All Over Albany

A venue for a bridal shower that says "Albany"

Maureen emails:

I'm helping to plan a bridal shower for this August for about 40 people, and we'd like to find a venue that has both indoor and outdoor space. Preferable some place that provides food, but willing to consider all options. And since most of the guests will be from out of town, it would be great to find a place that feels "Albany." (But anywhere in the Capital Region works!)

There are a lot of places that host events like this, but the desire to find a place that's unique to this area or representative somehow is a fun twist.

So, got suggestions for Maureen? Please share! And as always, a sentence or two about why you're recommending the place is much appreciated.

Planning a Capital Region wedding: recap!

Congrats to Lauren and George!

Over the last few months Lauren has been sharing her wedding planning process here at AOA. Well, guess what: She now's married and back from her honeymoon!

We got together with her this week to see how all that wedding planning worked out...

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Planning a Capital Region wedding: eloping

Sita and Nick

Lauren and George are planning a wedding in the Capital Region, and they're chronicling the planning process here on AOA. But this time, Lauren's talking with a couple about going a different direction...

When planning a wedding, not everyone decides to do a big bash in a ballroom with all of their family and friends. Some couples forgo a traditional wedding and opt to elope instead.

Local couple Nick and Sita chose to "sorta-elope" to Lake Placid -- and say they couldn't be happier with their decision.

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Planning a Capital Region wedding: photographers

"All of her pictures captured our quirky personalities, and we still looked good!"

Lauren and George are planning a wedding in the Capital Region, and they're chronicling the planning process here on AOA. Last time we heard from them Lauren was picking out a dress. Next up: the photographer.

When my fiancé George and I first started planning our wedding, we made a list of the few things that were most important to us. Two of the items were things we could take on ourselves: having a wedding that involved our family and friends, and being true to our fun personalities.

The other priority: to have a quality photographer who takes amazing photos. It wasn't an easy task to find someone we loved while sticking to our budget, but we eventually did it.

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Planning a Capital Region wedding: the dress

All three were candidates...

Lauren and George are planning a wedding in the Capital Region, and they're chronicling the planning process here on AOA. Last time we heard from them they were checking out catering. Next up: a wedding dress.

I never imagined that wedding dress shopping would be such a long and difficult process. All those wedding shows make it seem magical -- with infinite budgets, tears of joy, and champagne.

My dress process, on the other hand, is a lesson in frustration.

In the beginning I was so excited. I had scanned Pinterest incessantly and decided I was looking for a light, romantic dress with some sort of strap, and without a train. My budget was $700. I could do this.

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Planning a Capital Region wedding: catering

Considering a range of options... including food trucks.

Lauren & George are planning a wedding in the Capital Region, and they're chronicling the planning process here on AOA. Last time we heard from them they were checking out venues. Now they're trying to select a local caterer.

It is now less than six months until my wedding and I'm freaking out a little bit. My fiancé George and I wanted to have a fun and casual wedding, so we didn't rush planning and have been slow to make decisions. Now that a master list of over 50 wedding to-dos has been constructed and time is ticking, I'm quite anxious. Luckily we've already decided on one of the most important parts: the food!

Food is crucial to a wedding. Not only is a delicious meal one of the best ways to thank your guests for attending, the food and beverage is typically the biggest wedding expense. For those of you who tuned in last month, you know that my fiancé and I have booked our wedding venue: Indian Ladder Farms. We are lucky that our venue does not require certain vendors, but it also means that we have to do a lot of searching ourselves. After we secured Indian Ladder, I went on a mad search for caterers.

How much does it cost to feed a wedding of 75 people, anyway? The answer: It depends.

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Planning a Capital Region wedding: the venue

The proposal was a bit of a surprise to me.

We'd been together about a year and a half, but it came at the end of a completely terrible week last August. A car accident and subsequent surgery had forced my boyfriend and I to cancel our vacation, so we made the best of our free weekend by going to brunch in Saratoga. At the end of the meal George casually asked if I "wanted to be together forever." I responded with sass. "Sure," I said "I'm just waiting for you to ask me."

George was completely prepared! As he got down on one knee, I was in complete shock. I kept asking "Are you for real?" and "Are you sure?" No one ever said I was smooth.

I'm Lauren, by the way, an energetic non-profit marketer by day, and a crafter/DIY-er and author of The Thrifty Ginger by night. My fiancé, George, is a freelance computer programmer and all-around nice guy. Over the next few months I'm going to share my adventures in Albany-area wedding land here on AOA.

First up: Picking the venue...

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