We Got Plenty of Time....right?

A few days after our realization that we are now on the downward spiral of the 365 day marker , I got a phone call from my mom asking if I'd scheduled any appoinments to look at venues.  I relied that I had not yet gotten ahold of the one we'd been hoping to look at last weekend and no I haven't found any other spots to look at as of yet.  To that I proceeded to hear how I really need to get that worked out as most places get booked a year out and I was starting to dwindle on time.... I could feel my jaw tightening and my patience slowly shortening.  I'm very aware time is ticking, but really?  I know people who plan their wedding with in a few months, even weeks.  We don't have any huge requirments and we're certainly not trying to reserve the Four Seasons.  Gosh, get off my back already!  Really, though, I love my mom and I know she's just trying to keep me on schedule, but my schedule allows for us to have the spot booked by the end of October, at latest, November.  Best case scenario would have the deal done in the next month so we don't have to worry about it and can get on with other things.  So after I got off the line with my well intentioned mother, and I had calmed myself from the minor anxiety attack she had helped me spiral into, I decided we needed to take a serious look at some other venues.  So I commited to finding a spot and driving to said location this weekend.  

The search came to an abrupt halt when, the next time I checked my email my, again, well intentioned mother, had forwarded me a website of a spot a friend of hers thought we might be interested in.  I was a little skeptical at first since I'm not 100% sure my mom sees eye to eye with our somewhat vague vision, but after taking a quick look at the site, I knew it was absolutely worth driving an hour and a half (one way) to see this place in 'person'.  

Front entrance into a lovely foyer.

So today, we finally made it out the door, (and out of the driveway, which was a long process in itself, though not worth wasting precious typing time explaining), and after a quick stop at the Stowe Farmers Market for some local smoked goat cheese and some breakfast we made our trek to the other side of the mountain and out to the lake.  We met my mom at her house and then drove the remaining 30 minutes to the Tabor House Inn on the west side of Swanton.  The drive is quite nice as most of the surrounding acreage is part of a wildlife refuge and is swampy and uninhabited by humans. 

Part of right yard. Porch comes off lg room w/ fireplace.

 We pulled in and found the very large building parrelling the shoreline of northern Lake Champlain.  Though we missed the Manager, we did get a lovely tour from her teenage son (who, my mom came to realize, she knew the family as longtime friends of a cousin of mine).  We viewed the three guest bedrooms and the master "honeymoon" suite, which is ginormous I might add.  We only got a glimpse of it since there were guests staying there and didn't want to intrude, but the space between the door and the huge bed was at least ten of my paces.  It also has a lakeside balconey and it's own bathroom.  It's also on the opposite side of the house than everything else with it's own staircase.  After seeing this and the rest of the house, including a terrific full kitchen and small guest kitchen and the large screened-in back porch looking out over the lake, we took a wander around the property.  

Large yard spaces surround either side of the Inn both with lots of lake front views, and trees, beautiful willow trees at that.  There is a deck overhanging the shore that is very reminiscent of my grandparents house that I grew up at, and a dock with a great built-in bench. 

Left Yard.  A part of the screened porch visible at left.

There are also several crab apple trees with beautiful bright red fruit and a couple apple trees, one with a generous amount of fruit that we snacked on as we discussed the space and contemplated whether, once we get the quotes on rental pricing, we could afford it or not.  What we concluded is that we very much hope it's in the price range that it can stay in the pile (the very very small pile) that isn't out of the question.  It's a beautiful spot with lots of trees that more than satisfy my preferences and water, that satisfies Hubs To Be's preferences that he doesn't voice but I know he very much has a connection to water and would be pleased to be so close to it.  We'll cross our fingers and try not to hold our breath until we are able to discuss pricing with the manager.  Until then, this will be the image in my head that will keep me focused on finding a place that makes me feel as happy and safe as this little swing draped with the arms of a gorgeous wise old willow.  

