site scouting

In planning our wedding, the first thing I thought we ought to do is nail down a venue. [Okay, not really. The first thing we did was make phone calls. Then I started actual planning by hoarding wedding magazines. Then we discussed when to put our engagement on Facebook.]

Do you know how many wedding venues are out there in the world? My best guess is fifty bajillion. If one were to narrow it down to wineries/vineyards in Northern California with both indoor and outdoor capacity and a rustic* ambiance, that would leave one with approximately 500 venues. Or so it seems based on the amount of time I have spent looking at websites in the last two months. I am arbitrarily ruling out venues that seem too garden-y, bland, reception hall-ish, Victorian, large, or small before I even pass them on to Timo. And you can forget about places with pools or golf courses. Nuh uh.

That leaves us with some decent contenders. And that means we have already visited the following over the last several weekends:
Byington Winery, Los Gatos (nice except for the family antiques that you can't remove from any of the rooms and the standing-room only backup ceremony spot)
Calistoga Ranch, Calistoga (laughably out of our price range. though I saved the packet if you'd like a hearty chuckle. did you know there were packets? well there are)
Hans Fahden Vineyards, Calistoga (closed when we got there)
Mountain Winery, Saratoga (very nice. in the middle of nowhere. if we were eaten by deer, it might take up to a week for someone to find us)
Testarossa Vineyards, Los Gatos (nice)
V. Sattui, St Helena (nice)

This weekend we're headed to Sonoma County to visit four more spots. Wish us luck! I get bored pretty quickly, so if we need to keep looking after this, I'm in danger of dropping wedding planning in favor of some new diversion like apartment hunting. Yes, that could keep us busy for at least another month or two.

--Jessica

*after seeing so many different places, reception styles, and flower arrangements proudly calling themselves "rustic," the term retains little actual meaning for me.

Testing testing...

First post!