Finding your ceremony location

Unlike some brides, I hadn't planned or thought about what I would want my wedding to be like prior to my engagement. It just wasn't something I thought to concern myself with! So when the initial engagement thrill subsided, I came to a quick realization that I was in trouble - I had absolutely no plan for what I wanted to do for the wedding. Because I was starting from scratch, my first goal was the find the location and determine the time of year. I started by asking myself three simple questions that I thought with honest answers could start pointing towards what I wanted for our wedding day ceremony and location. Below I am sharing these questions with my answers as an example:

What weddings have I been to or seen, and what did I like or not like about them?
I had only been to 3 weddings before. The first one was on a beach with a reception at a hotel about 30 minutes away. I liked the outdoor ceremony, but didn't like that everyone had to stand on the beach. I didn't like the discontinuity of guests having to move from a beach and drive to the reception location. The second one was a family member who got married in a garden, and went to a hotel for the reception. I was in the wedding party, so this one felt like I was still part of the wedding in between the ceremony and the reception, but I still didn't like the discontinuity much. I loved the garden feel where you could set up area with chairs, an "aisle", and still have the natural beauty surrounding everyone. The third wedding was an a church with the reception at a restaurant that had a private upstairs function area. I liked the function room, but didn't like the indoor wedding.

What are the important elements of the world in my life and my fiance's life?
I love water and nature. I am happiest when I am outside in the elements, and I love fall time in New England when the humidity has gone away, the trees are turning colors, and there's a crisp, fresh smell to the world. Professionalism and elegance are important to me. I love simplicity, my job revolves around making products easier for people to use. My fiance also loves simplicity. He is a hard worker who always wants to find a way to do it himself. He is also a private person who does not like ample attention. Because we are both focused on work, our house, and other priorities, we need convenience in our wedding ceremony planning.

Are there any other factors that might affect where we pick?
My family is not local, so those coming from my side of the family will have to find accommodations. My family also tends to be a great party family, but therefore drinks and I would like to have accommodations that they do not have to travel to get to after the reception. His family doesn't travel well, so having a destination wedding outside of our local area is not an option.

With the answers to these questions, I was able to quickly narrow down places that I should be looking at to places that fit the following:
- The wedding will be somewhere within a 45 minute drive from our house so that I can easily go back and forth during planning, and his family does not have to fly
- We will have a fall wedding
- We will have a garden wedding, in a private garden or lawn area so that only those involved in the wedding are present
- The garden must be either part of or near a hotel for walk-friendly accommodations.

So far this has led to me looking at:
- A historical Inn for a outdoor wedding, indoor reception, and accommodations for out-of-town guests
- A country club for an outdoor wedding and indoor reception (there are some nearby hotels that I could provide shuttle service to)
- A historical house and garden for a wedding with a reception there or next door at one of the hotels in walking distance.