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Right-y-Oh. I said I'd write more, and here I am.
Ami: Very glad to hear that it's not just me and that real human beings *do* get yanked in all dirrections, and it's not just wedding magazines telling me simultaneously that "It's Your Day, You Deserve Every (expensive) Thing that you Want" and "Don't Become a Bridezilla by Getting Demanding on Everybody Else".
As a side note: Do you think that women play head-games with each-other (and guys have no clue what we're ever saying) because, by the time that we're six, we're already well on the socialization road to "putting our own needs last", "not putting ourselves forward", and "being a Nice Girl" --> Which means that we're already learning that the only way to state "This is what I want" is to do so in a passive way by dropping hints, innuendos, and saying the opposite of what we mean in the hope that Person X will clue in and realize how the code works? Any thoughts?
Right. Back to the wedding venues:
My Boss (who isn't actually my boss any more because yesterday was her last day -- Cat, I passed on your good wishes to her on Tuesday), informed me that the places I looked at were the *most* expensive in Ottawa.
This is good, because it means it won't (in theory) get any worse than that.
So, I think what I'll do between now and next weekend is try to track down some pretty halls (E.G.: The Helenic Banquet Center, or the Salla San Marco, or something) that have a view of the water or a nice court-yard, and the option of going outside. 'Cause that would also work.
Ami, again: Thanks for backing me up on the chairs thing. (My Poor Paul. I don't think he gets the whole "hosting" thing -- He didn't think we'd need either tables or chairs for anybody, for a four-hour reception, if we were just serving wine and hors d'oeuvres.)
I agree about the NAC probably being okay, despite the carpet. The table linens would all be white, and they actually have royal-blue wine glasses available (at no extra charge, thank goodness), so you probably wouldn't see most of the carpet -- There's a picture in their brochure of the "Panorama Room" which, aside from size, looks pretty much exactly like the Fountain Room. When it's all done up with white everything, the carpet and the more-colourful-than-I-like chairs (which are rather comfortable when you sit on them) don't look so crazy.
Unfortunately, Paul and I haven't had much opportunity to talk about all of this stuff yet. He came home on Thursday night really rattled about his up-coming exam (and the exam he'd just written), and in no mood what-so-ever to talk about wedding stuff.
When he did finally ask, I told him about how we're having wedding-money problems again, and that I didn't have any clue what our budget actually was, and basically that I *really* didn't think we could get our wedding done for under five grand. And he acted like he didn't believe me. (Even though Iv'e been pricing things for a year now, and he hasn't even looked at how much a caterer costs).
As it turns out, he did believe me. (We talked about it, after). But, suffice to say: Our first foray into discussion about wedding costs did not go well. It was a short burst of not-well, but it was still there.
I think he was just shocked (as am I, although I think I'm dealing with it better -- maybe not) at how crazy the price of, say, a dozen hors d'oeuvres, can run. (About $20 for 12 pieces, rather than, say, $10 for 16 pieces, as one can get from the PC at Loblaws).
Basically, if it were *just* hors d'oeuvres it would work out to about $40/person -- Hors d'oevres and desserts, combined with cheese, veggie, and fruit plates will probably double the price per person.
Thus, the coctail reception (when fully catered, rather than partially catered and mostly done with Loblaws) would be *way* too expensive.
With Loblaws, I think it would be less. I mean, their trays of veggies and sandwiches run about $60/tray, I think, but they're trays for 50+ people, rather than 20 people. And, say, mini-cheese-cakes (like the ones I brought to Paul's barbicue) would run about $80 (pre-tax) to have enough for three cheese-cake-bits per person. I would have to price it out, but I think that the DIY approach (Even if I bought everything pre-made) would work out to be about $30/person rather than $80/person.
Anywhoo. I've got to get dressed and then go out to Westboro for a Historical Tour of Ottawa this morning. So... I gotta go.
As always, your thoughts are appreciated. :-)
- Nam'ara,
- Amazon.
