A few freebies never hurt

9 days. Ok that had nothing to do with my post but I couldn't help myself.

I got a very exciting email from our venue this morning and it couldn't have come at a better time. When I first went to see the Barns, I knew that I wanted to add a little lighting because there won't be much natural light and there aren't tons of lights in there. They had some lights that were strung up in the rafters from a previous wedding and I thought that was a great idea. Until she told me that it was going to be $800 for me to rent them and have someone put them up for me. Of course we could come in and do it ourselves but they would have to come down right after the wedding since someone was using the building the next day. They look a little something like this:

We ended up heading to Target the day after Christmas and getting the same lights for about a tenth of the price. And of course my dad was going to be the one to string them up for me. He loved that he was appointed that job. But that meant bringing ladders to the hotel and tons of hanging supplies and a "tear-down" party after the wedding.

Well the much welcomed email that came this morning explained that the bride after me is also using the same lights but she is paying to have them put up. Since we are there on Friday, they wanted to come and set them up on Thursday, leaving them up through Friday and giving them to me for an even better deal of $0.

Our venue has been great about other "free" things too. When faced with a chair dilemma, Traci threw our favorite upgraded chair in for free. Mom was totally happy about this. They are working with us to add small touches like apple cider to our menu to give things a little flair for our big day.

Hey, I never turn down something that's free.

Blast From the Past: Finding a Venue

Haven't blogged in awhile. Thinks on the wedding front have been quiet for a little while. Since most of the big things are done, we've taken a little break...although I have to get my Save the Dates out pretty quickly!

In the "time to get back to blogging" nature, I have decided to "back blog"..ya know, talk about some stuff that's already happened.

Even before Griff and I got engaged, I knew that I wanted to get married in Connecticut. Until last October, I had lived in the same town my whole life and I knew that it wasn't likely that I would ever live there again. So I knew that I wanted to spend one of the most important days of my life in the place that I will always call home.

Being a creative person at heart, I knew that I didn't want to get married in a place that was "normal". No banquet hall for me. So after he placed that ring on my finger (have I ever mentioned that it is a BEAUTIFUL ring?) , the search began.

I considered a few places...the Carousel House at Lighthouse Point, the Maritime Aquarium, and the Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill. All beautiful places and all completely capable of hosting our special day. But I knew that those places weren't really "me and Griff". I was getting married in Connecticut but I wanted to bring some of the feel of Montana back there with us.

And that's when I came upon The Barns at Wesleyan Hills. It was exactly what I was looking for. So I gathered my mom and my sister and some friends and went to check it out. Here are some pictures from our excursion:

Inside the Barn

A clean slate...hmmm, what can I think up?

This patio will be tented and the bar and cocktail hour will be out here...and there won't be any snow : )

Outside the Barns!

The unique look of The Barns and the amazing reviews made my decision very easy. With all of that "raw" space, I have creative liberty to do whatever I want when it comes to decorating..although the barn itself is a great back drop. With my creative juices flowing, I better get to the drawing table!