Wedding Planning Part 1- Ceremony & Reception Location Ideas

Saturday, we had an opportunity to view a couple places to hold our wedding and reception. We agreed on one sentimental requirement: Has to be in Tacoma (This is where we became a family)

For the reception, we are pretty well set on having it at C.I. Shennanigans.
The Pros:
Its beautiful, very little to no decorating or setup required

It has a magificent view of the waterfront, Mt. Rainer, The Ram (our hangout), and my work


Has a bar that will feature all of our favorites from The Ram Big Horn Brewery next door.


The cons:
Price. This place is fancy-smancy and and has a high price tag. But... we may get the cost lowered if we negotiate properly. We already give the company a lot of our patronage over at the bar and are well liked and known by everyone.


I'm undecided on a spot for the wedding itself. Or a date for the wedding... I need to make a bunch of calls and find the availability of these places. I wanted a date in April because April 14th is when Scotty and I began dating and its in a month where we don't have birthdays. If April doesn't work, we will try for July, but then it will be hard for my mom to attend as it gets into her busy season for work...

Some ideas include:

Point Defiance Rose Garden
Pros:
Its absolutely beautiful, its an iconic Tacoma location that is very elegant.


Cons:
*Only available begining in June so my target of April would be out of the question.
*Its in a very public park and there would be all sorts of people looking in.
*Its a very popular wedding spot and they usually book up to a year in advance
*Outdoors only. April showers bring May flowers...

There is an indoor pagoda that can be rented for ceremonies at the park as well, but its a bit too themed. My sister had a beautiful traditional Japanese wedding and I don't want to be in a cheesy, untraditional pagoda for mine.


Titlow Beach Lodge
Scotty wasn't sold on this location because technically its in University Place, but I hope to research it more and maybe sell him on it.

Pros
*Very affordable.
*I'll have to double check this one, but I hear it has a view of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
*This is what I've seen of the interior

Cons
*In University Place
*Their outdated website says its fully booked until June.


Union Station
Can we say "Over-the-top"?


Marble floors and wall, Tacoma History gallore, enough space for 1200 people, unique glass art by Dale Chihuly... This is a take-your-breath-away location.
Cons
*No parking that I know of, guests would have to park somewhere else and either walk or ride the street car to get to the wedding.
*I'm trying hard to find another con, but am distracted by the beauty...


Tacoma Baptist Seminary
We took a walk here not too long ago, it only a few blocks from our home.

There are options for outside or inside. We saw the outside and its very antique. And has a very impressive view of the water from atop the hill.


The interior feels too churchy for me... but this is an option for us. This is also the only venue that has an 'all inclusive' price.



I'd like to get an idea about an average cost people have for their weddings. I'm normally a very frugal person, but my mom is fighting me on it and trying to get me to go all out on her dime... I'm still very hesitant, even though its not going to be my money on the ceremony.