Why planning a wedding sucks:

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   It's when you start crunching the actual numbers that you realize no matter where you get married, no matter which reception venue you choose, they all cost the same. 

I'm serious.

Don't believe me?

Erin and I looked at 3 sites this past weekend. We started with Wintergreen Resort in Nellysford, VA. Then went over to Hot Springs, VA to check out The Homestead and finally dropped down to Lexington, VA to check out the House Mountain Inn.

Now, the Wintergreen package is around 80/person and includes a 4-hour bar and wine-service package. Their ball-room rental is $3,000 for the event and there is a small ceremony site fee. Gratuity is 19% and the local and state taxes come out to about 9% when all is said and done. The total on food and bev ALONE is $15360.00 when all is said and done, add in the $3270 for the reception ballroom rental and you wind up with $18630.00 as the total. That doesn't even include the ceremony, flowers, decorations, transportation, rooms, tuxedo, wedding dress, rings, etc etc etc.

For The Homestead, the least-expensive food package starts at $80/person for a 4 course meal, Including hors d'ouevres it comes out to about $89/person and that excludes bar and wine service. However, the ballroom rental fee is waived due to my awesomeness (I know people) and the Crystal Ballroom at The Homestead is a sight to behold. We're talking Rockefeller quality if you catch my drift. At 150 people, we're talking $13350.00 baseline for food (no bev) including tax and gratuity, we're talking $16020.00 (it's a lower tax and grat rate there) add in the bar and the costs go up about another 2-3G's. Putting the whole shebang right about the same level as Wintergreen. Now, if you've never been to The Homestead, click this link and stare in awe. Place was built in 1766. Washington and Jefferson stayed there for christ's sake.

So, after hashing out all of that, Erin and I had our fingers crossed and hoped for the best with the final site, House Mountain Inn. It's a modern-rustic inn with 9 guest rooms, a cabin, and a really rustic and intimate feel. They can do up to 150 guests for a seated dinner and their menu looks nice. However, they only serve alcohol on a per-consumption basis and that gets expensive. We'd also have to rent out the entire inn ($4400) over a two-night period to be allowed that many people. In addition, they charge a $9/person room rental fee for their "ballroom" on top of their food and beverage fees which means that you are, again, renting out the space for around $1350. Their per-person food cost and bar estimate comes out to $65/person and their tax and gratuity are figured in at the higher level again. That means we'd be paying $15500.00 just for the site and the food and bev. Add in taxes/grat and you hit $19840.00 which includes lodging for the wedding party and breakfast each day.

Basically, any way you slice it, it's gonna be uber expensive no matter where we go. Everyone has fees that creep up on you. The easiest to calculate was the Homestead. They spell it out plain and simple (I guess they've had 242 years to hash it all out though). Regardless, it's just frustrating and depressing. I need a drink.....