Venues, photography and caterers on a budget

ChadAngela · October 2010

My FI and I are looking for an inexpensive venue for our wedding. We both love history, so tend to lean towards historical churches or houses. I think we have decided doing outside is just too risky for our peace of mind, so that's out. We looked at Sunnybrae Mansion, which is very nice, but we'd have to do an outdoor ceremony, plus it is more than we want to spend for a venue. We also tried Belmont Hall, but that's not quite what we're looking for. We are interested in Avenue United Methodist as a potential site, but we're not sure if they have reception areas (I'm contacting them tomorrow about this).

We don't want to spent more than 3000-3400 for the ceremony venue + reception venue + food (including rentals). So, we need help finding venues and caterers within our budget. DIY food isn't realistic because all our family is coming from out of town.

We anticipate approximately 70-80 guests and we're looking at May 7, 2011. We would *like* a heavier meal, since we want our guests to hang around for a while, but we may have to settle for heavy hors d'ouvres instead.

We would like to stay within about 1 hour away from Dover, DE...I live in DC, and FI lives in Dover. We can't afford to do a DC wedding.

Any suggestions to help us stay within budget would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Ms.BriarRose · October 2010

I am not that familiar with lower DE, but hopefully some of the girls on here can help you out.

I cant tell you exactly where to look in terms of exact venues, but I can give you general ideas that will hopefully help!

Have you looked in the Georgetown area? I would say it's going to be your best bet for quaint and historical without breaking the bank. The Brick Hotel and Tavern is one I have heard mentioned,

Lewes fits quaint and historical, but you are unfortunately going to pay a crapton- it may be worth looking into, though. Have you checked into the zwaanendael museum? I don't know if they do these type of things or not, but that's as historical as it gets in Lewes, LOL. If you want a church ceremony, look into Lewes Presbyterian- my cousin got married there, and it is gorgeous, old, and hits historical right on the dot.

Barrett's Chapel is in Dover, and is also as historical as it gets ( http://www.barrattschapel.org/ ). John Dickinson's Plantation is in that area, don't know if they do weddings or not. Even if they don't, I would call and ask them anyway- they might be able to direct you to some place in that area that is historical that does do weddings. Also, if you get married at a historical church, they may be able to direct you to a historical venue, purely from the fact that they are historical and those types of locations tend to keep in touch with each other.

Also, another suggestion is to call the Historical Society of Delaware- they should be able to direct you to places as well. If they don't, call other historical places (Delaware History Museum might have suggestions as well). Also, if you want something in Georgetown (very history rich!), check out this website of the Georgetown, DE Historical Society- they may be able to help you as well (the phone # is on the page): http://www.georgetownde.com/nutterd.html

As for MD, you may have better luck since there is more in MD (have you checked out Salisbury?), but remember you will pay tax in MD. That may work out better, as DE venues tend to be more expensive than NJ/MD/PA venues (weird, I know, but its the truth).

Finally, if you want to start somewhere without calling anyone, just start Googling things like Historical Delaware Wedding venues, Historlcal Delaware Wedding Receptions, Historical Weddings Georgetown DE, Historical Wedding Dover DE, Historical Weddings Lewes DE, and so on and so forth.

I hope this all helps! If you aren't able to keep things in the historical route for the reception, you could try doing the ceremony at somewhere historical at least, then maybe take pictures somewhere historical as well, that way it's included somewhere. You can also incorporate history into your reception, even if its not in a historical reception hall- I have ideas, but that's for another post ("Love for the History Books" theme, anyone??)...Let me know if you need other ideas, or if any of those work out for you!

wicked_faery · October 2010

maybe you could check & see if the historic houses in Odessa will let people have weddings there? i don't think it's too likely, but it's an idea. i'll try to think of more for u.

& if u still need a photographer for a low price. u should check out pete lounsbury. i'm getting e-pics done this weekend, so i should have some photos up in the next couple of weeks.

kelbode · October 2010

I just got married this weekend at the Kitty Knight House in Georgetown/Earleville, MD on the Sassafrass River; about 15 minutes south of Chesapeake City, MD. We got married on the deck overlooking the river. The only other option for a ceremony there is right in the dining room so that may be a draw back for you. You could also do a tent out in the grass overlooking the marina. It is full of history, that is why my husband loved it there. The price is great and would fit in your budget, we did a buffet with chicken, steak, and crab cakes and all the sides. Another idea is a lunch time reception. It is about an hour from Dover. There are 11 rooms at the inn and many bed and breakfasts nearby. We had an absolutely amazing time! I highly recommend them!

Historic houses of Odessa do rent out the yard of one of the houses but is extrememly expensive. Plus I got stood up by the event planner twice so it left a bad taste in my mouth.

paprika28 · October 2010

I'm not sure how far North East is from you, and it's not overly historic, but we're having our reception at the North East River yacht Club. The whole thing is under 3700 for the catering (buffet) , the venue & rentals/etc.

soontobeschooley · October 2010

Paprika, that's not even 5 minutes from my house!!!

Also, if you wanted, you could look into parks and see if you can have your wedding in a park. I didn't look into it myself, but I know you can rent parks owned by the county for less than $200. Oh wait, I forgot you don't want it outside. Hmmm. Yeah, I agree with MBR and just google everything under the sun! That's what we ended up doing.

ChadAngela · October 2010

Thanks for all the great advice! I think we've found the place. It's perfect--except the price is slightly more than I wanted to pay, BUT...we may be able to make that work in our favor.

So we went to see Avenue Methodist Church--they are very strict about who they allow to get married there. Members only, unless you're church is too small. You can always easily join, if you're so inclined. However, after meeting with us, the pastor allowed us to have our wedding there (I'm from DC, FI is in military and moved to DE recently). The church is GORGEOUS...my dream church for a wedding! And their fellowship hall/reception area is beautiful too. Altogether, we're getting them both for $1300. No time limit. They provide tables, chairs, cutlery, plates, etc., so we won't have to rent. I'm really excited..but now have to start hammering out ceremony details with FI and he is surprisingly opinionated about it all...I thought most dudes don't care. Anyway, I'd much rather have him opinionated than not care at all about what happens. And I have to try to pick a color scheme...what goes well with scarlett-red carpeting and stained glass windows? I was thinking champagne, but that might be a little drab...Anyone?

paprika28 · October 2010

Soon to be... that's pretty awesome. look for a wedding next december:)

Hmm... dark red... how about a color that would totally pop? Lilac? Make red your accent color.

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