To The Church! To The Church!

After viewing our friends' wedding in a church, and decided that we wanted that, things sort of spiraled. If you haven't noticed, I get (sometimes unnecessarily) overly worried about things early on. So, I made my little excel spreadsheet with churches, their cost, their limitations, their location, etc. I made a lot of phone calls too. Unfortunately, we are not a member of a church currently. I really loved my old church in New Jersey, and Mr Pug loved his church growing up, but we've been disconnected from them for a while and need to reconnect. But finding a church is HARD- for a wedding, let alone for weekly worship!

Many churches outright said no because we are non members. Others had non member fees that were ridiculously higher than member fees- fees that we could not afford. Other churches had rules about living together and said that if wewere to be married there, one of you will have to move! Can't swing that, sorry!

We have two top contenders. The first is in Zionsville near our reception venue. We are meeting with the church's Minister tonight. I like the idea of the location for the wedding, but it is a non-denominational Christian church, which I've never been to, so I don't know what to expect. Also, it is farther (about 30 minutes) for us to get there from our home. But the fees are reasonable and they seem very open and kind!

Then, I stumbled upon a Presbyterian church near our home. I'm talking blocks from our house- how did I not realize it was there? I opened the picture of their sanctuary and audibly gasped.

THIS is the kind of place I see myself getting married. Their receptionist was kind and warm and invited us to come to a service on Sunday. Their fees are higher but also reasonable, and their location is great for weekly attendance. However, it makes it harder for guests to get around.

If we decide on the first church, we probably will do a first look for pictures and then go right from ceremony to reception. If we do the church close to our house, we could do what I've kind of preferred- no first look. I think a first look worked when we were doing a cabaret style ceremony. But in a gorgeous church like this, it would be magical to wait. However, that would mean photos after the ceremony, and a time gap for our guests, since we are not doing a cocktail hour. Luckily, Broad Ripple is right up the street, and there are a ton of shops, galleries, boutiques, bars, and eateries. We could give them printed directions to our reception venue, but also on the back include how to get to Broad Ripple and some of our favorite places. I would love to get the time to take pictures after the ceremony- I just know it's less convenient for guests. I know some people really care, and others really don't- but I think it would be a distant memory when they got the reception and began to enjoy the food and dancing!

Now we have so many things waiting on this decision- the invitations, changes to our website, the programs, where we get ready (and our whole schedule for the day!)... it is more stressful than I imagined. It might've been better had we selected a church, I dunno... six months ago? What late changes have you made in your wedding plans? Are you glad you did? And as a guest of my wedding... would you really care that much either way? (Please tell me!)