Charm City loveBIRDS: Location, Location, Location

As with most engaged couples, one of the first things we did to plan for the wedding was find our venue. When deciding on our perfect location, Kristine and I had some criteria which we agreed upon. First, we knew we wanted to be in Baltimore; my family is from the area and her family has really embraced and come to love the city on their many trips down here over the years. We also agreed that we wanted to find a venue that was “reasonably priced”. Now obviously, that has a different meaning to everyone; but for us it meant reasonable in comparison to similar venues in and around the city. Most importantly, we wanted a venue that was unique and personal to us. These factors left us with a fairly short list of venues and one place that stood out among anywhere else we considered…

Camden Yards.

This location is special to us in a lot of ways. Kristine grew up playing softball with her dad as her coach and has always loved baseball. Despite being Phillies fans, her family is excited for a ballpark wedding, and at this point Kristine is a converted Oriole’s fan. But to be fair, she didn’t have much choice considering my family. We are what some would describe as die-hard Oriole’s fans. My parents have a share of season tickets which allow us to attend games regularly (sometimes multiple times a week…) and any game we don’t attend, you can expect we are watching on TV and calling each other between innings. The Orioles, and baseball, have been a special bond among my family as well as a passion I have been able to share with Kristine, and I couldn’t think if a more fitting place for use to celebrate our love than a place we all love so much.

In the interest of sharing my limited wedding knowledge, here are a couple of things I suggest with regard to the venue-selecting process:

  1. Know your priorities (and be ready to compromise other things). By this I mean know what is most important to you about your wedding. For us, it was having a unique setting that is meaningful as well as accommodating to our guest list. **I made a guest list BEFORE scouting out venues** because I didn’t want to look at a place that couldn’t hold all our family and friends and I wasn’t willing to exclude people for a smaller venue. We compromised by not being able to select a caterer (all events are catered by the company that provides all the food at the stadium – including but not limited to hotdogs and nachos). We are also compromising by waiting for our confirmed wedding date. Because our event is held on a non-game day, we won’t know our exact date until the official schedule comes out in October (we know it will be one of three weekends in July). This means we cannot book any vendors until about 8 months before our wedding. Again, it’s all about what you’re willing to compromise.
  2. Visit the venue prepared with QUESTIONS. I will admit, when we first visited The Yard, I was not entirely prepared as I should have been (I was a little caught up in the moment, and it was the off-season so I was just really excited to be at the stadium). Luckily for us, my sister was ON IT. As I mentioned before, she knows her stuff when it comes to weddings and she came to the venue with approximately FORTY questions for the event coordinator. Some of these questions were specific to the stadium as a venue but for anyone reading that would like these questions as a reference when looking at venues, I have listed them below. The answers to these questions not only helped solidify our decision but also gave us a more accurate “ballpark figure” (clearly puns are not beneath me) of the expected costs for our wedding.

Once we visited Camden Yards from the perspective of a wedding venue, we knew it was the place for us. While I certainly enjoy people’s reactions when I answer their question “where are you getting married,” and I am more than excited to have such an amazing backdrop to what we hope is an unforgettable wedding; the best part of having our wedding at Camden Yards is the fact that we will continue to go there (and believe me, we go there a lot) and relive that day and celebrate for years to come.

Can’t wait for next month, it’s going to be all about The Dress! – Emily Wolf

Sample Venue Questions:

What are the available restroom facilities?

How early can set-up begin for the reception?

Will other events be hosted on the same day?

What is the guest route from ceremony to cocktail hour to reception?

What is the payment schedule and deposit option?

Where can we take photos during cocktail hour?

Where is the staging area for bridal parties before the ceremony and before being announced into the reception?

What is the inclement weather contingency plan?

When can we schedule a tasting?

What is the alcohol policy?

How will sound be set up for the ceremony and cocktail hour?

What are the options for parking at the venue?

Do we need to rent a dance floor? How much?

Do we need to rent chairs for the ceremony? How much?

Is there a cake cutting fee? Do you allow other options that avoid the fee?

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