Location, Location, Location

Location, Location, Location

January 26th, 2008 @ 12:26 pm by Mrs. Shortcake

(image by Pablo Trejo)

How do I love thee, Vancouver?

Let me count the ways

I love thee for thy rainy skies

thy clouds perpetually gray

I love thee for thy dark green sea

that smells of salt and tar

I love thee better every day

though I love but from afar.

We’re getting married in “Metro” Vancouver, as the cities surrounding the big V are now known. Originally, the plan was to get married in Vancouver proper, where both Mr. Shortcake and I went to university, and lived for many years.

It was a good plan. We were going to have the ceremony at Ryerson United Church, which was the church literally across the street from my basement suite during school. My sister and I would watch from our basement window and sigh over the gorgeous brides getting married there, so when Ryerson was suggested as an option for my wedding, I jumped at the chance.

(blue olive photography)

We were hoping to hold the reception at the UBC Golf Club, another sentimental choice, as we would then be celebrating on the campus where we met.

However, the wedding coordinator there took an instant dislike to my mother and I at our first, and last meeting - (this after cordial emails preceeding it), and even went so far as to, when I asked a completely unrelated question, respond with “well, I won’t be upset if you guys decide to go with another venue.” Huh? How rude!

So, we immediately began looking at other options. Our favorite was Swan-e-set Golf and Country Club in Maple Ridge.

I can’t say enough good things about Swan-e-set and the wedding coordinator there, so I’ll summarize: PERFECT. Unfortunately, Maple Ridge is over an hour from Ryerson United (which is in the Kerrisdale neighbourhood of Vancouver), so despite my tears and protestations of its perfectness, the Swan got shot down by both sets of parents.
Eventually too, did Ryerson. That was the first disagreement among the parties involved. I wanted a Vancouver proper wedding, but our parents (who live in Langley and Whiterock) were convinced that half an hour would be too far and too long for guests to drive. Boooooooooooooooooooo!

Have your parents or in-laws overridden your decisions and plans?

Tags: vancouver, Venues |

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15 Responses to “Location, Location, Location”

Guest

Maggie

Half an hour? Seriously?

Because my family (immediate and extended) as well as my partner’s family is so spread out, any place we’d have a wedding would require many of our guests to fly and/or drive long distances. I think we’re in every time zone in the country!

1/26/08 @ 3:19 pm (reply)

Member

GetMarried4Less (message) 915 posts, Busy bee

mine are trying but i am trying just as hard to hold on. to date, nothing has been set in stone but my idea are quite firm. just need to book things.

the only thing that i am beginning to regret is my bridesmaids. i have 6. originally only wanted 4. i wish i had waited longer to make the decision about them.

not that any of them are bad choices….it just seems kinda crowded.

1/26/08 @ 3:30 pm (reply)

Member

Shelbystar (message) 90 posts, Worker bee

We fell in love with the first venue we looked at. It is the Westward Look Resort in Tucson, AZ. My hunny is very practical though and we checked out 10 other venues in Tucson, comparing price & amenities, before we “proved” to our parents that we had done our homework and made an educated decision by choosing Westward Look Resort. We booked it and then had my (divorced) parents tour the property on separate occasions and they both agreed we are going to have a beautiful wedding!

1/26/08 @ 3:52 pm (reply)

Member

smartl (message) 543 posts, Busy bee

Wow, that’s about the 5th bride I’ve heard from now who decided against UBC Golf Club specifically because of their awful coordinator Joni, not including myself. We HATED her too when we met her, she’s a royal bee-yatch. I do not know HOW she manages to hang onto her job after losing so many potential bookings because of her rudeness with potential clients. I was very disappointed not to book there, but I just couldn’t stomach the idea of working with her.

1/26/08 @ 3:59 pm (reply)

Member

haselwand (message) 187 posts, Blushing bee

I really wanted to have our wedding reception in nearby Dayton, Ohio at the Art Institute. The atrium there is to die for. Most of the venues there just have so much more character than the hotel ballrooms or blah country clubs in my town and the one half an hour away.

My future-mother-in-law was not pleased with guests having to drive an hour after the ceremony, so I didn’t even get past researching before my choices were completely vetoed. Grr.

Now it’s a hotel ballroom for me! However, the coordinators seem awesome and ready to go the extra mile which is a good thing.

1/26/08 @ 5:14 pm (reply)

Member

mtyf (message) 321 posts, Helper bee

Your posts bring back such good memories for me! FI and I also went to UBC (we were both RAs on campus), graduated in 2000. We’ve been in the US since then, but when we think about having a family and really settling down, we definitely think: Vancouver!

