Brain merging meeting
I drove to Jon and Liz's place, where I was greeted and then offered scrumptious potato pancakes. I was quite satiated on arrival but the smell alone made me ravenous. So we ate and chatted and then gradually delved deeply into the details and lists of priorities to address regarding the wedding.
I had a spreadsheet listing the artists and the fees they requested for their contributions/art works. Added up it reached $37,900. Obviously this is quite impossible being that our entire budget at this point is $10,000 real dollars and $10,000 I will raise (positive thinking) to match their dollars. So, that was a biggie on the agenda. To resolve this I must ask each artist if they would consider lowering their fee considerably. I sent out those emails later in the day, which was painful since I want the artists to be happy with what they receive for their work.
I preface the following with an important note: the following made my mind very happy in one way, and in another way it overwhelmed me, but after a short time of involvement I was healed by an internal self-reminder that all three of us being so on top of things at the first meeting is a good sign - we can do this.
Jon had three immaculately thought-out typed pages.
The first one was split into three topics
1. A list of possible venues to approach for donation of their space, and other venues to research to see if any of them would be reasonably priced.
2. The criteria of details needed for a venue, such as the ability to house 150 prox guests, catering issues, alcohol issues, the curfew (we want to be able to stay and dance), parking, preference for both indoor outdoor spaces.
3. Suggestions and thoughts from one of their friends who had gone through this process, which were four extremely useful tips when thinking of a venue and what to ask, what you need etc.
The second one was a list of possible Saturdays starting with May, notated with holiday black-outs and dates of certain guests they knew couldn't attend, as well as a chart of temperatures for the months May-November 2011. There was also a list of full moon dates.
The third was an agenda of topics to definitively discuss, like budget, date considerations, flowers, food, what about Honeymoon, rings and the dress? How to fit that into the budget? My head was spinning. There was so much to figure out, but I was personally appeased and comforted by the extreme organization and thoughtful time spent to prepare for this talk. I am quite energized by charts and lists of things to do, and prioritization. I left feeling positive and raring to go. I spent the rest of the day and evening emailing and perusing ideas via google. The three of us are on the case.