On venues

Lists are my friends. I have made lists of lists. It's absurd.

So, 50s picnic wedding seems like the plan! Before we can set a date, though, we have to pick a venue. State parks were the obvious choice, but where to have it?

MA	RI
Parking fees	No parking fees
Only bathrooms usually rental, seasonal Port-o-johns	Either permanent port-o-johns or restroom buildings
Close by for MA folks, drive for RI folks	Close for RI folks, drive for MA folks
1 hr drive from Boston	15-minute drive from Providence
Large area spaces usually in forest, which is pretty but = bugs	Large-open air fields

So really, the parks in MA left a lot to be desired. At least, the ones not an hour-and-a-half drive for us. That brought us looking more into the RI parks, and there are two that I have always loved. Full of memories, beautiful places. Two very different aesthetics. AND ANOTHER LIST.

Beavertail	Colt State Park
Waterfront	Waterfront
Port-o-johns	Restroom buildings
Open fields - warmer?	Enclosed groves -shade?
Mini-aquarium	Fire pits!
Cliffside walks, abandoned military lookouts	A mini-chapel setup with benches and an altar
Good on-site parking	Good on-site parking

I had more things for the list, but I can't remember them right now.

I mean, both are absolutely beautiful. Breathtaking, even. It's Rhode Island, Most Picturesque Nostalgia State, for crying out loud. And huge, and near tons of chintzy little town things that you always find on the harbor. Either one is a good choice, just... tough.

elenuial and I will be making a day to go check them out, but if anyone has any comments/things I forgot to list, feel free to pipe up.

EDIT: I totally forgot the major drawback to having it in a park. 99% (if not all) state parks in MA and RI don't allow alcohol. =/

One of those lightbulb moments.

So, I was browsing through all of those wedding website makers, like from brides.com and theknot.com, and finding all of their design work blah and bland and very limited in how you can customize it. I was feeling frustrated and upset...

...until I realized that I can make one myself. I have webspace, domain names are like $10/year, and although rusty, my command of CSS is highly useful.

Starting from scratch it is.

Greg and Victoria's wedding!

Just a few of my favorites. The bride and groom will be picking theirs out when they get back from the mire that is Pennsic. =)

( More under the cut! )

I really love some of these, and I can't wait to see which ones they pick out.