Ami: Very glad to hear that it's not just me and that real human beings *do* get yanked in all dirrections, and it's not just wedding magazines telling me simultaneously that "It's Your Day, You Deserve Every (expensive) Thing that you Want" and "Don't Become a Bridezilla by Getting Demanding on Everybody Else".
As a side note: Do you think that women play head-games with each-other (and guys have no clue what we're ever saying) because, by the time that we're six, we're already well on the socialization road to "putting our own needs last", "not putting ourselves forward", and "being a Nice Girl" --> Which means that we're already learning that the only way to state "This is what I want" is to do so in a passive way by dropping hints, innuendos, and saying the opposite of what we mean in the hope that Person X will clue in and realize how the code works? Any thoughts?
Right. Back to the wedding venues:
My Boss (who isn't actually my boss any more because yesterday was her last day -- Cat, I passed on your good wishes to her on Tuesday), informed me that the places I looked at were the *most* expensive in Ottawa.
This is good, because it means it won't (in theory) get any worse than that.
So, I think what I'll do between now and next weekend is try to track down some pretty halls (E.G.: The Helenic Banquet Center, or the Salla San Marco, or something) that have a view of the water or a nice court-yard, and the option of going outside. 'Cause that would also work.
Ami, again: Thanks for backing me up on the chairs thing. (My Poor Paul. I don't think he gets the whole "hosting" thing -- He didn't think we'd need either tables or chairs for anybody, for a four-hour reception, if we were just serving wine and hors d'oeuvres.)
I agree about the NAC probably being okay, despite the carpet. The table linens would all be white, and they actually have royal-blue wine glasses available (at no extra charge, thank goodness), so you probably wouldn't see most of the carpet -- There's a picture in their brochure of the "Panorama Room" which, aside from size, looks pretty much exactly like the Fountain Room. When it's all done up with white everything, the carpet and the more-colourful-than-I-like chairs (which are rather comfortable when you sit on them) don't look so crazy.
Unfortunately, Paul and I haven't had much opportunity to talk about all of this stuff yet. He came home on Thursday night really rattled about his up-coming exam (and the exam he'd just written), and in no mood what-so-ever to talk about wedding stuff.
When he did finally ask, I told him about how we're having wedding-money problems again, and that I didn't have any clue what our budget actually was, and basically that I *really* didn't think we could get our wedding done for under five grand. And he acted like he didn't believe me. (Even though Iv'e been pricing things for a year now, and he hasn't even looked at how much a caterer costs).
As it turns out, he did believe me. (We talked about it, after). But, suffice to say: Our first foray into discussion about wedding costs did not go well. It was a short burst of not-well, but it was still there.
I think he was just shocked (as am I, although I think I'm dealing with it better -- maybe not) at how crazy the price of, say, a dozen hors d'oeuvres, can run. (About $20 for 12 pieces, rather than, say, $10 for 16 pieces, as one can get from the PC at Loblaws).
Basically, if it were *just* hors d'oeuvres it would work out to about $40/person -- Hors d'oevres and desserts, combined with cheese, veggie, and fruit plates will probably double the price per person.
Thus, the coctail reception (when fully catered, rather than partially catered and mostly done with Loblaws) would be *way* too expensive.
With Loblaws, I think it would be less. I mean, their trays of veggies and sandwiches run about $60/tray, I think, but they're trays for 50+ people, rather than 20 people. And, say, mini-cheese-cakes (like the ones I brought to Paul's barbicue) would run about $80 (pre-tax) to have enough for three cheese-cake-bits per person. I would have to price it out, but I think that the DIY approach (Even if I bought everything pre-made) would work out to be about $30/person rather than $80/person.
Anywhoo. I've got to get dressed and then go out to Westboro for a Historical Tour of Ottawa this morning. So... I gotta go.
As always, your thoughts are appreciated. :-)
- Nam'ara,
- Amazon.
