Other wedding information...

We've decided on a few other things as well. Here's what we know, for those of you who are interested:

- The wedding colors will be blue and green. I'm thinking Robin's Egg Blue and Sage Green, but I'm completely flexible as to the hues and variations.

- The reception, as aforementioned, will be a Brunch...mostly because that's our favorite meal of the day. Combine our love for all things brunchy with the fact that no one does brunch better than the William Penn Inn, and we feel that our tummies will be very happy that day.

- We're planning on having the rehearsal dinner at Shanachie's Irish Pub in Ambler. We love it there, and it works for an O'Brien wedding!

- We're also in talks with Jon from Well Spun Weddings and will hopefully have him booked asap! I have loved Jon's work for years, so keep your fingers crossed that he doesn't get booked by someone else!


We'll keep the blog updated often, so keep checking back for more!

And the winner is...

The William Penn Inn! After almost 5 months of deliberation, we've decided that the WPI is the best place for what we want. The staff are so friendly and accommodating, and it's the best bargain out there. We are so excited to have our post-ceremony brunch there!

A Little Switcheroo

Did we say two? Oops! Haha! Actually, after Annie got some info from Arcadia yesterday, we're wondering if that is the best fit for us. We do love the castle, and it will be a great place to have an event at some point (murder mystery party anyone?) but it may just not be the right choice for our summer wedding.

So, the William Penn Inn has come back into the running and does in fact seem like a good contender. The staff were really nice to us when we met with them, they have a delicious brunch, and they do a nice job of putting a whole package deal together.

Somehow we really are going to weigh our options and make a decision. For now though, if you have two cents to throw in, it could be very helpful. Thank you for reading, and thank you for all your love and support!

Shawn

Down to Two!

Okay, we've narrowed our search down to two places: Flourtown Country Club and Grey Towers Castle @ Arcadia. I'll be going to Grey Towers this Monday morning at 9:30 - if anyone wants to come along, please do! - to get more information about caterers, seating plans, etc. If you'd like to view the very amateur pictures we took, here are the links:

To view Flourtown Country Club, click here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/set271/FlourtownCountryClub#

To view Grey Towers Castle, click here (and please note that the pictures are very dark, because the Castle's windows were closed up and I didn't have a good flash on the camera...it's not always THAT dark!):
http://picasaweb.google.com/set271/GreyTowersCastle#

Flourtown Country Club

About a 15 minute drive from Church, the Flourtown Country Club is definitely in the running. It has everything Shawn and I said we wanted...except 2 things: the date (we'd have to have our wedding on the 19th instead of the 12th) and something about it that makes it different/charming/special. Not that it's not a fantastic place, but we wanted something that caters to weddings but isn't too "reception hall generic." I know, we're annoying that way. The pros, though, are numerous: a nice sitting room when you first enter the Club; an amazing bar area (probably my favorite thing about the place!); big hall that accomodates 300 (!!) people; and French doors leading out to the deck, where you can have cocktails and look out over the golf course. The woman showing us around, however, said that we have to stick to the Club's "wedding format": we must, apparently, have a DJ announce us (no receiving line, which is what we wanted instead); we must cut the cake immediately upon arrival; and we must provide our own "color-coded place cards and spreadsheets as to who gets what food at what table." I understand giving them a list, but color-coded place cards? I'm going to be busy enough without all that. So, we've got to think on it. A decision will be coming next week, so stay tuned! And please feel free to give us your input!

Abington Arts Center

So close to home! Again, beautiful grounds, complete with new and exciting art inside. The pavilion, which is apparently the only place big enough to have dinner or dancing, looks a little too small to accomodate us. Plus, visiting in March as we did, the outside of the building and the pavilion both looked in various states of disrepair (chipping paint, smudged walls, etc.) But we're keeping our eyes on this one. If the event coordinator ever gets back to us, we'll set up an official meeting and see if she can answer some of our questions.

Morris Arboretum

The pros: Beautiful grounds, especially in June. Close enough to the Church. The cons: we just visited and couldn't find the building where they host receptions. Goose poop everywhere. Long - LONG - walks from one place to another, complete with steep hills to thoroughly exhaust even the hardiest of partygoers. This one's probably out of the running.