Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Search for the perfect venue! Kitchen Chicago

So far Joe and I have visited 3 venues.

I'm just going to talk about one today. That one is Kitchen Chicago.

I stumbled upon another bloggers blog. That Chicago blogger is BudgetBridesChicago.
She had found Kitchen Chicago and I knew that I had to check it out. I made an appointment to view the space with my fiance. Pictures can describe what I saw better then I can with words... so below are several pictures I took with my trusty iphone! 

The space has two floors. This is the view from the balcony/2nd floor.

This is where we were thinking of having a dance floor. 
HAHA that's Joe talking to the owner. 
I really liked the windows. I think some color lighting can set the mood.

First floor. (Those tables are available for use)

I loved the high ceilings!

The stairway can make a great platform for a speaker? Maybe?
Good photo op? I think so!

Taken with my iphone 4 fisheye lens.

Joe is eating the city. This window is in the hallway outside of the space where the bathrooms are.

This door looks way cooler in person. 
Good photo op #2? I think so again!

Me down by the elevators.

Fire escape also makes for a great photo. I am thinking the photographer can stand from the p.o.v that I took the picture from and Joe and I can hang out on the stairs.  

Around the corner. Another photo op. I am thinking grunge (real chicago) meets chic.

Joe and I are hoping we can have access to the roof. haha.


So as you can see there are plenty of great photo opportunities. Joe and I also really like the idea that we can put a lot of input into what goes on in the space. We can decorate it however we want. There are no restrictions on the space, and we can use whatever caterers/vendors we want. This is a really big perk. A lot of lofty type spaces have certain restrictions and you have to pick from their cater list which means food will be pricey. 

Ideas for the space? 

Food = Joe and I 100% if we pick Gino's East.
  • Cheese sticks (my fav)
  • Hot Wings (Joe's fav)
  • Pizza - Stuffed crust of coarse (my fav which is also very Chicago)
  • Fettucini Alfredo (Joe's fav)
Decor 
  • Black and white
  • Table seating - Instead of table numbers there will be pictures taken by myself on each table from different places in Chicago. Please be seated at the blue line please. HAHA! 
  • In the hallway (where that cool door/window is) we are thinking about having chairs and pictures on the wall to represent the way he purposed to me! haha
There is also another room not pictured. There is another bathroom in that extra space. There is a blue coach. We are thinking that we could put a photo-booth in that spot. It may be a DIY photo-booth with a digital camera on a tripod, props?, and a backdrop. 

Those are all the ideas I have for now. I am uber excited to see all these ideas and plans to fall into place.

I don't know if this is the place Joe and I will pick, but I do like how it inspired Joe and I to get creative...
the best part? The space is only $2000! Yeah, you heard me correctly. 

'Till the next blog, 
Melissa




First post! What's on my mind?!

Weddings are on my mind!

Hooray to the first post!

Getting engaged was the best moment of my life. It was amazing. Joe is everything I could ask for and more.




           The ring is absolutely gorgeous.

Planning a wedding? Well, that is the hard part. It's been fun so far, don't get me wrong, but it has opened my eyes to the wedding business. They weren't joking around when they say the average bride pays well over $20,000. My budget is to stay under that. Way under that. Is it possible? I sure hope so!

The most expensive part/ most time consuming (in my opinion) part of planning a wedding is the venue. I am a bride in Chicago and it sounds easy right? Big city lots of beautiful places, but those beautiful places also come with a hefty price tag. I've seen some venues charge over $150 a plate per person! If you multiply $150x130people that is almost 20g in itself!

My goal is have a wedding that screams Joe and Melissa. I want to have fun.
I do have a few things I do not want. As a graphic design student I want to create my own invitations. I do not want them to look anything like a wedding invitation. I do not want chair covers. Why not just have pretty chairs? Why decorate them with hideous chair covers? Finally, I do not want my wedding to look/be in a banquet hall.

This is going to be a challenge, but I am so excited to plan my wedding with Joe right by my side.