Hi Everyone,

I'd appreciate any ideas for a wedding location/reception in East or West Coast USA. It's not a small wedding but neither is it big... we'd like to invite just 65 ppl. We're in our early-mid thirties and are pretty sophisticated travellers but we'd still like a nice wedding within reason. Any suggestions?

What part of the country will most of the guests be coming from?

Charleston, SC. Very romantic.Compact.Lots of possibilities for venues for that size celebration.Lots to do on off times. Walkable. Good airport connections. Even a beach possibility.

And now from the point of view of an invitee, are all your prospective guests willing/able to put out the bucks it takes to do this? Or perhaps your friends are already coming from many places and not actually mostly in the place you are living, in which case, it makes "some" sense.
Having been the receiver of a number of these, the persons have to be VERY special for me to do it. It can be a lot of money even if air fare isn't involved.
AND, when our children have been married in other towns distant from our home (but where they are living), I have been particularly touched and appreciative of those friends who did make the effort and the trip.
It's a special time. Hope it works out well for you.

Hi VivO,

What's your budget for the reception (i.e. rental fees, catering, music, etc.?) Or could you tell us a bit more about what you want specifically?

Whatever happened to getting married in your local church?

Personally, I don't like destination weddings. The people who throw them think that they're doing their guests a favor - you know, "we're getting married in Maui - you'll love it."

But really I think it's like a forced vacation for the guests. I'd rather take a vacation on my own terms.

Here are some CO suggestions:

Evergreen Lake House - Evergreen
http://www.evergreenrecreation.com/elhc.html

Stanley Hotel - Estes Park
http://www.stanleyhotel.com/

Beano's Cabin - Beaver Creek
http://beavercreek.snow.com/info/win...din.beanos.asp

The Manor House - Littleton
http://www.themanorhouserestaurant.com/weddings.html

Arrowhead Golf Club - South Littleton
http://www.arrowheadcolorado.com/

you might check out www.theknot.com. They have forums, including one for destination weddings, that might give you some ideas.

I was in a wedding at La Playa resort in Naples, FL. It was beautiful and everyone was thrilled to get to spend a weekend there. I love destination weddings, as long as the hosts are not upset if people can't afford to pull it off, financially or timewise.

There are a lot of nice venues in Newport RI.

Stowe, VT is a very popular destination for weddings. Try http://www.greenmountaininn.com.

I'm sorry, but asking a question about a "wedding location on the East or West Coast" of the United States is like asking for a wedding reception location in Western or Eastern Europe!! These are very large areas!! Do some research and be more specific!

This place just outside of Napa (near Calistoga) was great. http://hansfahden.com/weddingsevents.html Check it out.

Gracias everyone for sharing your thoughts. I cast a wide net as far as location because I wanted to get some responses "out of the box". We're focused on Manhattan/Tri-State or CA (Monterey, Bay Area, Napa area) right now but we're open to something outside these areas for the right place. We're expecting 65-85 guests and would love to spend somewhere between 10K - 15K on the reception. Our families will be coming from East Coast, CA, Midwest and Asia...

The southern coast of connecticut is beautiful for weddings. There is a resort right on the water called Water's Edge Resort.
http://www.watersedgeresortandspa.com/

There are a few others right on the coast as well.

Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle NH is gorgeous.

www.wentworth.com

I'm secretly hoping my daughters have their wedding receptions there. Of course they are only 10 and 14 so I may have to wait long long time but what the hey!

I attended a wedding for some friends at The Ponderosa Lodge B&B in West Virginia. They got married at Babcock State Park overlooking the New River Gorge. It was beautiful! The reception was held at the lodge and everybody stayed there that weekend.
http://www.theponderosalodge.com

Manhattan is probably one of the most expensive places to get married in the U.S.

Staying out of big cities will save you big time.