Wedding Blog

Approximately 37 seconds after Mr. Sundae popped the question, I started rattling off lists of potential venues and locations (I remind you, we’ve been together for 9 years, I’ve had a lot of time to think). We briefly tossed around the idea of a destination wedding but ultimately ruled it out due to some family concerns on his side of things. I’ve secretly been thinking about getting married in Lake Geneva for years and it’s almost a perfect substitution for a destination wedding. Far enough away that 90% of our guests will make a weekend out of it but close enough to drive up on weekends to meet with vendors, etc. It’s a special place for us because Mr. Sundae spent nearly every summer of his childhood there and we’ve made countless memories at the lake while we’ve been dating. Needless to say, Mr. Sundae lit up at the suggestion, and that was that.

Two weekends later I had set up meetings with 6 potential venues and we made the trip up to the lake. I won’t bore you with the details of each one we saw (unless you do actually want to know, of course, just tell me) but seconds after walking into The Abbey Resort I knew that it was our place. I’ve been dreaming about a reception in a big white tent since I first saw Father of The Bride, so that was my main criteria when looking at potential locations. One place explained that their tent had no sides and a concrete floor, another was located just behind a driving range in which they “couldn’t guarantee” people wouldn’t be golfing. I can’t imagine anything more romantic than saying “I do” in the middle of someone’s backswing.

The tent at The Abbey is a semi-permanent structure complete with heating, air conditioning, and removable sides. I like options. There even is a mini-tent towards the back of the big one where they can stage and plate all the food so that it’s not transported all the way from the main kitchen to the back of the property. Here she is, in all her glory (all pictures in this post courtesy of yours truly):

This is the private patio on one side of the tent:

I would realize later that if not lit and/or decorated properly, the inside of the tent can look very much like a large shed. But that freak-out story will most definitely be another post.

Did any of you know right away that you wanted to get married in a certain place? Anyone out there also taking the tent route?