Le Sigh.

Not only am I not really in the mood to talk wedding right now, I don't really have the time to peruse pictures and such like I normally do.

Work is absolutely crazy, with 2 members of my team on vacation. When you take into consideration my team is only 4 people generally, I have a bit more to do this week...

However, I'd like to catch you up to speed about this weekend. We're definitely in talks about putting down a deposit on the Danada House. I went in on Sunday hoping that I would be impressed and it wouldn't be another let-down. Not only was I impressed with the place, but I found the coordinator so extremely helpful and knowledgeable that it definitely put my mind at ease. We talked prices, capacity, future renovations and how they would affect us, weather contingency plans, etc. We got to see it set up for a wedding, and even got to see the bride, too. Poor girl. It rained all day. :(

Anyway, I'll let you all know (obviously) what happens from here. I'd rather not jinx it, so I'll probably not talk about it until after we've officially reserved it.

And while this seems like a great task to have done, now comes the more tedious vendors: florists, photographers, and caterers. My goal is to use the fall & early winter to scope out possibilities, gather references, etc. Then I'm hoping to actually begin meeting with these people in late winter/early spring. I'd rather wait to do this until late spring, but with Tom being so busy, we have few options. And most of the best vendors book up a year early, so waiting until summer is definitely out. Ugh.

Drumroll, Please: The Danada House

I am a very self-aware person.

For instance, just today, I realized that I'm a bit of a drama queen. Situations arise, blood pressure skyrockets, hours pass, situations diffuse. That's pretty much how I operate.

I also know that I'm pretty transparent. Not in a shallow sort of way, but in a I-can't-hide-my-emotions-well-at-all-unless-I'm-really-trying-and-I'm-absolutely-no-good-at-surprises kind of way.

So I'm sure you've all guessed that the Danada House is my favorite. Heck, I might have said that already. But that's besides the point.

I'd heard of this place during my original 3 searches for venues, but it was barely a blip on my radar. First, I thought it was going to be uber-expensive. Second, I tend to ignore places in cities I rarely visit, including Wheaton.

But I searched it out and low and behold, this is what I found:



The splendor that is the Danada House.

It's pretty without being over the top, it's classic without being outdated, it's unique without being odd, and best of all, since it's nestled back on the grounds of the forest preserve, it offers us the natural setting we've been looking for.

And while the outside of the atrium isn't nearly as pretty, (see below):



The inside more than makes up for it!!!



Look at all the natural light!!! Windows --- tons of them! And a skylight! And some weird lighting that I'm sure will look great once it gets dark. And it seats 250, which means we'll have ample space!!!!

Though the fee to rent it is a bit high ($3,200), the fact that their caterers are more than reasonable makes up for it. Priced out, a menu comparable to Montefiori is $10,500. And that includes tax and gratuity. And a full bar.

What we don't like is the location. It's at least a 30 minute drive from the church. Couple that with the only available ceremony times (2:30), and the available reception time of 6:00, and we have quite the gap.

So, we've brought back up the possibility of having a secular ceremony on the grounds.

Like this:


Amazing, right???

And the price to have the ceremony (basically the cost of renting the chairs) is cheaper than the donation to the church.

There's much, much more I could say about this (including the fact that the florist I want has done many events there!), but I'll stop for now. The manager let me know that they're showing the house this Sunday from 9:30-11 am, before a wedding. I'm working with Tom to see if we can make it over there.

We'll keep you updated! :)

Happy Anniversary to Us!

So this weekend, we visited Lake Katherine and met with the event coordinator. We learned that if we pursue this route, we'll be the first outdoor tent reception to take place on the grounds. As such, they're not really equipped to handle it, only offering us 1 hour of setup and 1 hour of takedown. It's seemingly impossible to setup and takedown all that we would want in an hour, so we've decided to explore other options.

The best part? They wanted to charge us $4,000 for 6 hours. And that's just for the land. No tent, no tables, no chairs --- nothing.

So I spent yesterday trying to find every botanic garden, nature center, what-have-you within a 30 mile radius that didn't charge an arm and a leg. I've found 3 options that we'd like to check out.

1. The Barber & Oberwortman Nature Center in Joliet --- located off of Route 30 & Gougar Rd., this center is located on the grounds of Pilcher Park. While the grounds are beautiful, the center is actually a banquet-hall type building, which we're trying to stay away from. The catering options, however, are reasonably priced and plentiful!
2. Lifescapes at Montefiori - There are no words to say how amazing these grounds are! Waterfalls, gardens, stone-paver walkways --- this place has it all! There are 3 tented sites that stay up year-round. Their catering options are astounding, but with that, comes an equally astounding price tag. I have no concrete evidence, but from what I've gathered, we're looking at a $70-90 per person price tag. I'll wait for you to do the math.
3. The Danada House - Located in Wheaton, this manor is owned by the Forest Preserve of DuPage County. The house has been restored (as it was built in 1939), and they've added an all glass "atrium," complete with skylights, air-conditioning, modern lighting, etc. The rental includes both the house and the atrium, along with tables and chairs. They also have a great selection of caterers with great budgets and lots of creativity!

While I'm leaning towards the Danada House, I'd definitely like to visit all three to get accurate price quotes and see the places in person. Seeing is believing, after all.

(The Danada House)

In the very least, this was a fun way to celebrate our anniversary...even Tom was excited :)