When I was a kid, growing up in LA, I had always had my heart set on The Castle Green as my wedding location. It is a beautiful old hotel-turned-residences and event space in Old Town Pasadena. I drove by it all the time and loved the old charm of the building and the gardens. I dreamed of wearing an elaborate ball gown, with flowers blanketing every possible surface. There would be custom lighting and signature everything...
Then I met Mr. D.
You see, he's not the formal type. And I have since realized that I'm not either. I know I have told you before that he relaxes me, but he does, and in ways I never expected. Our relationship has matured me a lot. While I can appreciate the finer things in life, I know that there is more than big price tags. Smiles, laughter and consideration mean more to me than decadent flowers, fine wine and fancy food. When it came down to bang for our wedding buck, we just wanted to have a party with our friends and family, and the more, the merrier!
Most of our families and friends are in Southern California. We live in Sacramento, along with another group of our friends. Mr. D's dad and my grandparents live (next door to each other!) across the river from where we met. We talked about which area would be best for the wedding, and we quickly agreed that we wanted a fun atmosphere with all of our nearest and dearest. Aside from that, we didn't have any strict criteria. I suggested we look into the casino that we hung out at the weekend we met. He loved the idea! And so it was decided... we'd get married at the Avi Resort and Casino. It is about a 4.5 hour drive from LA, so we knew not everyone would make it, but that the ones that wanted to be there would be. And it is beautiful, very casual and totally fun.
The awesome neon lights of the lobby. You know you love it! (source)
Above is the beach on the Colorado River, complete with tiki umbrellas (source)
This venue also happens to be about 9 hours from where we live. So I guess it would be considered a destination wedding. But when I tell people that we are having a destination wedding, they immediately think Hawaii or the Caribbean. So I've started calling it a "domestination" since it requires travel, but doesn't require a passport.
How many places did you consider before you settled on a venue? Are you having a "domestination" wedding?
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