We decided today that we are getting married at Harmony Chapel in Aubrey, TX.
We can afford this venue. It is privately owned and run buy a family of 3. They have successfully operated a similar chapel in Norman, OK for several years. The chapel is full of natural wood, windows on all sides overlook a wooded setting. Live plants line the ledges around the perimeter. An enclosed walkway runs between the chapel and reception hall. The bride's room is awesome and has a closed circuit TV for us to watch as guests arrive while we get ready. The hall rental includes all the tables and chairs, linens, dishes, glassware and flatware. We can use their centerpieces or provide our own. The bride's cake is included in the price. Servers for cake and buffet food service are also included. We can use them for catering or any other caterer we choose. It's very accessible and easy to find.
I haven't bee keeping up with describing all the venues that we've visited, but we have seen quite a few, called others, e-mailed even more.
The venues that we visited and the reason we excluded them:
Runner up: Castle Douglas. The only reason this place is excluded is because of price. We think we can scrape together enough to pay for Harmony, but Castle Douglas is about $3-4K more. It would be the best place ever if we thought we could pay for it. If we win the lottery we will use Castle Douglas. (yeah, I know it's not likely, but a girl can dream...)
Ashton Gardens: Too expensive and a bit arrogant and cookie cutter.
Heard Museum: Price was too high once we factored in all the items we would have to rent which are included in other venues. Also the landscaping in the winter would probably look kinda yucky. I didn't care, but he did. We would only have one small room for both ceremony and reception which would be kind of awkward.
Richardson Women's Center: Too many stairs between buildings, not a good thing when you know several people would show up in wheel chairs. There is a long sidewalk around the far side of both buildings to get from point A to point B, but with a winter wedding, that was not a very good option. He hated the carpet, I hated the drapes. Again, by the time we rented things that we would need for the ceremony and reception, paid for security, etc. we would have been way over budget. They are also very picky about food vendors.
Cotton Mill: Again, lots of rental expenses. We would be required to rent their tables, chairs, etc at their prices which are a little higher than average. It is all one room with no kitchen. If we set up the ceremony the way we wanted (facing the prettiest area), everyone would have a full view of the bride coming out of her dressing room to head to the ceremony, and some other annoying details that we would rather not contend with.
Celebrations in the Country: Geared towards outdoor ceremony and reception, but we wanted indoor, which they have, but do not use except for back up. I asked for a tour appointment and got a quote for a much larger wedding instead. I said 75 people, they send a quote for 200. Lots of up charges also making it pretty pricy. We decided not to tour.
Reflections on Spring Creek: I e-mailed twice and never got a response.
Occasions at Stone River: This one was the farthest out from our homes in Plano/Allen. I like many of the amenities there, like live streaming of the wedding on-line for those that can't attend and a very nice bridal suite. The groom's room was lame, the guests need to go through a breezeway to use the restroom on the chapel side of the venue. Everyone also has to walk outside to get to the hall. The distance from us along with the outside thing, plus the price made us take them out of the running. They are the same price as the venue that we chose, but Harmony is much nicer in my opinion.
Fairy Tale Manor: They have gotten great reviews but we didn't like the place. The flow for an indoor wedding was awkward. The groom's room was beyond lame, there are no doors on it! It is actually a multipurpose room where they sometimes set up the bar or the gift table as well. It is also the office when there is not an event going on. The space was set up for a wedding when we visited and we were not impressed, the table cloths were very wrinkled, the gift tables were set up haphazardly with the tablecloths very uneven like they were just thrown out there. We assumed that they intended to leave them that was since decorations were already set up. Fixtures and sconces on the walls were broken and/or torn so there was a shabby appearance. We all gave it thumb's down.
So we have a place. We are planning on having a date by the end of October. I am going to make an appointment to go back to Harmony on Oct 23 so that is my target for us setting a date.
The next couple of months are going to be quite busy anyway. I am participating in a pre-holiday gift fair at Jacob's Reward Farm on Oct 16. Three of us are judging the spin-off entries for Texas Star Alpacas starting any day now which have to be done by the end of September I think. We may have until mid-October. The results have to be finalized in time to announce at Kid and Ewe in early November. I am also knitting a blanket for a co-working who is going to be a grandmother for the first time. The deadline for that is end of October. So....I'm a little busy.
It's good to be busy, right?
