Where we're (not) at - Part 3: The arch

Should we have an arch for the wedding ceremony or not? 

This is an ongoing debate that boy/man and I haven't yet resolved.

See, we're getting married on a dock, in front of a lake (weather permitting):

Here, specifically. But without the brown chairs.

That's another wedding on the dock. Not ours, obviously.

And we're not sure whether we should add a focal point (i.e. an arch/canopy) or if this will take away from the view.

If we do add an arch, it would have to be a rustic arch, to go with our "rustic chic" theme (which I realize I still haven't told you about - but that day will come). We're thinking either birch trees or other branches, like these:

Birch arch via Exquisite! Event Planning & Design. Perhaps just a tad over the top.

Branch arch via The Knot.com

Another branch arch option via The Knot.com

How the heckles are we supposed to build those things? 

Here's what the branch experts at Nettleton Hollow suggest (well, for the first birch tree arch):

Terra cotta pots filled with concrete and painted white.
(Not loving the duct tape look, though. Or the chipped paint.)

Notice the two birch poles in each pot, to make things sturdier.

I also found this quick and easy tutorial on making a DIY Branch Wedding Arch with curly willow. Apparently sticking the willow stems in sand does the trick. (I don't know if I trust this method. A dock on a lake = windy. And I can just picture the whole arch blowing away into the water during our super emotional vows.) Yeah, no.

And where exactly do we place the arch? On the dock? Will it look too random to have an arch in the middle of a dock? Or maybe we go with boy/man's idea and place it at the edge of the dock, where the grass ends? (And we could do the ceremony there, closer to our guests, with the dock in the background?)

By the way, if it rains, the ceremony will be indoors and the arch will be completely unnecessary. Or will it?

Yeh, so that's the dealio with the arch sitiation. What to do? Scrap it?

Where we're at - Part 2: The venue

Alright, technically this should have come before the photographer/photo booth post, cause it was the first ever wedding-related thing we found. But actually, 3 months after finding the place, we have yet to officially sign a contract. We've made a deposit and we're dealing with the owner lady in good faith, hoping that everything will work out well before our wedding next fall. (It's a small town venue and they aren't good with paperwork... at least that's what I keep telling myself.)

But anyways. The point of this post is to share with you how we came about narrowing down our venue options.

Firstly, we knew we didn't want to do the whole reception hall or hotel ballroom deal because half of our guests are traveling across an ocean, and the other half are driving at least 2 hours to attend our wedding...  

So we didn't want it to feel as if our guests could have seen/attended our wedding in their own hometown.

And a religious wedding ceremony was out of the question because, well, we aren't at all religious.

With that in mind, boy/man and I looked around for interesting, typically Canadian (or even, preferably, Quebecois) venues, that would showcase our love of the outdoors. Ideally, we wanted to get married outside, on the waterfront, but also have an indoor back-up plan in case of rain, as well as having a space for dinner and dancing on-site.

Oh and the budget was also an issue, but that is too complicated to discuss here.

So early on in the search, two separate suggestions pushed us towards log homes as accommodation for our guests.

First, my mom mentioned that a prominent Quebecois celebrity had recently celebrated her wedding in a beautiful luxury boutique hotel in the Laurentians, Hotel Quintessence. This place is absolutely gorgeous... and also absolutely out of our price range. But the image of the hotel's wood and stone facade stuck.

Hotel Quintessence in the fall...
with Mont-Tremblant as a backdrop

We considered Hôtel Sacacomie, located in the Mauricie region, and also beautiful and log-homey. (My family and I have visited on many a snowmobile ride.) But in the end, we discarded it because it obligated the majority of our guests to stay for three nights, and we didn't want to impose this pricey hotel on them. Plus, it was still a hotel, with a ballroom... so not exactly right

Sacacomie... beautiful isn't it?

Then, my future father-in-law mentioned that he had looked at renting log cabins for his next visit to Canada. 

That was what really sparked my search of Quebec log home rentals.

Four "resorts," all located within 2 hours of Montreal, made our shortlist:

1. Blueberry Lake Resort 

The Clubhouse at Blueberry Lake

Pros: Choice of either the main lodge (Clubhouse) or a beautiful rustic barn for the reception. And the ceremony can be held at two different, waterfront areas outside or in the main lodge in case of rain. Guests get to stay in beautiful, luxury log homes, all located near each other.

Cons: The $2000 rental fee, just to reserve either the barn or the lodge. Not much to do outside of the resort. And the resort has its own set caterer and menus.

2. Tremblant Mountain Chalets 

The Sainte-Pie-X church in Lac-Supérieur,
which will be renovated into a reception hall

A log home at Tremblant Mountain Chalets...
where guests would be staying.

Pros: Ceremony can be held outside, on a dock overlooking Lac Supérieur. The reception can be held in the nearby 60s style church, which will soon be renovated into a reception hall with huge windows and a view on the lake. We can bring in our own caterers or use one they suggest. Guests can stay in luxury log homes, located near each other.

Cons: The renovations of the church have not yet been undertaken and may not be finished on time! Plus, it will likely still look like a church.

3. Côté Nord Tremblant 

Log home at Côté Nord Tremblant

Pros: The ceremony can be held outdoors on a dock overlooking Lac Supérieur or indoors in one of the luxury log homes. There is a restaurant on-site, which can host up to 80 people for a sit down meal and dancing. Guests can stay in nearby log homes, all located near each other.

Cons: The restaurant is small and our guest list would be limited.

4. Fiddler Lake Resort 

A log home at Fiddler Lake Resort where guests would stay

Pros: We can do everything ourselves and rent a tent, tables, chairs and have it in the backyard of own of the resort's luxury log homes. Guests can stay in nearby log homes, located near each other. The homes are absolutely beautiful, with their own pool tables and spas.

Cons: We have to do everything ourselves! And that can be very expensive!

In the end, we realized we had to compromise on some aspect of our wishlist with each of these venues, but one seemed to 'fit' better than the others.

So which one did we choose? Well, take a guess.