Blank Canvas with RULES.

Previously I talked about my LOVE for our venue Gale Woods Farm. Everything about it has that southern charm I’m looking for. AND, it’s essentially a blank canvas that we have total control of; we can decorate it however we want. Mostly.

That said there are quite a few challenges we’ve had to overcome.

The first was that the Three Rivers Park District does not allow hard liquor on the property. Beer, wine and spirits are allowed, but no hard liquor. Jon and I generally drink just beer and wine, so no problem for us. However, a majority of my family and our wedding party enjoy a mixed cocktail. We decided that our hard liquor drinkin’ crowd would just have to settle on beer or wine. Besides, hard alcohol equals potential shit show. I’d like to have a little class on our wedding day. Just a little.

Then there was the restrictive catering list. GWF has a list of approved caterers to choose from, no going outside the box with this one. Lucky for us, the choice was an easy one. But that is for another post. :D

And lastly, the decorating restrictions. Ahhh yes. They have quite the list of decorating no-no’s. No taping/affixing things to the walls, you must use magnets. Must use the ladder there to string anything from the pillars. No covering the lights. No moving around tables and chairs once they are set up. No hanging anything from the trees. No moving the picnic tables outside. No confetti/ECOFETTI/rose petals/bird seed/lavender toss (heartbreak here…REALLY wanted that TOSS after being pronounced husband and wife…). No open candle flames, they must be contained at least as tall as the flame.

I CAN'T THROW PETALS?!?

Grumpy Cat FTW

Oh and to top it all off, probably the biggest challenge we will face is the timeframe. We have total use of GWF from 10am the day of until midnight. Like, must haul everything over, start set-up at 10am AND NO SOONER, be done by the ceremony at 4pm, wrap up the reception at 11pm, and get all crap out by midnight or fees will ensue. Cue slight panic.

 

Where's My Panic Button?

 

And we are doing this entire wedding DIY. No wedding coordinator/planner/decorator. Just my loving family and friends, and the help of our vendors. Maybe my wedding fairy godmother will show up.

It will take the UTMOST organization and planning for this wedding to come together within the budgets of time and money. And believe me when I say my wonderful mother is 110% on top of things.

Anybody else have some serious challenges with their venue? Am I absolutely nuts for thinking I can pull this off?