Tuesday afternoon my mom and I continued to tour reception sites. But, it wasn't easy. Make way for a side story. So, our townhouse complex is having the streets re-paved or as they call it "resealed." So we get this lovely blue sheet in our door explaining when and where we can and cannot park while this "resealing" is taking place. The sheet says the "resealing" will take place Tuesday morning from 6am-9:30am and to not park in the parking lot or outdoor parking spaces. J parks in our outdoor space, so there was no problem because he gone long before 6am on Tuesdays. So it's 11:15am and I am getting ready to leave...I need to bring Bailey to J's dad's so that she isn't home alone for 7 hours, then I NEED my large soy iced chai from Coffee Buzz, then I need to be at the Hilton in Bloomington for a 12:30 appointment. I walk outside and they're still "resealing." Fine. No big deal. I go in to the garage and get in my car and the garage door doesn't open. So I open the side door and grab the "resealers" attention. "Um, I need to get out." The resealer guys are pretty nice so they say they'll move their truck so I can get out...I just have to drive carefully. At this point they've only resealed the outer parts of the street, so I can still drive on it. Well, the damn garage still doesn't open. So I call the office. Keep in mind my head is throbbing, I can't swallow because my through hurts so bad and my nose is on fire from blowing it every 35 seconds. Plus, my body ached and Bailey was freaking out because she had no idea what was going on. Anyways, I call the office and the idiot of a man they have manning the place (seriously, this isn't my first run-in with whatever-his-name-is....he's not bright) tells me he'll send maintenance down to the garage. So I sit there for 10 minutes. Once again, I get out of my car and go back upstairs to call the office. I don't get service in the garage so each time I call the office or call J screaming I have to get out of my car and go upstairs. They tell me maintenance is coming. Maintenance dude gets down to the garage and opens the door, GREAT I'M FREE! Wrong! Now the stupid resealers have completely "resealed" the street, so I can't get out. I lose it. I start telling maintenance guy that I have a business meeting I need to get to and no where on the precious blue sheet did it say I couldn't park in the garage or that I would be trapped in the garage! I said those exact words, yes, "precious blue sheet" left my lips. He calls his "manager" who says that if I drive on it I will have to pay to fix the damage it causes. So naturally I say, "Well when I lose my job are you going to pay my salary?" OK, I realize it's my day off and I realize I was exaggerating the truth but I really didn't feel well and I really needed to get out of the garage. Thankfully, my fiance loves me and he convinced his little brother to come pick me up, bring Bailey back to his house and let me drive his car for the day! He's a saint....future-brother-in-law....I owe you!
I made it to the appointment on time, which is really the point of this post. My mom and I looked at four more reception spaces on Tuesday, meaning we have now looked at eight spots. I'm realizing that no place is perfect. Every spot has their positives and negatives. For some reason, I just thought I would have have this "aha" moment and this decision would be super easy. Well, I mentioned in this post that I really liked these two locations, both of which are now out of the running. Five is great, but the style of wedding we would have had to have just wasn't us. And, St. Anthony Main is still my number one but after a lot of tweaking we just can't get it to fit our budget unless we sacrifice A LOT, for example cutting 45 people off our guest list, having a Friday wedding instead of Saturday and having a 5 hour reception instead of a 6. Those are three things I'm just not willing to do. So, I've moved on. Tuesday we looked at the Hilton in Bloomington, the Science Museum in St. Paul, the Hyatt Regency downtown Minneapolis and International Market Square. I liked all four of these places a lot. All of them would be great for different reasons. I think I have narrowed it down to the Hilton Bloomington and International Market Square.
The Hilton is a brand new hotel (built in 2008) and has a great ballroom.
Positives:
It's a hotel....so everything is right there. Guests just go upstairs to their rooms. Everything is included...J and I get a free room for the wedding night. We also get a complimentary room to get ready in and to use for a gift opening/breakfast the next morning.
Negatives:
It's a hotel....I feel like hotel weddings can get to be so "cookie cutter." I want our wedding to be a night everyone remembers and says, "Gosh, that was the best wedding!" It's also in Bloomington which is a suburb of Minneapolis. So our reception wouldn't be right in the city like I wanted. Also, hotel wedding food can be not-so-good, I don't want to assume anything about this hotel's food....but typically this is the case.
International Market Square
(Here's the little write up from the website:)
In the heart of Minneapolis stands a historic structure revitalized as a Design Center and Home Furnishings mart. Where once Munsingwear set the style in undergarments, International Market Square now showcases the latest trends in furnishings and accessories from around the world and could become the location for your next special event! The focal point of International Market Square is the Atrium, a soaring, sun washed event space lined with ivy accented balconies. Its peak glass roof rises 72 feet above the tiered Italian tile floor punctuated by live trees and newly added subtle glowing light fixtures.
Positives:
Definitely not cookie cutter, it's a very unique and beautiful space. D'amico caters, so the food will be outstanding! It's right outside of downtown Minneapolis so the location is perfect!
Nagatives:
We'll have to rent linens because what they offer is not-so-good. We'll have to find a hotel for guests to say and find a safe and reliable way for them to get to the hotel. There isn't much included in the cost so we'll have to make sure we can get all that we want but still keep it within the budget.
So what do you think? Hotel? Event Center? Alternative? Have you been to great hotel weddings? Not-so-great hotel weddings? What did you or what are you willing to sacrifice or not sacrifice? What is most important? Location? Food? HELP ME!