When I first began putting entries into this blog, I had no idea how long I was actually going to stick with it. I've set up multiple blogs in the past, and none of them ever got beyond an opening introductory statement of who I was and what I was going to write about, although I never actually got to the point of doing that extra writing. I knew that there was a better chance than before that I actually would write, seeing as wedding planning is a difficult thing and requires a lot of thought and analysis, but I never imagined I would have over 25 posts in under two months of writing.
The main purpose of this blog, initially, was to collect my thoughts as we go through the wedding planning process and also to share my experiences planning the wedding with Katelyn since she has no family out here in Maine and I don't have family right on-hand in Blue Hill. Along the way, the blog began to grow out into reporting on the venues we went to and providing that information in one place for people who might currently be trying to plan a wedding of their own in Maine or who may one day need a source of information about where they might go for their own future ceremony and reception.
One thing that I would like to emphasize, in case it wasn't entirely clear before, is that this blog is entirely a representation of my opinion and my thoughts when I post these blog entries. I am not trying to report the cold, hard facts of a venue (which is why I provide a link to the venue's own official websites in each post) but merely to give a sense of my reaction to the places we've visited.
One thing to remember is that the venue search Katelyn and I undertook brought us as close to Blue Hill as Deer Isle and as far away as York, Maine, straddling the border between Maine and New Hampshire. If you look at our wedding venue map on Google, you'll get a sense of the mileage we have logged in searching for our perfect wedding venue. We wouldn't have given up all of these Saturdays and Sundays and all of the gas money and all of the convenience store calories to just go anywhere. Every place that we have visited provided a strong online presence and was deemed worth visiting, so I think a person visiting this blog should keep that in mind to view these entries as my personal opinion, which may not be the same as their own.
If you own a venue that Katelyn and I have visited and want to weigh in on my writing or provide your company line for the benefit of my visitors, I encourage you to do so because comments are open for this blog. One of the co-owners of a venue we did visit, Maple Hill Farm Bed & Breakfast (link goes to blog post), commented on that blog entry requesting a fact check because it was my opinion that we could not accomodate our group on their front lawn for a ceremony when they've done ceremonies up to 250 people, for example; I am more than happy to edit a blog entry to reflect this sort of information if a venue owner requests that I do so.
From a legal standpoint, I just want to point out (in advance of potentially serious complaints) that I am within my rights as a writer through the defense of "statements made in a good faith and reasonable belief that they were true", "opinion" and "fair comment and criticism". Since this blog is based on my personal opinion of various aspects of our wedding planning, none of it is intended as a statement of absolute truth and there has been no intent of malice through my writing.
At the end of the day, this is a blog that does not have a very large readership and I am not compensated (and have not been compensated) for the traveling I have done and the time spent at venues taking pictures and the time spent on the computer at home writing up these entries. No venue has visited the site and requested that I come to visit them to do a write-up, and why would they? I'm just another groom-to-be trying to keep the next year before my wedding as sane and stress-free as possible.
For me, this is as much a part of the wedding planning process as picking flowers or renting chairs, and in many ways it is more fun than either of those things because it allows me to sit down and do the thing I spent six years in college for--write. If you enjoy reading it, please feel free to leave comments on the entries made so far and feel free to take advantage of the information I've provided for use in your own wedding planning. Just remember that there is no substitute for visiting a venue in person yourself, so if you're serious about venue hunting, you'll want to get some quarters for the I-95 tolls, a map or navigator to find your way, and be ready to make frequent stops at convenience stores for energy drinks when you think you might not be able to take it anymore.
Sincerely,
Brian J. Parker
Groom-to-be
http://thegroomstake.blogspot.com/
Monday, October 12, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Thank you so much for this blog! My fiance and I have been doing a crazy amount of internet research for all-inclusive sites in Northern New Hampshire and southern Maine in the $7,000 to $10,000 range and have a ton of out of town guests coming in.
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, your blog was very relevant to me! I actually had most of the places in your blog on my potential list and was able to take a few off based on your reports/pictures, so thank you very much for helping us not have to travel around as much searching.