Where did you get married?

[AshleyW]

DFiance and I have just barely started planning our wedding - we're just talking basic stuff right now. One of the things we're talking about is WHERE to get married.

We're not religious so we don't really want to get married in a church. We've thought of a TON of ideas and now we can't narrow it down. Some of the ideas we've come up with:

The courthouse (we were only kidding, but now it's starting to sound more appealing )
A local park
A cabin at a big park his family camps at
A small chapel (http://www.sts-peterandpaul.org/) - The pictures on the site are kind of old and don't really do it justice.
Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines
Des Moines Botanical Center
Hotel ballroom
Vegas!

So while we try and decide where to get hitched, I have to ask all of you.. where did YOU get married?

 

[suejai]

In my parents backyard by a JP.

 

[nskjerven]

Mission Santa Clara @ Santa Clara University

 

[Piecey]

Vegas.

Here: http://littlechurchlv.com/

 

[MizTink]

i live in sarasota florida and was married at the ringling museum, in the rose garden.
i found a minister out of the phone book.

 

[kafitty]

for some awesome ideas, check out offbeatbride.com.

i'm not affiliated with them in any way, nor am i getting married...ever but i LOVE the creative weddings they showcase!

lots of outdoor venues, stages, stores...all sorts of great (& sometimes, a little crazy!) ideas.

 

[AshleyW]

for some awesome ideas, check out offbeatbride.com.

i'm not affiliated with them in any way, nor am i getting married...ever but i LOVE the creative weddings they showcase!

lots of outdoor venues, stages, stores...all sorts of great (& sometimes, a little crazy!) ideas.

THANKS! I've already found some good ideas - like the YAY flags.. seriously, how cute are those?!

 

[tomthebarncat]

Copenhagen, Denmark. We killed two birds with one stone, we got married and spent a week exploring Denmark.

 

[NMAmy]

We got married in our sunroom and had a party afterward in the rest of the house. I had a big wedding for my first marriage and this was so much more relaxing and fun for me.

 

[WeLuvDiz]

We got married in 1989 in my town's judges house, standing between his hallway and living room. Being 18 and 19 yo we didn't know that we needed a witness(it was only me and my bride to be) so the judges son(which also happened to be my high school gym teacher) and his wife were the witness. Well we've been married almost 21 years and have 2 beautiful children(20&17). So it doesn't matter if it's at Walmart or a church, it's the love in your heart that matters.Good luck and congrats I wish you many happy years together

 

[bas71873]

Fort Magruder Inn in Williamsburg, VA by a JP, outside in the courtyard...April 2001

 

[Ohiodislover]

We were married in Gatlinburg TN. DH and I loved it My MIL HATED the idea.

We didn't want all the bells and whistles. It was close enough to Ohio that anyone who wanted to make the drive could, but no pressure on anyone who didn't/couldn't come. Had about 28-30 friends/relatives at the wedding, and dinner afterwards. We then stayed in Gatlinburg for a few days, and then drove to Disney for a week.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I was married in a teeny tiny church that my grandparents had been married in BY the man that married my grandparents.

I originally wanted to get married without fanfare, just he and I on a beach but my husband insisted that we do the church wedding because of our families. I don't regret it but I am going to get a beach wedding one of these days or maybe just a vow renewal

 

[golfgal]

We got married in the church that I grew up attending--not a lot of help for you though .

I know of several people that have gotten married at the historic Courthouse in the town where I grew up. It is a beautiful building and is now only used for receptions, weddings, parties, etc. When I was a kid it was still a working Courthouse though.

Are you getting married in Cedar Rapids or are you looking for specific suggestions elsewhere (besides Vegas obviously).

The zoo near us does weddings and they are lovely. They have a wonderful site set up for them and guests have afterhours access to much of the zoo.

 

[supercarrie]

I got married at the Bali Hai Restaurant in San Diego, CA. I am from Orange County initially but couldn't find anywhere besides hotels which were in my budget, and I really didn't want a typical convention center ballroom!

www.balihairestaurant.com

The website is terrible but once I visited the site, I fell in love. Amazing views and a unique room/patio garden which was able to be transformed into a beautiful space.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I was married at the courthouse by a judge, in 1990.

My SIL was married in a park. It was very beautiful.

 

[MiniGirl]

Well, the plan was to get married in Key West on the beach at sunset.

However, my mom was hospitalized 2 weeks before my wedding, and we knew she wouldn't be allowed to travel. We moved the entire wedding to Batob Rouge and decided we'd get married in my parents yard. The day before the wedding, when it became obvious my mom wold still be in the hospital, we decided to get married there. We didn't ask permission. We were just going to show up. However, one of the nurses got wind of the plan and told the hospital administrator. She ended up offering us the use of their beautiful 2-story atrium lobby. The cafeteria staff had lemonade and cookies out for our guests, and instead of walking down an aisle, I came down the escalator. It was a fabulous wedding. We even made the evening news!!!!

My mom did eventually get out of the hospital, but passed away 6 months later. We had no flowers because she couldn't be close to live plants. We all had to wear masks around her and everything. There was no fancy reception, but I wouldn't change one minute of my wedding. Even the hospital staff told us later, the love in our family (on both sides) was evident. That you could *feel* it.

That was over 14 years ago. Thanks for allowing me to share it.

 

[lspst8]

Vegas!!! On our balcony at the Signature at MGM, to be exact.

www.sceniclasvegasweddings.com

It was fabulous. We did a photo tour of the strip afterwards with pictures at the Bellagio and the Venetian.

 

[AshleyW]

Thanks everyone for sharing! I love hearing about other peoples' weddings.

We got married in the church that I grew up attending--not a lot of help for you though .

I know of several people that have gotten married at the historic Courthouse in the town where I grew up. It is a beautiful building and is now only used for receptions, weddings, parties, etc. When I was a kid it was still a working Courthouse though.

Are you getting married in Cedar Rapids or are you looking for specific suggestions elsewhere (besides Vegas obviously).

The zoo near us does weddings and they are lovely. They have a wonderful site set up for them and guests have afterhours access to much of the zoo.

We'd like to stay in Cedar Rapids, or at least nearby in Iowa so that most of our family can come. We're still toying with the idea of maybe getting married out of town with just immediate family there & then having a big reception once we get back home, though... like I said, we're just in the baaasic planning stage so we haven't really made many decisions yet.

 

[Chicago526]

DH and I aren't religous either. But we hired a minister to come to the country club where we were having the reception, and got married on the patio (thankfully the weather cooperated or we would have had to do it in an empty banquette room). It was great, because the guests only had to travel to one location for both the ceramony and reception. While we had pictures done the guests were treated to appitizers and open bar, once pictures were done it was time for the reception to start. There was no awkward time between the ceremony and reception where guests didn't know what to do or where to go to wait like I've encountered with other peoples weddings.

I've also been to a wedding where the ceremony was held in a small conference/banquette room at a hotel, the reception was in another room there right after the ceremony. The conference room was filled with flowers and bows and actually looked pretty nice. I think they got a JP to do it rather than a minister. They are both Catholic and can't get married in the church until her annulment comes through, but they didn't want to wait as she was pregnant at the time.