I told you on Monday that we picked a wedding venue! I didn’t go too in depth, because I knew I’d be dedicating an entire post to it anyway.
When we got engaged in the beginning of December, I had a few ideas in mind on what I wanted our wedding to look like. The same few words kept coming up when people would ask me what I’m looking for in a venue or what I imagined our wedding being like: romantic, garden party. I didn’t really think that I’d find something like that, but I knew that was the theme I wanted to go with.
We looked at a few venues that just weren’t for us. Some were too corporate and some were too rustic. I was told by a few people that I would know the perfect venue when I saw it. I still had hope I would find the perfect one, but as the months flew by I was starting to think that a destination wedding in a tropical location was the best choice.
Eventually one weekend in February Bryan and I looked at two arboretums in our area: Tyler Arboretum and Morris Arboretum. Tyler was extremely too rustic for us and we knew within 5 minutes that there was no way we were getting married there. Morris on the other hand was completely different.
During our first trip at Morris Arboretum in Chestnut Hill, we were certain that it was perfect. However we didn’t think our budget would allow for us to have our wedding there. We ended up working out the numbers a few weeks ago and signed on the dotted line this past Saturday for a May 2014 wedding!
Ceremony
Our ceremony will be outdoors (unless it rains – then it will be under the tent). I don’t have a photo of the exact location of our ceremony, but the photo below is of another wedding there that looks like the area we will be getting married. It’s overlooking hills and trees and we will be surrounded by gorgeous flowers in May. We aren’t going to have those Samsonite chairs in that photo. We’ll be having white wooden chairs, which I think will look a lot nicer in photos.
(source)
Cocktail Hour
Our cocktail hour will be held on Morris’ Out on a Limb, which is a treehouse! It is super unique and we thought it would definitely set our wedding apart from others. It was an extra cost, but I’m glad we are doing it. It will be so cool! The bar will be set up on the outside of the tree house and we’ll be able to mingle throughout the treehouse, which is lit up at night from underneath the floor boards!
Reception
Our reception is going to be held inside the tent. The tent is attached to the visitors center and is exactly what we were looking for. The floor of the tent is asphalt so we won’t have to worry about chairs sticking in grass. It will have the lights already there around the rim of the tent, but I will probably also have some sort of lanterns or candles inside as well. Not 100% sure yet on the details, but at least we signed a venue!
Talk To Me
- What was your wedding theme like? Rustic, modern, romantic, casual?
- How long did it take you to sign your venue contract?
- How many people were on your guest list?
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Nicole & Shelisa best of luck with each of your weddings!
We’re planning an August wedding at Morris – and juggling a large guest list (160-180) – has anyone been to an event there with a large group?
Elaine
Hi Nicole!
I was looking for pictures of wedding at Morris and found your blog. I’m getting married there May 2014 too. So from one bride-to-be to another. Best wishes and happy planning. I pray we both have great weather on our specials days. I’ll have to check back!
Treehouse, that is amazing. It is going to be an a amazing day.
Thanks Kelly! Just have to hope for nice weather!
What a GORGEOUS venue! Omg your wedding is going to be beautiful! Our wedding party is up to like 140. I don’t even know. haha
OMG 140! Ours is hovering around 75!
Love, love, love it!!! So pretty! And I LOVE the treehouse… very unique!
Thanks Erika, we are super excited! Now all the fun planning begins!
Yay! It’s very pretty!!
I totally battled the romantic, not corporate but not TOO rustic dilemma. We had to find a place to hold 200 plus people so it was a bit tricky!
Completely understand! So many venues in our area are super modern and the others look too rustic! 200+ people?! Oh my! Large families?
The place looks absolutely gorgeous! Congrats! 🙂
Thanks Sylvia! We are so excited. Now that the venue has been booked, a huge weight has come off our shoulders.
Pretty! So excited 🙂 I’m already considering which hair option will be the best for May outdoors hahaha Can’t wait to talk with you more about it!
Hey Leslee! YAY! See ya soon!
Omg! You hit the jack pot on that place. Treehouse?? That is so awesome!! It’ll be the wedding to be remembered 🙂
Thanks Chelsea – I’m looking forward to figuring out the smaller details now — flowers, ceremony set up etc.
That venue looks absolutely beautiful and so unique – definitely will be a treat for your guests! Picking venues is sometimes the hardest step for my clients because there are so many things to consider, but it definitely sounds like you picked the right one for you and Bryan! (Here’s a tip while planning out your guest list – plan on a 75%-80% acceptance rate). Cheers!
You’re right! The venue was the hardest thing to decide on because it was one of the most important things to us. Working around finding the best place, figuring out the budget and narrowing the guest list.
So gorgeous! Congrats on finding your venue! We signed with our venue after being engaged for a whole 3 weeks… It was stressing me out and I just wanted that part to be decided! We will be getting married at a country club so I think the feel will be classic/romantic. Our guest list is currently at 280. Two big Irish and Italian families!
Thanks Kirstin! OMG 280!!?? WOW! Where’s the wedding?
STUNNING—says the woman who completely eloped.
no guestlist 🙂
just us.
Love intimate ceremonies! We thought about eloping a few months ago, but decided we really wanted our friends there.