Parental Advisory

I was gonna wait until this Wednesday to update...you'll find out why on Wednesday; but at the request of Mrs. Smith, Wedding Planner Extraordinaire, I decided to write a brief post. It was a very busy weekend. My Mom and Dad came into town for a quick visit that was essentially centered around graduation festivities. We did, however, have some time on Saturday for some fun wedding-related activities.

If you've been keeping up-to-date with the blog, you know that we have been leaning towards the Payne-Corley House, a gorgeous mansion in Historic Duluth, GA. Before taking the official step into a contract with them, though, we wanted to take the opportunity with my parents in town to run the venue by them.

When we arrived, the House was being prepared for a wedding that very evening. The Head Chef came out to talk to us for a bit, then we met with one of the wedding coordinators and toured the grounds. Needless to say, my parents were very impressed with the reception space, ceremony site, bridal suite and groom's house. In fact, my Dad liked the groom's house so much that he seems to want to hang out there instead of with me beforehand ("TV, poker table, and they'll bring us beer?!"). We were also all in agreement that the courtesy shuttle service to and from local hotels is a major advantage for out-of-town guests and in-town guests that want to crash close by. There are so many pros to the place and not very many cons (I can really only think of one - it's not MARTA-accessible).

After a great visit to our likely venue site, we hosted a small cocktail party with our "so-far" bridal party and friends (I say that since not everyone has been asked yet - more to come on that in the following weeks and updates on the bridal party will be posted to our wedding site on The Knot). It was a great night that allowed everyone to kick-back and get to know my parents a little bit better. And included, of course, Bryan giving a (very loud) toast to 2010: The Year of Our Marriage! Yeeeeaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

Check back on Wednesday for a major update. Then, of course, in the following weeks keep up with us on The Knot for details on our bridal party, official venue location, and plenty more! I know our excitement is in high gear. My Mom used the words: wedding and dress and shopping successively in a sentence together and my heart danced! I can't wait! And of course, Bridal Expo season is starting up after the holidays. Oh look at that, Bride Wars is on again....until next time!