On the hunt..

So I'm back from my quick (5 day) jaunt up to Geraldton. Ziph wasn't able to make it in the end, so the Mama Bear and I took the kids on our own.

I got to spend two days with Matron-of-Honour Mrs McD, going through my ideas file, looking at things I'd found on the internet and sharing all the background work she'd been doing finding local recommendations for photographers/hairdressers/florists/reception venues etc and then on the second day I took her to see St George's, where the ceremony is being held and we hunted around for reception venues and got pricing/requested quotes. Mrs McD certainly proved herself to be invaluable and an excellent choice of bridesmaid!

Because our wedding guest list is so small, we ended up ruling out a couple of the 'popular' reception venues because they were too big - more suited to ~100+ guests, not 40-60.. nobody wants to feel like they're sitting in a drafty barn!

So the two suitable options are Tides of Geraldton (restaurant) and Casa Blanca Function Centre. Casa Blanca requires a separate caterer, and the venue hire fee is quite high (although it does include some decoration) so it might not be cost effective given our small budget (especially once you add on the extra cost of the caterer).. Tides tends to tick all the boxes (including having a killer 180 degree view of the ocean/harbour etc), but possibly has a minimum of 60 guests. The prospectus *does* have a set menu option with a minimum of 30 guests, but when I spoke to them they didn't "suggest" that it might be a better option if I only have 40 people!

I *did* get some great (easy, effective) decorating ideas from looking through Casa Blanca's photo book though.. simple things like coloured napkins in the wine glasses to add a significant splash of colour to the room!