Wedding Blog

When we let everyone know we were engaged, the second question everyone asked was, “Have you set a date?” (The first question was “When and how did he ask you?” But that answer requires another whole post.)

No, we hadn’t then, so we just told people that we were planning on Summer 2009.

Then I realized that I had less than a year to plan! And where are we going to hold it? What if there weren’t any dates available?

For years I’ve wanted to get married in a barn to go along with a more casual feel for my wedding.

When I visited Everal Barn in Westerville for a friend’s graduation party, I thought it would be the a great place for a wedding — a beautiful old white barn with a refinished inside, and a walk-out lower level with a brick patio.

The upper level of the barn

The lower level

Everal seemed like the perfect place for Mr. Bunny and I to wed. We both cover Westerville for our newspapers, and Mr. Bunny has spent afternoons reading at Heritage Park before going to city council meetings.

We managed to find an available — though slightly unorthodox — date. A Friday in July.

Even after booking the date, I was still torn. I loved our venue, but I started to think it might not work out for us to get hitched there.

For one, it’s small(ish). It seems large to me, but it can hold a max of 150 people inside when set for dinner. That’s BOTH the loft and the main floor.

We’re expecting about that many guests. That would mean no room for a dance floor (not that we’re that into dancing, but we did want the traditional first dance and parent-child dances), no room for the makeshift photobooth I was planning (more on this another time), no room for much of anything, unless we move that stuff downstairs away from the dining area.

Second, I can’t seem to let go of my vision of a more casual outdoor reception where guests can dance (if they choose), or can throw a Frisbee, or play other lawn games, or play cards, or whatever, while others are eating and chatting.

But our date is in July. July in OHIO, which probably means hot and muggy weather (and hopefully not rain).

Mama Bunny and I ran over the options:

A) Have a short ceremony outside and the reception inside the barn with the doors closed and the AC on. (I’m nervous about the indoor lighting making the venue look bad).

B) Have the ceremony at the church (my parents’ church) and the reception inside the barn with the doors closed and the AC on. (The church has bright orange chairs and carpet :P. And once again, crummy indoor lighting.)

C) Choose a different venue big enough to hold everyone, plus activities. (Noooo! Must … have … barn!)

D) Choose a different day later or earlier in the year when it’s not so freaking hot outside (Noooo! Must … have … bridesmaid who lives overseas!)

Necessary bridesmaid. Why must Japan be so far away?

E) Say, “Screw it,” and plan what I want to plan. Hope it doesn’t rain and isn’t too hot and miserable.

I ended up choosing option E. We’ll just have to deal with whatever storms — literal and figurative — come our way.

Were there any inherent problems with the venue you wanted? How did you deal with them?

(all photos by me)