Les All-inclusives

On Tuesday my soon-to-be mother-in-law and I went to visit some "all-inclusive" venues in Round Rock. There were pros and cons to each of them and none of them felt exactly right. Here's the highlights:

Bella Notte on Main
This was the first that we visited and its located in Downtown Round Rock.

Pros: 

• It's beautiful- very ornate ceilings and drapery.
• It's all-inclusive so all we have to bring is the photog, anything fresh (like flowers) and the alcohol= less stress!
• Has all the waitstaff we would need. 
• Has a lot of options for the things that are include
• Liked the coordinator

Cons:

• Felt kinda squished inside
• Not crazy about the site for the ceremony
• Price for # guests is a little high
• Not crazy about the centerpieces that are included= extra cost

Arbor Pointe Event Center

Arbor Pointe was next and actually pretty close to the first place, apparently, they are owned by some of the same people. 

Pros:

• Outside ceremony site
• All-inclusive (same as above except need to bring in DJ too)
• Have some great discounts for other vendors & a complimentary hotel for the wedding night
• Some good menu options
• Have a whole "Decorating Room" of things that we can use at no extra charge

Cons:

• Not enough room inside for a dance floor to be set up with tables (have to move the tables aside after dinner)
• Coordinator seemed really scatterbrained & kept giving ideas- but they would cost extra...
• More expensive than the other 2 
• Didn't like the chairs

Bella Lago at Forest Creek

We went to Bella Lago on a whim because they were in the same general area and were having an open house. The address is in Round Rock but it was closer to Hutto. 

Pros:

• Several ceremony spaces- including one overlooking the creek
• All-inclusive (same as above) with good coordinator
• Big pool that we can float things in
• Spacious overall
• Room for cocktail hour
• Lowest price of all 3

Cons:

• The tent and outside space seemed dirty- not sure if that was just because of the recent storm...
• More natural than landscaped
• Kind of in the middle of nowhere
• Dance floor was a little small
• TINY bride's room- would need to get ready elsewhere

Cathedral Oaks, Belton TX

On Monday (my day off), I decided to check out a new venue in Belton called Cathedral Oaks. It's a beautiful venue (and one of the owners is a KD!), but sadly I think it's a little out of my price range. All they were offering on top of the facility was tables and chairs and the Magnolia House for the groom to get ready in/ a place to have a rehearsal dinner. No linens, centerpieces, coordination or anything like that from what I understood and they wanted almost as much as one of the all-inclusives that I saw on Tuesday. I was just really disappointed because I liked everything except the price. They did say they could offer a military discount (woo-hoo!) but I'm still not sure if that would be enough. Nevertheless- it is beautiful... Check out the pics : )

Bridal Extravaganza #2

Yesterday, I went to the Austin Bridal Extravaganza. I ended up going by myself because my mom had to go to Baltimore for work. I got there at about 2p and started on one end and worked my way to the other. I talked with venues and photographers and a few other miscellaneous vendors, but I tried to focus on the main things that I am looking for right now. That seemed to take the pressure off because lets face it, I'm not ready to pick out a cake or a florist yet- we don't even officially have a date :)

SoI took notes on pricing and what's included in a few venue rental fees, some that I have checked out online before and others that I had never heard of. I made an appointment to visit Arbor Pointe Event Center in Round Rock tomorrow and there are a couple of other venues in that area that I plan on looking at either this week or next. It seems to be the best compromise between here and Austin. I really want to put a deposit down soon so I can start working on the next big things- the DRESS! and the Photographer! plus it will help me decide on what I need to do about catering and what we need to rent, etc.

I found a few other photographers I like that have some good packaging options. I want the DVD of hi-res images and if it's cost effective I would like to have 2 photographers. Some of my favorites were Studio563- the guy I talked to is an Aggie Class of '97 ; ) always a plus
Haydon Photography- they had a good vibe and a great price but we have to book by the end of this month
Lume photography is pretty affordable
Nicole Chatham- a really sweet photographer that I clicked with pretty well

So overall I had fun, ate some cake and got some good info and a cool planning book for only $5. I'll post some pictures of the other venues I'm going to visit soon.

ps. Sam will be home in 14 weeks!!!

Double Creek Crossing

I went to visit Double Creek Crossing today and it was pretty cool. It's brand new out near Caldwell off of Highway 21. The rental fee includes use of the whole place for pretty much the whole day, tables, chairs, set up/tear down and rehearsal the night before, if available

Fountain On The Drive In

View From the Front

Bride's Dressing Room
 there is also a large mirror and a place to hang the dress on the other wall
that door to the right leads to the powder room and the other door leads outside

The Grounds- looking towards the reception area

The Ceremony Site
there was a wedding there recently and they put rose petals on the sides of the aisle

The Reception Site
there are several ceiling fans above and flaps that
can be rolled down in the case of inclement weather
there is also a wooden deck all the way around that's really pretty!

The Great Room
She suggested that the cake or the food be put in here 

Venues, cont.

So I pretty much feel that once I find the perfect venue... everything else will fall into place. At least I hope so because if it doesn't... our wedding is going to be a big mess! I have too many ideas! To that end, I have a few appointments to go look at a few venues next week.

On Monday I will be visiting Double Creek Crossing in Caldwell and I will probably stop by Cathedral Oaks in Belton either Monday or Tuesday. Cathedral Oaks is pretty much brand new and the date I really want is already taken so it's not too high on my ranks, but I want to check it out because it's so close. Double Creek Crossing- its hard to tell from the pictures because there aren't that many but it has a really pretty area for the ceremony- and you know me I'll always thinking about how the pictures will turn out.
I have a few more I'm interested in, its just hard with my work schedule because most days I work 10-6 which isn't really enough time to drive too far and it doesn't help that I'm looking ALL over for the perfect place.

There is another Bridal Expo in Austin I'm thinking about going to because I got an email with a free ticket. So I might even find something else out there.

Until next time...

ps. Sam comes home to visit in less than 16 weeks! It may sound like a lot, and it is, but I'm excited and time goes by faster if I count down the days : )