Damascus Vacation Rental

Delaware river waterfront timberframe on a private mile of of shore on 144 acres: 3000 sq ft, 4 BR + loft BR, 2.5 baths, waterfront, balconies, 144 acres of land. To see more about the property, search property id #225243 on homeaway.com.











This place actually says that it's perfect for weddings, so we were thinking this may be a good place to hold the wedding and the reception. The challenge right now is trying to figure out if there are hotels and things to do in the area. Will keep posting as I figure things out...

Masthope Vacation Rental

Masthope Vacation Estate: 6 bedrooms (sleeps 16), 4.5 baths, 4 foot Japanese steak house griddle in kitchen, 8 person hot tub, 2 theaters, game room, large covered deck

• To see more about the house/more pics, go to homeaway.com, then click the tab that says "find a property", then enter the property ID# in the "start a new search" box in the top right hand corner. The property ID is: 173182



• To see a 360 degree tour of the house, click here

Here are some pics:

Lake Naomi Rental

The Steggles House at Lake Naomi: sleeps 14-15, 4 BR, 4 baths, jacuzzi

• To see more about this property, go to the Steggles page

Here are some pics:

Wedding Planners & Houses

Well, I heard back from 2 of the 3 wedding planners that I emailed. It looks like it might be easiest for us to just go out there and meet them face-to-face for a free consult one of these weekends. That way, we could set up some times to see some of the houses we like too. I am getting a little nervous about the houses though because some of them are already booked the week before the one we want... I don't want to fall in love with a house and have it be booked by the time we get out there to see it. Anyway, here are a few of the houses that we really like:

Okay, nevermind. I decided to post the houses individually because the images were being weird when I tried to put them all in one post. Look above for the houses!

Wedding Planners

I've emailed several wedding planners and have heard back from a few. I was asking for price ranges on the packages they offered, and some of their responses were more vague than others. Here's the information I've gathered so far:

• ACS Event Planning - I actually did not email this company because they had their rates listed on their website. The "wedding grand package" starts at $500, the "deluxe package" starts at $1,000, and the "luxury package" starts at $1,500.
  


• Bella Wedding & Event Coordinators - I liked this email response the most. Very thorough, with actual pricing and descriptions. Here is some info I clipped from the response email:
• The "Day of" package = $300. This consists of you doing all of the planning (you can consult with us at any time) and we provide services for the weekend of the wedding. We make sure that every vendor is doing what you contracted with them as well as setting up anything that has to be done. We also handle all of the "fires" that happen and quickly put them out. You and your family just have to get married and have fun. We do all the work.
• The "Guided Planning" package = $450. This is where you work with us throughout the entire planning process. We can accompany you to meetings if needed, as well as helping with any vendor related issues. We also provide the same services as the "day of" package. This is great for the bride that is busy but still wants to be involved.
• The "Complete" package = $1,200. You have final say on everything but you don't have to do as much work. This is for the bride that just does not have time to plan the wedding due to family, career, etc.
• Customized packages are also offered to meet your needs and budget. I emailed her back today, so maybe I'll get some more information about what package would be best for me.
  

• Danly's Enterprises - didn't provide any pricing info. I sent her another email today with what I'm looking for, and will most more when I hear back from her.


• Weddings by Design - price range is $400 - 2,000.
  


• Wedding Daze - didn't list specifics about pricing in the response email. I emailed her again today with a better description of what I'm looking for, so hopefully that will help and she can give me some more info.
  

Photographers

Some local photographers that I like:

• Carol McDonald Photography
• Le Conteur Photography
• Susie Forrester Photography
• Shane East
• Cardoni White Photography
• David W. Coulter

Ceremony Sites

Turns out that Mountain Springs Lake Resort won't let you have your ceremony there unless you also have the reception there. The Stroudsmoor has a similar policy, although is a little more flexible... they offer ceremony-only packages if you are getting married in January-March, or Monday-Thursday year round. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like either one of these places will be an option for us.... So, my new plan is to start contacting wedding planners out there and see if any might be able to recommend a good place that would allow a ceremony without requiring the reception be held there too. I emailed a few on Friday, but they haven't all gotten back to me yet. I was really just trying to get and idea about their services/rates, so I'll post more about this when I get some more info.

Wedding Colors

Right now we're thinking a raspberry pink/dark gray. I've had a hard time finding the exact color of pink, but these flowers are pretty close.... I also think these flowers would be pretty for decoration. As for the gray, I've searched all over and haven't been able to find a good example. Will post a picture as soon as I can find one!

Wedding Date

It looks like the wedding date is set (although not officially) to be Friday, August 20, 2010. We're looking at different places in the Poconos, but haven't narrowed down our location yet. For more about our wedding, you can visit our wedding website.

Engaged!

~October 8, 2009~