I'm baccckkkkkkk!

I am back from my trip to the Philippines and back to the blogging world.

As I get time I will post on individual parts of my holiday, but right now as I sift through a million emails at work, I thought I would just write a quick post to say it truly was AMAZE BALLS!!

I loved the Philippines, the people are amazing, the shopping is cheap, the beaches are beautiful and the food is delicious!! I would highly recommend a trip there to anyone. I enjoyed it more than the now tourist populated Thailand.

catching the boat from Boracay

I kept my promise when on holidays; I took lots of pictures and I picked up a few things for my 100 post giveaway, so make sure you stay tuned :)

It was hard to leave the Philippines, not only because we had an amazing holiday, but also because we didn't want to come back to the family dramas.

 We landed back in Sydney on Thursday and yesterday A got a message from his brother asking if we were all good now with "the venue change". We had no idea what he meant as we haven't heard anything about the christening since my last post. A asked his brother what he meant by it and it seems like the christening venue has been changed. I am gobsmacked. I am thankful, shocked and relieved. I just wish all the hurtful things weren't said in the decision process. I don't wish this for me, because I think of myself as pretty tough and I can let these comments bounce of me. I wish the things weren't said for A and for his relationship with his family. In saying that, I know family is family and A will move on from this.



30 November 2013

This date in my iPhone calander now reads "Get Married!!"

Yes that's right, we finally committed, signed the contract, paid the deposit and we are on the road to getting married!

Our reception at The Grand Roxy is now confirmed. We should be confirming the church this week too!

A wedding at The Grand Roxy (courtesy of cavanaghphotography)

View from the Bridal Table

Water views

Balcony

Entrance & Exit

I DID IT!!!!

YEP I DID IT- I took the plunge- I swallowed hard and I think I can finally announce that I have made the decision on where our wedding reception will be held!! Anyone who read my post mums know best, probably would have gathered that I decided already, but I have been to nervous to even announce it before now. In saying that, the last few days I have continued on to think about other elements of my wedding as if it will be held at this venue.

And the place is….. THE GRAND ROXY at Brighton Le Sands. It was the very first place we went to see and even back then I couldn't fault it, but I was determined to see a million more before I decided and as any of my readers would know, I did. I saw those in the city, those out further, those with water views and those in Castles, but really in the end I was always comparing them to this venue. I thought I wanted a city venue, but I don't want to compromise other things I want just to say my wedding was in the city.

I don't like how this table is dressed, but I love the crystals and lights behind it.

I LOOVEEE that I will have exclusive use of the venue, I love that it has water views, I love  that our wedding will go for 6 hours, I love that our parents will attend a tasting with us, I love the modern decor,  the menu and I love the confidence we have in the owner/operator.

Now comes the tricky part… WHAT DATE??? Hahahaha. We originally said November 2013, but no we are looking at March 2013 (the venue is available for either). I have looked at weather patterns and other commitments and I just don't know how to pick a date.

Fellow brides, how did you choose your date???

Mums know best

On Saturday, A & I decided to take our Mums to see the first venue we ever saw and the one that we have compared every other one to, ever since- The Grand Roxy at Brighton.

We decided to make an afternoon out of it and took the mums to lunch beforehand at Euro Bay Café in Brighton. I must admit this was a quite selfish move on our behalf as we were nursing terrible hangovers after a good friend's birthday celebrations on the Friday night, but the mums were happy regardless!

Euro Bay Café is always busy when we walk past and after eating their deliciously large meals I now know why. All of their mains were around the $20-25 mark and tasted great.

A got the Euro Burger- chicken with Haloumi yumm

I had the Chicken Pesto which was delicious and HUGE.

The mums both had a chicken Cesar.

They said it was yummy, but when they asked for egg they were told

"The Chef never puts egg in the salad"- odd.

After we buttered the mums up with food and explained why we liked the venue, we took them there and to be honest, I was a little nervous- my mum is really honest and I didn't know what I was going to do if my best friend (my mum) didn't approve of our possible wedding venue. The staff at the venue were great and just let us walk around and inspect as they prepared for a Christening, this allowed the mums to say what they really think.

A's Mum: "Sarah, we love it, but it is not up to us you have to love it too"

My Mum: "Sarah if you don't book it you’re a freaking, idiot!"

Gee mum, no pressure -  Thanks!! :)

She then continued to ask me, "Sarah why are you trying to find things wrong with this venue? You can't find anything and with the others you could"

As chicken as I am about making wedding decisions (if you haven’t already noticed), today I sent an email to check availability and I think this just might be the one!!!

A big serving of Woooo HOOOOOOOOO, with a side of relief.

I guess mums really do know best?!

Diva Demands

I have been avoiding writing this blog just a little bit, because our last venue hunt left me rather deflated. I know I have said this before and I am sure I just saw like a "give up" kind of person, which I think is the opposite of what I am, but this whole venue hunt leaves me feeling unsatisfied. I know I have seen all of the possible venues on the Internet and I am just getting scared my ideal one isn't out there…..

