Shawnee Inn = Love.

I'm due for an update, according to Sean (yes, he checks this religiously, which is cute.) Ok, so a few things have happened. We fell in love with the second venue we visited. The first was too country & too small for us. Plus the lady who showed us around was brisk and unfriendly- she didn't have excitement about her venue, so how were we supposed to?! Our second visit was well worth it. We visited the Shawee Inn & Golf Resort in the Poconos (http://www.shawneeinn.com/banquets.aspx) last weekend. It had been my favorite from the websites, but I wasn't expecting to love it the way that I did upon seeing it. The building stretched out for miles and had a rustic and old-fashioned look to it from the outside. We walked into a gorgeous, fancy lobby with a fireplace and a really nice bar area. Our coordinator, whose name is Simone, came to greet us and I loved her right away. Such a sweet, pretty, and energetic girl. She made me excited about Shawnee, and had us laughing the whole time. When we were in her office, she had a million thank-you cards covering her walls, so I knew right away that we would be lucky to have her coordinating our wedding.

She showed us the main ballroom, which we loved but unfortunately won't be able to book because of the minimum amount of guests they require. She showed us our options for ceremony and reception sites. There are basically endless options, since the premises are so vast. We could have our ceremony outside, or our reception outside, or both outside, or both inside, on any part of land we want basically. I decided on an indoors ceremony and reception. I prefer indoors because of possible inclement weather, plus I feel it's easier to hear when indoors and you don't have to worry about heat & things like that. So I am choosing the Waring Room for the ceremony, and the Delaware Room for the reception. The Delaware Room has a big dance floor and glass doors that show the Delaware River and the beautiful scenery outside. There is also an outside area with a little bistro that would be great for people that want to step out during the reception. Here is other information about the Shawnee:
1. They can do rehearsal dinners either in their restaurants or as an outdoor bbq/campfire right next to the river.
2. They have a full-service spa and salon which can do mine and my wedding party's hair, nails, massages, everything the day of the wedding.
3. They will be giving us about 2 bottles of complimentary champagne during the wedding day haha.
4. A custom wedding cake is included in the package price that we choose. And I mean CUSTOM. This women's cakes are incredible and I get to pick anything I want, check out her website: http://www.procakeart.com/Weddings.html
5. Our honeymoon suite is also included in the price, as well as a bridal suite for me and my wedding party to get ready in the day of.
6. They will be giving us 20 rooms at a "discounted" rate for out-of-town guests. Their rooms ARE small and expensive however, so I also have a list compiled of cute bed & breakfasts nearby for anyone who would like to go elsewhere.
7. Their food choices can easily accomodate the Italian theme we chose. We will be most likely choosing the Waring Plated Dinner, which is listed on the Shawnee's website. Simone said the chef could customize our menu with us, which we will most likely be doing.
8. Bevarage packages are definately expensive and we may not have it in our budget for an open bar (sorry guys.) But we ARE trying to at least do 2 hours open bar, and then after that maybe a cash bar.
9. For anyone who's interested in turning this into a get-away weekend in the Poconos, there are SO many things to do both at Shawnee and neighboring locations. Feel free to contact me for more info on that. We are planning on staying at Shawnee both Friday and Saturday nights, since Friday night will be the rehearsal anyway.

So, my girls and I are planning a Saturday in February for dress shopping. I am in love with Maggie Sottero's dresses, so I am calling around to see who carries her line. I'm also hoping to find beautiful bridesmaid dresses that my girls will love- black with some type of pink accent, and whichever style of dress they would like. Have been looking into photographers, DJs, florists, etc. and Simone provided us with a helpful list of their preferred vendors. I have my side of the guest list just about completed, and Sean has his, but we are still tweaking it here and there because ideally, we want a maximum of 85 guests (which is not easy because I have 60 guests just on my end that I'd like to invite- I have a huge family on the Daubenspeck side).We have about 15 more months though, so I'm not gonna go too crazy too soon. It's all very fun, but I know once it gets closer, it may be more of a chore and a stressor than fun & games. Either way though, we are blessed to have families that are helping us out with the bulk of the costs, and wonderful people in our lives who are offering ideas & suggestions left and right. We appreciate everything so much & love you all. Til next time...