Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Wedding Wednesday


I thought it'd be fun to keep y'all updated on my Derby-themed wedding plans, and invite everyone to add their thoughts and suggestions in the comments section! Now, since no one wants to read about weddings and wedding planning all day, every day, I'll be limiting these posts to once a week, maximum

Today's topic is a big one: venue. Venue cost is a huge part of the budget and an important part of the party. We're inviting 134 people; most of them will be traveling to Tulsa from other states. We need a venue that is:
  • Relatively close to Tulsa, so friends and family from out of town can get to and from easily.
  • Large enough to accommodate our guests.
  • Horse-friendly, as Moe and Gina will be attending (and will be a big part of pictures).
Of course, our first thought was to have the event at the horse's soon-to-be new home, Osage Hills Equestrian Center. There are some pros to this place: no cost to rent it, no real restrictions on setting things up, horses are definitely welcome. There are some concerns, though: the easiest place to set up large tents would be the hay meadow, which may not be cut in early May; renting tents is expensive; coordinating rentals between companies is often a nightmare; we would be responsible for set up and take-down.

Another venue we've considered is the White House Mansion in Tulsa. It's easily accessible from major highways in Tulsa, is horse-friendly, and the cost of the rental includes tables and chairs, as well as access to the indoor facilities in case of inclement weather. However, the rental cost is substantial (for us), and the logistics of getting the horses down there on Derby day might be difficult.

The final place we spoke with at the wedding show was The Silo Event Center in Tulsa. Another easily accessible and horse-friendly place, the Silo has indoor and outdoor options, which is good for Oklahoma's variable spring weather. There's also lodging on-site for out of town guests. However, the cost is relatively high, and there's not a lot of room for trailer parking.

Johnny and I are making a trip out to Osage Hills this weekend (he's never been), and we're planning to make a lot of notes on setup, logistics, and overall feasibility. If that venue won't work, it'll be off to the others to see what will suit our needs best!

12 comments:

Aoife said...

This is so exciting, sorry with no groom on my horizon (both equine & relationship - lol, sorry lame humour!) I am going to live vicariously through you. Sorry!
If i haven't mentioned it before i absolutely love your Derby themed wedding, now everyone knows to wear fab hats & the horses are wonderfully woven into the day. It really is an epic idea *two-thumbs-up*

L.Williams said...

When's my invitation arriving :) also love this idea, if I ever get married i might need to borrow the wedding wednesday!

SheMovedtoTexas said...

Venue is hard! We rented a park place, which was super cheap however the cost to rent all of our tables/chairs (we didn't use their caterer) was HUGE. About $75/per when you included food.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like some great options!! Hopefully they won't end up too pricy for you two! :)

Stephanie said...

Thanks!! Feel free to live vicariously and tell me if something sounds stupid! That's what the internet is for, right? :)

Stephanie said...

I will totally send you an invite, except you're so mysterious and I don't have your address. Ramone can be invited, too.

Stephanie said...

That's what I'm nervous about, because renting a 40'x60' tent is something ridiculous like $2000! And then tables and chairs and who knows what else. Good to hear from someone who has done this before- PLEASE feel free to keep the suggestions/advice coming!

Stephanie said...

We have our fingers crossed! :D

Anonymous said...

I love this wedding wednesday! I got married less than a year ago, and it's still fun to talk about the planning part of it.

We rented a low-cost (especially since we had the party on Sunday--our actual wedding, was on a mountain, just the two of us and our witnesses and my cousin, the pastor. Maybe I'll share that one day.) community center/park area. It had all the tables and chairs and we brought in food and drink. It was really nice to have one less thing to worry about. Our party was pretty laid back and simple, but even still, day of I was glad to have as little things to think about as possible.

Stephanie said...

That sounds like a fun and relatively stress-free kind of day!!

Unknown said...

How exciting! I just got married in May, and while we didn't include Miles (my horse) we did do our engagement photos at the barn!

Sarah said...

I got married at an all-in-one wedding venue place - it included the venue, food, cakes, DJ, photographer, flowers, etc etc. At first it sounded so expensive, but when we added it all up compared to buying separate, it was a good deal (they have pre-established relationships with several DJs, cake makers, etc). Might be worth checking out if there's something like that nearby.

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