Week 1 Brides Distraction - Location, location, location!

lawyerette

Good evening, Brides!!

Reading through stories about what makes Biggest Loser competitions successful, participants again and again say that you have to keep participants engaged. Well, as brides we are already engaged - to our fiance - and that sort of makes it easy for us to "stay engaged"

Seriously, though, we have the advantage of having something in common - wedding planning! With that in mind, I am working on a list of 12 fun and juicy topics for us to chat about - a different one each week. We've already done rings, our favorite wedding porn, shared our wedding websites, chatted a little about dresses, and a new one about wedding themes popped up today.

For this week's topic, I want to keep in the vein of the wedding theme discussion and ask you all where your wedding and reception are being held (or what you're considering if you haven't booked your venue(s) yet). Why are you picking this venue and what are the pros/cons? Anything else you have would be lovely. Can't wait to read all about it!!

PS- Let me know if there's a specific topic you want for next week in a private message. I don't want to blow through all the topics at once because I think the new topic will help keep us talking as the weeks wear on, but I am interested in what else you all want to use for our Weekly Distractions. I have a couple awesome ones... can't wait!

arendiva

My wedding and reception are both at an inn in the mountains of northern New Hampshire during foliage season. I'll have an outdoor ceremony with the mountains as a backdrop and a tented reception.

DLSlim

My fiance and I have (mostly jokingly) talked about getting married on a cruise ship.

We want to honeymoon on a cruise ship anyway and are so broke right now it isn't funny, so having that all-inclusive-ness seems nice. Haha. We really want a small wedding anyway, so getting our immediate family onto a ship wouldn't be so difficult.

But like I said, we have no definite plans yet.

Destanie_Robyn

My Fiance's parents have a big beautiful backyard in Chico Ca, so we will be having our wedding there. This way the venue is free and we can spend our money on other important things I've always wanted an outdoor late summer wedding

nailtechbec

We're getting married at rogerthorpe manor hotel ( there's a website if anyone's interested just google the name and uk I'm sure it will come up ) I decided against a church wedding as my Dad passed away 6 years ago and I wanted to avoid a big aisle walk in without him ! The pros are the beautiful grounds and the amazing package price, it cost £3,500 I don't know what that is in dollars but it includes ceremony, 4 course wedding breakfast for 50 guests, evening reception for 75 guests with food dj and karaoke and the bridal suite. There's lots of little extras too ! The cons are that for the price they only include a set menu and any little changes you want to make you have to pay per person ! I love my venue and I'm sure they're going to make it an amazing day ! X

jkcrawford

Getting married at home in the country, hopping there are some flowers up by then. Keeping it simple and small. I did the church wedding already. Hubby to be got married at his home before. We live in his parents house now. His Mom is the only parent we have left. My son will walk me down the aisle I hope. Still have to ask him. LOL

meglynne1987

My wedding and reception are in the same location.
First the ceremony at the Capitol Plaza then we are moving to the lobby bar area for a cocktail hour (15 minutes)while they set up for the reception, then back into the room! I am super excited about the cocktail hour because its different and gets the families to mingle a little. ALSO the lobby area has a huge gorgeous waterfall! (Perfect Picture Spot)

leilaphoenix

My wedding and reception are in the same place. It is a little manor house about 1 mile from my house in Oxford, UK and is by the river. It is really lovely and perfect. However, they are causing us a lot of stress as they may or may not be doing some major refurbishments which may or may not be finished in time for our wedding. It is hugely stressful.

CGPrincessWarrior

I am actually headed to book my wedding site this morning!!! We're getting married and having the reception at The Hermitage in Nashville! The church is a little stone church and it's very simple. The mansion where the reception will be is gorgeous! It was beautiful high ceilings and crown molding, big fire places, and a gorgeous spiral staircase. We wanted a very "Nashville" wedding and that will come through in every aspect from the location to the cake and food. I can't wait to go and book it

catherinejw122

My ceremony will be held at my church I grew up in, and the reception is still up in the air...There has been some discussion between keeping it in my hometown or his, only a half hour away but still a decision to make! We are currently looking at a local park with indoor and outdoor possibilities!

Tinker1208

My ceremony and reception are at the same place as well. Its at Wickham Park in CT. Breathtaking view of the Hartford skyline behind us where we will say our vows. There's a few gazebos and tons of flowers everywhere. A big log cabin for dancing and the bar area ( there's also a fireplace with a big moose head hanging above!!). Connected to the cabin is a big white tent where the tables will be to eat. I like how its connected but also a little separated. You can leave the dance floor and go under the tent or out to the gazebo if you need a little break!

lildaug

We are getting married/having the reception in the Finger Lakes wine region in central NY at a winery/brewery. We are moving back from England in the summer and plan to relocate there. My fiance is currently in school for a wine degree. We always knew we wanted to get married at a winery since that will be our future business. Cons: his family is from Boston and mine is from Philly so no one is local. Pros: we will be doing a wine tour the day before the wedding with any guests that can make it.

