So, wow, Holy Crap.

This is supposed to be the happy engagement, we are getting married WOO HOO blog, so I will start with that first... On Sunday, I went to the Bridal Extravaganza with my mom and it was... overwhelming! I got tons of great info that I am still sorting through, though. Lots of pricing, tons of photographers, and lots of stuff to think about. Prior to the show, Andrew and I had already decided that we were going venue-touring on Friday. These are places that either we really, really like or are in our price range and not completely hideous: 10 am- Lindsay Lakes: We like this place mostly because we can afford it! It is in Cypress, which isn't too far from us. It has a lot of good outdoor places for taking pictures and the inside isn't bad either. I did hear that it's not too gorgeous when you drive up to it, but we will see. I can live with ugly on the outside if the price is right! 11:30 am- The Majestic Metro: This is the first place we both fell in love with! It is downtown and has a really cool vintage movie theatre sign on the outside. But, it doesn't have any catering/linen packages: your rental fee covers the venue, tables and chairs, a DJ, lighting, and that's it. I don't want to get married on the dance floor as the man suggested, so we would have to find a ceremony venue and rent a limo. I was hoping we could find one place to hold both the ceremony and reception. It's not practical, but as Andrew has pointed out, nothing about this wedding is, so we are going to take a look-see. 12:30 pm- Courtyard on St. James: Pretty and a great location. Food isn't too overpriced but we would probably rather bring in a caterer. Can't think of too many other things I loved about this place right off hand, but it IS pretty. We have a break in here that I am praying we can fill with an appointment to Paraiso Maravilla. This place literally made me gasp. In all of my searching on theknot, wedding wire, and Brides in Houston, I never saw this place. But, at the bridal show I asked a caterer to recommend a venue that allowed outside catering and she showed me pictures of this place. Apparently it was a guy's house and he turned it into... this. I am in love and so is he! Right now it's our favorite, but I can't get in touch with anyone for a tour. The only downside is the price- it is high, but we might remedy that by having a Friday night wedding. I am open to it for this place! I hope it's just as good in person! 4 pm - Fontenot Grand Mansion: Yup, the future Martinezes are venturing to Spring, land of my dad and step-mom. It is far, but it's pretty. Also more than I had hoped to spend, but if we love it then we will give it a shot. Who knew so many pretty places existed in Houston? We also want to check out House Plantation, Agave Road, and the Tuscany Villa sometime. They are all relatively close to us and the latter two are offering open houses in the near future, so we will make it out there soon. I am really excited for our day of planning so we can pick a venue, generate a budget, and then we can start picking colors! (As far as colors go, we are disagreeing. I basically have my heart set on a deep plum, but Andrew isn't feeling it. We did agree on a very dark burgundy last night though, and I would be okay with that as a compromise. But, it depends on the venue.) So, away from wedding stuff- today kind of sucked. I got "terminated." Suffice it to say it was bullshit, but I am better off without it. I knew I was unhappy and wanted to leave soon, but I really wanted to leave on my own terms. If you would really like to know details, I would be happy to share, but here is not the place. I do have more class than that :) I already put out several resumes and at least I will have some time to study for my teaching test and get it taken sooner rather than later. This is super long! Expect more updates after Friday, if not before. Thanks for pretending to care about my wedding planning insanity!