The Ceremony

The most important aspect for the two of us on planning a ceremony site is that it be somewhere sentimental for us (oh and I insist that it be outdoors). That being said, one of the only things I had my heart set on as a young girl was getting married in the outdoor Chapel at the Maitland Art Center (this is about 10 minutes outside of Orlando). Unfortunately this spot was scooped out underneath me a few years ago when one of his ex girlfriends got hitched there and now according to him it's completely out of the picture. But for reference sake here's what the place looks like.
as a compromise I thought we might consider exchanging vows in a different part of the art center, the beautiful garden.

For further info on this venue visit their websight. http://maitlandartcenter.org/
So as far as places that we're both comfortable with, a friend of ours suggested Bok Tower. This is the place Eric and I went to on out first trip together so of course it has that sentiment that we're looking for and the place it's absolutely beautiful, especially in the spring which is when I hope to get married. However it is located in Lake Wales, Florida which is about an hour west of Orlando, pretty much in BFE. Now I know that people have these destination weddings where people fly all over the country to watch the happy couple exchange vows, but seriously there is NOTHING else to do in Lake Wales besides Bok Tower, and the definite down side is that they don't offer the choice to have your reception on site. Now I have done some research and there are a few suitable choices for reception venues which we will get into later, so this place is still in the running, here are some pics.



and the websight: www.boktowergardens.org
Following the idea of going with a place special to us as a couple, the first day of our relationship many many years ago we stayed up all night to watch the sun come up at a local park off Spring Lake in the Dr. Phillips area of Orlando, unfortunately I can't find any info about this place on the web but if I do I'll post something later down the road, for now it's in the maybe stack.
Another place that's lovely and completely affordable is Lake Lily Park in Maitland. it's similar to the famed Lake Eola park in Downtown Orlando in that it has a beautiful fountain in the middle and hosts a farmer's market on the weekends, plus I have memories of my father pushing me on the swings there as a child. Unfortunately not much in the way of a garden here but it has a ton of great trees which for me is actually more important.


For more info you can contact the Maitland Historical Society www.maitlandhistory.org

That's just about it as far as affordable places that I find beautiful in Central Florida that don't have gazebos (have I mentioned yet how much I loathe gazebos?). Maybe later I'll post something about Dixon Azalea Park which I had considered briefly before realizing that my favorite spots there were way to small for the 50 some odd people we'd invite. I'm sure at some point some other spots will float in to my head so definitely expect more on the topic at a later date.