Methinksabout

I am getting married in the village next door to my home town in Germany, it's a "spa/health" town and therefore mainly consists of parks, springs and more parks.. in two of them are buildings that you can rent out to have your civil ceremony and/or events/parties. The parks are kept beautifully with flowerbeds and ponds with fountains - they look sooo pretty all year round - but of course will look extra pretty in August :-) and both my locations are all within walking distance to the hotel so we don't need shuttle busses or cars and everyone can leave or stay until the early hours if they please! :-) So looking fwd to that!

Jill4165

I am getting married in Durango, CO at a kind of historic vintage hotel, The Strater. It worked out great because we knew we wanted an indoor wedding. So there is a more formal room for our ceremony and then the reception is upstairs in an awesome old theater.

kelly_gelinas

I wanted a destination wedding in the beginning, but my plans couldn't be carried through because both my sisters who are my bridesmaids are teachers and can't get time off in the months that I wanted. I didn't want a destination tropic wedding in the summer. I chose the location The Waterfront Centre in Hamilton Ontario Canada, because Its on the water and we can get married outside. The reception is inside, but the builing is floor to ceiling windows, so the backdrop is the water. It's almost like you are outside, but with airconditioning. We are getting Married Aug 4, 2013. I love my location and for a great price almost everything is included. I actually can't think of any cons at the moment. It is the only location I looked at because I fell in love with it the moment I walked in. The wedding coordinator is awesome and answers all of my questions by email the same day I send them. Everything is going to be perfect for our big day.

rubixcyoob

I'm having the ceremony and reception within the Westerwood Hotel in my hometown. It's a gold and spa hotel, and is fairly modern with LED alcove ceilings etc. We will have a massive suite with it's own entrance and bar area because our numbers are so big!

EmiVReyes

My wedding and reception are going to be at Indian Creek Village Winery in Oklahoma. It's a beautiful little winery with a bed and breakfast we're staying at on the wedding night. Even though its being held at a winery there will be no alcohol except for the champagne toast. This is done by request of my fiancé who is basically giving me total control of everything so if he says no alcohol there will be no alcohol.

I'm not sure why I was so drawn to it but there was just something telling me this was the place we needed to get married. I can't wait!!

irishgrim

I am getting married a private estate surrounded 75% by water outside Honolulu, HI. I've never wanted to get married where I lived, so when Destination Weddings starting popping up and becoming more regular in the new millenia, I knew this was for me! we will be honeymooning on Maui, so ill spend 17 days in paradise! beyond excited.

Learning2LoveMe

After looking around at places here in Phoenix and finding my dream place that was ridiculously expensive, we decided to run away to Vegas. We booked our ceremony package for $525. The pros are they do all the work for me, set up, decor, flowers, provide the officiant, photos, etc and its cheap. The cons are we are only allowed 40 guests, which isn't a huge con to me. I'd rather have something smaller and more intimate. Also come to find out that the rehearsal happens 15-20 minutes before the ceremony, and unless we pay extra for a "first look" the FH has to see me before the ceremony. So we are trying to figure out a cool way for him to see me for the first time. I'm thinking meeting outside with him blindfolded and then after I'm out of the car have the best man take off the blindfold so I can see his reaction.

The reception is still up in the air (gotta get it booked pretty soon), but we are looking at a 1 bedroom penthouse suite at the Riviera. It also doubles as a nice room for us to stay in the wedding night

athorson8

I am getting married in Duluth, MN. We are hopefully getting married at the church that my future husband's parents got married at. The reception is at a ballroom at a historic hotel in Duluth. My future husband's family is from Duluth and we love going up there for long weekends and to spend time with family and friends. It is a short getaway from the Twin Cities so it is still easy for people to travel.

