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Venue for ceremony only?

sdolandersdolander
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in Ohio-Northeast
My fiance and I are trying to juggle working in Bowling Green and planning a wedding for next summer in Cleveland, and man, it's hard.  We really want to set a date, but we want to stay pretty open until we can find the right venue.  While looking for said venue, I'm noticing that some places want you to have both the ceremony and reception there, or will charge you butt-loads of money.  We already have our reception venue picked out, and it will be SUPER cheap because it is with my mom's Ford UAW building.  We had originally wanted to do a church wedding, but so many churches want you to either be a member of the church or go through pre-marital classes/counseling. (In our opinion, it's ridiculous to do pre-marital counseling.)  Does anyone have an idea for a ceremony venue that is cheap and will accomodate 150-200 people?
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Re: Venue for ceremony only?

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    JKohioJKohio member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Does it matter what area of town? DH and I were married at Pleasant Hills United Methodist church in Middleburg Hts. We met with the paster once (or it may have been 2x) but was pretty much just wedding related. No requirements to be members or anything (we weren't and still aren't). I'm not even UM (nonprac Catholic here) and DH wasn't/isn't practicing. No problem! Pastor Buckeye was very easy to work with and the church was inexpensive -- around $350, IIRC for ceremony. We didn't use their organist though, we supplied our own musicians. For their organist, it was I think an additional $150. We had 175 guests, but 200 wouldn't have been a problem either.

    If that's nowhere near your area, check out other United Methodist churches or even Unitarian Universalist (I think that's the name) churches near your area. They're very flexible about marrying nonmenbers.

    Also, I don't know how many it would accommodate, but the Old Town Hall in Strongsville can be rented for wedding ceremonies. The Chalet in the Metroparks in Strongsville might also be an option.

    Good luck!
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    sdolandersdolander
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    edited December 2011
    Middleburg Heights is PERFECT! My reception will be in Brookpark, and most of my family live in that area! I'll definitely check them out - your situation sounds exactly like mine! Thank you so much!!
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    JKohioJKohio member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    You're very welcome! There's also a UM church in Berea that we considered. The vibe was much 'older' architecturally (and darker). Pleasant Hills has a more modern design, if it matters to you.
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    sdolandersdolander
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    edited December 2011
    Oh, wow, the one in Berea is absolutely gorgeous. I emailed both of them in order to receive more info. Thank you so much for all of your help!
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    sdolandersdolander
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    edited December 2011
    Wow, the one in Middleburg Heights really raised their prices since you were there... $690 for non-members for use of the church, $250 for use of the pastor, $250 security deposit, $225 for the organist, plus three counseling sessions and a requirement of attending three services two months before the wedding. :/
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    JKohioJKohio member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Wow! Yeah, that's so different. Bummer that it is so much more now and involves more stuff. :( Thanks for the info. I really hope you can find a good place that will work for you and be within budget. Check the surrounding communities. Maybe there's another less popular place with less requirements?
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    sdolandersdolander
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    edited December 2011
    Yeah, we'll keep looking around. Thanks for all of your help, though! I really appreciate it! :)
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    ayamm1123ayamm1123 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Check out united church of christ and methodist churches in general as they tend to allow outside non-members to be married there.  My SIL used Brecksville United Church of Christ for her ceremony and the fee was reasonable.  Middleburg Heights community church UCC is also open to others. 
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