Other venues we passed on...

I hope this can help some couples out there in their search.

This was one of my mom's favorite venues. It's the Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, and it's a hidden gem. Off the 5 on Avery, it sits at the end of the street. It was a really cute place, but adding up the numbers put us over our budget. So this one was a pass for us too.

I so loved the Tustin Ranch Golf Club.

It was perfect! Seriously down the street from our apartment. The entrance you drive through to get in was just majestic! I could not believe I didn't hear more about this place before. I loved the ceremony area! Their motto is "Public with a Private Feel." So true. It looked very high-end...and the prices reflected that. This was definitely at the top of my list, and I was so sad to let it go.

The El Adobe Restaurant in San Juan Capistrano was very affordable! SJC is such a cute city. While visiting the restaurant, FI and I had to walk and check out the park and other historic buildings in the area. Mom wasn't too crazy about the place, however.

We also checked out the Franciscan Gardens in SJC. We weren't super impressed...we felt like it was a backyard, and the price wasn't worth it to us.

The Westminster Rose Center was another affordable venue, but the menu was just not that impressive. I tried to like it, but I just couldn't picture my wedding there.

We ventured to LA and visited the RecCenter Studio...for the avant garde bride and groom. You could do so much with the space...and therein lies the problem: you would have to do something to the space; in fact, you would have to do a lot of work, but it's got so much potential. It's a blank slate to work with. Parking was kind of sketchy too...not guaranteed. And it was in LA...the traffic is so unpredictable, and the place was kind of difficult to find. But the venue rental fee didn't sound too bad at all. And I loved the uniqueness of it!

The Betty H. Reckas Cultural Center is a fairly new venue. The space was nice and large. A Greek Orthodox church sits across from the ballroom. If you plan to have your ceremony at the same location, you'd probably do it right in front of the church. This didn't do it for us either. But again, another venue with lots of potential.

It's been difficult for us. We finally did find a place. It made top 3...its location, convenience, and price allowed it to take a spot. It feels good to have a place though, and a date. It's really official now. We're getting married!

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