Decisions, decisions....

So, we had gone through an exhausting few days in paradise looking at bad venues.  (Oh, the horrors!).  Tee - hee.  Luckily, we still had a few places to look at.  The first was a place we just happened to find by happenstance.  See, when I was in the Keys for MOH 30th, BM Lil' Dudette and I went venue searching one afternoon.  We drove, we talked to people, we ate, we drank, and we made quick stops when one of us was like "Wait!  Turn here and check out this place!"  (Its ok, though, because we are both fabulous drivers!)  One place we found was a restaurant, the Sunset Grille, right on the water just north of the 7-mile bridge.  It was a tiki-bar style, and it looked like it could be a neat place.  I only have one picture of it, though, and it is not the best, sorry....

So, fast-forward to January.  Mr. Rocks and I arrived in the Keys at 4PM after driving for 17 hours.  We took a nap, showered and refreshed, and decided to go out to dinner that night at the Sunset Grille.  Well, the food was a-MAZ-ing.  I mean: really, really tasty!  I had ahi-tuna, and Mr. Rocks had Mahi-Mahi - both were fab.  So, we asked our waitress, who also happened to be a manager, about holding our reception there.  We told he that we would pretty much take over most of the restaurant, and we told her what our budget was, and she said she would talk with the chef and send us a quote/contract.  Well, we are still waiting to hear back from her.  It has been 3 weeks now.  It is a little frustrating to have not heard something by now.  Especially since I have re-contacted her since we got back home.  We shall see.

The plusses of this place
- It has the tiki-bar cheesiness
- They have Yeungling on tap (score!)
-They do both sushi and cooked food.
-They are On. The.Water.  Nuff said.
-They have a big screen if we wanted to do a slide-show.

The minuses
-The floor is wooden slats (so heels might be a problem)
-The space might be a bit cramped
-They are not near a hotel, so we will need a us.
-They are being unresponsive......(so far).

But, we also looked at the Key Colony Inn.  I found this place online, and I have been in touch with their dude for several months.  BM Lil' Dudette and I looked at this place back in November, but the dude could not meet with us at that time (he was out of town).  But we did manage to get some pictures of the reception room - check it out:

I think this place is classic "Colonial Keys" style.  I love it.  So Mr. Rocks and I made sure we could meet with him during our January trip.  We really liked their dude - he was easy to talk to, and he really had his shit together.  Which was a nice change in pace from most of the people I talked to.  And they have held many receptions there, so he knows everyone else in the biz, and is experienced.  Which is a huge plus!!!

So, here are the plusses to this place:
-It is indoors - which means we can have AC.  In FL.  In June.  This is good.
-The walls are all made of doors, so if it is a nice night, we can open the doors and have fresh air.
-Plenty of space.
-They already own tables and chairs, so we should not need to rent any.
-The place is really pretty and won't need too many extra decorations (the place already comes with plants and tiny white lights).
-There is an outside patio and plenty of green space, for guests to wander if they choose.
-It is in our budget, but at the top.  And we will probably go over a bit because we want things like a second bartender.  And a veggie tray during cocktail hour.

And here are the minuses:
- It is not on the water.  At all.  It is next to a golf course.  But no sunset views during dinner.
- There are no hotels nearby.  And they are really strict down there when it comes to D & D (strick as in they can through you in jail that night).  Which means we will have to rent a bus to transport everyone.  -- And convince everyone to stay at the hotel where the bus will be.

So, what do you guys think?  Should we hold out for the tiki bar, or go for the classic look at the KCI?

(All pictures in post are by me.)