day 2: the where.

so yesterday we talked about the WHEN.

our next priority was the venue, so we were just hoping & praying that we'd find the WHERE quickly, as we started telling people the date right after we got engaged!

we decided we'd do one place for both the ceremony & reception - because a) it's cheaper to just rent one spot and b) it'll be january -- the less people have to travel in the cold the better!

so, one venue means it has to be large enough to seat all of our guests for the ceremony and then be flipped into a super cool party. aka not your typical church-then-country-club-combo (not that there's anything wrong with that... it just wasn't what we wanted!)

after touring a few way-overpriced venues with vibes that i loved, i realized it was going to be a little harder than i thought (jeff can attest to a meltdown or two). so i began thinking outside of the box. (fyi: if you're not aware, when you attach the word "wedding" to anything, every vendor feels entitled to jack up their prices... if you were having a birthday party or a bar mitzvah in the same location, it would be way cheaper. yah, it's lame.)

and the winner? a music-venue-slash-skatepark in downtown nashville called rocketown. my church actually meets here every sunday morning, so i'm familiar with the space, and the staff are being super helpful and accommodating to make my crazy dream a reality. it's basically a huge black box that i'm calling my blank canvas (enter: creativity!)

date? check. venue? check.

so now the rest is just details, right?

*marisa's marks: pick a place where you can picture your celebration - a place that allows you to express who you are as a couple. and don't be afraid to think outside of the box... sacred vows don't have to be exchanged within stone walls and stained glass!

so what's with this 31 days thing? i'm so glad you asked. and i'd love to explain it (i tried to here). but the nester does a much better job -- it was all her idea anyways. and i highly recommend checking out my friend annie's 31 days of courage over at annieblogs - guaranteed to be inspiring!