Long Time No Write

I feel like I didn't post this before, so I'm going to now -

This is me talking about the venue and the menu.




OK, I've been super busy between my summer class, work, school coming up, and all of the projects I'm involved in - so I haven't gotten around to really talking about what's going on with the wedding.

We haven't done a whole lot of the decision-making recently - we did decide that we're going to get the Bridesmaids dresses from David's Bridal - they will be a brown color, and the girls can pick out which style they like. Then we're going to go antiquing for their jewelery.

Also that our centerpieces are going to be small-ish lanterns from IKEA - probably the silver ones. I'm not entirely sure how they will be decorated thus far.

So that is all that I have on the wedding right now.

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Travis finally got an outfit together, so I'm really excited about that! We got to go to another League of Cincinnati Meet-Up at Arnold's Bar and Grill downtown. It was a lot of fun, we had a really good time!

We'll be going to the picnic in Louisville in a couple of weeks as well! With even more friends! I have a few additions to my outfit, too, so I'm excited to show them off!

The next meet-up/salon is in September, where we will be talking about The Old West Festival and probably the Renaissance Festival. There are also several other events in the works, but I'm tired and will talk about them another time.

The Cincinnati Club

Today has taken us to the Cincinnati Club.

It's in the same block of buildings as the Phoenix, so again it's downtown.


Pros: Beautiful, and very steampunk. The room I'd have the ceremony in - the Gold Room, has a compass on the ceiling and two-story high windows and mirrors. The Oak Room would hold the reception, which is right down the hall from the Gold Room (Litterally, [oakroom]----hall----[goldroom]). Those are the only two rooms on the level, and the bar is located in the hallway, which is awesome. And since we'd be getting both rooms, the whole level would be ours.
<--- Oak Room
                                            Hall----->
Cons: Parking, just like the Phoenix. Location. It's about the same price, also. I like it better than the Phoenix, honestly, but it has the same issues. Not to mention - the parking is complicated. They come in on the 5th floor of the garage, but it's the third floor of the building, and it's in a different part of the building. Other than that, it's perfect.

<---Gold Room
I loved it the minute I walked in. It was everything I thought it would be and more, besides the parking. I expected that as soon as I saw the address.

We're meeting with the Kay, our potential wedding planner, tomorrow. Hopefully she can shed some light on the subject.

Weekend Updates

Saw the Manor House and took a gander at the Hall of Mirrors at the Hilton Netherland Plaza in downtown Cincinnati on Friday.

Manor House

Pros: Black and Gold trolley to take us wherever we want to go, beautiful gazebo and courtyard outdoor areas for a ceremony, great changing rooms, one of the nicest coordinators I've met, great parking, good location.

Cons: Southern Plantation murals in every room that don't really meet the theme's standards, price (but not as high as the Phoenix), no real "wow" factor in the reception rooms, as much as I wish I hadn't seen it - there were two dead fish in the pond outside... that's a bit of a bummer.

We kept a hold on the Manor House, but we've decided to also keep looking just in case. I relatively liked it, for the most part, I figure we can hide the murals somehow. My mother was less impressed, I think. However, it almost makes me sad to say "no" because Michelle was so nice! Especially when I mentioned the dead fish, and also accidentally hinted at the other locations we were looking at. I felt like a bit of a bridezilla, which I'm terrified of being construed as.


The Hall of Mirrors/The Pavilion

Pros: Beautiful, absolutely beautiful! The Hall of Mirrors was huge, fantastic, and amazing! I really loved it! Then the Pavilion was awesome! The whole "being based on a zepplin" thing was obvious once you see it in person, and the way a person could decorate it would be brilliant!

Cons: Money. money money money money money. Bare minimum for the Hall of Mirrors is $27k, and a few thousand less than that for the Pavilion. It's just way too much. I refuse to allow my mother to spend that much money on just the location. No way whatsoever.

It's just way too much money. I won't even consider the location anymore. Don't get me wrong, 1/8th of that price - yes! Absolutely, for less than $10k, I will totally be all over it! Beautiful, historical, great food, unique! But pricey. Very pricey.


