Well, for the first time I can remember our entire industry
is on hold. Planes are grounded, hotels are empty, and future trips are in
question. Plus, our favorite small business travel sites are feeling the lack
of traffic fueling even more uncertainty within our world. We had originally
planned to visit Barcelona in early May to meet our vendors, make a final venue
decision, and of course take a few days to enjoy our favorite city.
Planning a destination wedding can be hard enough. I mean, decisions are being made and plans are being set and you have to just trust it will all turn out okay. We mentioned our incredible wedding planner, Africa at Weddings Via Val, who has eased our mind at every turn. We have full trust in her abilities to craft the wedding of our dreams. Now, with the coronavirus halting any plans of travel for the foreseeable future we are making some blind decisions.
Decision One: Venue
We wrote an entire blog on our venue choices (check it out here) and have narrowed it down to Pares Balta and Clos La Plana. This decision is delayed literally every other decision on our deck because, let’s be honest, it matters. We want the venue to reflect us, ensure our family and friends have a good time, and give us the intimate feel we are hoping for. But can all of that be decided just with photos? We are going to find out, because within the next month or so we will have to pick our perfect venue, without seeing it.
Decision Two: Catering
The catering decision does depend on the venue, actually a little bit more than we would like. We learned that Clos La Plana works with an incredibly catering company called Cal Blay exclusively. There are huge pro’s to Cal Blay, they are an experienced catering company who has done hundreds of weddings at this venue. Tried and true, they have a great menu to choose from and plenty of options to make it what we want.
For Pares Balta, the options are endless. We found a great option with a company called Caravan Made. Caravan Made’s boutique style and adorable food truck gives a casual feel with an upscale flare. The menu looks ridiculous as well as their Instagram. In Spain, all the caterers also bring the linens, chairs, and other rentals so making sure their style matches up with yours is imperative.
Decision Three: Music
Since Mandy has always worked around music, it has been extremely important to find a venue that allows us to have a band. We realize this will be more costly than a DJ, but have budgeted for that! The party is broken up into four sections and each could have it’s own type of music. The ceremony, the aperitif (cocktail hour), dinner, and dancing. The power of YouTube has given us the ability to start listening to some of the options (and there are a LOT of options). One of the biggest things we planned to do on our trips was to go listen to some of our band options, so we are definitely bummed we can’t (yet). As we narrow it down, we will show off our favorites in a future blog!
These decisions aren’t easy ones, especially making them blind. And even though things feel a bit cloudy right now, we can see that day perfectly. The beautiful Barcelona countryside, surrounded by those we love. It will be here in a brief 409 days (roughly)!
Cheers to Chasing Our Compass!
Mandy & Jackie