1/26/08 @ 6:11 pm (reply)

Member

julieulie (message) 266 posts, Helper bee

I only wanted two things from my entire wedding. Only two. I wanted a winter wedding, and to get married in Washington, DC.
I’m getting married in May in Philly.
I was totally shot down. Basically, my bubble was so broken that I really could care less about this wedding now. Honestly, I’d rather just have a city hall wedding and not even invite my parents.
I can deal with getting married in May; it works around my fiance’s graduation from medical school. Although it means that I will actually MISS my own rehearsal dinner because I have to have a thesis committee meeting the day of, I can accept the change in date. But I am still so so so disappointed about not being able to get married in DC. I’ve lived here for 7 years, love (LOVE!) the city, and my fiance and I met here. It would have made it so much easier to meet with vendors actually living in the same area. Instead, we’re getting married in Philly — where my fiance’s family lives. My mother only wanted me to get married in central PA, where my parents live, but I flat out refused, as it would make travel too complicated for family flying in and all my friends in DC as none of us own a car.

I know it makes me sound like a brat, but really all I cared about was getting married in DC. I could care less about who my parents invite (or don’t invite), what everyone wears, flowers, the band, whatever my mother wants, she’s getting with this wedding. I didn’t think it was so hard for me to only get to choose the location. It’s not like I asked for some hard to plan destination wedding — I only wanted to get married where I actually live.

1/26/08 @ 6:40 pm (reply)

Guest

Rose

Its funny my friend had the Ryeson and Swan-ee-set combination for her wedding in Vancouver, and trust me you made the right decision to not have it that way. The communte was very tiring for all the guest and especially her helpers.

1/26/08 @ 8:10 pm (reply)

Guest

eva

have you tried looking at cecil green?

1/26/08 @ 9:04 pm (reply)

10.

Guest

Tberry

My FILs have been nothing but wonderful. They are really accepting of that thier side of the family (who we live near) are going to be traveling 4 hours to where my side of the family live. My mother on the other hand was very upset that we wanted to have it on my Dad’s family’s property. (parents are divorced) She wanted to know what was wrong with her family land. I only grew up litterlly living on the property not just visiting wher I want to get married. I spent my entire childhood playing in the fields where we want the tent and where the ceremony will overlook. Her family land is owned by my great aunts and uncle whom I adore but would not feel comfortable asking to use the property, while I can very easily ask my grandmother for theuse of the fron yard for the ceremony and my dad for the use of his fields. I still don’t understand what the big deal is. My mom is till close to my grandmother and my half brother even calls her grandma.

1/28/08 @ 10:07 am (reply)

11.

Guest

jocelyn

i was thinking of going for the UBC grad student centre but you can’t bring your own alcohol.

1/28/08 @ 6:26 pm (reply)

12.

Guest

Weddingbee » Blog Archive » Going To The Chap-pel And We’re Putting Down A De-pos-it

[...] our parental units had vetoed our original venue choices, we began to look at other locations closer to (their) [...]

1/29/08 @ 6:03 pm (reply)

13.

Guest

Christina

Location indeed - I have a riddle for you: I’m an American in the UK on a work visa, engaged to my lovely British beau. Where, oh where, should the wedding be held?

In the UK where it costs 400GBP for a “Certificate of Approval” for me, as a legal foreigner, to even begin the process? Where approved civil wedding venues are few and far between (and thus = $$$)? Where the immobile grandfathers are? Where the US holiday-strapped friends and family would have to visit?

Or in the US? Where anything (and anywhere) goes, it can be as a big or small deal as yams like? (I have a hankering for an outdoor, gardeny party wedding/reception, thank you very much) And where the UK family could come and see the places and faces dear to me? (The parents and brothers have already met several times, we’ve been together for three years now).

There are other factors in the mix, of course, but the answer hasn’t jumped out at us yet!

2/4/08 @ 8:58 am (reply)

14.

Guest

Yujai

I am getting married in Swan-e-Set in August! Fortunately our parents do not live in Canada, so it’s a long way for them anyways ;p

None of our friends complain about the distance (most of our guest live in Richmond), but the family friends….(mainly the uncle ad aunties!). We had rent a school bus for transporting our oversea guests, if it goes well, maybe we can include those uncle & aunties as well….

7/12/08 @ 6:16 pm (reply)

15.

Guest

John Heil

Swan E Set is such a gorgeous venue….I have a wedding coming up there and am really looking forward to shooting it!

10/22/08 @ 3:32 pm (reply)