Deckhouse was the latest venue we saw on Saturday morning right before we went to A's cousins wedding (will blog soon). It is in Woolwich in Sydney and is absolutely stunning, I love the water views, the warehouse feel, the exclusive use of the venue and how all the glass doors open up on to the deck.

BUUT and of course there is a BUUUTTT… as we left, me smiling and contemplating our big day there, A bought me back to reality with the talk of $$$$. I think we have a pretty lenient budget and if push comes to shove I know we are the type who will stretch it for things we really want, buuutt A doesn't like the idea of paying for ridiculous things and after a while I got his point.

Deckhouse's standard package for a 5hour, 3 course event is $145 per person, which includes your food and beverages and not much more to be honest.

You must pay extra for:

• Your dance floor- small $500, large $1500
• Canapes
• Chair covers
• Plus your MC, DJ, Decorations, Cake etc.

Is it reasonable to expect that dance floor hire is included in a wedding venue or are we simply too new to this???

Has anyone added up the saving or price differences when some of this stuff is included and when it is completely not?

I know most packages won't cover everything, but I guess I would like a dance floor, canapes and chair covers to start with?? Are these diva demands? :S

I don't want to rule this place out yet as it is BEAUTIFUL but I can't ignore this either..

Another Day, Another Venue Inspection

Last night A, my mumma and I all went to an appointment at Curzon Hall aka the amazing castle that has been featured on shows such as Beauty & The Geek Australia.

As soon as we pulled into this place I was in awe and smiling like a little kid on Christmas Day at the amazing Castle, its beautiful grounds and the lighting, which made the whole place, look spectacular! We had an idea about the price beforehand, so I knew that wouldn't be a problem.

The wedding coordinator was very nice (although very young- I'm talking in how she presented the place to us, not age) and took us through all your standard package options, what they offer etc. and then she showed us the two rooms, which could accommodate our 180 guests. One was the older style room and the other was the modern, newly built ballroom.

The older style room (formerly a chapel) was gorgeous, with its high ceilings, large dance floor, own balcony, gardens and its very own canapé/pre drinks area. Even the slight grandma smell didn't take away from its charm. Before this, I was not sure if I wanted an older-traditional-style wedding room or a modern, crisp room and standing in that pretty room I still wasn't sure! :S

Then we moved through the gardens, past the water feature into the modern ballroom and I instantly knew- I WANT A MODERN ROOM! Being able to compare the two styles of room, so instantly after one another made it really easy for me to see which one gave me that "aww" feeling, which one I could see myself prancing around in, in my massive dress. So I've decided on my room right?? Wrong!

The modern ballroom was flawless… it had beautiful tiffany chairs, massive chandeliers, mood lighting and even an elevated cove for the DJ. The problem is though, the exact same problem I mentioned about the Dockside function room… one room has a minimum, which is too much for us, and the smaller room is way tooo tiny! When we walked in it was set up for 160 people and you couldn't move in between the tables, plus the dance floor was not big enough for my massive dress alone, not to mention for 180 guests to join in with the Zorba!!! *sigh*.

I started to wish I could just invite more of those "maybe" invite people, but then A made a very good point… the outdoor gardens/balconies are shared between the two weddings, which would be held in the ballroom when it is split. Do I really want to have the other wedding guests staring through the glass doors at me on my wedding day? No. Do I want the boys at my wedding chasing the hot girls at the wedding next door? No. Do I want to see another bride on my wedding day AT my reception venue? Prefer not to. Result= this is not the place for us :(

The beautiful grounds are still a possibility for photos but not for the reception. The things pointed out above and the bad reviews are deal breakers for me.

*sigh*- I know I have only seen a few venues at the moment, I just hope I'm not too picky for my own good!! Did anyone else fear they wouldn't find their "perfect" venue?

Annnnd we have a front runner!!

So on Sunday after the beautiful wedding, we went to our first official appointment to check out a possible reception place (the others have just been open days).

Grand Roxy is at Brighton le Sands and we pass it all the time on the way to A's house and gawk at the magnificent chandeliers

Chandeliers and water view from inside

love them!

Street View

We were lucky that the venue was being set up for a wedding that night for around the same amount of guests as we will be having (180) so we really got to see and feel the place for what it would be like on the big day and we LOVED IT!!!

Screens which show different areas of the room

as the wedding is happening

The décor is modern and stylish, the packages are unbelievably inclusive (including 5course meal and 6hour reception) and the owner did not pressure us into making a decision or looking at certain aspects. Even the view from the table that we deemed to be the worst, was great!

Massive dance floor- PLUS!!

And the icing on the cake? Your wedding can be broadcast live to a password protected website for family and friends overseas or interstate who can't make it to the wedding.

When we pushed ourselves for a con, the only one was that it is not the easiest location to get to…. But people don't care when it’s a wedding right????

Soooo my friends we have a front runner, but still many to see (despite A saying to book it tomorrow, I need to satisfy my curiosity Lol)

Has anyone been to a wedding or held a function at the Grand Roxy? Any feedback????

PS- romantic touch- A and I first started liking each other and flirting at a bar called "Roxy"