wedding wednesday: a venue issue

As if searching for a venue wasn't hard enough, we have come across a bit of an obstacle. Actually two!

The first obstacle: The church we want to get married in has a lot of sentimental value to us. I was baptized there when I was a baby, I met my best friend Elizabeth through our religious education classes, I was a Youth Leader and Confirmation Leader, and Matthew was baptized there this past spring. And the most special thing of all..my parents were married there 25 years ago! So you can see the importance of having our ceremony at this church rather than any other one. However, the frustrating thing is that the church is undergoing a year long renovation starting in JUNE! So to get married in our church, as it is now, it would have to be in May at the latest {yikes so soon!}

The second obstacle: The venue that Matthew and I really love is 45 minutes north of LA. The site is absolutely gorgeous and has a really beautiful ceremony and reception area overlooking mountains and fields. It's really stunning! They also work with a caterer that doesn't have a lot of these superfluous fees that other ones charge. My mom, however, doesn't really think people are going to want to come to the church ceremony and then drive out to the reception site 45 minutes away.

My suggestion: Keep the church ceremony more intimate with just family and then go the reception site and do another ceremony {which is basically a blessing} with our own vows. That way people won't feel pressured to arrive the night before for the church ceremony. Both would still be really special.

Or do a simple ceremony at the church in May and then do the reception {with a little ceremony beforehand} in September/October like we were originally thinking. But would that be weird to already be married for 4 months?

Any thoughts or opinions? I haven't been to any weddings as an adult so I'm not sure how common or uncommon this is. Or if it's a really inconvenient idea. Also, if any of you know of any sites in Los Angeles that are pretty and affordable let me know :)

Next week: wedding inspiration/color scheme {& hopefully the finalization of a date and place!}

xox

P.S. Make sure to enter the giveaway for the Oufi bag! I'm picking the winner Friday!!

wedding wednesday: venues

woo hoo welcome to the first Wedding Wednesday !
{don't say I'm not original!}

So first things first Matthew and I haven't set an exact date but we're thinking about getting married a year from now- so next September or October. That's a lot of time but since I know many venues book a year in advance I figured that would be the first task to tackle. Let me just say that venues are crazy to charge as much as they do for a site fee! Just to use the property, places charge upwards of $12,000! Insane, right? Matthew and I are definitely looking for places 75% less than that which has been quite the challenge. Growing up in Los Angeles, and Matthew in San Diego, {both having spent significant time in Northern California}, we've decided on a California wedding. haha I know that doesn't really narrow it done though since this is quite a big state but at least it's something!

I am totally smitten with barn and ranch style venues so that has been our main focus right now. Here are some pictures of the gorgeous Santa Margarita Ranch, photographed by Cameron Ingalls, and featured on Green Wedding Shoes.

sigh I think it's so pretty! Unfortunately the site fee is still a little high for us. We've been looking for a place like this in the Los Angeles area but we don't really have land like this! Have any of you seen {or been} to some beautiful barn weddings or have a recommendation of where to look? Any California tips would be great!
xox