Location, Location, Location

OK, so I'm running about three steps behind when it comes to journal entries versus blog posts. Even though I have this blog up and running, I'll still be posting things that happened today about a week from now before I finally catch up. I'm thinking I'll try to start posting multiple journal entries on the same day to cover some ground. However, with pet sitting and bridal shows and consultations I'll be hard pressed to find the time this weekend. Here's hoping I can catch up soon. In the meantime, more journal entries! ^_^
-
-
Dec 28, 2009
-
Major wedding planning day! While watching "My Fair Wedding with David Tutera" on WE network, I started talking with Remy about ceremony and reception venues. Neither of us really have an idea as to where to get married. We know it would be outside, and Remy finally made the executive decision of getting married in PA.
-
Well, with this on my mind I just could not sleep this morning. I was up at 6:30 and gave up trying to fall back to sleep about an hour later. Not managing to keep wedding planning out of my head, I gave in and started an internet search for wedding locations in the area.
-
I searched via the oh-so-trusty Google and the first hit was a large listing of all these different locations. I went through and compiled my own list of ones I thought were acceptable. An hour of research later I was able to narrow the search down to about fifteen locations. The funny part is that three of them are (at least former) clients of Icarus Communications! And on top of that, about half of those I selected were golf courses. I guess the only open land left in the area is reserved for golfers.... Anyway, I wrote notes about each location and emailed them to Remy and Mom for their input. I'm not a huge fan of all the locations I placed on my list, but I saw some sort of potential and I included them for financing reasons.
-
I do have six locations that I want to really concentrate on. So let us do a drumroll for LycoRogue's Top Six Locations!
-
Starting with Number Six: BarnHouse Villiage
It's an inn and so our out-of-town guests could stay there - kill two birds with one stone. Inside one of the ballrooms is this gazebo-like set-up which looks really cool. Outside is an actual gazebo that is huge and gorgeous.
-
Number Five: The Green Pond Country Club
This has an equally beautiful gazebo and a nicer reception hall that includes a fireplace. I think this then knocks BarnHouse out of the running except for finance reasons.
-
Number Four: The Club at Morgan Hill
Yet another golf course. I also have a pen from their catering service that I received at a bridal show I went to with Sue last year. Anyway, there were very few pictures online, and so I'm not really sure what the place looks like. This is pretty much my main reason for it to be Number Four. It may get bumped up once I actually see the place. I can say now, however, that what I CAN see on the website looks amazing.
-
And now the top three!
-
Number Three: Riverview Country Club
This is Mom's favorite location. Her reasoning is that there are easily twenty different places to get amazing wedding photos shot at. The Riverview Country Club has that all-so-important gazebo, but what makes it stand out against the others is that theirs has a wood-woven roof. From a distance it looks sort of like a Caribbean hut. However, the close-up photos make it look rustic with a bit of a Wiccan/Old World feeling that works well with our Celtic theme. There is also a very long wooden walkway to the side of where the guests will be sitting. This acts as the bridal party entrance/exit aisle. The clubhouse itself - where the reception will be - has this gorgeous stone front and is up on a hill. This is another reason Mom loves it so much. Neither Remy nor I see it, but she claims it looks like a castle. The interior has this stone column that appears to also house a fireplace. There are also glass walls and - excuse the pun - a nice marriage of stone and wood. This place definitely has potential.
-
RUNNER UP - Number Two: Ehrhardts Waterfront Resort
This one used to be my favorite until I discovered the Number One location. When it came to my wedding, I always dreamt of one of two things being in the ceremony background: breathtaking mountain vista or an overlook of water. The look at the waterfront is gorgeous. The shots on the website that were taken on the dock are just so pretty. There are well-groomed yards with beautiful trees and flowers, which create excellent picture location alternatives to the water side. I just fell in love, but the fact that they provide a wedding coordinator may have been an additional factor in that. Mom is nervous that the location won't look as breathtaking for my wedding; pointing out that all the water vista shots are at sunset and Remy and I are getting married early afternoon. Also, even in early October people might still boat on the water behind us. How will that look? Final downside of this location? Although I love the tree-lined clearing for the wedding, Remy is allergic to all known trees. Some affect him differently - some it's just the pollen, others it's the sap, and in rare cases he'd need it to somehow enter his bloodstream - but a lot of them appear to be evergreens which affect him the worst. I'm just not sure I want Remy drugged up on allergy medicine on our day. Regardless, I still love this location and it's Remy's second favorite as well.
-
AND THE WINNER IS!
Number One: The Stroudsmoor Country Inn
This one actually has multiple wedding locations on its grounds in order to cater to a multitude of brides and guest sizes. What really solidified it for me is that the first picture they have on the wedding page is a shot of men in kilts! Another shot has men dressed as Renaissance trumpeters. If the location worked for those looks it would definitely do it for ours! Like Ehrhardts Waterfront Resort, the location comes with a wedding planner, which is a HUGE plus since I can't afford one and I seriously need help!
-
There are six available locations on the property and I love all but one. One of the locations, the Woodland Chapel - one that looks familiar and may have been where one of my high school friends got married (saw pictures on Facebook) - would normally be my favorite pick. It is a small, intimate clearing in the middle of the woods. Stupid tree allergy! Again, don't want to go killing off my groom on my wedding day, and so this lovely location is out.
-
Remy's favorite is the Crestview Chapel. It is a larger clearing, but is still tree-lined. And so either Remy determined the trees shown in the picture don't affect him so much or he figured there were spread out enough for him to breathe. Whatever his determination on this location being safe for his allergies, he loves it, and for excellent reason. This quaint tree-lined field has a glass-domed gazebo and the breathtaking mountain vista that I dreamed of. The site would also easily hold our guest list since it is normally for a wedding of 175 - 250 guests and we only want about a hundred.
-
And, of course, little, low-maintenance, budget-maker, penny-pinching me picks the most expensive choice out of the locations. In my defence, it is only about $200 more than the Crestview Chapel! Anyway, the Chapel Terra is a huge courtyard with the same domed gazebo as the Crestview Chapel. The gazebo is flanked by beautiful waterfall features and a large stone wall that towers as a backdrop. Formal gardens surround the guest seating, and there are no allergy-inducing trees around! This location is usually for 200-350 guests, and so perhaps I could negotiate a price cut since we'll have half the guests they normally worry about, and so everything else they need to do - which brings up the price - could be cut. In theory. My fear though is that they might bump me for a bride that actually HAS the large wedding guest list.
-
As I mentioned, the Stroudsmoor is kind of pricey, and this is a key factor in whether or not we get married there. However, the large cost includes a lot that the other, cheaper locations may not. And so in the long run it may actually be even or maybe cheaper at the Stroudsmoor Country Inn! (I know, I'm grasping at straws here.... but I want to get married here so bad!)
-
Examples of things that Stroudsmoor covers: an event planner, an additional hour to the event, preparation of the site, rentals, an indoor alternative in case of inclement weather, guest seating, alter "accoutrements", and the use of a bridal lounge for a half-hour. *whimpers* I want!!!