Venue Six: Havana Blue

Finally, we have Carillon's one true contender: Bentley's on the Bay's new venue, Havana Blue. It is right across the street from Bentley's and sits on the same bay! Wanna know where we are getting married?? You're just one post away!

View of Havana Blue from the road. They planted a bunch of palm tree to separate the area and make it much more private.

The dock.. quite possibly my favorite thing about Havana Blue. We could leave on a boat!

Covered deck area. Love it.

Uncovered deck area. It will have the same string lights as Bentley's.

Yes, there is an inside area with a bar and A/C!

The low-down on Havana Blue:
For me, it was love at first sight. Havana Blue is unique and BRAND-SPANKIN'-NEW. Who doesn't love new stuff? Like wearing clothes for the first time or being the first of your friends to discover a really cool band. I love new stuff. It's so new in fact, that it isn't even finished yet. When these pictures were taken, there was still about 4 weeks left of work. Once it is finished, it would basically look like I want my wedding to look - with navy and green accents and decorated with classy, tropical furniture. This venue has enough room to hold both the ceremony and the reception and the best part about Havana Blue - you can bring your own vendors! This is so rare for locations along 30A!

But after the initial luster wears off, there are a couple serious drawbacks to this venue. First, there are no on-site accommodations. For me, this is a biggy - I want everyone to stay near and at least have the option to stay at the same place. This also eliminates a little bit of the drinking and driving risk. In the words of Damon Evans, "If you drink and drive, you lose."

Another big draw-back with Havana Blue is the contract is a teeny bit over-reaching. For most people, this is not a big deal considering it is written in lawyer jargon and they probably would just skim over it. But not for us Ingram's. Oh no, I have been blessed (and cursed, ha) with an attorney for a father. Ol' daddy caught that little clause in the contract that basically made us an insurance company for the venue if anything were to go wrong.. even if it was COMPLETELY their fault. Good catch on that one Roberto. He eventually caught up with the owner via telephone and after an hour long convo convinced him to change the contract. By the end of their chat, this dude was basically in love with my dad and is asking to take him out to dinner.. go figure. Only Roberto.

So, the verdict on Havana Blue: Although Damon makes DUIs seem pretty glamorous, it's just too risky to have a venue with nowhere for guests to stay.