let me have some time to enjoy being engaged,” I said. “There’s no time,” she replied.

James turned over the reigns of our wedding planning early in the process, so my mother, my BFF Ashlee and I went on what I like to call “my venue roadshow.” If it was a reality show it would be an intense week-long trek across the Dallas Metroplex for the perfect venue. It started off like a espionage mission — surveying the lands, checking out strengths and weaknesses and analyzing potential targets then came the interrogation of the venue managers… Such a fun time.

My checklist for my venue:

• Occupancy for at least 250 guests with a dance floor. I love people who can have a wedding without dancing but for me it’s a requirement!
• A space for the ceremony and reception to be held all at the same venue. I am such a convenience person, so I really felt like the second criteria was important so that people don’t have to travel from place to place.
• Ambiance

I feel in love the very first place I visited, but the venue occupancy was less than my expected guest list, so I was heartbroken. The following 6-7 venues didn’t give me the same feeling and if I’ve learned anything in the wedding planning process it’s that your gut is so important. It’s kind of like your mom making cookies when you’re little and she tells you that you can’t have any yet and it makes you want them even more… That’s how I felt about this venue. I had to have it!

Needless to say, I did select the first venue even though it is a little too small for my anticipated guest list, but that’s a whole other problem and post for another day. Right now, I’m so happy about the selection and can’t wait to see how everything comes together.

– L