Planning is HARD yo!

As much as I told myself that I wouldn't lose myself in wedding planning, I have! Part of the problem is that we (or should I say I) want to get married in March next year. Normally, this would be no big deal - you have 14 months and it is in the off season. But nooooo, in Miami, it is high season. See, February and March are the cooler months and have the least probability of rain. The other brides caught on to that - damn! Anyway, all the cool, not crazy expensive places are starting to get booked. So I need to get on it and find a place asap.

I have 8 days to find a venue. While I am in crazy ass MIA, I decided that I might as well interview photographers, caterers, and cake bakers since I won't be able to come back until June. So in the meantime, I am doing the legwork to find good affordable vendors, getting preliminary proposals, and scheduling meetings. Yikes!

Places up for consideration:
The Deering Estate- a gorgeous historical park that was the home of one of Miami's early prominent businessmen. It is located on the Palmetto Bay and has beautiful tropical hardwood hammocks. The place couldn't be more perfect, except that we could only afford to invite 75 people. Beyond that and the price jumps up 3 fold.


The Ancient Spanish Monastery - A true Spanish Monastery built in Segovia in the 1100's, it was brought to Miami brick by brick and rebuilt. William Randolf Hearst commissioned it in the 1920's. It is beautiful and has lovely gardens and is a little out of our price range.

Cauley Square- A funky collective of historic homes, now serving as a artisan village, surrounds a tropical hardwood hammock. It is a bit of a drive and maybe a tad too rustic.

The Miami Beach Botanical Garden - What can I say it is a garden that we can afford (Fairchild is sooo out of our budget). It isn't as lush as I would like and the reception room is pretty bland. But its location is great for our out of town guests - they will be happy to stay on the beach.

Jungle Island - A pretty new location that was the old Miami tourist attraction Parrot Jungle. It is now located on its very own island on the way to South Beach. This place is all inclusive, and does the catering for you. It is all new and shiny pretty and very Miami-ish, but is a theme park at the end of the day. They have a damn LIGER - yep as well as crocs, monkeys, and their ubiquitous parrots. It is shockingly in our budget, but the Fiance isn't up for the theme park business.

So I am headed to Miami soon enough and will check out all these places. Hopefully the one I decide on will be free for the dates we are interested in.