Moxie42

Our ceremony and reception are both at Callaway Vineyard & Winery in Temecula (inland from San Diego, California). The pros are I get the outside wedding I always wanted but with an inside reception so we don't have to worry about the heat. Also, it's an inclusive package that takes care of all the tables, chairs, linens, food (other than the cake), wine and champagne with dinner, and some basic decorations (they candle-light the barrel room for the reception, and they include candles on the guest tables. We also get to use a wine barrel as the cake table!) One con is that they only allow beer/wine/champagne on site- we're both fine with that but I'm sure some people will complain...plus we have to hope the owner will make a slight exception because my fiance has family in Italy that wants to send a bottle of home-made grappa for the wedding party. The other con is that it's a little far...only 1.5 hours but that's assuming there's no traffic (and the traffic getting there can be unpredictable and awful)...so I'm going to hope that my bridesmaids are willing to split a room the night before. The cons are very minor in my opinion though. I am so so SO excited to have a vineyard wedding!!!!!

isabettak

We're having a destination wedding (our families live all over the US) and we're getting married in Turks and Caicos! It's coming up so soon May 2013. I'm very excited! The only issue is that it's really far away from a lot of people so we're not going to have as many people show up. But, it's made planning pretty laidback! I'm excited .

ltfitz89

My fiancé and I chose a popular wedding venue in New Windsor, NY about 35-40 minutes from our home. The ceremony and reception will take place at the venue. The ceremony will most likely be in the indoor gardens, which has two waterfalls and a gazebo, although we do have the option of getting married outside. I fell in love with the venue when I saw it online and at our first visit but i made him tour a bunch of other venues before we booked it. The reception room has a stage where the dj will be set up and there is an elevator in the stage which rises from below & how we will make our grand entrance. It is lavish and spectacular and I am so excited to get married there. It will be beautiful! The only con was that we had to guarantee 125 people and we are not sure we are going to make that many. Our guest list is about 200 people but im afraid many won't be able to make it.

http://www.piernine.com <-- here's the website incase anyone wants to see pictures!

exquisitecadavre

We just booked a few days ago. We're getting married in Anderson, SC at a small old inn called Bleckly. The ceremony will be held outside in the courtyard and the reception will be in a very old cement floored barn. It kind of mixes the industrial style we both like and a more old world feel that seems very romantic to me. ^^

missquela

I loooooove reading about you guys' wedding plans!!

We're getting married in a beautiful garden in Sausalito, CA, and the reception will be upstairs in the hall.

The pros are that it's the perfect garden venue I've always dreamed of, it's in a lovely neighborhood and has a beautiful view of the San Francisco bay area. We get to provide our own caterers and alcohol, which helped out a lot for the budget. The major con is that we have noise restrictions, but that's okay for me because I have several musician friends who will play acoustic sets during the reception

abrewer563

My wedding and reception are going to be at the same place. I'm hoping to do it at Top of the Bay on the Chesapeake Bay on the military installation where I work. pros: the view is breath-taking, its a government building so you don't pay taxes, cheapest venue around. Cons- secure gate which makes it more difficult for guests to get on base, they don't have an inclusive price for the bar- its a pay per drink kinda thing which makes budgeting more difficult, we both work on the base so it doesn't feel as special (to him at least) as an external location

AML04143

We are having our reception in Beverly Farms, MA at Misselwood. We're getting married in August and I grew up on the beach in MA so I knew I needed to be on/near the ocean for our wedding. It will be outdoors in a large (200 person) white tent on the lawn overlooking the ocean. Hopefully we will have beautiful weather! We are still in the process of choosing the church...it will either be at the church in my hometown where I was baptized or the church my fiance grew up in. Very excited

Here's Misselwood's website for those interested: www.endicott.edu/misselwood

View of the tent, inside the tent, and view:

OspreyVista

My fiance and I have booked ours at Lakeland village in Tahoe already for May 31st 2014. We got a fantastic deal on it, and it was cheaper than anywhere else in Tahoe, AND it was the place that we both knew that it was "the place" as we both got a very good vibe from it Originally it was supposed to be $4000 for the Ceremony and the reception, but we got it for $3,000 It has some amazing views, and some amazing rooms there. it!

Methinksabout

Wow, all your locations sound amazing! I wish I could come over and celebrate with all of you just to enjoy the atmosphere and those georgeous locations/views! :flowerforyou:

Anyone have another seat or two available at your wedding?!? :bigsmile:

Tandksmommy11

We are getting married at Foxchase Golf Club, and our reception will be at the same location. Ceremony is outside and then the reception will be inside. Pros are that we don't need to waste time going from one place to another. Con is that we don't get a cool limo or carriage ride! BOO! :-p

astepbysteph

We are getting married at the church I have gone to since I was 4. Our reception we just booked on the 2nd at a place called Silverwood Park - it's a regional park with a great slightly rustic building. The rental comes with an outdoor patio and the room has beautiful huge windows. There's a fireplace outside so we will probably do a s'mores bar. The reception venue was our first big purchase - makes it feel so much more real since it's still 540+ days away!