three day weekend!

so this weekend is a three day weekend! hooray for christopher columbus, who boldly sailed the ocean blue in 1492; because of him and his three 'ladies' (nina, pinta, and santa maria, of course!) i now get an extra long weekend, and a paid day off work! so thanks, chris, for being determined enough to make your voyage - way to take one for the team!
we are back in tucson this weekend looking at venues for our wedding (still TBA) and we are having a hard time finding the balance between what we really want to have, and what we can afford to have. for example, the hacienda del sol has a beautiful courtyard with desert landscaping and greenery, and flowers everywhere, and we could have the reception outdoors, like we want to. but there is no dance floor, we have to be music off out of the courtyard by 10pm, and the minimum cost for the reception for food and beverage is $8000! MINIMUM! WTF!!! that doesn't include the ceremony or site fees, officiants, flowers, cake, etc... it doesn't even (seem) to include tables or linens! that's only the cost for food! sorry, but i think that $100 per plate for 80 people seems a bit much, especially when there is nothing else included! if i had that kind of budget, i would absolutely look further into it, but it doesn't, so, as heidi klum would say, "you are out. alvetazane!"
we did find a couple of spots so far that we really liked, and although they aren't what i originally 'envisioned' for our wedding site, they are beautiful and affordable, which are of equal importance. plus, there's one location that doesn't have a time limit on our party, and has rooms available on-site, so nobody has to drive (also important)! most places we have looked at have us out by 10-1030pm, and this one will let us rock out until we feel like closing down, so it's definitely high on our list at this point :)
and hopefully me and my mom will have a chance to do some wedding shopping/browsing on monday! thanks again, mr. columbus! if not for you, this extended weekend would not be possible (and i've been able to accomplish so much already!) - you rock!