 St. Monica's in Berwyn, where Alyse and Kevin will be married. The six-months-to-go mark came with two curve balls that have me reflecting on our ceremony and reception locations. First, it was announced that the grade school where Kevin and I met, which is next to the church where the ceremony is taking place, was one of the 44 Catholic grade schools closed by the Philadelphia Archdiocese. Second, the owners of our reception venue notified us that they would be changing the venue name from Peche to Pomme. Dear Radnor Hotel, Never change. I’m serious. Sincerely, Alyse.
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 Carolyn and her mom revisiting Winterthur this June. There are so many great venues in the Philadelphia area! Chris and I really had to narrow down our search so that we focused on what was important to us, and what kind of event we wanted to have. We decided to look for a venue that could have both the ceremony and the reception on site, an outdoor space, and a great rain plan. I started out just looking at local photographers’ blogs, trying to see some real wedding pictures (because the ones on the venue websites aren’t always the most true to life). This helped me compose a list of venues that met our top needs and I promptly scheduled some tours.
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New venues and bridal salons you need to know about now.
 Stephen STARR Event's ARTS Ballroom. {Venues} PARTY PLACES
Philly’s got some fab new venues for your Big Day soiree:
- Stephen STARR Events’s ARTS Ballroom—located off the Avenue of the Arts at the former Hotel Sylvania site—has room for up to 250 in its Grand Hall, with mahogany floors, mezzanine balconies and a granite staircase. They’ll serve your favorite food and drinks from any Starr restaurant—or a 1923-grand-opening-gala-inspired menu. Prices start at $125 per person, and you provide the alcohol.
- VIE, the latest venue from Joe Volpe (of the Cescaphe Event Group) is a 17,000-square-foot ballroom on Broad Street that can be completely customized depending on the size of your wedding (it fits up to 1,200 standing). The space features tile-mosaic walls and state-of-the-art video capabilities, with areas for live cooking stations and a lush outdoor garden where your guests can take a break from dancing the night away (215-328-5750).
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 The pond at Peche in Radnor. My preppy side and my earthy side have been in a serious fight since I got engaged. The visions that I have had for my wedding have included everything from a rustic barn with bales of hay for seats to a classic ballroom with the men in bowties. While my wardrobe can handle this mix of style, I thought my wedding, which is only one day, after all, should to lean one way or the other. After listening to both sides equally, I knew that there was only one way to decide: Pick a venue.
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 Kathleen and Christian's ceremony site at Radnor Hunt in Malvern. Ok, so yay, we’re engaged! Now what?
Well, if you’re like anything us, the majority of the wedding will be coming out of your own pockets— and that sets the tone for a lot of things within the wedding planning process. I will admit, within just a day or two after the engagement, I was vigorously searching the Internet and buying just about every wedding magazine I could get my hands on. However, this was mainly because I knew that if we wanted to get the most from our money, we would have to start figuring things out as soon as possible.
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 Photo by Meyer Photography Anthony and I had our food tasting with the caterers at our venue last week. We extended the invitation to our parents so they could help us with choosing some of the food for the Big Day. Beforehand, I was struck with the usual “what should we expect?” feeling that seems to keep coming up so frequently in the planning process. Turns out, we got to try a little bit of everything, from hors d’oeuvres to our six selected entrees and a selection of cakes and desserts. We left there stuffed — and satisfied that our guests will enjoy the food as much as we did.
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 In terms of our upcoming nuptials, my fiance and I have really been trying to be proactive and plan ahead as much as possible. According to what I have been told, May and June are the most competitive times with bridal vendors because they are the most popular months to get married — and we are getting married mid-May! We have been on the ball with most of our wedding planning process so far, and have been making a lot of the bigger decisions in terms of choosing vendors, but we still have a few things to finalize.
A few weeks ago, my future mother-in-law contacted me about getting together to go ‘shopping’ for the perfect rehearsal dinner location. When she first mentioned something to me about going, I was a little confused because I thought it was a little soon to be thinking about that — but boy was I wrong!
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 Tim and I have are blessed with an abundance of friends and family, which means we’ve been to an amazing number of weddings. We’ve been to an estimated 20 celebrations together since we met, and at least another 10 each prior to the fateful day we laid eyes on one another (incidentally, at a wedding). Once you’ve been to this many weddings, you can’t help but pick up on details; you notice what the bride and groom have done to personalize their Big Day — and what elements are part of the “standard package.”
Don’t get me wrong, this is not a judgmental post meant to put down couples who opt to not go à la carte. Wedding packages can be incredibly convenient. You pick a price point that fits within your budget and things such as your menu, bar choices, even table linens and ceremony décor, are laid out on the pages of your contract in black and white. And some vendors do a great job making the elements of their packages unique to avoid the “cookie cutter” look that is stereotypically associated with the standard Silver, Gold or Platinum options. For many couples they are a great option.
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Check out these Philly-area venues with great outdoor space for your celebration ...
 If you’ve got a rock on your finger, we’re guessing that the lovely weather this time of year is making you crave an outside wedding celebration — and since the Philadelphia area has got so many fabulous venues with lovely outside spaces for partying under the stars, we thought we’d share with you a few of our faves. Hope this helps get you started!
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 Luxurious, Five-Diamond Wedding Location
The Rittenhouse Hotel, a glittering 5 diamond jewel, is located on historic Rittenhouse Square, the heart of the city’s most prestigious cultural center. Our entertainment areas are havens for wedding receptions, bar and bat mitzvahs, and other social affairs. Your guests will arrive to a Belgian-stone courtyard, fountain, and manicured gardens. A marble foyer leads to a welcoming, finely furnished lobby. And with 8,470 feet of total event space, our function areas serve as havens of exquisite elegance and exceptional grandeur. The venues at our Philadelphia wedding site include:
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