Day 353: "Come Out & Play"

Gotta say, yesterday's venue recon mission didn't go as badly as I thought it was going to. Park lady was really nice (considering we politely busted into her office in the middle of her work day) but the bad news is we still don't officially have a contract. Park lady won't have the new price quotes until early November, and neither her nor us want to make a deposit only to find that the venue was raised to be something ridiculous. It's not her fault, it's a sort of Chicago Parks matter all across the board, but it's still a little unsettling. She does have us in the books though, so the date is saved for us. It's really the best we can do right now.

The upside? Park lady confirmed the following:

• We can definitely go til' midnight at the venue.
• We can definitely bring in the caterer of our choice.
• They have 21 round tables that can seat between 8-10 people which is exactly how many we need (we were able to whittle down the guest list to 225, and with a lot of out-of-towners, we're guessing we'll have 200 or less at the wedding).
• We can use the concession stands as bar set-ups and coat rooms for no additional costs.
  

Overall, not the final result we were going for, but at least we have things in motion and an idea of what's actually going on. However, our trip to Flying Saucer turned out to be helpful in unexpected way.

After we wrapped up lunch, we talked to Danielle (one of the chefs) a bit about weddings and Humboldt Park and she said that Flying Saucer actually does catering. While we have a few places in mind at the moment (Honest Foods and Centered Chef) Flying Saucer does have the advantage of specializing in vegan/veg food and being a block away from Humboldt Park (something that is especially helpful considering the tiny, tiny kitchen in the Fieldhouse space). Not sure who we're going to go with in the end, but it's cool to know they have the capabilities.

Next up, a lot of decoration talk with Art of Imagination. They're based in Humboldt Park/Logan Square and specialize in drapery (if you've ever gone to a Stan Mansion event before, chances are you have seen their work since Deb from A-of-I has an exclusive contract with Stan Mansion). We chatted a bit and have an in person appointment next week to meet at Humboldt and go over some ideas. We're hoping we can do this on the cheap. My biggest concern is if she can help us temporarily cover this:

Nice for a community space, not so nice for a wedding.