I don't even think I really need to write a blog about this one! How is this real? Who does this? I cannot even figure out what would possess someone to use paper squirrel heads as decorations.

I stumbled across this picture a while ago and saved it to share and then completely forgot about it. Its actually on The Knot so its not like I'm the only person whose seen this thing. I just don't get it at all. If I went ot this wedding I'd be really confused!!

On a side note (literally), vote in my poll about the best "type" of wedding food. I'm trying to gauge what people like and dislike so I'm really curious how the poll will turn out.

Also, feel free to share any weird wedding finds with me! I'm actually trying to figure out how to set my sister up as a guest blogger so she can post some of her wedding finds. If you know my sister you know our ideas are drastically different. I'm having difficulty making Weebly do this so I might have to banish her to the forum! haha.

I'm in LA for the weekend visiting my family so I'll give you all an update on my mom and I's extensive wedding discussions!!

Well, Sunday we went to 5 Rivers! I actually liked it more than I had originally anticipated. Overall, I liked the venue already but I was having a hard time getting a firm idea of how it'd work for a ceremony and a reception.

5 Rivers is very in line with Andy and I's personalities. Its right on the water which is perfect for marine biologists. the rooms are spacious with high lofty ceilings, a giant rock fireplace and paneling made from 150 year old ocean salvaged wood.

Andy and I were originally concerned with where we'd have a ceremony. We saw ceremonies on the dock in the photos but it looked like only 10 people could be there. Once we got to 5 Rivers we learned that there is a lot more room to watch the ceremony on the decks adjacent to the water. Its very beautiful.

5 Rivers is run by the state as a conservation site. It also has an awesome exhibit hall with a natural history of Alabama (which explains me and the bear).  There are three buildings and the exhibit hall is on the far end, the big room for the reception is the middle building and the other end building is a theater. They're all connected by extensive decking (covered and uncovered). The theater would be used to get ready for the wedding!

The venue has tables and chairs which is always a plus. We'd only need ceremony chairs and linens. The event coordinator there was very nice and helpful although I don't think we'd get as comprehensive help as we would at the Ezell House mainly because 5 Rivers has less wedding experience.

A few downsides, LOCATION. Although its only a 5 minute drive to hotels off the interstate it doesn't offer hotels like downtown Mobile. Its near a mall and strip malls. Just not the same!

Price. They charge a rental fee for the site and then an additional fee for the ceremony even though you don't get any additional time! Lots of places I saw do this and it makes no sense to me.

Time. Apparently the music has to end at 10:30pm and guests have to be out by 11pm. This seems a tad on the early side for me.

I'm including a few more pictures to give you a better idea of the place!

Overall, very beautiful. If I was judging on the building alone I'd definitely pick this place. I really love it but I'm also thinking about a lot of logistics so I'm just not sure yet!

I promise I'll give you the 5 Rivers update later tonight but over lunch today I'm going with something different.

Andy is cracking me up! After going to the Ezell House I'm looking for more pictures of the place. The director Amy told me that once I've been there I'll start to recognize it in photos on photographer sites. So, I started to look at Mobile area photographers to see if they have Ezell House pictures. I sent Andy a link to a local photographer who had a few Ezell House pictures.

Shortly after I received this IM from Andy:

" i always look stupid in pictures and i hate when people like stare off at nothing. what the f*** are you looking at people"

"i love you, but im not gonna lie i have never once stared off into space to think how much our love means to me"

"and that guy takes a lot of engagement photos in the middle of the street thats just not safe"

I guess this pretty much sums up the male perspective on all things photos. Its cracking me UP!

First things first, Ezell rhymes with gazelle. I don't like that. I want it to be like "easel" with a Z.

Andy and I went to the Ezell House on Friday afternoon so I figured I should give a little update before we head up to 5 rivers this afternoon.

Overall, I think the Ezell House was a success. Visiting a site for a reception and ceremony was also very helpful because its given me a better idea of what to consider.  Surprisingly, some of the things we really liked about the Ezell House had little to do with the venue itself.

First, LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. You just can't ignore a good location. Downtown Mobile is great because it puts the wedding only a couple blocks from a lot of hotels! I know not everyone will want to walk a few blocks but I think that's important for all our friends we'll be inviting because it means no driving. Those downtown hotels even run shuttles from the airport so people wouldn't necessarily need to rent cars.

I know myself that being young and going to weddings gets expensive. We're already asking our friends to get hotel rooms, if we can spare them from renting a car that'd be nice. Its a quick walk to the venue and there are plenty of restaurants and bars downtown for them to fill in other time!

Second, the staff. The director at the Ezell House, Amy, was so helpful! I guess I shouldn't be so surprised since the place specializes in events. But, after reading bridal books I've learned to be wary in these situations because some venues try to pitch all sorts of wonderful things only to find out those services are extra. I've also read to be wary of recommendations from these types of places because many of them get some sort of commission or kickback.

