We picked a date/venue.... FINALLY!

[MagsyMay]

I''m so excited!! We''ve been engaged over 3 months, but due to an out-of-state move and other things, just got around to picking a date and venue!! We are getting married at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and I am soooo excited. I love the space, very modern and clean, which is very much our style.

Now for the date... September 11, 2010.

I remember the "would you get married on 9/11" poll/thread a while back" and it seems as most people were somewhat against getting married on that date. So a little bit of background. My FI is in the military and has been deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq for 1 year each in years since 9/11/01. The date and its events have had such a significant impact on his life, and by extension, my and "our" lives together. So while we don''t know anyone who was personally affected by the actual attacks on the towers in the sense that they lost someone or were there that day, the aftermath has had a very important role in my FIs life and our life together. We''ll have quite a few military people at the wedding and want to incorporate the patriotism element in a subtle way. We''ll probably bring it up in a toast and sort of explain our rationale for picking the date, just for anyone who might this it is odd!

It is also my parents'' anniversary and will be their 34th next year, so we liked it for that reason too. And, it is my late grandfather''s birthday as well. So those are two ancillary reasons it is important to us and we thought it might be nice to sort of "honor" them too.

I guess when it comes down to it, it is our wedding day and we chose the date for our own personal reasons, so hopefully people will not have a problem with it or think negatively about the date or our wedding!

Anyways, just wanted to share my excitement and now that this part is finally out of the way, I can get to planning some of the real details! Thanks for letting me share, and I guess now I can officially be added to the BIW list since I have a date, yay!

 

[Prana]

Congratulations to you! So exciting...now it''s time to plan!

I personally don''t think that it is weird to get married on that date. I wouldn''t worry too much about it. Plus, I think that you have several significant reasons for choosing the date, and it sounds like it is significant to you. Congrats again!

 

[stephbolt]

Congratulations on picking a date! I think it sounds like you''ve come up with a great way to deal with the potentially touchy subject of the Sept. 11 date. How cool that you''ll share an anniversary with your parents!

Now get to planning, girl, and enjoy it!!

 

[MagsyMay]

Thanks girlface and stephbolt! Apparently plenty of other brides in the area weren''t scared off by the 9/11 date, as it was already booked at quite a few venues we toured!

I''m excited, but slightly overwhelmed with what to start planning next! Eek!

 

[cleokizzy]

congratulations! IMHO, it''s about time to celebrate life and love on that day.

 

[miss_flo]

That''s so wonderful MagsyMay. Have you considered writing a short blurb about it on your wedding Web site? It might be a nice way to honor your DF''s service while explaining the date to guests who might be potentially touchy about it. It sounds like your wedding is going to be beautiful, congratulations on moving forward with planning.

 

[blackbetty]

Congrats! You''re so lucky. I couldn''t afford to get married in the city, espcially with the cost to all our out-of-towners *namely, the groom''s entire family). I have wedding envy!

 

[princessplease]

Congrats on picking a date and a venue!!!!!!

 

[MagsyMay]

News_girl: That''s a great idea about putting something on the wedding website about it. I guess that means I need to get around to working on that.... I started a while back when I signed up for theknot, but have since gotten sidetracked!!!

Blackbetty: Aww thanks, I''m sure your wedding will be fantastic regardless! Where in the suburbs are you having it? We were pretty torn on the decision. The cost-savings of doing it in some places in the ''burbs was pretty tempting, but we pictured getting married in the city where we''d both lived for the last 6 years, so decided to go for it. We both have very small families (and hardly any extended family to speak of) and not very many out-of-towners, so that helped too!

 

[blackbetty]

We''re doing the Hilton in Bloomingdale. It''s got a fireplace area for cocktails & an interesting octagon-shaped ballroom. It''ll be nice I''m sure, but I had bigger dreams than my budget (like the River East Art Center) and more people than I want (like 250). Have to compromise somewhere-- just not on the honeymoon! Good luck with your planning!

 

[MagsyMay]

Sounds very nice!! Oh I loved the River East Arts Center too!! They''re rental fee was just ridiculous though, I was so bummed! I agree though, save it for a fantastic honeymoon!

 

[gwendolyn]

That''s great that you have a date and venue! I don''t think it''s weird to have that date, but I think anytime a couple chooses a specific date, it''s interesting for loved ones to hear about why that date is important to them.

 

[MagsyMay]

Thanks Gwendolyn

I think given the date, we have to "explain" a tiny bit, so hopefully a little blurb on the website will do for now, and of course it''ll be brought up at the wedding. Just even thinking of what to write on the wedding website makes me so emotional so I hope our guests will appreciate how important the meaning is to us!

 

[Rock_of_Love]

Congrats! I think the date will be very meaningful for you both, so it fits!