The Nixon Library

Because who doesn't love Nixon, right?  C'mon, Watergate??

Just kidding.  Although actually many of my relatives really do love Nixon, because he opened up trade to China!

The Nixon Library is the most-visited Presidential Library, probably because of Watergate, and in addition to its exhibits and collections, it is also a wedding venue!  I had seen it in various place online (examples: here and here), and loved the idea of having a wedding at a library (since I'm in grad school for library science), but assumed that it was really expensive.  I found out later on from my MOH (whose cousin is getting married here) that it's actually pretty affordable (depending on what time of day or time of year).  Carrie, who is the Special Events Coordinator, is extremely responsive to e-mails and questions, so we asked if we could drop by when they were having a wedding there (you can get a much better idea of what the venue looks like when it's set up).  Their closest wedding was last Saturday, so we came by to check it out!

Nixon Library

We ended up with over a hundred photos from our less than an hour trip to the Nixon Library, and I thought it'd be a huge pain to go through them or to make captions for all of them, so here's what you need to know: the ballroom area is where you would have a reception, and the grassy area is where ceremonies take place.  The pictures later on in the set are of the bridal room (the one that looks kind of like a board room), and this neat Lego exhibit that was going on (sorry, NWR-and non-Nixon-related for that matter-just thought it was cool!).  The East Room (the ballroom where receptions take place) is an exact replica of the East Room in the White House, which is still used for many events today.

Here are some of the pros and cons!

Pros: 

• lots of parking 
• Orange County venues and vendors have lower sales tax (8.25% compared to LA County's 9.75%!)
• guests get free admission to all of the exhibits before 5PM (and it's a really minimal amount to keep them open past 5PM)--free entertainment!
• comes with a dance floor, tables, and chairs, which they'll set up for you--really great for the price!
• also functions as a ceremony space for ease of transportation and use, which is something I've always enjoyed as a wedding guest
• only one wedding at a time takes place there 
• really unique venue--and a library at that!

Cons: 

• Orange County is definitely a bit of a drive, as we really wouldn't have many (if any) guests coming from there, and it might be more of a hassle for us to find vendors for rentals, catering, etc. given that we don't know the OC that well
• They have a preferred caterers list, and it's a $40 per person charge to use outside catering (so basically, you really can't use outside catering).
• The lawn area where we'd have the ceremony, while beautiful, is not shaded at all, so we'd have to rent umbrellas to shade the guests since we're planning on getting married in the daytime.
• It's kind of ornate for my taste (since it is a Presidential ballroom, after all)!

We're often shocked by the prices of wedding vendors.  Have you ever been pleasantly surprised? (Bonus question: what do you think of the Nixon Library?)