Originally I started this blog as a way to chronicle my journey through wedding planning. Well, I realized today that I haven’t actually shared much of the plans we have in place yet! I figured now would be a good time to update you on where we stand:
Date: April 17, 2010
I knew I wanted to get married in my church, St. Vincent DePaul in Lincoln Park, but they book up so fast! When we called to see what was available, it was literally April or October of 2010. Given that my lease on my apartment is up in April and Luke and I didn’t want to wait too long, we decided to go with April.
I like the idea of an April wedding for several reasons:
- The church will still be decorated with calla lilies from Easter
- It’s not during the traditional wedding season (May-August) so our guests won’t be worn out of attending weddings yet
- There’s not much going on in April sports-wise
- People are looking for something fun to do coming out of Winter
Reception Venue: Maggianos Downtown
This year I went to a conference at Maggianos in downtown Chicago. It is the original Maggianos, so in addition to the restaurant they have a very pretty event space. Maggianos is one of Luke’s favorite restaurants when he is in the mood to impress me with his eating abilities- they serve amazing family-style Italian food.
During our visit with the banquet manager there, we were blown away. For a very reasonable per person price they offer:
- The entire event space from 6-midnight, which is very elegant with dark hardwood throughout
- Two full bars with two bartenders at each
- Two appetizers, salads, pastas, entrees, desserts per table…check out the menu options!
- Free wedding cake from a great local bakery
- An outdoor area (where the men in my family will be enjoying cigars, no doubt)
- All tables, linens, place settings, table numbers, menu cards
Once we saw all that Maggianos offered us, it was a no-brainer to have our reception there. We were also surprised to learn that The Knot named them “the best reception site in the midwest” two years in a row. Pretty cool.
Honeymoon: Hawaii (either Honolulu or Kauai)
Luke and I both love to travel. We’ve been on many trips together in the past two years: Yucatan Pennisula, London, Paris, Buenos Aires (Oct. 2009). When choosing our honeymoon destination, we both decided we wanted to go somewhere easy- where they spoke English, used dollars and had HBO so we could keep up on our shows.
While we want to be able to do a lot of relaxing – laying on the beach, reading, eating etc. – we also wanted a destination that offers action. We love that in Hawaii we can take surf lessons, bike down a volcano, and go cliff diving among other things.
So that’s all that we have nailed down right now! I’m planning to tackle buying my dress next and couldn’t be more excited. I’ll keep you all posted as more things fall into place.