Field Trip!!

So, remember that field trip to the venue I've been mentioning for a few weeks? It finally happened. I've learned that coordinating the schedules of even 3 people can be very complicated. Mike, the kids and I headed down to Sunken Gardens this afternoon to meet Janine, our florist. We were armed with a tape measure, paper, pen and three creative people's imaginations.

How did we entertain the kids? No need. Big empty room equals loads of fun. The camera is not out of focus, that's how fast he was running. They chased each other, crawled through the desert (aka carpet) to the oasis (aka dance floor), danced, hid behind the pillar and made multiple trips to the water fountain. They had a great time.

We measured, by which I mean Mike measured and I scribbled furiously in short hand on a legal pad. We got every dimension we might need for decor/table set-up and then counted and noted outlet placement. It was kind of like being in a bank heist movie.

Janine listened carefully to Mike's suggestions and gave us a few things to think about. For example, far cooler than aqua beads is barked wire! It's perfect for discreetly fastening willow branches to metal beams for example. Mike's wheels are turning about their camouflage abilities in combination with their ability to conduct electricity. My nerdy David Tutera. We refined some of our prior decor ideas and for the first time really talked about table placement. What a headache. Head table? Sweetheart table? Feasting table? Where will the buffet go? How much room between tables? And so on...

Speaking of tables, Janine says the caterer is charging too much to use their plain white linens and I could get cheaper prettier ones, no problem. Exciting, now that I've looked at the black chairs and imagined the stark white table cloth under our beautiful centerpieces. It would be different if they were included, but if you can get something prettier for less, why not? We may also be draping fabric around the room and using lights and flora to decorate them.

I think two things make Janine an amazing florist: 1)She really listens to us. 2)She likes a challenge. She even offered Mike some barked wire to experiment with. She's a real team player, I just love her so much. It was good to all be in the space together. At one point I noticed the light fixtures over the dance floor, which I hadn't remembered being there.
I really like them. Nice of them to have pretty lights over the dance floor. It doesn't make up for the gratuitous wood frames we have to hide without damaging their paint, jerks. I can't imagine what use these would have had, ever.
I'm also, a little unclear on what the heck these are although they are awesome and futuristic looking. Our guess was speakers.
And speaking of the sound system, the music was on when we got up there and it's a good system (or the room has good acoustics or both).

And I will now leave you with my favorite shot of the day. Mike (in tourist attire) using an app on his phone to see if our venue has wifi.