Prior to getting engaged, Brian and I had already picked out our wedding venue: Stanley Park! We have walked there many times with Taylor and have had many meaningful conversations there, including ones that were pinacle in our realization that we were a good long term match for one another. However, when it came time for actually booking a venue, we discovered that Stanley Park does not allow the consumption of alcohol, which is expected for wedding events. While we could still have our ceremony here, we would need to find a place for a reception. Thus began the great search for our wedding venue.
When beginning our search, I realized that I never had any visions about my wedding day. I had no hopes, no expectations. For some, this may seem like a good thing, an easy baseline from which to advance. For me, I thought that I must have had some ideas about what my perfect wedding day would be like. So, I called my best girlfriend from growing up, Lelia (you will meet her at the wedding). She was in the process of planning her wedding. I asked her if we ever spoke about our dream wedding day growing up because I didn’t remember doing so. As frank as she always is, she simply said, “No. We had no dreams.” With that news, I called my sis and asked her the same questions. She said, “We had dreams, but not about our wedding day.”
Having nothing to go by, I had endless opportunities. I could have any type of wedding and not disappoint my former self. So, I decided that I wanted a barn wedding. I made this decision unilaterally. (I still just assume Brian is okay with it because he has come with me every weekend to look at venues.)
About a month ago, Brian and I began our journey across the northeast in search of the perfect barn to hold our wedding. We looked at barns that have been transformed into function spaces, barns that were only used for square dancing, and barns that were not barns at all. We also looked at all sorts of other spaces. Here is the nitty gritty:
Zukas Hilltop Barn: This was the first place we looked. I was enamored with the twinkly lights and the fire pit. They seemed a little strict and inflexible. If you know Brian and me, inflexible does not really fit with our lifestyle, as we like to think outside of the box. They only had May 2013 available, and the next date was May 2014. (There is no barn. There is a lodge and a tent.)
Salem Cross Inn- Cool but a little kitchy. They have a barn and a nice outdoor space, but B and I were turned off by the multiple functions at once and their limited vegetarian options and/or affinity for meat (although they do have an awesome weight-powered turning spit in an open fireplace). However, they had decent availability and a very reasonable pricing structure. I think the place is a bit “cluttered” – very cool antiques recovered from houses flooded for the creation of the Quabbin reservoir, but Brian and I have enough clutter in our lives already.
Log Cabin- Not a cabin at all! This is a total wedding factory. Their ballroom smelled like a reception hall. They have a beautiful view of Mt. Tom for the cocktail hour (although you also have a view of another wedding reception). The smell is really what got me though.
Hotel Northampton- This was a surprise. The reception space is nice. They have a veranda with plants that felt like a green house (the best part). We could have our ceremony at Stanley Park and the afterparty at the Dirty Truth. These are both RIGHT up our alley. Plus, we love Northampton (not as much as Montague), but still a pretty cool town to have a wedding. They had a great date available – Sept 21st (I forgot to mention our target wedding date was September 2013). My biggest reservation: it was a hotel wedding in a hotel reception hall. In addition, the cocktail hour was in the lobby of the hotel, and we thought it would be tough to squeeze all of our guests into this area. Could I get over it? Yes, I have no dreams, remember? Did I love the idea? No. What if it was the perfect summer night? How could we confine ourselves to a room without windows? Still, it remained in the running. The only issue (and reason for us not choosing it) was that Stanley Park was not available on this day.
Quonquont Farm- Loved it! But had no availability until 2014. Furthermore, they are changing their liquor policy in 2013 and they have no tent for cocktail hour in case it rains. And, no twinkly lights. However, the barn has been beautifully restored and is gorgeous as well as being very functional. Plus, it’s a cool concept: they opened the function space to support their PYO (Pick-Your-Own) business. We asked to be in the waiting list and they have 60 couples ahead of us! (Pipe dream that this will happen.)
Powdermill barn- This is a barn that Mel and I have been invited to many times over the course of the past five years! We met a group of people at StrangeCreek many years ago, ran into them at Ryan Montbleau shows, kept a phriendly relationship, and I contacted them about their barn. It’s a very cool barn, but not the right place for our wedding. (It may be the right place for other parties, though!)
Red Barn- This is a space at Hampshire College. Cool barn, but has schoolhouse bathrooms and not a lot of space. Doesn’t really fit a large wedding.
Colonel Williams Inn- Awesome barn! (Really, it’s an awesome barn!) The barn is on the Inn’s property, and we weren’t interested in staying at the inn (although one of their rooms did seem pretty nice). We don’t know how the food would be, but the main thing was that there was no covered area between the barn and the bathrooms, which means you’d get wet if it was raining. Lastly, it is in VT which is a bit far for Jersey folk attending our wedding (we hope you guys can all come!!)
Smith Barn- I had high hopes (maybe because of the name?) We went here with my parents when they were up for Thanksgiving. Great barn. Downfalls: only date available was in July and there is no a/c. If it rains, there is no alternative for a cocktail hour.
Bittersweet Farm- Could have been good enough except that they have a tavern downstairs that remains open during private events and the two spaces are connected. We didn’t really like that.
Stone Hill Estate- No barn. RI farmcoast…beautiful! I had never been to the Rhode Island farmcoast before, and it is wonderful! Cool building and very cool inn, but the decor of their function space was too modern for our taste.
Sakonnet Vineyard- Delicious wine, especially for a NE vineyard!! (The taste of their wines really surprised Brian as well!) Beautiful landscape, wonderful people. They are currently transitioning ownership, and all plans for private functions are on hold. We truly believe this will end up being the perfect wedding spot in a few years, but there are a few things that aren’t ideal with the current situation (no cocktail area if it rains, only port-a-potties for guests, etc). Brian and I will definitely be coming back here any time we’re in the area.
Willowdale Estate- Perfect and lovely! Not a barn but a tent and mansion. Literally, perfect! We loved it. Plus, Taylor can come to the wedding! (Mel suggested she can be another bridesmaid! I agree!) Downfall – the only available dates are May 5 and 12 and it is pricey (worth it, but pricey).
We also looked at the Somerville Armory – a great space that we could do almost anything with. It’s home to a farmer’s market on winter weekends that we sometimes attend, and it houses artists and other alternative businesses that we would like to support. However, it seemed like it would be a bit too much work for us and would require a bit more coordination effort than we can put into this now.
I also saw the Elm Bank in Wellesley, Brian called the Wang, we looked at the Boston Public Library information, and we investigated many other venues as well. Nothing really fit what we were after. I’m sure there are more that we forgot to even mention.
So, after all of these options, we decided to check out the hotel that guests would be staying at if we chose Zukas. We LOVED the hotel. It’s a bit rough around the edges but perfect in all other ways. We saw the hotel (the Sturbridge Host) and based on having our guests stay there we then went back to Zukas expecting to book the May 12 date.
But….as you could expect from this writing and the lack of an announcement of a date, there were further issues. After speaking with the coordinator at Zukas, we were reminded of the inflexibilities of the place and how things are run there. We needed more time to consider other options. Because we loved the nearby hotel so much (the Sturbridge Host has mini golf, an indoor pool with an awesome atrium, beach volleyball, cheap rooms, a cool after party room, and more), we looked again at other options in the area (such as Salem Cross, which is listed above as well as Tower Hill botanical gardens which is absolutely stunning but comes with a fairly steep price tag for our budget). Nothing has fallen into place yet.
Whatever happens, we will keep you updated. Expect a spring 2013 wedding (or summer or fall??)… definitely 2013… unless plans change.
xoxoxoxox
KP and BS
