This is How to Make Your LGBTQ Destination Wedding Unforgettable

Gone are the days when weddings need to be traditional church events followed by French style service on crisp white linens. Couples have been branching out to locations like beaches, vineyards, museums, farms and gardens for this year’s trend in weddings: unique venues

Love in the Stacks

Sex and the City fans gasped when Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big planned nuptials at the spectacular New York Public Library, but weddings have been taking place at bookish spaces for years. The New York Public Library’s legendary Stephen A. Schwarzmance Building is a quintessential New York City venue. The Beaux-Arts building hosts weddings in the Bartos Forum for up to 500 guests, Astor Hall for up to 750, Salomon Room for up to 325, McGraw Rotunda for up to 300, and the Trustees Room and Celeste Auditorium for smaller ceremonies. The Boston Public Library also offers a literary backdrop for the well-read couple with a variety of ceremony, cocktail, and dinner options in the courtyard, Bates Hall, Courtyard Restaurant, Map Room Cafe, Guastavino Room, Boylston Room, Deferrari Hall and Abbey Room. If you’re set on the West Coast, LA’s The Last Bookstore might be just the ticket. With a capacity of 300 people (150 seated), the independent downtown bookstore was founded in 2005.

Under the Sea

Looking for an emphasis on something blue? Consider an aquarium wedding. Long Beach’s Aquarium of the Pacific offers a variety of event spaces including their three-story Blue Cavern exhibit, an outdoor Shark Lagoon, or a catered dinner in their Grand Hall. NY Aquarium at Coney Island can accommodate up to 2,000 of your dearest (plus sea lions and sharks) for your big day. Connecticut’s Mystic Aquarium throws a party even their beluga whales get into — or have guests head to the Roger Tory Peterson Exhibit for above-and-below water viewing with some 35 resident African penguins. Mystic Aquarium can host up to 350 for dinner or up to 700 for an outdoor reception.

Lucky in Love

Take a chance on a wedding at a resort and casino. Foxwoods Resort Casino is operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in Ledyard, Connecticut. Foxwoods boasts extraordinary restaurants, pools, nightclubs and activities to entertain your party all weekend long. ARIA Las Vegas offers an exclusive wedding chapel that can accommodate up to 60 guests as well as venues like their Fireside Lounge for an intimate reception of up to 80 guests, and the Poolside Verandah for 150 inside their lush garden.

Gather Around the Carousel

Metrosource Editorial Director Paul Hagen just married his partner of eight years at the Bear Mountain Inn in NY’s Bear Mountain State Park. The storybook Merry-Go-Round Wedding (pictured) took place in the 7,800-square-foot pavilion that features a menagerie of 42 hand-carved native animals to ride. Once they sealed it with a kiss, the new husbands climbed aboard for a romantic first ride with family and friends.

Got It Bad for You, Darling

The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum calls itself the “perfect prescription for your wedding ceremony.” Located in the heart of the French Quarter, the Pharmacy Museum offers a spectacular 19th century tropical courtyard inside a truly New Orleans venue. Louis J. Dufilho was America’s first licensed pharmacist. The location, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a historic building displaying an extensive collection in Dufilho’s former shop, which is where he set up business in 1823. The museum can seat up to 130 guests for a wedding ceremony, 150 guests for a cocktail reception and 70 guests for a seated dinner. The best part of having a wedding at the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum? It’s said to be haunted. Be on the lookout for any unexpected guests, and make sure you save an extra seat at the table.

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