Plan a $1,000 Wedding in Two Weeks - Part 2: The Venue

In putting together an inexpensive but fun and elegant wedding in just over two weeks, my best tools are my notebook and pen,my cell phone and email. I find that lists help keep me focused, so from the very beginning, I made the following list:

Location

Reception: food, drink, cake, etc.

Colors I'd choose?

Wedding Dress for me

Bride's Attendants?

Robert's clothes

Wedding Flowers

Wedding rings?

Invitations

Invitees - his/mine

Don't forget: Jenny's school, pre-cruise packing list, what bills to pay before leaving town, last minute things to do
Things you can't get married without: license, preacher, rings

Then, of course, for almost each of the above items, there's a separate list. Take location, for example. We had first planned to invite only immediate family and one or two friends, which would mean a guest list of about 23 people. One of my friends, Renea, who has an open, spacious living room/den/dining room combination with a nice fireplace offered her home as a spot for the ceremony. Robert and I talked about it and decided it would be nice, cozy setting for a small, intimate wedding. And then the list of invitees began to grow. Fortunately, a mutual friend of mine and Renea's manages a facility with meeting rooms and quite often does weddings, receptions and big parties at his facility. When T. Clark learned of my upcoming wedding, he offered to host it at his facility. I won't bore you with the details, but let me just say this: I had talked with small chapels, churches, hotels, and various people about where to have a small wedding and reception. The charges for the venue alone were usually outrageous. However, there are some creative places in which to wed, such as:

Meeting rooms at State Park Inns

State- or County-Owned/Managed Historic Sites (check out the Chapel at Cannonsburg in Murfreesboro,
Tennessee)
Private homes of friends or family (indoors or outdoors, weather permitting)

Meeting rooms in malls, hotels, and event centers