Aisle Say: Venue Hunting on a Budget

I saw this photo and knew I had found our venue. Photograph by Lisa Rigby Photography.

By Erika Lynde

Thank heavens the hunt is over! My eyes are dry from months spent staring at a computer screen. Being wide awake most nights and writing emails at 3 a.m. is just insanity. As I said before, I was never a ‘dream about your wedding’ kind of girl. So when I started planning the wedding, there were infinite possibilities; okay, maybe not infinite, but I was wide open. There were only a few things I did imagine: a gorgeous dress, delicious food and lots of friends and family at the most romantic place within driving distance. Whether breezy outdoors or cozy by the fire, romance foremost describes my ‘dream wedding’ atmosphere.

I started with the Knot website. They have a tool for locating venues in your area within costs, amenities and ambience. They had some great venue ideas like having the ceremony on site, sites by the water, maybe even a fabulous museum? Tons of options, that is, if you’re rich! It’s awful if you’re on a small budget. You’ll click the “$” in hopes of seeing your dream location scroll across the page only to be disappointed that their idea of a cheap venue is something in the $4,000-range, and that’s just to rent. I can’t tell you how many times I got excited — this is it! — only to click over to the website and find out it’s $3,000 for eight hours while another wedding is happening upstairs. Not cool! (You ladies out there who clicked on the “$$$” button, what are you paying?) I tried lots of other websites but no luck.

I only happen to stumble across my venue by chance. It was late November, and I had had it. I was giving up. The plan was to get married at City Hall on Christmas morning when I Googled, “romantic weddings Providence Rhode Island,” just for fun. I came across  photographer Lisa Rigby’s website, which includes some of her favorite venues from previous weddings. There it was: Cav, a small venue with tons of flair (ain’t it beautiful!?). It had it all, and it was even in my budget! It was full of fantastic food, romance and elegance but was still casual enough to be comfortable. I called immediately and scheduled a tasting. When we met the owner, she was so understanding and generous. It felt like talking to my own mother about my wedding dreams. She even fed me one of the tasting samples with her own fork! It’s kind of funny that just when you’re about to give up, life happens. (But, I’ll say it again: Thank god it’s over!)