The Destination Decision: Part I

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I have a confession to make. Mr. Kitten and I weren't always going to have a destination wedding. We actually flip-flopped on the issue for quite some time. I was never the little girl who dreamt of my wedding day, and I always had the feeling that I might want to have a small destination wedding on the beach (or even elope!). Mr. Kitten is an Army brat and I moved around a lot growing up, so our family is scattered throughout the country. If most of our wedding guests will have to travel anyway, why not have them go somewhere fabulous?

When we shared our tentative destination wedding plans early in our engagement, our friends and family had a lot of opinions about our decision. And not all of them were excited about it. Many had never attended a destination wedding and feared it would be a complicated, expensive venture for everyone involved.

Unsure about what to do, we scouted both local (Austin, San Antonio, and Houston) and destination (via the internet) venues. After some research I found a popular local venue, the Southwest School of Art and Craft (SSAAC). This what Frommer's has to say about the SSAC:

"A stroll along the River Walk to the northern corner of downtown will lead you into another world: a rare French-designed cloister where contemporary crafts are now being created. An exhibition gallery and artist studios-cum-classrooms (not open to visitors) occupy the garden-filled grounds of the first girls' school in San Antonio, established by the Ursuline order in the mid-19th century. "

I loved the SSAAC--the limestone chapel with stained glass windows, the gardens overlooking San Antonio's River Walk--it exudes old-world charm. But I still hadn't ruled out the destination wedding. I was too busy with school to make a final decision on the matter, so last March I plunked down 50% of the facilities fee as a deposit at the SSAAC (it is a popular venue that fills up quickly, and I was afraid our date would get booked) and put the matter behind me for a while.

How did you decide on your wedding venue? For destination brides, how did you make the "destination decision"?