Biggest surprise of the wedding process so far: comparing prices on both sides of the Atlantic. For the amount of money we're spending to rent out Brighton's most iconic building and a gorgeous seafront restaurant with a highly-rated chef and ceiling to floor windows looking over the beach, we could hardly get a hole in the wall in Philadelphia.
Let's take two steps back:
French family voted for July, so we had our general time frame. Step 2: the venue. This is when I discovered just how the American wedding industry has jacked up prices. No matter how we searched, how flexible we were— no ceremony, no dancing, take the brunch option, go for Sunday— we could not find a place in Philadelphia for under $100 a head on a weekend. We got stuck abandoning the one thing that we really wanted: a convenient location for out-of-town guests. But I guess something had to go wrong in all this wedding planning.
Finally, we settled on a Sunday brunch at Bella Tori at the Mansion in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
It's a lovely venue located a half hour's drive from Philly and an hour from Newark Airport. The date: July 9. Let the countdown #2 begin.
Let's take two steps back:
- As you know, we're throwing this wedding together with rather short notice. Sadly, this means that only a few family members will be able to cross the Atlantic for the Big Day. Not a single childhood friend, no cousins, no grandparents, zilch. (Every cloud has a silver lining: we're able to invite many new, fun, vibrant UK- and EU-based friends to Brighton who might not have made the final cut if we'd been forced to put a full guest list to a chopping block.)
- There's no way we're getting away without celebrating with my American family.
French family voted for July, so we had our general time frame. Step 2: the venue. This is when I discovered just how the American wedding industry has jacked up prices. No matter how we searched, how flexible we were— no ceremony, no dancing, take the brunch option, go for Sunday— we could not find a place in Philadelphia for under $100 a head on a weekend. We got stuck abandoning the one thing that we really wanted: a convenient location for out-of-town guests. But I guess something had to go wrong in all this wedding planning.
Finally, we settled on a Sunday brunch at Bella Tori at the Mansion in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
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| Bella Tori at the Mansion, where we'll be hosting our US reception |
It's a lovely venue located a half hour's drive from Philly and an hour from Newark Airport. The date: July 9. Let the countdown #2 begin.
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