Oh, the venue options!

The greater Los Angeles area has about a trillion places to get married.  While this variety is good, in an attempt to avoid getting completely overwhelmed, I thought it best to narrow down the type of place I wanted before starting the search.  

Preferences:

Garden --> outdoor ceremony and tented reception

Historic house

Museum with courtyard, garden, and rooftop spaces

communities --> Pasadena, Altadena, Arcadia, Malibu, Santa Monica

And here's what I found:

1) Los Angeles County Arboretum (Arcadia)

www.arboretum.org

PROs: went there all the time as a child; Todd and I went there on one of our first excursions together (we weren't even dating yet!); beautiful rose garden with white arbor and gazebo; fantastic photo opportunities in the many gardens and groves; lots of running around space for all the kids

CONs: will require renting large tent; weddings limited to late afternoon/ evening

2) Heritage Square

www.heritagesquare.org

PROs: many historic houses to choose from in one setting; living history museums are cool --> there's a carriage house, railroad depot, and hundred-year old church along one private, tree-lined street

CONs: near downtown LA; no special significance for us

3) Pasadena Museum of History

www.pasadenahistory.org

PRO: ceremony and reception would be at gorgeous Fenyes Mansion, which has sprawling gardens with fountains

CON: quite pricey

4) Adamson House

www.adamsonhouse.org

PROs: right on the beach in Malibu; easy to find for guests; architecture is beautiful California Spanish style, with central fountain; managed by California Park Service; dedicated on-site wedding coordinator; catering provided by excellent restaurant group

CONs; may be too small to accommodate 100 - 150 guests comfortably; may be parking availability problems

5) Descanso Gardens

www.descansogardens.org

PROs: ideal location, with lush gardens; many weddings there, so service will probably be great; catering by Patina (same restaurant group that owns our favorite place, Naples!); many sites within gardens for ceremony and reception; wedding coordinator provided

CONs: time restrictions; shockingly expensive

and, finally

6) Disneyland

PROs: sentimental favorite; rose garden at Disneyland Hotel or small garden at Grand Californian; wedding coordinator provided --> much less work for me!; guests could go to the Park before and after the wedding; lots of hotels (in all price ranges) and parking; horse and carriage entrance :-)

CONs: high possibility of cheesiness; not in LA area (in dreaded Orange County); reception would need to be in hotel ballroom environment = not desirable; my parents strongly disapprove of idea (and they're paying!)

What do you think? Quite an array...