Other

We're going to take a look at Laurel Court and the Cincinnati Club at some point.

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Myra, Mallory, and myself hung out with the League of Cincinnati Steampunks today! They hosted an event at the Cincy Art Museum - a Murder Mystery Scavenger hunt :D It was a great time, and I look forward to attending another hangout/event with them again!

We were divided into teams - Myra was teamed up with a gentleman we hadn't met before (and I can't recall his name), and Mallory and I were lucky enough to be on a team together. Myra's team came in first while Mallory and I came in second. I must say, Mallory was much more aware of her surroundings than I was, I wouldn't have gotten as far without her, haha!

Afterwards, the three of us went to an ice cream parlor in Montgomery while everyone else went to have dinner at Rookwood (sp?)  plaza.

The ice cream parlor was called "Aglamesis Bros". I got a banana sundae with hot fudge, Myra got coffee with carmel, and Mallory got Strawberry with Strawberry with Strawberry whipped cream, haha. It was fantastic, and I will probably be going again :D

The League of Cincinnati Steampunks is having a masquerade at Loveland Castle next weekend - I'll be out of town at an anime convention, but if anyone else is interested in going - they should!

Long day

It's not like me to get stressed from a work overload, and I don't intend to start now. However, this summer (especially the past couple of weeks) has been so busy that my head spins when I just think of all the things I need to do. I'm very eager to meet with a wedding planner, but that isn't until next Wednesday. Before that, we are still going to the Manor House on Friday and then talking with someone at our church (Crossroads) on Monday.

Today we visited The Phoenix. It's very lovely, it really is. It's also very big! Much bigger than I thought it was going to be.
Pros: The ballroom is fantastic - it has a lovely wall that will be great for fantastical lighting! Lovely balconies, lots of room, and I love some of the picture opportunities!
Cons: It's more expensive, parking cost $2 per car, valet services cost money, they don't have the napkin colors we want, it's in downtown Cincinnati. A lot of it was location and parking, but everything else is spot-on!

We went to meet with Barb Harvey at Incredible Endings cakes.We tried a Italian butter-cream raspberry cake, which was fantastic, but I think we're going with a chocolate cake with caramel filling. I'm going to be making a design of a top hat, which will be an ivory, and a gear design This will be for the engagement party in October.

We also just ordered a wonderful cake topper from Pete at Etsy.

Visitations begin

Today my mother, Jade (mom's friend who stays with us, she's a bit younger than me, and she's like an adopted sister - who is getting baptized :D), and myself are going to go see The Phoenix today. Then later we are picking up Travis and going to taste cakes for our engagement party.

Then Friday we are going to see the Manor House - My mom, Travis, and me. Travis can't get to the Phoenix today because of work, but we figure that if we like it enough that we'll make another appointment so he can see it.

Another place we might try is the Hall of Mirrors, which isn't as cool as it sounds (to me at least - my mom likes it). It's a ballroom located in a hotel. A Hilton Hotel, mind you, but still a hotel.

There is something about getting married in a hotel that isn't romantic. There would be no "going" anywhere when Travis and I leave - the prospect of "leaving" is simply going up to your hotel room (if we don't leave directly to our honeymoon).

But we might check it out. Who knows, maybe it's not as bad as I think it's going to be.


Travis is a bit bummed out because he hasn't been feeling well and thus had to leave work early on Monday. Now he has to make up those hours on Saturday right over an event the League of Cincinnati Steampunks is having at the art museum - a scavenger murder mystery :D. My friend (and bridesmaid) Mallory says she can go with me in his stead. I'm really excited about it.

I've been researching, reading, tasting, listening, eating, walking, breathing, everything steampunk that I can for a good week and a half now. I'm exhausted, haha. It's been nothing but wedding non-stop, and it's not like we're behind on planning - we have a year and three months! But we'd rather get done planning early rather than be rushing at the last minute. I just hope I'm not steampunk'd-out by the time the wedding gets here.