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Which venue do you like better? (Lots of pictures!)

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Out on the boardwalk - aquarium''s tables/chairs/white linens

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The "foyer" - the area they hold people in as they arrive while setup is still happening

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I hope to get over to the airport today or tomorrow to get some pictures of my own, then I will post those too! So stay tuned!! Thank you all for watching intently so far!
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Date:
Wow I bet a winter wedding around Christmas was beautiful! I have to start dress shopping soon, I can only hope mine goes that smoothly!


Yeah 6 months isn''t that long in comparison to most, but I think it''s plenty. We should be fine if that''s what we end up gling with.


I''m still waiting to hear back from the airport on some things, so I''m going to call them today I think. There''s no deadline as of yet, but if someone is interested in the aquarium on the date we''re penciled in on, we''ll have 48 hours to decide and put a deposit down. Hopefully I''ll know something soon and can let you all know which way we go!! I told my parents this weekend about the two choices we''ve narrowed down to, and they''re super excited too.
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Our wedding is THIS December 21, so I don''t know how "smooth" things will actually be
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hopefully tons!
I love the new pictures you posted of the aquarium- although I still love the airport more...do you feel pulled towards either venue more now?
 
Date: 11/24/2008 10:45:34 AM
Author: sparkly_stars

Our wedding is THIS December 21, so I don''t know how ''smooth'' things will actually be
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hopefully tons!
I love the new pictures you posted of the aquarium- although I still love the airport more...do you feel pulled towards either venue more now?
Wow it''s not far away at all!! You must be getting excited!

I think I may be pulled toward one a *little* more than the other, but I''m still trying to decide if it''s a real pull or not... haha I haven''t spoken it out loud yet or written it or anything b/c I''m still so torn between the two. We''re going to the airport either today or tomorrow to talk to someone there about everything and view their album (they have an album!!!
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) of weddings and events there. So as soon as I do that (OR as soon as I feel clearly leaning toward one more than the other hehe) I will let you know!!
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Just a little update for those of you who were interested...

We went by the airport terminal this weekend and got to talk to someone there. The woman who heads up all the events wasn''t there then, but we have her contact number and are getting in touch with her. The man we spoke with helped out a lot though. He let us look at their album of event pictures there, and he gave us all the basic information.

Freke, Sparkly, etc... as far as price difference goes, we were very surprised. I don''t know if most people reveal their prices on here or not, but I really don''t see the harm, so here goes. The aquarium was $2500 to rent the entire place to ourselves for 4 hours. That time does include setup and breakdown though, so we figured we''d be adding an hour on, which is $350/hour. The airport terminal is $600 for 2 hours, then $50-100/hour (can''t remember which) after that. We don''t know the specifics yet, but he was pretty sure that time includes setup of tables, etc., so we''d be adding on a few hours to that. But in the end, the airport is still much cheaper when you consider the rental price plus the fact that it''s in town for us too.
 
Other differences...

1) The airport requries that you cater with the company that runs the cafe in the terminal. But I''ve looked at their catering menu, and it seems along the lines of what we wanted anyway. The aquarium gives a huge (VERY helpful) list of their approved caterers and other vendors, but if you have someone else in mind it''s easy to add them.

2) Both places have round tables available for free use. Aquarium has nice white chairs, but the airport''s are ugly and will need covers, which I''m not too fond of. Aquarium also has serpentine, rectangle, and bistro tables available for food/mingling/etc.

3) The airport has a nice atmosphere, and looking up in there is beautiful with the hanging sculpture and natural light. But in its daily life, it is a charter flight office, complete with conference rooms and a yellow lit Hertz sign (that doesn''t turn off) on the wall over their office in the corner. There are also black and brown business couches/chairs that sit in front of all the windows downstairs and on the balcony for viewers. They cannot be taken out, but can be "slid out of the way." (?) And what you apparently don''t see in the pictures I posted are all the charter planes (10-15 of them) sitting on the apron among hundreds of orange cones, waiting to be boarded. Basically, the aquarium is a more ready-made and easy locale as far as decor and cozy atmosphere goes. But the airport in its own right has beautiful views, especially from upstairs, of both runways, and it is very open and airy. Just less "cozy," and would take much more creativity and work to transform it into a welcoming place. But it is dominated by natural light, whereas the aquarium only has a little bit you have to walk to get to. On another flip side though, the airport has no light dimming. You can turn some off, but those are your choices - on/off. Hmm, lots of candles?

4) We get the aquarium to ourselves once our rental time starts. No public allowed in. The airport is a public building and must remain open to the public. However, he said that most people who come to view the planes are respectful and turn around once they notice an event going on inside. But I can just picture it, haha with our "great" luck all the time... we''d get some rude family with screaming kids who knows it''s a public building and comes in and ruins our reception.

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FI said this last night when we started discussing it, which I think sums it up well haha: "I want the aquarium in Raleigh." (That''s about where we are right now as far as making our decision goes.
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