We’ve been engaged for a little over a month now, and now the big question is, “Did you set a date yet?” That’s usually what people do first, but apparently we’re a little different.
Well, our answer is no, but we have a general time frame in mind. We are thinking the end of summer/early fall for a couple of reasons. One – it hopefully gives us enough time to plan, and two – the weather will be perfect. But, we haven’t set an exact date because we don’t want to limit ourselves yet. Our thought process is to remain flexible until we choose the venue, photographer, and videographer and coordinate with their schedules.
That brings us to what wedding planning we’ve done so far.
First, we have to decide where we are going to have it in terms of geographic area. Should we have the wedding in Indianapolis, where we are now located and most of our friends are also living? Or should we have it in St. James, closer to our families and our roots? Or should we just go out on a limb and have it on the beach in some other part of the US?
Well, we thought we decided we would have it in Indy because there are many more options here in terms of venues, vendors, etc.
First, we started researching photographers and videographers in the Indy area. We know just how important it is to capture the big day on film, so that was definitely on the top of our priority list. Plus, it will be the most expensive part of our wedding. We do want to have a cost-effective wedding, but we also know that sometimes you can’t sacrifice quality. It may sound cheesy, but besides our commitment to each other, photos and video are the only other part of the wedding that will last forever. It is well worth the investment. End of rant – wink.
Next, we started researching venues. The options are endless, but also expensive. I think the venue could make or break the wedding/reception, but we aren’t going to break the bank for a conventional venue. We don’t have that kind of money to throw around. If you do your research, you can find a place that won’t cost thousands of dollars and put that extra money elsewhere. A trick to that is finding somewhere that doesn’t have hidden or extra costs – like required catering or extra chairs. Plus, we want a place with flexibility to do our own thing.
We want an outdoor ceremony and an indoor reception. Think rustic, charming, & tasteful – with a little bit of class. We are down to Earth kind of people and want our wedding to reflect us.
So far, it seems that barns/farms/fields are a best option for us. But not just any old barn with farm animals, but barns that are actually made for this kind of thing. Like the Red Barn at Traders Point Creamery, Featherston Barn at Conner Prairie, or the family owned Bo-Mar Farm.
We thought we had found some gems in Indy area, and then we stumbled upon a treasure in the vicinity of our hometown. A historic barn on 124 acres recently restored into what someone called “the best kept secret” of the area. That threw us for a loop, because we thought our hometown was out of the question. Perhaps we didn’t dig deep enough.
Cross your fingers that we have found the perfect spot to celebrate our Big Day. We are going to check it out within the next few weeks and we’ll keep you updated! For now, here’s a a little wedding inspiration.
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