Future Mrs. Hall, MBA

December 2013 graduation

As of Friday February 28, 2014 at 1:59 am I submitted my last project for my MBA program! I am official! No more homework posts, textbooks, lectures, assignments, etc! It has been an experience. I enrolled full time while having a full time job and full time boyfriend, now fiance! It is a lot of work and patience, but definitely worth it! I am looking forward to the potential doors that it will open and I already see a difference in how I approach my work at the dance studio. But what I am really looking forward to is having my free time back! Only for it to be consumed with wedding planning, but that is a lot more exciting than homework ;). I do hope that I will get better about blogging too. I won't feel guilty trying to blog knowing there is no homework I should be doing. Check out the pictures from the December graduation. They allowed me to walk since I only had one class left (that was a fight in itself, but I won't waste cyber space on it).

Signed,
Future Mrs. Hall, MBA
(It ALL has an awesome ring to it, no pun intended hehe)

Collage my cousin made on IG

Venue Hunters

Have you ever watched the show House Hunters on HGTV? Well welcome to Venue Hunters! Last weekend the fiance and I flew to RI to begin venue hunting. We were excited and nervous and really thought it was going to be a great time. We did enjoy the overall experience, but it is not as glamorous as we thought. We were wearing our business hats more than our wedding hat that's for sure. So just like the show House Hunters I present to you 3 venues out of the 7 visited.

To give you a little background, long before his proposal, my fiance knew he wanted our wedding venue to include water, garden and castle. I immediately thought Rhode Island, my home state, because you can easily get all three. So I thought!

Our venue checklist
- garden ceremony with water views
- spacious reception to fit 250 guests comfortably
- late end time
- castle/historic interior (fiance)
- modern/contemporary interior (me)
- great food and drink options
- within our budget

Venue #1 - The new and improved blank canvas Harbor Lights (Warwick)

They claim to seat 310 comfortably, but it looks like a tight squeeze. Newly renovated, 2014 will be their first full wedding season with just 8 last summer. They ask for a small site fee and catering done through an exclusive caterer, Pranzi (that was an interesting phone call). They have a ceremony site on the green with a view of the Narragansett Bay. There is a marina to the right of the ceremony site. They only host one wedding at a time, which is nice as we quickly learned that is not the case at most venues. We could definitely see ourselves enjoying our day there, but the decor would have to be on point.

 

Venue #2 - The WOW venue
Belle Mer (Newport)

This place had exactly what we were looking for. My mom, who walked in first, was very impressed and excited at the possibility of us getting married there. There are two options, the Island House and the Salon. The island house was smaller and a little more casual and the salon was grand and a little more formal. The ceremony is on the grass with the Atlantic ocean behind us. There is also a view of the Newport bridge. There can be two weddings occurring and let's just say the price tag was WOW too. It would be the perfect site, but we aren't sure if we can justify the cost.

 

Venue #3 - Not quite on the water venue
Sapphire Estates (Sharon, MA)

When we arrived I felt like I was visiting a friend who had a little bit of money. There is a long driveway up to what looks like a white house. That's exactly what it was. A house turned into a reception hall. Although snowed up, we could see the beauty of the landscaping. The only problem with the ceremony site is that it is not on the water. The lake it is near is at the bottom of the driveway across the street. We would have access to it for pictures, but that's about it. Inside we walked right into the bar area for cocktail hour and it very much open concept, leading straight into the reception area. There would be no element of surprise. It is definitely do able, but there would definitely have to be some compromise.

 

So what will it be {insert dramatic background music}? Venue #1 the new and improved blank canvas, venue #2 the WOW venue or venue #3 not quite on the water venue???

It's really happening...

I'm getting married!! Well of course, but it just got real as we have our first site visit in the morning. Crazy!!!! It's like you know this day is coming, but it still feels surreal. I'm getting my Prince Charming and we are really committing to forever. It's cool and scary all at the same time. I'm look forward to our journey as husband and wife. Tomorrow is a mile closer to the exit off the highway check marked "single".