Finding the venue

Some of you wanted to know how wedding planning was going.  I’ll be honest – it hasn’t been that excited.  Actually, it’s been quite miserable.  Finding a venue hasn’t been all cheers and smiles.  I’ve looked into practically every venue from Northern NJ down to Baltimore and as far west as Harrisburg.  I’m liking nothing.

OK, that isn’t true.  I like a few things but most places that I like won’t let us have a wedding there unless we up our guest list.  Our small guest list of 60 isn’t bringing in as much money as a 100+ person wedding, I understand.  But there’s got to be something out there. 

We’ve toured two venues in person thus far: 

• Ace Conference Center in Lafayette Hill, Pa.
• Greystone Hall in West Chester, Pa.

Both were completely different from each other.  Ace Conference Center is perfect if you’re looking for an up-scale country club/golf course wedding.  Since neither Bryan nor I are golfers I can’t imagine having our wedding at a golf resort.  For some people, it’s not a big deal but it’s not very “us”.  It felt too corporate and made me feel like I was on a business trip, not my wedding.

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The second venue we looked at was Greystone Hall.  They were planning on giving us a great discount for Thursday wedding.  Some people may thing I’m absolutely out of my mind for not 100% loving this place.  Trust me, I left the tour feeling so let down and sad because it wasn’t what I had envisioned it to be.  The outdoors is magnificent, even in the snow.  However, the inside I wasn’t as thrilled with.  The bar would be inside and our ceremony would be held inside as well if the weather wasn’t great.  I disliked the inside so much that it was a deal breaker for me.  It was too old-age Victorian for our liking. 

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So since both of those didn’t work, you’re probably wondering what I’m looking for.  Here’s what I envision for our wedding.

• Garden-style ceremony and reception, lots of flowers or plants, bright sunshine
• May 2014 evening (Friday or Saturday)
• Outdoor ceremony with a decent rain alternative
• Tented terraced reception location
• Classic semi-formal to formal sit-down reception
• Lots of candles and lanterns during reception
• Bryan plans on wearing a tux, and I want (maybe) a fit and flair dress
• Anywhere from Northern NJ down to Baltimore
• No country clubs/golf clubs (nothing with a golf course in the background of photos)
• No Victorian style ballrooms
• No hotels (too corporate for us)
• No low ceilings (Bryan is pretty tall and I love high ceilings)

Someone please help!  Comment below and give me some suggestions.

Talk to Me

• Please let me know that I’m not crazy.
• Provide your suggestions in the comments below.