The Pros and Cons of Having a Hometown Wedding

They say that the first thing to think about, when planning a wedding, is location location location. With our ever more mobile society, and the growing popularity of destination weddings, there is the potential for endless places that carry meaning to you and your fiance.

In the next couple posts, I'd like to lay out the pros and cons of having a true hometown wedding versus a destination wedding, versus something in between. I'll start with my own wedding, which I consider a hometown wedding, then we can compare and contrast.

Annie's Wedding:
Location: The town where Annie grew up. Annie and Derek currently reside in the area, as do Annie's parents, and Annie's mom's side of the family.
Pros:

• A good quarter of the wedding guests didn't have to travel.
• Mom was always able to call around vendors, go visit venues, etc. I could always run over to her office to show her the latest version of the ceremony program. Mom and Dad could drop centerpieces off at the venue, which happened to be down the street from their house.
• Lots of resources in people we know, who knew the area, could suggest venues or give you price ranges.
• Living in the area ourselves, Derek and I could visit locations and interview vendors in person. We could also go stop in with the vendor at any random time to change something (admittedly, a phone call works just as well here).
• We had a good idea of where our guests should stay, what there was to do in the area, and what kinds of restaurants to suggest.
• I got to have the wedding ceremony where I had had all the other Catholic sacraments (that I'm eligible for). That's pretty cool.
• It made my parents really happy.
  

Cons:

• Since Derek and I aren't from the same hometown, none of the locations had any significant meaning to us as a couple (prior, of course, to the wedding day). Might have been cool to have the wedding at Notre Dame, where we met and started dating.
• My hometown happens to be on the pricey side.
• Derek's family still had to travel.
• Our venues weren't necessarily "unique." Loved having the ceremony at my home church, but it's a pretty plain Catholic church. The reception, while a wonderful hall, was still just at a regular reception hall.
  

University venues

In keeping with the idea of the "tailgate wedding" I have compiled a list of what I think are pretty, scholastic venues for a couple wishing to say their vows at a university with significance to them.

1.) The University of Notre Dame (Go Irish!)
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame is beautiful, century-old church located in the middle of campus. You may celebrate your wedding at the Basilica if you are a current Notre Dame student, an ND alumnus/alumnae, a current member of the faculty or administrator at the University, or a member of the Sacred Heart Parish.

2.) Michigan State University
With its roots as an agricultural college, MSU has several gardens available to host weddings.

3.) Harvard University
This big name school's Harvard Faculty Club provides a reception site.

4.) The University of Michigan
While I dislike the football team, the Matthaei Botanical Gardens sounds like a beautiful conservatory to get married and celebrate. Indoor and outdoor facilities are available.

5.) Georgetown University
I do love Washington, DC. This school allows for Roman Catholic weddings to be held in several campus chapels, available to those connected to the university.

6.) Santa Clara University
I have a thing for Old Mexican-style churches. While SCU is a Catholic university, non-Catholics can get married at their Mission Church as well.

7.) United States Air Force Academy
Talk about the ultimate military style wedding, right? There is not a lot of information on the website for the Cadet Chapel, but a Google search tells me that weddings there are absolutely beautiful. See this blog for an example with several helpful suggestions.

Obviously, this is by no means an exhaustive list. All schools host events, it is just a matter of asking around. Check out your alma maters website and do a search for "weddings," or call up the school yourself. Keep in mind that religious institutions (particularly Catholic ones) may have special rules about who can get married there and what kind of ceremony the couple can have.

Untraditional

Contrary to what Lily would have you believe, a religious pastor does not have to preside over your wedding. The second wedding I attended this summer, performed in front of a waterfall at an Indiana county park (shown above), was conducted by the bride's congressman! She had worked for him while she was in college. Instead of biblical readings, before the vows were read, members of the party came up and read appropriate pieces of romantic poetry.
Here is a photo of the bride's bouquet, which I loved from the moment I set eyes on it:

On another note, I was talking with my boyfriend about weddings (he's so tolerant, I'm so lucky to have this guy). I asked him about a fall wedding, what you would do if your football team was playing. I figured he'd say that you just don't have a wedding in the fall for that very reason, but instead, he said, "Easy. Breakfast wedding, tailgate reception. You're out by game time."

Comments? Additions? Suggestions? Seems to me that if you had your heart set on a fall wedding but your fiance's team plays every week, the solution, then, is a Friday night wedding. And if your alma mater is important to you as a couple, have the wedding in your college town, and you and your classmates can head to the game the next day for a fun little reunion.