Where to get married ?
 

My son and his fiancee are looking for a special location in the United States to get married. We are looking for uniques places that we might not know about, lodges, inns or resorts.They would like the weekend to be a special experience for everyone . A place where people would say " I really would like to spend a weekend there ". They would like the wedding to be joyous and classic, not too casual and not too formal. They would like it to be in a setting that is family friendly as many of their friend have small children. They plan to invite 200 family and friends. Many of their friend live on the east coast but they will also be having guests come from the midwest and west coast. They plan on getting married in August September or October 2011 depending on the location. They are open and looking for ideas.

So if anyone has been to a great location for a wedding we would love your ideas ! Anywhere in the United States as long as it is somewhat easy to get too . Thank

First, I'd be one to urge your son and his fiancee to focus on a location that will be special to THEM first and foremost. It is wonderful that they want it to be special for their guests, but this is such a momentous, meaningful, and personal milestone in their life that it is something they should always treasure. It should be a place they would love going back to over and over again to savor the memory of their wedding. It will be great for their guests no matter what but it will also be one of many, many weddings they attend in their life. For your son and his fiancee, this is the ONE wedding that is theirs so I hope they put some focus on finind a spot that they love first.

That being said... places I have been that I always thought would be great wedding spots??

Charleston, SC
Boston, MA (personal bias)
or Martha's Vineyard
Monterey, CA
or San Francisco
New Orleans (Jackson Sq.)

I agree w the above suggestions....I would add

Savannah
Biltmore Estate in NC
Seaside, Carillon Beach, Destin, St Augustine, Palm Beach, There are thousands of places in FL for beach weddings.
Barnsley Gardens in GA is nice but not close to a lot
If you want the large reception hall, beautiful venue, tons to do around city, Atlanta, GA has a lot of nice places as well

I agree w above poster...they should look tg and decide what THEY want. Weddings are always fun, so whatever they decide ppl will enjoy. They need to do what will be memorable to them. If it is memorable and fun to them, other ppl will get the same feeling.

Good luck in your planning!

We went to a beautiful wedding in Lake Placid,NY in the Adirondacks... the Family rented all of the cabins and lodges at a Lakeside resort for guests, the wedding was on a lakeside dock and they used the resort hall for the reception... a beautiful, simple, and casual setting, and the seasonal change to autumn would be amazing!... good luck

Maui is always wonderful for weddings.

However, I am really not a big fan of "destination" weddings that end up putting financial and time obligations on guests that would like to celebrate the nuptuals.

Do they really think that 200 people will want to spend a weekend in a place that might be difficult/expensive to get to or to stay in?

I guess they don't live in the place they grew up in or on the east coast where many of their friends live?

Are they certain that their friends and family will want to spend possibly hundreds and hundreds of dollars (and maybe vacation time?) for something that has a 50% success rate?

Of course one can mention many lovely spots...including perhaps a park or arboretum near them. Just curious...who would perform such a wedding? Even if not a religious ceremony that should be one important consideration. I ask this as a retired clergy person because sometimes a couple makes plans without any thought about the officiant. A friend in NYC posted on Facebook "Does anyone know a minister in Washington DC?" Added comment: I always insisted on some counseling beforehand since it is such an important step in life.

Bill now in Boston

I'd say take all the money that is going to be blown on 200 guests, & go on a 3-month long honeymoon in Europe.

First I agree for the bride and groom to pick the location they want. It seems like many of the family live on the east coast so I would focus on that area. Like others have already said, it will hard to expect 200 guests to spend money on airfare, rooms, food, etc. I would pick a location convenient to the most guests and what the bride and groom like. My daughter got married last year (CA) and quite a few of their friends who live on the east coast ended up not being able to make it to the wedding. Even though many of them had family to stay with in CA, it was just too costly for the airfare or they were unable to get off work for a longer period of time.