So...after much stress and heartache we have arrived at our nearly perfect rehearsal dinner solution. We wanted to do the traditional "invite everyone who came from far away and the bridal party" but since thats about 75% of the guest list, it just wasn't going to happen. I then began the hunt for a location where we could have some beer, wine and light orderves so people can greet each other. Holy crap was that hard. We had to stay away from bars b/c of the amount of kids present, so I looked high and low at all sorts of alternative venues (the maryland fire museum, the hippodrome theatre) and found nothing that wouldn't completly break our budget. Until I actually considered hotels near the Evergreen House. I held the assumption that hotel "event" rooms tend to be depressing, poorly carpeted, and kind of stinky; however the Colonnade Hotel near Hopkins has a room that has a whole wall of glass that opens into a patio. Its perfect; convienent for people coming from out of town and not depressing OR stinky...although the carpet is still kind of ugly.