2.15.2009

Catering, linens, tables, oh my!


A week ago mom and I walked through Laurel Hall to decide where people would sit, where the buffet would go, etc. We decided on navy linens and ivory napkins and chair cushions. We picked out cocktail tables and head table locations, and where the bar and DJ might reside. As we walked from room to room, I kept saying "I LOVE this place" to myself (and out loud).

Our reception location was the one part of the wedding that I recognize myself as being swept away by the little-girl wedding fantasy. Laurel Hall was by far the most extravagant place that I dragged Patrick through last year. It's like a little secret fairytale castle hidden away from the rest of Indianapolis. You could drive by a thousand times and never know it was there. Parquet wood floors, limestone fireplaces, gorgeous chandelier, Italian marble floors, and a sweeping patio that overlooks a green lawn and woods ... and the grand wood staircase.

Our first instinct was that it was too much, too fancy. However, when I took the pen to paper to cross it off of our vendor list, I burst into tears. It was ridiculous. We talked about it, talked to our parents, thought a lot, and decided that May 2 will be a day that we will always remember and that no other place made us (me, in particular) feel the same way. It seemed materialistic at the time, and in this recession still feels a little extreme. A church gathering hall filled with the same excitement and love would feel the same, right?

But during the walk-through I had butterflies, almost tears, thinking of dressing with my sisters in the gorgeous estate room and seeing pictures in my mind's eye of me and Patrick dancing under the dim chandelier lights, of the people I love laughing and talking on the patio on a cool spring night. Friends, with all of you filling the space, it is going to be fantastic!

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