Well, luckily, this was pretty much the opposite of what we found at the Ezell House. We were given recommendations but it was a rundown of all the big caterers in Mobile or the top 4 most popular photographers. It was very helpful. The Ezell House seemed wonderfully organized. We were given all sorts of options for setting up the ceremony and reception. They also take care of a lot of the setup for you such as getting the ceremony site set up and broken down.  They also have most of the stuff you need. I'd only need to rent chairs for the ceremony and linens! This is a definitely plus! Its much easier when they have an assortment of tables to use. I think having a rental company bring all that in would be just one more thing to worry about!

Also my new big concern, the rain plan, was fully covered. I learned you can tent every inch of their courtyard if necessary. They're really on the ball with that. Once I know how many people are attending, they'll put together the rain plan and decide whether I need to get tents on "rain reserve" or whatever else. Its nice. I feel very good about the weather and this place!

Lastly, the house itself was cool! The inside was ornate and fancy as I expected. It had beautiful high ceilings and crystal chandeliers. It had a lovely brick courtyard out back for the ceremony site and for the reception. The old carriage house out back also has a bar in it. They pretty much describe it as the "man cave". The grooms there usually take over that area and deck it out like their favorite team or whatever. The only down side is the place does have some wear. You can tell its used ALL the time. There are dings in the paint in the doorways and some of the shutters were less than perfect. This definitely wasn't a deal breaker because I don't think you'd notice when the place is full of tables and decorations, etc. But, if I'm going to be picky, its not perfect.

Overall, for the price I think its completely worth it. These people know how to do weddings but it didn't seem pushy. I feel like I'd easily get what I want there. Other pluses are that I think the decorations would be minimal because the house itself is fancy. We're talking about doing a buffet for our reception (more on this whole choice later!) and its well set up for that.

I'll let you know how it stacks up!

Any of you that have been hanging around Andy and I the last year or so know the following...
 - We love LOST
- anytime anyone asks us if we were gonna get married Andy would say 2017 unless I agreed to a LOST themed wedding and then he'd think about a year or two sooner.

Now, Andy and I are actually getting married we're contemplating dates. Andy just asked Shanna and Joe if they thought October 8 or 15th would be better. After a little discussion, Shanna tells Andy that we can't go wrong either way since we're going with "the numbers". If you don't watch LOST I won't even bother to explain. But if you do know what I'm talking about then look out, Andy's subconsciously trying to LOST theme our wedding. He was very excited when Shanna pointed this out.

Live Together, Die Alone.

A week or so ago I was telling Andy that every time I read posts on the forum Wedding Bee I was going insane. They abbreviate everything. Apparently its very difficult to type out Mother of the Bride and Maid of Honor.

On abbreviation just kept getting me EVERY time. And the first few reads through I couldn't figure out what people were talking about. The abbreviation: STD.

STD. Doesn't conjure wedding images in my head. After a couple of posts I finally realized it meant Save The Date. Now was that so hard to type out, not really. I don't feel terribly strained. And I'm also not thinking about Herpes while I plan my wedding which is another plus.

Today, Andy emailed me about something he's read about bridesmaids and groomsmen. They're abbreviations, BM and GM. As Andy kindly pointed out, BM is for bowel movements. Great....

So, if  "all my BMs are helping me with my STDs" I'm either

1. All my bridesmaids are helping me with my save the dates
2. All my bowel movements are helping me with my sexual transmitted diseases.

You pick.

OK, we did it. We made appointments to see two places. The Ezell House and 5 Rivers. I'm pretty excited to actually scope a few places out in person.

Andy and I have been working on our tentative guest list trying to get an idea of the size of the wedding we will have. Its very crazy once you start tallying up family and friends. Its also hard to know who will come to a wedding so far away from Massachusetts, Michigan, Maryland and California! I'm hoping we're doing alright with estimating size because obviously these places have size limits. But, I have to say its nice to see a tally of friends other then on Facebook. haha.

Here's my list of things to consider and ask about:
- capacity. duh!
- price
-what that price includes (chairs, setup of tables, etc)
- what penalties I could incur such as running over in length. Don't want to be charged an arm and a leg for guests staying too long.
- Is there a cut off time. There are noise ordinances and stuff. It'd suck to turn the music off at 10pm.
- layout and flow. Would it be comfortable to have food, dancing, etc.
- decorating restrictions (Candles seem like they have restrictions)
- other restrictions (I know the ezell house only allows red wine at seated dinner)
- security, do we need it? Some place require you hire security.
-parking. Is there any? Is it free?
- catering, florist, DJ restrictions, rules, etc.
- Can Parker and Violet come? (kidding!)(maybe)
- Is it awesome?

YAY! I think I'm getting somewhere. I hope that we either love one of these places or that it gives us a firmer idea of what we're looking for.

Head on over to the forum under Whatever! to read a reposting of an awesome email Carly sent me today about wedding registries!