 

*Update*

While we very much loved this place, once the quote came in, it was automatically out of the keep pile.  We would have loved to try to make it work, but it would have been half our budget and then we still would have had to rent portopotties, a tent (or two), chairs, tables, etc, etc.  And that's if we just used it for the day!  If we wanted to stay the night or have it for the weekend, that was completely out of the question.  Bringing us to, well, just too darn high, especially for the distance we'd have to travel.  No worries, we'll find our space.

All photos with the exclusion of the ticking alarm clock (which is courtesy francescogavello) are property of moi, Luna Images Photography.  Please only use if you plan to cite it's origin.  Thank you. 

-1 Year Anniversary

Lunetta from Italy

This weekend we've been celebrating our negative one year wedding anniversary.  What is a negative one year anniversary you ask?  We are three hundred and sixty five days from the wedding day, hence a negative rather than a plus one....I think you get the gist.  

        What have done to celebrate (besides kind of freaking out that we haven't done anything in the last six months we've had to plan)?  Well, Friday we went out to dinner with friends we haven't seen in ages (and they bought us dinner, which was fabulous of them).  Saturday evening we fixed a fantastic dinner together of homegrown veggie fajitas and toasted to a year of fun times and productive planning over a couple glasses of cheap champagne (sorry, I mean sparkling wine...).  Today we slept in, which was really great and spent the morning running errands.  I took the Hubs To Be out to brunch at the most popular place in town (McCarthy's) where we hammered out some details over blueberry pancakes and a tuna sandwich.  Closing the place down we decided it was time to hang our wedding hat on the hook for the day and get home for a little down time.  Though we didn't get a mile down the road before he was back to discussing details of the ceremony.  Fine with me if he wants to keep talking details.  I won't discourage any dialogue I don't have to pry from his lips with the jaws of life.  

        When we got home, I had planned on doing some baking as I have approximately ten pounds of zucchini that needs tending to, but instead jumped straight on the world wide web and started researching paper products and options for our plan of attack on our save the dates and eventually our invites.  I have to say I at least accomplished deciding on an envelope that we can use for all items (std, invites and thank yous) which will be great.  And to stick with our goal of being environmentally friendly they are 100% recycled.  Just have to get past the fact that I have to pay for them and they're as good as in the mail.

        So we were fairly successful today as we decided on a layout for both the save the dates and invites and about half of the details for the ceremony.  I think the next goal we need to tackle is a time line.  We need to figure out what needs to be done when and how much it's all going to cost.  So stay tuned for that, and see you next time.   

Let the Leaves Fall as They May

There has been little to report on the wedding front but at just over our one year mark the serious planning and implementation must begin.  With the new feeling of urgency comes the need to make some decisions, which we're actually doing!  Don't worry, I've made sure to give plenty of pats on the back.  Our most recent step in the right direction came in the form of choosing a theme.  Not a theme like Vegas or Star Trek, but just a recurring, subtle idea that flows throughout all aspects of the event.

What we've come up with, or more so, the theme that we've seen ourselves following without actually defining it is...Drum Roll Please. 

Trees.

 This week, as I was thinking about different themes that would fit our list of detailed ideas, I realized the connection and the conclusion was quite obvious. 

Some of those ideas?  

• Our save the date portrait currently in it's second draft by Nan Lawson is bordered on one side with a tree.  

• If we get nothing else we hoped for in a location, it will all be alright as long as the ceremony takes place under a tree.  

• I have ambitious plans that involve tree trunks, dirt and flowers (more on this another time).

• Nate has found some really sweet wedding bands with wood inlays.

Another Excellent Etsy Find

• We've looked at guest book alternatives that use a tree as it's base in one way or another rather than using an actual book for guests to leave their well wishes and words of love.

• We plan to use wood veneer for our invites (more on this another time as well).

 With some of these ideas floating through my head, I found that continuing this motif throughout our planning would be only too appropriate.  So it has passed through the approval system and we're able to move on, keeping this in mind throughout our continued planning.  So hurray for our first big decision and on to the next.