When Scott and I got engaged we wanted a short engagement, around six months. Since we got engaged in December, this meant a summertime wedding. Albany and summertime are not a good mix for outside weddings. We didn’t want our guests to have to sweat and we didn’t want to sweat either, so we knew would have an inside wedding. When we started planning we ( well, really me) had two cities in mind to get married in: Athens, Ga or Albany, Ga.

The Ceremony Locations Possibilities:
Athens: The Cecil B. Day Chapel at the State Botanical Gardens
I use to run at the botanical gardens when I was in college, and I loved it. I would always walk over to the chapel to look in the windows and it was just beautiful. The Chapel is beautiful, but unfortunately it was booked for our wedding day

(Photo Credits: –State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Chancey Charm Weddings Wedding Mapper, Smith Dalia Architects,)

Athens: The University of Georgia Chapel
I love the outside of the chapel and the fact that it has the bell behind it, but the inside sits and looks more like an auditorium than a chapel and I didn’t really like the mural. I wasn’t very keen on getting married in there- so we quickly nixed that idea.

(Photo Credits: Be UGA Store, 2,3,6 University of Georgia , 4,5 Between Naps on the Front Porch,)

Albany: Sherwood Baptist Church
Sherwood is our home church and we love it, but it’s not the most wedding conducive location. We didn’t have enough guests to get married in the sanctuary and the chapel didn’t really have the feel I wanted. Plus, we are in the middle of a massive renovation. This wouldn’t have bothered the guest or parking, but would limit our picture options outside.

(Photo Credits: Ann Almasy, Red Fly Studio, Sherwood Baptist Church)

Albany: Porterfield Memorial United Methodist Church
One of the prettiest weddings I have ever attended was at Porterfield. They have a long aisle and stained glass. It is also very convenient to our reception venue. The only downside is they have a large sanctuary.

(Photo Credit: Red Fly Studio, Buffy Dekmar)

Here were the Pros and Cons for Albany and Athens:
Athens, GA
Pros: We both LOVE Athens. Summertime is bearable, and the food there is amazing
Cons: Both sides of the guest list would have to travel. We would have to rent everything for the reception.

Albany, GA
Pros: It’s a convenient city for almost everyone on our guest list. And those that would be traveling, have friends or family that live in town.
Cons: There wasn’t any place I just loved.
Even though Athens is beautiful, we decided the cons outweighed the cons, and decided to go with Albany. Which meant we needed to find a location.

We finally settled on Albany and decided to have the wedding at Porterfield. We think the ceremony is going to look beautiful!