One of the first wedding decisions we made was the location. Right after our engagement (or even maybe before?), Moon dude and I were perusing websites for activities to do while on our annual vacation to the Outer Banks. My family has visited the Outer Banks nearly every year since I’ve been born. While researching, we stumbled across some info on getting married on the Outer Banks. I made a wistful comment about how cool it would be to actually be able to get married down there. Moon dude responded, “Well, why not?” It was such a simple statement, but it was something that never occurred to me. At least not in a way that seemed like it could really happen. But as he said, “Why not?” So as we thought about it more, and after the initial shock of the concept of having our wedding 500 miles away from home faded it seemed to really fit, why not! Its funny, this outside-the-box thinking has really led us to some interesting wedding planning ideas, but we’ll get to those later, back to the location.
 The Pier House at high tide
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I am happy to report that Dogwood Dude and I found every single one of our parameters when searching for our destination wedding! The Key Largo Grande Resort & Beach Club is an hour from Miami Airport, budget friendly for us and our guests (especially for those Hilton Rewards Members), has two amazing 3rd floor rooms overlooking the ocean in case of rain, has a beach covered in arching hammock trees….and PLENTY to do! The funny thing is that so many people ask me how we chose Key Largo, which seems so remote to most, and I always tell them…we just had five parameters!
Here are some pics!
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I am going to be honest with you from the beginning… we spent A LOT of time figuring out where we wanted to get married! The good news, Dogwood Dude and I did it all from the comfort of our own couch! All we needed was Google Maps and a bunch of browser windows. We started in North Carolina and went all the way down the east coast of Florida and back up to the panhandle to find the perfect location. I know that seems a little daunting, but you just have to set parameters and I suggest tackling one city a night.
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After Google searches, frantic phone calls, and numerous site visits, we have found our wedding venue!
As I mentioned in a previous post, having a wedding in Washington, D.C. seemed easy at first with all the gorgeous museums and monuments around town. However, the more we started looking into various venue options – including museums, historical homes, and organizations – our choices actually seemed pretty limited. Since we were really trying to avoid hotels, we spent weeks searching high and low for the perfect spot and I’m happy to report that we’ve found a venue that is the perfect combination of size, beauty, location, and most importantly price. Drum roll please…The Carnegie Institute.
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One of the first things that you need to check off your list is deciding on your wedding date and the ceremony/reception site. I found our wedding venue through Google searches and the ceremony/reception site that we will enjoy next year will be the great Maplewood Greens.
This site has a golf course, a restaurant and a ballroom. We love this place! The food is great and the atmosphere represents both our personalities. Towie Bear and I knew from the beginning that we wanted a summer wedding. That’s why we decided on Maplewood Greens because our guests will admire one of the greatest things that the Evergreen state has to offer and that is its verdure.
The following are some pictures of our wedding site. Please note that these images were taken last winter, therefore, Maplewood Greens still had their Christmas decorations displayed.
 Guest Table  Lovely Area for Pictures Continue Reading
I will say this about finding your “dream wedding venue”: it’s a lot like finding your Dude. First of all, you’ll probably find plenty that just aren’t right for you. When you think you’ve found the right one, it’s all about a feeling – you can write a list of what you’re looking for, but when it comes down to it, it’s all about what feels right. For instance, when I met Iris Dude, I just knew he was right. And when I walked into Marbles Kids Museum, I knew it was right too.
When looking for our venue, I did have a brief list of “needs”: I needed a place where we could have our ceremony and reception in the same place. I needed a venue that was entirely indoors, or had an easy (and free) rain plan. I preferred a place that would let me choose my own caterer. And I needed somewhere fun, somewhere that felt alive and exciting and playful. What better place than a kids museum?
This picture was taken from the second floor, looking down at another event in the main area where our ceremony and reception will be held. Isn’t the globe great?
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As soon as we got engaged, I was told this multiple times: “The first thing you need to do is set a date and find your venue.” So, I searched for venues in the area (using the internet and regional wedding magazines), narrowed it down to three, and visited all of them. I knew I would find my perfect venue in one of those three options!
 The Matthew's House Continue Reading
D.C. is an historic, gorgeous, and monumental city that boasts some of the most famous buildings, picturesque cherry blossoms, delicious ethnic food, and highest per capita intelligence level (that’s just a guess by the way). So, what is wrong with D.C. when considering it for your wedding location? Size! And, D.C. is seriously lacking in the dimensions department.
My Fiance and I have known that we wanted to get married in D.C. for a while now. D.C. has been the backdrop of our 3 and 1/2 year relationship and home of all our adventures together. We first met through friends at an Adams Morgan dive bar; our first real date happened at the well-known Adams Morgan eatery, Lauriol Plaza; our second date was a bar crawl though U Street corridor, then a concert at the 9:30 Club. The restaurants and bars in Georgetown, Dupont, and Columbia Heights are where he and I fell in love and thus this city is near and dear to us.
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Since before receiving “the ring”, I wanted a cocktail style reception with the room, wherever it would happen to be, needed to look like a lounge- an upscale lounge with some retro flair. Finding a venue was difficult enough… yet alone for it to be a lounge. In my head, we had racked up thousands in décor to make my vision a reality. Until I met the JW!
A few years back, a club called Plush opened and shortly closed. Unfortunately, in Vegas, “local” clubs aren’t very big. Vegas’ loss is our gain. Meet my new venue: A night club that is now rented out for parties. Can you say FABU??? (Perfect would be a perfect word, but I try not to use the word perfect when talking about my wedding!) This is the most excitement I’ve had since getting the ring!
 A professional photo! By Dott Photography Continue Reading
Location plays a very large role in the “look and feel” of a wedding, which is one of the reasons why venue was at the top of Periwinkle Dude’s and my decision list after we got engaged. We began our search for the perfect reception venue by browsing through a book I picked up called “Wedding Sites and Services”. Who knew that a $5 investment was going to turn out to be a HUGE help in the planning process. The compilation of data in the book for each venue (e.g., price range, capacity, cuisine, sample menu, etc.) was a great starting point and let us compare and narrow down the different options from a numbers perspective before we went out for site visits. Tip: There are different volumes available for various locations throughout the U.S. which means there might be one out there for you — and if so I would highly recommend you check it out if you’re in the market for a wedding site!
 Wedding Sites and Services Periwinkle Dude and I both grew up, went to school, now work, and have family & friends in the big apple – so we were pretty certain we wanted to get married in the New York area. We looked into a few Manhattan venues, but quickly learned the capacity limits were not very high on the limited number of places that might be construed as affordable, and all the “big names” with great big ballrooms to match were out of our target price range.
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