Outdoor garden wedding vs. traditional ballroom?

I LOVE this!! :-) I'd have to see a pic of the ballroom for comparison..I chose a hotel ballroom, my deciding factor was that it would be more convenient for out of town guests to have the reception at the same location, and it seemed cozier than other venues I looked at.; granted I didn't have a location such as yours that I checked out! :-)

Ab Z. - I considered a hotel too, that's so nice for guests. I'm not originally from the area so we'll be having some out of town guests too. The ballrooms I looked at weren't anything unique, very nice, but your average ballroom really. The only reason I would choose that instead is because of the convenience factor.

This venue is off the beaten path - but they do have an agreement with a hotel approx. 2 miles away, which we'll arrange transportation to. I guess I'm worried I'm already inconveniencing my guests a little, and then if it rained... double whammy. But it's just so pretty! Ahh - I can't make decisions

Maybe I can help. We are also doing an outside wedding, w/the tent. Ceremony/Reception are in the same place. We are also providing transportation from the hotel to the venue. I don't think that's an inconvenience. Also if you are having an open bar, it will keep people form drinking and driving. Rain is also a risk. We went to weather.com and found the historical averages for our area and figured out that October was one of the lesser (2.56 inches) rainier months. Also you'll have a tent, so you're guests won't really get rained on, unless during the ceremony. And most venues postpone the ceremony to the bad weather has passed.

That's GORGEOUS. For me, though, an outdoor ceremony/reception just couldn't happen. Once I make a decision, I mull it over in my head for months and picture what the day is going to look like...with an outdoor venue you'd have to have a contingency plan in place, and I would rather just have it indoors so that I KNOW I'm having it indoors instead of worrying about it up until the morning of, you know? I would be especially nervous about it in May in Philly (I'm in New Brunswick, NJ, so same weather). HOWEVER! You said you're both laid back and playful, so if you're the go-with-the-flow kind of girl, taking a gamble on it might be a great idea!

Rosie, you bring up a good point. I tend to over-think too and I don't want to drive myself nuts! As much as I'm go with the flow, I hate the idea of frizzy hair on my wedding day (I know, I know. Such a girl). But at the same time, the more I think about it, there hasn't been another venue to catch my eye quite like this one. I envision my day here...so I THINK I may be able to deal with their back up plan. We'll see!