It highlights her thoughts on many places to register and has some links to cute stuff. Plus, Carly is funny. Consider it a guest blog entry!

Sunday afternoon Andy and I went to Mobile to go to the grocery store and took a detour by a mansion to give it a drive by. As soon as we left Dauphin Island we drove into a dark, ominous rain cloud. As we tip toed around the grounds of this mansion peering in the windows in the rain, I realized perhaps Mobile weather isn't really conductive to outdoor events.

Whenever I talk to my mom we inevitably talk about weather. My mom has her little iPhone and her google homepage set to show the weather at my sister and I's locations. We always laugh that the weather down here is the same forecast every day... chance of rain, chance of thunderstorm.

Well, its true. See how Mobile stacks up.... I think I may be fighting a losing battle.

I guess I should definitely be adding "rain plan" as a major category in all my considerations. haha! This should really be getting people excited to come to Alabama. I imagine some stunning places will become a little less desirable in a down pour.

See, I have this vision in  my head. It stems from rainstorms in New Orleans. The sidewalks in the French Quarter are slate. Considering New Orleans is number 8 on this list, it usually rains. Let me tell you, flip flops and wet slate are a disaster. I end up walking around the French Quarter like I'm trying to walk on ice. Its TERRIBLE! I don't want to be responsible for sprained ankles on stone courtyards.

Now,  in better news, October is a lovely month in terms of temperature. A nigh average high of 79. You can't beat that right? It should be warmer to all the northern folks who will appreciate a few more balmy summer like days! And, I can wear summer colors and fabrics even though in most other parts of the country we'd be in browns and oranges and heavier weight fabric.

I remember being in Bri's wedding in October in Maryland. We definitely got cold in our bridesmaid dresses. We has our little wraps pretty snuggly. And there are pictures of me in the pair of sweatpants I stole last minute from Chelsea's brother under my dress while we were doing clean up and such! I'm not going to have that here. So, good thing I don't want mums and pumpkins.

Alright, I don't think you can even imagine the happy dance I just did in the living room. I just found one more dorky graph on weather.com... average precipitation. And, can you guess the least rainy month in Mobile. yep! OCTOBER!!! Fantastic news! Thank you weather statistics!

Here's to hoping October 2011 is an average month!!! I seriously do not want any out of town guest to experience a Mobile rainstorm. Seriously, even though its only 3 inches of rain almost all of it will mostly likely fall in three 20 minute rainstorms that dump more water then you could even imagine.

I keep telling myself I have plenty of time. Andy and I don't need to book a site until October. Until I realized we only have one free weekend until October!

Andy is out to sea next weekend. Then I'm in LA. Then we're visiting friends in New Orleans. Then a wedding Jersey. Then we're here but Andy heads out to sea on Monday. Then Andy's out to sea until Sept 30. YIKES!

Time to get moving!

On my list is a place called the Ezell House. Its a nice southern mansion in downtown Mobile. I've been reading reviews and this one is cracking me up...

The only thing wrong with the house was you couldnt put ice sculptures inside

Unlike my sister, I'm not too concerned with ice sculptures. If that's there only complaint then this place must be worth checking out. Dottie told me this week that she really wanted this house for her reception too. I'm going to visit my family in California at the end of the month so I'm excited to show them what I'm thinking and get some input. I need some perspective on what would be fun, unique, etc. I keep reading all these bridal message boards about girls worrying their receptions will be boring. This one thread was someone saying how they went to an absolutely boring wedding but the bride and groom kept saying how awesome it was during and after the fact. She was worried she's be loving her wedding and everyone else would be bored stiff. I need to stop reading these blogs, these stressed out brides give me things to think about (well worry about) I've never even thought about! And I'm not a worrier at all!

I liked this response...

I think a lot of people over plan a wedding and it takes the fun out of it.  If you plan it because thats the way you want it and have no concern for your guests then it can be boring.  Keep it simple.  The only thing I ever remember from a wedding is:  the food, the drinks, the brides dress and the dancing.  I couldn't tell you what was on a table and I couldn't tell you what people were wearing.  If I remember that I danced, that I had lots of drinks and the food was good then that was a successful wedding to me.

So true! I love food and drinks. People will definitely remember a teal dress and if Shanna and I's dance party Friday night was an indication, I'm in good shape.

Here's what I need:
- a place that has good food or lets me bring in a good caterer
- a place that we can dance!

I need a place that's not too expensive or has things like tables, chair and linens that are included that make it a better bargain. Actually, having table and chairs is a major plus since it'll be one less thing I have to have trucked in!

 I want some place interesting, either by the water since I love it or with some southern charm. If I'm going to drag people down from the north they should see live oaks and magnolias and big porches.

Andy and I need to go to town today so I think we're going to go drive by a few places I've seen. They all look pretty in pictures but I want to see where they're actually located. Wish us luck!