So Colleen and I have been engaged for a little over 2 months now, and the wedding planning is underway. Colleen has flooded the Tivo with shows about wedding cakes and wedding dresses. We've both spent countless hours online researching various wedding things...mainly reception venues.

The first place we checked out was the Lehmann Mansion in Lake Villa. We met with someone up there to get a tour. We just fell in love with the place. It's a restored 1920's mansion, it's got a lot of history to it. The cocktail hour would get use of the mansion and the outdoor patio. The only downside is that for dinner and dancing portion of the reception, we would have to use the adjoining tent since our wedding would be too large to have a sit down dinner in the mansion. The tent is not air conditioned (unless we rented one for $6,000!) The guy assured us that it stays pretty cool in there, even on a hot summer day, although I wasn't entirely convinced. Regardless, we still really liked it. We were almost positive we wanted to have our wedding there, but decided that we should at least try checking out some more places first.

Next we went to the Country Squire. This place was small potatoes after experiencing the grandness of the Lehmann Mansion. However, it was still a nice place, with a nice outdoor area. Another thing that was a huge plus was the new hotel that was just built next door. This would be super convenient for guests, who could just walk back to their rooms after the reception. I wasn't that crazy about the indoor decor, however. It felt kind of tacky, a lot of wallpaper and gold light fixtures. Also, the representative we talked to was the polar opposite of the laid back rep we talked to at the Lehmann Mansion. The Country Squire rep was more like a used car salesman. Grey slicked back hair, gold rings, and a fast talker. I didn't find him to be rude or anything, but he just kept it short and sweet. Trying to talk us into booking a wedding like it was a 1989 Oldsmobile.

Colleen and I were pretty determined that the Lehmann Mansion was it. We decided to set up a second meeting at the mansion, this time with Colleen's parents. We were scheduled to meet up with the catering lady at the mansion on a Thursday. She had another appointment at 5pm, but penciled us in at 6:30pm. Colleen's parents came down from Waukesha and we made it to the mansion by 6:30.

But there was a little problem...the front gate to the mansion grounds was locked. I attempted to call the catering lady's cell phone several times, but no answer. I left a message as well. We waited by the gate for 15 or 20 minutes until a Lake Villa cop rolled up. He asked if everything was all right. We told him that we had an appointment at the mansion, and were waiting to see if she would show up. The cop said he had a key to the gate and let us on the grounds. We drove up to the mansion and lounged on the patio area, waiting for the catering lady to show up, or at least call back. In the meantime, we went over the pricing paperwork which we acquired during our last visit.

It was now 7:20pm. We were all a little peeved by the whole situation. The catering lady FINALLY called me back. She profusely apologized for what happened. I guess her 5pm appointment cancelled, and she accidentally crossed off our name too. She did not hear us call because she was at home doing yard work. She said she would be there as soon as possible, which was about 20 or 30 minutes. The whole situation kinda sucked, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt….shit happens. So our 6:30 meeting didn’t actually start til about 8pm.

When the catering lady arrived, you can tell she was pretty flustered. She had her kid with her, since she had to rush over so quickly. But overall, the meeting went pretty well I thought. We took a tour of the place and then sat down to look at different food options. After our meeting convened, Colleen, her parents and I went out for a late dinner at the Boat House in Lake Villa.

Colleen and I were pretty convinced that the Lehmann Mansion was gonna be the place. But we had a feeling that Colleen’s parents still wanted us to look around at other options. We were so infatuated by the beauty of the mansion that we failed to see the many cons of having our wedding there.

Con #1: No A/C.. There was my original issue with the tent…it not being air conditioned. What if it’s the hottest, most humid day of the year on our wedding day? I wouldn’t want to chance an uncomfortable climate at the reception.

Con #2: Another issue with the tent is that…it’s a tent. We were paying all this money to rent out the whole mansion, but would only really get to enjoy it for an hour during cocktails. The mansion would be open throughout the night, but the main event would be in the tent, seeming to make the mansion under utilized. The tent wasn’t overly pleasing to the eye. It was all white with bland gray carpeting. Although the tent would probably look a little more jazzed up when decorated, it wasn’t anything compared to the old trim, hardwood floors and antique light fixtures in the mansion.

Con #3: It’s huge. The tent can fit up to 400 people. Our wedding will probably be less than half that. Our wedding would be swallowed by this tent. If you factor in all the rooms in the mansion and the outdoor patio, there is almost too much space for guests to roam. A smaller, more intimate venue might be a good option.

Con #4: Price. After adding up all the costs, the total was a little pricey. The food costs were pretty comparable to other caterers we looked at. But what really made the costs soar was the $2,000 for the mansion itself, and then $15.50/person for the tent rental. This made it about $5,000 just for the space.

Con #5: Staff miscommunication. I was willing to give the catering lady the benefit of the doubt about missing our appointment time. But as of writing this blog entry it’s been over 3 weeks since our meeting. She still has not contacted us with a final quote. If she’s not that good at communicating now, how is she going to be when it’s 3 days til our wedding and I need to finalize some details?

After realizing all these cons, we decided to take a look at another place: The Thunderhawk Lodge in Beach Park. Colleen’s mom came down on a Friday afternoon we met up with the catering girl to check the place out. In the center of the room is a large dance floor (twice as big as at the mansion) with a tall vaulted ceiling with cool wooden beams. The two areas for tables flank each side of the dance floor. One end of the dance floor has a stone fireplace and the other end has a wall which is all windowed. The windows look out onto the patio area which will include small tables (for cocktail hour). Beyond the patio is a patch of large trees, nicely landscaped grounds, and one of the holes of the golf course. We ended up liking this place a lot. Here are the pros of this place:

Pro #1: A/C. I like the fact that no matter what the weather is, we will be in a temperature controlled environment most of the night.

Pro #2: The look of the reception room. We really liked the vaulted ceiling and wood beams. Much more interesting than a white tent.

Pro #3: The size. This place is the perfect size to fit our wedding. We won’t be so spread out. I also really like that the patio area is connected to the room, so if people decide to hang outside during the reception, they can still see the whole dance floor through the large windows.

Pro #4: The price. The rental of the space is normally $1000, but was discounted to $750. A lot better than $5000, that’s for sure.

Pro #5: Custom menu. We really wanted to have manicotti as our reception meal. This was not on their normal menu, but they seemed very open to making it for us. The people at the Lehmann Mansion seemed slightly reluctant to do this for us.

Pro #6: Communication. Since first contacting her, Jessica, the catering girl, has been on top of things. She has always answered her phone when I called. She responded to my emails within 30 minutes. She even finished the quote within a few days of our meeting.

The Thunderhawk Lodge is the better choice for our wedding. We have it officially booked for August 28, 2010. Seems like a long time away. But I’m sure it will come quicker than expected.