The Venue Search Intermission

a.k.a. I wish I had one of these:

From The History of Money

After touring three potential venues and realizing that our original budget of $15K was a pipe dream, we had to take a step back and think about things.

So, to set the scene for the budget decisions that needed to be made, here are some facts to keep in mind:

- I am very comfortable financially at this point in my life.  I make a good bit of money.  I have no debt.  I have savings that would cover the entire cost of the wedding, even if it ended up being more expensive than I originally planned.  So, unless I double the costs, I could probably pay for it myself and take on zero debt.  (I think this might be one of the greatest positives I've seen in waiting till now to get married and I'm very thankful to be in this position.)

- The FI is pretty well set financially as well.  His savings account is a bit lighter because, over the last two years, he has bought a townhouse, a new (to him) car and one very shiny engagement ring.

- After the wedding, we hope to buy a house.  The townhouse can't be sold until December (the wedding is in September) because of the three year rule associated with the tax credit from buying it.  This means that we will need to have a good bit of money available for a down payment very soon after the wedding.

- I was not assuming that we would have any help from family.  My mother and father (divorced) have both mentioned, at different times, saving some money for my wedding.  But, I was very hesitant to ask for help (always been an independent type) and didn't want to make assumptions.

After a lot of thinking and talking and more searching for possible venues, we arrived at a decision.  We would tour one more venue, outside of the city, that was likely to be less expensive.  After that, we would either pick the new option or call up the Heinz History Center for available dates.

Even though it was going to be super expensive, we both loved the History Center.  The expense would be very high and would probably push back the new house at least a year but a wedding only happens once, right?  Even if it wiped out all of my savings, it would be worth it for the wedding that really reflected us, right?

Hmmm...

Since it was included in the Venues That Weren't, you know that the History Center wasn't the end choice... Up next, the Venue that Almost Wasn't.