Location Location Location

[AlektraClementine]

Hello all!

 

So I'm having the darndest time choosing a location. We want to get married in Asheville, NC. This, we know.

 

What's difficult is finding a place that suits us. We want something simple and unique. Ideally outdoors and farm-ish. We aren't interested in a place that is common for weddings as that (from what we are seeing) comes with the high cost of an event planner.

 

We'd like to take a day trip up and scout some locales but I'd like to at least have a general idea so I can make a list and plan an itinerary.

 

Anyone have any advice on how they chose the unique spot for their wedding?

[Stung]

Well, not sure how much this'll help, because I kind of fell into mine ass-backwards. My wedding was supposed to be on a sort of pagoda over a reflecting pond in a botanical gardens...six weeks before the date, the water pump broke and the pond was suddenly choked with bracken and mosquito larvae and dead fish. Kind of bad ambience for a wedding. No problem, I'd have it on the grounds at the Inn where we scheduled the local leg of our honeymoon...it was disappointing, but the Inn's gardens were beautiful too and my wedding party is so small it wouldn't be too much trouble to change things around. Then the Inn called with major plumbing problems, the wine we were booked into was going to be closed down for renovation and there would be construction all over the grounds. So five and a half weeks to go and I suddenly had nothing.

 

I admit I kind of freaked.

 

Anyway I spent an entire week and a half doing research and making day trips. I Googled my ass off. I picked the area I wanted (where the Inn was) and looked up romantic getaways, historical landmarks, vineyards, rentable cottages, bed and breakfasts known for beautiful grounds. I packed up my baby and drove up there every day...my parents who are retired came with me twice, and my partner and stepdaughter came on the weekends. We looked at at least 3 or 4 places a day (hard to do much more with a fussy baby getting pissed at being popped in and out of the car all day). I askeda million people a million questions. When people found out the situation 98% of them were helpful and sympathetic. Some referred me to other places. I was persistent but also polite, realistic and willing to compromise my vision at least to some degree. I ended up with four locations I liked, only to get even more freaked out when all four were booked or otherwise unsuitable because of the late date (I was not willing to compromise on the date for sentimental reasons...it's the anniversary of our first date).

 

Then I stopped and had lunch at a funky little Czech cafe and decided to take the baby for a walk and I found it, the perfect place for us, a tiny private cove with it's own beautiful beach and silvered pier, three rustic cabins jutting right out over the water, grassy dunes and tall trees, invisible from the road. I made a few phone calls and voila, rented the whole place for four days, for a tiny picnic wedding/mini-moon/beach vacation for me, my partner, our kids, and the grandparents (had to bring the babysitters along!)

 

It's unconventional but it's us. It was last minute but it's perfect. It's the result of a lot of planning and effort and also something I totally stumbled across. So, make of that what you will, I guess.

 

I like your rustic farmhouse idea. Try Googling and mapping first, then just approach people to ask your questions. You never know what might shake out. Good luck!