In its day, the U.S.S. Constellation was our Navy at its lean, mean best—a compact, fast-moving force to be reckoned with that hunted down slave ships and Confederate raiders. 

Now a fixture in the Inner Harbor, it is a place for Cub Scouts, fourth-grade history classes, and yes, weddings. Add the Constellation to Baltimore's collection of country clubs, hotels, halls, grand old mansions, libraries, churches, and synagogues that have become sought-after wedding locations.

"We've had four this month," says Laura Givens, director of promotions and special events for the U.S.S. Constellation Museum. "Couples do the ceremony and reception here. It's nice to have everything in one place."

The uniqueness draws couples. "Everyone remembers it as a child in their fourth- or fifth-grade history class. It's very beautiful. The wedding we had last Saturday, it was like having a princess on board. It was like a fairytale."

But like every other aspect of planning a wedding, professionals advise starting early. Soon after the engagement, couples should attempt to nail down the location. The city's popular wedding venues often are booked solid a year or more in advance, particularly during the spring and fall months. 

"If someone calls a month out and it [the ship] is available, they can have it," says Givens. "But they have to scramble. Some people plan a year out, eight months, six months."

Start by reviewing websites on various locations. Some prominently feature photographs from weddings as well as rental rates. Plan a visit and bring questions.

Couples who visit Musket Ridge Golf Club in Myersville, for instance, fall in love with the view, says Bonnie Swanson, event sales manager at Musket Ridge, where the clubhouse overlooks Middletown Valley and the mountains. "We have a bridal room and they love that."

When wedding receptions are being set up, venue managers often allow couples to visit and see how the location looks decorated. Some couples have a specific vision. "A lot of brides get married and have their receptions by the water," says Ashley Clough, catering sales manager for Kent Manor Inn & Restaurant in Stevensville. The inn, located on a tributary to the Chesapeake Bay, has a garden house that is glass enclosed. "You don't need a lot of decoration in the garden house," she says. 

Other couples want an outdoor wedding, an idea that is much romanticized in movies. In truth, outdoor weddings involve more intensive planning. Some couples, determined to marry in their own back yards, rent tents. Bridal consultants warn that this is actually more complicated and expensive than it looks. Even if it doesn't rain, Charm City is notorious for heat waves. An outdoor wedding also involves building a site, ensuring adequate bathroom space, refrigeration for the cake, and possibly paying the caterer extra to bring in equipment and set up a kitchen.

At venues where weddings are common, an outdoor location is established and a rain plan is already in place, usually involving a designated indoor space. On the Constellation, there are awnings between the masts, Givens points out.   

Another consideration is that weddings are no longer a one-day event. There are multiple events spanning three days, starting with the bridal lunch, the rehearsal dinner, the ceremony, and concluding with a brunch the final day.    

Couples sometimes consider hotel venues so that guests can stay overnight after the reception and all three events can be scheduled for the same place.

Inner Harbor hotels have the advantage of readily available transportation options near shopping and sightseeing venues. Venues outside the city give the feeling of a destination wedding.

Couples should ask how many weddings will be booked at the location on the same day. 

The cost of renting a venue varies, depending on time of year and length of the reception. Renting the Constellation, for example, ranges from $1,800 to $5,000. Other salty locations in the same price range that are part of the city's Maritime Museum include the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Taney, last survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack and the marina-front campus of the Living Classrooms Foundation. They're all good values, since other prime locations rent for $8,000. For restaurants and hotels, the cost is tied to the dinner/catering budget. Keep in mind that some venues offer discounted rates for events held midweek.