So. After being engaged for 10 months, I figured it was time to get off my lazy butt and start hunting for a reception site. So in the lovely month of March (ha), I set out with my FMIL and FSIL to go have a look-see at what the great city of Lincoln had to offer.
Even getting so far as deciding on Lincoln over Omaha had been a big of a struggle. I wasn't sure if I wanted to plan a wedding in a different city, even if it was just an hour away. All I could think of was, "Oh man. That's going to be so inconvenient, not being in the same city." But a good portion of the guest list was coming from Lincoln. And even though Omaha would be convenient for me, I just couldn't justify asking over half the guest list to stay in hotels when we could just do the darn thing in Lincoln. Besides, Lincoln is a lovely city and pretty easy to navigate, so at least there's that.
So one Friday afternoon in March (actually, it really was a lovely day. It just usually isn't in Nebraska in March ^_^), I took off the afternoon from work to go to Lincoln. After getting mildly lost trying to find FMIL K's work, we met up and set out with our google maps. I swear to God, that was the longest day of my life. I think we went to 6 "potential" sites in one afternoon. I add the quotes to "potential" because most of them were not suitable at all--they were big enough but some were in rough areas of town (um, by the train tracks near a glorified waste river? No thanks) or were inconvenient (I need to pay extra to use the kitchen, bring a caterer, rent plates, glasses, servers, bartenders, security AND I have to mop the floor afterwards?! Um, dream on).
But after the end of the weekend we had it narrowed down to 3 locations. A rough-around-the-edges outdoor location, a generic but still lovely room at a golf course, and a gorgeous ballroom at another golf course. Though seriously tempted by the outdoor location (mason jar vases! gingham check! outdoor ceremony under an arbor!) I had to come to terms that August + outdoor ceremony/reception in Nebraska = a good chance of all our guests being reeeeeally uncomfortable, dare I say miserable. Plus, when my mom came up from Missouri to check out the top 3, she absolutely hated it. HAAAAAATED it. Which irritated me because I really liked it, but I have to admit it forced me to look at the potential problems as well as all the cool decor ideas I had. *sigh* Oh well. Practicality enters the scene and starts making itself heard. Darn it.
So. We were down to two. And when it came down to the generic but lovely, slightly more economical choice vs. the charming ambience of the slightly more expensive choice...Well. Though I was immediately drawn to the charming ambience of Hillcrest, I just couldn't be sure I was making the right decision. K's mom and my mom just refused to say which one they preferred. My mom--I don't think she had a preference. K's mom--I think she didn't want to step on our toes, so she was holding back. Frankly, I wanted someone else to give me their own strong opinion and debate the pros and cons with me instead of being so darn polite and deferring to my "wishes as the bride." Ok, even more frankly, I wanted my sister there to tell me what she thought so we could hash it out with no worry about potential hurt feelings. No one will tell me the truth quite like her. Which will be readily apparent in any and all dress-related posts. ^_^
So after wibbling over the choice for, um, 3 months or so, dragging K to see the choices as well and dragging Joyce to sneak in and see Hillcrest, (making my number of visits a whopping three for HiMark and
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