I Really, REALLY Heart Craigslist!

Worn out and frustrated with our search for a rehearsal site venue had me grasping at straws. I had the Baguette Box idea but FIL Joeys we're jumping up and down crazy about it. They really liked it but they worried that not having a place for everyone to sit would be a problem. Hmm…I see their point. I was just about to give up for then night when I thought, "maybe Craigslist? What could it hurt?" So I wrote a small ad:

We're looking for someone to cater and host (in their space) our rehearsal dinner on xx around 6pm. We'd like to spend $25 per person for food not including tax or tip. We have 35 people in our party. We'd love to bring our own booze but are open to purchasing it from you. Interested parties, please email us the location of your space, link to pictures (if possible) and a sample menu.

I didn’t expect much from the ad but it was worth a shot. I had been lucky with my invitation printer, photographer and hair/make-up artist. Why not role the dice again?

I got the usual weirdoes. My favorite was someone named the Captain who said for $24 extra, he'd throw in the parrot and "rev" could marry us that night. Yeah, I'm thinking I'll pass. 10 offers later and no luck until I got an email from Lynn at Lake Street Catering. She said they could work within our budget and that she had access to beautiful house we could use for free in Bellevue (across the lake from Seattle). I ignored the note at first. I had hoped to have the dinner in Seattle but then thought if the house was on the way to the chapel (which is on the same side of Lake Washington), then it wouldn't be so bad. I emailed Lynn and asked for the house address and MapQuest said it was right off the freeway; just after the 520 bridge and on the lake. Interesting…

I pitched the idea to Mr. Joey. The food sounded good, she had some good references (the mayor of Kirkland likes her), the house was on the way and the price was right. His thoughts? Get pictures of that house!

I asked for pictures and it's lovely. It's right on the lake with it's own dock. It has pool. Who has a pool in the Seattle area? And the patio around the pool looked like a nice place to have dinner. I asked Lynn if that was possible and she said they could bring in tables and chairs and set it up. They even had tents and all this was included in the price. I was sold! I forwarded the pictures on to my FILs and asked for their blessing to start talking tasting and menu with Lynn. They said it sounded like a wonderful option. Woot! Woot! And I'll add a Heck Yeah! And I forgot to say, we can bring our own wine!

Lynn is getting the final OK from her friend who owns the house but is 99% sure it's fine. The owner is spending the spring in New Zealand but is vacationing in France right now (must be nice). Lynn said that she has other venues we could use and we'd still stay on budget. We're 99% sure we're going with her and Lake Street Catering. We're going to do a tasting, check out the house, and get a final owner from the house's owner by the end of next week. We have some options on the back, back, back burner if this doesn't work out but I have a good feeling about this and Lynn, so I'll be happy when we can turn those burners off. I really, really want this to work!

I have to say, this has been the most stressful part of the planning thus far. Who knew? What item on your list were you the most relieved to be done with?