{Real Bride: Katie} Venue-Palooza
Once the bling was on the finger and the bragging had commenced, it was time to get down to business and decide on a venue. I figured the most efficient way to git-r-done was to visit a bunch of venues in one whirlwind weekend. Mr. Officer wasn’t able to join us, but luckily the maid of honor and my parents were totally on board for my plan.
So without further ado, I present my options for Venue-Palooza!
Option 1: College of Physicians
Theme: Love in the Time of Cholera
Notes: Okay, this was definitely the quirkiest option but I kind of liked that it was so offbeat. The neighborhood was sort of sketch-tastic, but the interior was beautiful and guests can peruse the Mutter Museum during the reception. If you’re not familiar with the Mutter Museum, it’s filled with medical oddities such as a replica of the world’s largest impacted colon, a wax cast of a horn growing out of a woman’s forehead and a cabinet full of things people have swallowed over the years. Yup, that’s how we do romance in the City of Brotherly Love.
College of Physicians: Main Reception Area
College of Physicians: Cocktail Reception Area
College of Physicians: Mutter Museum
Photo by B. Krist
Option 2: Racquet Club of Philadelphia
Theme: Roaring ’20s Speaking Easy
Notes: The Racquet Club of Philadelphia won points immediately because the event guy was really cute and we were hoping the maid of honor would score a date by the end of the tour. Cute guys aside though, the swanky interior reminded me of Winthorpe’s racquet club in Trading Places, but in a good way. However, I was really worried about making our non-city dwelling guests drive all the way into Center City Philadelphia and I didn’t like that our smallish party would be broken up into separate rooms.
Racquet Club of Philadelphia: Entrance/Dancing Area
Photo via yelp.com
Racquet Club of Philadelphia: Dining Area
Photo via yelp.com
Racquet Club of Philadelphia: Cigar Room
Photo via yelp.com
Racquet Club of Philadelphia: Afterparty Room
Photo via yelp.com
Option 3: Appleford Estate
Theme: Gatsby Garden Party
Notes: This one was my dad’s absolute favorite and for good reasons, the grounds were beautiful and the interior of the estate was pretty amazing. I loved the idea of playing Mainline diva for a night, but I hated that the main reception area would have to be tented. I mean what’s the point of all that beauty if you’re just going to cover it up with a drab tent anyway?
Appleford Estate: Exterior & Reception Patio
Note: the patio would be tented from the second row of windows down
Appleford Estate Cocktail Reception Room
Appleford Estate: Dessert Buffet Room
Option 4: Grace Winery at Sweetwater Farm Bed & Breakfast
Theme: Rustic Romance
Comments: We got engaged here, so the venue has sentimental value and I just love this place. It’s gorgeous and relaxing plus the wedding party & Mr. Officer’s family can stay there with us. However, this is the most expensive venue (of course) and we have to rent out the entire B&B for two nights as part of the contract.
Sweetwater Farm: Main Reception Area
Sweetwater Farm: Main Bar Area
Sweetwater Farm: Cocktail Reception Area
The decision was tough, but we finally decided on Sweetwater Farm because it is the best fit for our personalities and the type of wedding we’ve envisioned. Also, some of the other venues had exclusive catering contracts, which meant less flexibility on catering cost/options. As an added bonus, Sweetwater is so pretty that we can save money on the decorations/flowers budget.
In the end Venue-Palooza was a huge success. I picked a venue and I had a great time checking out the oddities and drinking wine between appointments with some of my favorite people!
These were fun to look at, since I'm also a Philly bride (well, I was – we were married in October). But they hardly qualify as "broke-ass"! The Sweetwater space costs over $10,000 (in peak season) just for the space, let alone the rooms, etc. Beautiful, but that was way out of our league (and, I assume, most anyone who thinks of themselves as "broke").
cool ideas, but clearly everyone here is budget minded, so it would have been helpful if you listed costs and capacities.
It's true, Sweetwater is very expensive and it looks like they've jacked up the price even more for 2013. We decided early on that the venue was the most important thing to us, so the majority of our budget is going towards the venue and we'll be cutting back in other areas (i.e. rehearsal dinner, cake, decorations, etc.).
These are great venues! It must be hard choosing the right one?
Katie, I didn't mean to pick on your choice at all – you certainly don't have to justify yourself to a stranger on the internet.
Just commenting that these sites don't really qualify (in my estimation) as "broke-ass." For a lot of folks (myself included), no amoutn of cutting back would make something like Sweetwater affordable; our entire wedding budget was less than the cost of renting the space.
I loved all of these choices, and your reasoning behind them. I especially appreciated your desire to keep your guests from driving into center city Philly- we had to do that the weekend before Christmas for a wedding, and it sort of overshadowed the whole event for us… We're lame, "not city" people, and it was stressful navigating the unfamiliar in the midst of holiday traffic. Like you, we kept the comfort of our guests in mind- having everything in one location (lodging, ceremony, reception…) We probably could have gone more "budget saavy," but seeing our guests (the majority of whom travelled from out of state) relaxed and taken care of was totally worth it!
I can't wait to see what you end up doing for decorations, etc.
I lived in Philly for only a couple of months and visited the Mutter no fewer than three times so I can tell you which venue *I* would vote for!
I like the Appleford a lot but agree with the comment that price should be something we consider in our vote.
I think that the best bet is Celebrations. It's right outside of the city in Philadelphia, great food, and everything is included in the price. It was the best for us to go since I'm getting married in Philly but live out of state.
BTW – for any other Philadelphia brides out there, I found our venue by using http://partyspace.com/philadelphia. I found the information on capacity and location very helpful for me. Unfortunately our choices were a little bit limited because of the location of the church, but I'm very happy with our final decision.
Also, as an addendum to this post, I went back and looked at our contract vs. the 2013 prices for our venue and the price has almost doubled. Yikes! The barn at Sweetwater is still relatively new, so I guess my biggest advice to brides is that you are greatly rewarded for taking a chance on new vendors. There might be a full post on that subject to come later…..