Bonjour, all.

[littleshipwreck]

After three years of lurking in this community I finally get to introduce myself!

Name and/or LJ userID: littleshipwreck / Kelsey.
Wedding Date: Probably May 2012 or, if necessary, sometime in Fall 2012.
Bride/Groom/Other (please specify): I will be the bride. (That feels amazing to say.)
Age: I'm currently 21, but will mostly likely be 22 or 23 by the time of

Comments

[brokensiren]

Congrats!

We had a big, traditional Catholic ceremony, but there are tons of other options out there. On the traditional side, many reception venues also have spaces for ceremonies. Our reception venue had a gorgeous outdoor patio on the river (where we had our cocktail hour) where many people have their ceremony.

You can have your ceremony in a local park (check for permit requirements!) or museum or zoo or botanical garden, or probably a zillion other places I'm forgetting to mention too. :)

Maybe have your ceremony and reception at a theatre or concert hall, since music is such a big part of your relationship?

[littleshipwreck]

I think I'll pose the theatre/concert hall to him with that reasoning. You're exactly right though, that's a great idea. Thank you so much!

OR A ZOO! Oh man, that is the most wonderful idea I've ever heard. Gotta love some zoo fun.

[invisiblezebra]

Congrats! If you like the zoo idea, there's an okay zoo near Roanoke-- Natural Bridge Zoo.
Also, if I had any connection to Cville that would make it make sense, I would get married at the Boars Head Inn. IT's stunning.

[atfiveam]

As someone in Roanoke for college - please don't do the Natural Bridge Zoo. They have documented cases of animal cruelty. The nearby Safari Park is much, much better, although I don't know what the logistics of getting married there would be.

Also, I live in Louisa, VA, and I'd have to recommend looking at bed and breakfasts - there are so many beautiful historic ones that would be great for a secular ceremony and/or reception.

As a Staunton Bride....

[nisie]

Try the Ablermarle Historical Society- they are really cheap for a location.

Look at the Blue Ridge or Skyline Trails.

I even thought of the Frontier Cultural Museum as a possible location.

Re: As a Staunton Bride....

[littleshipwreck]

I love the Frontier Museum! I went there tons of times for school and girl scouts, that's a great location. Thanks for the awesome options!

[kort_ni]

Welcome and congrats. We're huge Ben Folds fans too (I've lost count of all the concerts we've been to and we went to college in his hometown, so we saw a fair amount of local Ben Folds 5 shows too)

Anyway, all of that is to say we danced to The Luckiest as our first dance and it was awesome (though it's long so we invited the bridal party to dance with us about halfway through).

We got married in a historic village in NC and had the reception in the visitors center. Sounds like some other people have already given you some VA ideas, but museums, theaters, country clubs, etc...the world is your oyster

[littleshipwreck]

I can't even begin to say how jealous I am/how lucky you are that you got to see Ben Folds 5 shows! My fiance prefers BF5 to solo Ben so it's all I hear in the car.

Ever since I first heard The Luckiest I assumed it would be my first dance, but lately I'd been second-guessing that because it IS so long. I love that you invited the bridal party out, I could do something similar so that the focus isn't on me for ages.

[olivetree]

DH and I got married at a historical B&B. It was lovely!

Pretty much any place can host a wedding, if you're creative enough: art galleries, farms, science museums(!), historical buildings, etc. And a lot of them are more flexible with their contracts, too.

[littleshipwreck]

I'm thinking my best option is to just show my guy this page. You all have so many wonderful options that I couldn't think of on the spot when he asked where else people get married. ("Um, vineyards? Backyards?")

Something historical would be awesome!

[olivetree]

Good idea! Also, check out offbeatbride.com for ideas-- that site's a treasure trove.

Here's my post wedding post, if'n you want a gander:http://community.livejournal.com/weddingplans/19230462.html

[littleshipwreck]

Your wedding is one I've thoroughly stalked, I didn't realize it was you until I clicked into the post. Seriously though, you had one of the loveliest posts I've ever seen. Your dress, all of your stunning pictures...your wedding is everything I want and will probably not manage to achieve, hahaa.

[itslily]

I love Ben Kweller! I think that's a really sweet first song if you decide to do that.

[littleshipwreck]

Awkward virtual high fives to a fellow Kweller lover! No one I know has even heard of him, haha.

[x_patti_x]

I considered having our first song be "Thirteen" (which is my fav BK song)... but it looks like we're opting for one that's a bit more political. still Ben Kweller is a great choice I wonder how much it'd be to get him to come play it for you~

[itslily]

Ahh! Thirteen is my favourite Ben Kweller song! The boy and I don't have a song for our relationship like so many cool kids do, but this is our "unofficial" song. :)