Phipps Conservatory:
The first place I visited was Phipps Conservatory. I had heard about this when I worked at the prom/wedding dress store. One of the girls was talking about where she was getting married. She said it was not very expensive and they were really great to work with. She said they even gave her guests water bottles for the ceremony outside. I was not even engaged yet when I had this conversation with this girl. When I did get engaged it was the first place I thought of. I immediately called them to make an appointment. My dad, mom, sister, and I all went to the appointment. We were early and we ended up waiting around for-ev-er for the appointment to start. We went in June and I guess I just expected there to be a lot more flowers. Everything was very green. The first place she took us was outside there was a place for the ceremony by a fountain. I was not impressed. I kept looking at the ground and there were sections of grass separated by sidewalks. Then in the grass were the utility covers but they were not even with the grass they were steps. I kept thinking of my grandparents and thinking it would not be a good idea because it was something that would be easily tripped on. The reception was under this tent. With that section you got the chairs for the ceremony but had to rent the chairs and table for the reception. I was not impressed it was a tent on top of a concrete sidewalk. The second place in Phipps was in this forest room. The ceremony would be outside by this waterfall. It was really pretty. If I did decide to have my wedding there I would have it in that section. The outside was very pretty. Then you could go inside this forest room for the cocktail/coffee hour. The reception would be in a banquet hall. It was all windows but very hot. I think I was overwhelmed with how much was involved with this decision. Upon leaving Phipps I decided that they were entirely to expensive and that they were not the venue for me.
Succop Conservancy:
I had heard about this venue from a girl at my bosses wedding. We were sitting at the same table and she was telling me about this awesome wedding she went to there. I went home and looked up the venue and set up an appointment. We met with Nancy early one morning before I had to be at school. We actually drove past the entrance and had to turn around. The area was really nice. It used to be a farm house and was donated to the community college. There are two lakes, a farm house, a barn, a couple other buildings, and acres of land with walking trails on it. Nancy was so nice and gave us a guided tour of the grounds. She told us what other people did for their weddings and answered every question we threw at her. She was so nice. First she took us on a tour of the Farm House. This would be used for a cocktail hour and somewhere to go if the weather was really warm. The wedding could be anywhere on the grounds. The reception would be in a pavilion outside. There are a lot of bathrooms around the grounds. There is also pocket parking which means that we don't have a huge parking lot full of cars. I really liked this venue and penciled in a date for reserve. I'll post some pictures later.
Cheeseman Farm:
Brandon heard about a place called the Cheeseman Farm. So on a whim I drove up with my mom to check it out. The area was gorgeous. It was a huge field with a beautiful barn in the middle. When you walked into the barn there were chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling. It was really pretty. After talking to the coordinator for a while I quickly realized it was a nickle and dime location. The only chairs available are metal folding chairs. If you wanted the white wooden ones you had to pay extra yet there weren't enough for the reception only for part of the wedding crowd. If you wanted china it was extra. If you wanted your cookies plated it was extra. If you wanted a bar it was extra. It was really pretty but my mom and I decided that it was not the right place.
Marriott in Robinson:
I took Brandon with me to check out the Marriott. The coordinator was very chatty and really nice. She sat us down and offered to buy us breakfast. She asked us a lot of questions about who we are and what kind of wedding we want to have. After sitting there for what seemed like eternity she showed us the outside location for the wedding. It was a nice little patio on the back of the hotel. I couldn't picture myself in that area. She then took us to the smaller banquet hall. It was so old and run down. This hotel was gorgeous and newly renovated and this must have been left over from the old hotel. It was horrible. She did take us over to the larger banquet hall and I was impressed. I loved the lighting. It was very modern. I think we left with more questions than when we started in the day. The coordinator was very nice and I think she would be willing to do anything if we asked her.
Double Tree in Robinson:
This was the last stop on the wedding reception journey. My mom and I decided that if we could not make a decision after this location that we would not make one until I came back from Italy. We walked into the Double Tree on the Sunday before Labor Day. The lobby was nice and we were almost immediately greeted by the coordinator. She was very nice and she gave us warm cookies. She said anyone staying at the double tree will always get warm cookies. She showed us around the venue. We started in the reception hall. It was nice. There were windows on almost all of the walls. There was an outside patio for the wedding. It was really nice. She answered all of our questions and more. We were able to leave there with a lot of helpful information.
It took me a few days and some long conversations with my parents and Brandon to figure out what we were going to do. I think it was by that Wednesday or Thursday I had finally pictured myself in a venue. I liked the idea of doing the wedding at a hotel because they included a lot of stuff and they gave you a complimentary stay the night of your wedding. I thought that was really nice. It was pretty stressful time for me because I was trying to pack for my trip, finish my classes, be with my family, and visit Brandon. That morning I just saw myself getting married at the Succop. I knew that I can be as creative as I want to be and Nancy will be there for me if I need her. They will make things very easy and I love the idea of being outside for the wedding. Brandon agreed that it was going to be a good location.
Wedding Venue.... Check!
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