First things first

So we figured out really quickly that the first thing you have to get nailed down (after a budget of course) is a venue. The venue determines the date, the number of people we can host, the decor, the catering... etc. Evan and I decided we want an outdoor wedding and reception, so that helped narrow down the search. From there we started thinking about the best way to host our guests. Nearly all of his and my family and our wedding parties are coming in from out of state. So we had to start thinking about airports and hotels and venues to host 200. (Yes. Two. Hundred.) Since we currently live in a pretty small town, an hour from the nearest major city, we had to get creative.

My parents, Evan, and I spent our Christmas break scouring the internet for some venues. The following is the pared-down list we came up with:

Kindred Oaks: www.kindredoaks.com

Cathedral Oaks: www.cathedral-oaks.com

The Vineyard at Florence: www.thevinyardatflorence.com

Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children: www.peaceablekingdomretreat.com

As you can tell, there's quite a variety of ideas on the table right now, from a vineyard to a children's camp.  Actually, Peaceable Kingdom is my favorite option right now. It would be able to house most of our out-of-town guests for the weekend and it would offer a family reunion/families uniting type feel - plus there's a high ropes course and horses to ride. Who doesn't love horses?

We're going to check out all the venues this weekend. I'll keep this updated with what we decide upon. 

*Sidenote: All the pictures of the locations were taken from the websites provided. I'm not 100% sure if that's legal - but here's hoping.