"We have a venue!!!"
I triumphantly proclaimed, holding my fist up in the air to emphasize the moment and receive the cutest, most amused look from my fiancé, Johnny, who sat across from me in his truck as we be bopped down an old dirt road in Chickamauga! Okay, so we had decided on a place, but were still absent a date. However, I still felt triumphant none the less, because we now had a venue after nearly a month of restless indecision between two places that were equally enticing for different reasons. Since my fiancé's proposal at the end of December and our attendance at the Pink Bridal show on January 5th, I had become obsessed with finding a wedding venue that fit within our established budget.If you are anything like me, you have limited experience in planning a wedding. Even if you've been apart of a wedding party before, it's not like you just get married every weekend and have this wealth of knowledge when planning your own. Also any prior expectations and preconceptions may be totally unfeasible due to your current circumstances. My intended venue had always been the little church in which I grew up, in Athens, Alabama. It's small and quaint and everyone is like an extended part of our family. Unfortunately, I moved to Chattanooga four years ago and it was just not as feasible to try to plan a wedding long distance or transport everyone two hours away. Naturally, the church I attend now might be the obvious choice, but it's much larger and even after a couple years of attendance I still feel overwhelmed by its size. So an outside venue with a small guest list seemed the next best choice.
Of course, when choosing an outside venue, particularly an acclaimed or well known venue, availability is an area of concern, since places are often booked well into the next year. The most popular months for weddings tend to be May, June, September, and October, with June as the most popular. Luckily, I had been able to glean this helpful little nugget of knowledge about venues as a bridesmaid for my best friend, Haley, in her wedding this past October. So bearing this information in mind, I focused on finding a venue at the Pink Bridal Show. Of the venues I investigated at the Pink Bridal Show, the Show Barn stuck out the most. It had beautiful scenery, country charm, and the most competitive price. I placed it on the top of my list to call the following Monday, along with several others: The Fillauer Lake House, Black Fox Farms, Tate House, Grandview, Lookout Mountain Fairyland Club, and rental companies in case we wanted to rent tents and have the wedding at my soon to be in-law's farm.
Although my search had included several other places, the two venues that had made the strongest impressions after calls had been the Show Barn at Mountain Cove Farms in Chickamauga, Tennessee (right) and Grandview (below) up on Lookout Mountain in Georgia. The themes for both, could not have been more starkly contrast either: country rustic versus Tudor elegance. Grandview had the awesome view, alluring architecture, potential for amazing photography, and convenient location. The Show Barn was rustic and beautifully decorated with white drapes and chandeliers and had the potential to be decorated in a style that fit our personality as a couple. It's location was also close to my fiancé's parents and even offered a beautifully furnished home and cabins that could sleep my wedding party the night before the wedding. It was the perfect set up for all of my family and friends who would be traveling the 4+hours to come to the wedding. I was excited and ready to sign the contract for the Show Barn before ever seeing the place. At least, until I stepped out of the truck on our first visit and took an eye watering whiff of the air. The air was pungent with the smell of skunk and made me weary of exploring too deeply into the countryside. Albeit, skunk mating season as I later found out, I in no way wanted to be remembered for the skunky wedding....so my search continued to other venues as I gave the Show Barn some time to air out.
After much debate, I decided I couldn't remove the Show Barn from my list of options unless I visited it again. After all, it had seemed so perfect until our initial visit. So nearly a month later, my fiancé and I with his cousin and her husband, travelled back out to Chickamauga to inspect the air and sample their catering options. As I hopped down out of the truck, I noted my fiancé's comment of it being further out than he remembered, but that the smell was much improved from its once skunky scent. The small little diner that caters the wedding events also serves lunch and dinner to the public, so we took a table in the restaurant and prepared to scrutinize the food, which turned out to be sizeable portions for the price and quite tasty too.
While we sat in the diner contemplating, comparing and contrasting between the Show Barn and Grandview, I spotted a bride walking out across the lawn and hopping up into a jeep with her large trailing train being stuffed in behind her. She was on her way to her wedding atop the hill in the big white barn. Suddenly I found myself pondering the possibilities of that being me in a few months and realized I hadn't really been as focused on the Show Barn for my wedding venue, but the cove house and cabins for my wedding guests. Although I liked the rustic feel and the idea of being married in a barn, there was a sense of elegance I was going to miss when comparing it to Grandview. There was also the very real scenario that I could pick the Show Barn intending on people staying in the house and cabins the night before and my guests not exactly liking the idea of one big slumber party. Grandview might be a little bit more expensive in the long run, but it was closer to how I had originally envisioned my wedding.
The wisest council anyone could give a bride in regards to a venue, would be to pick the site they like the best regardless of other people's opinions and plans. Be considerate, but don't plan your wedding place around the possible plans of somebody else. In my case, I was concerned about the inconvenience my guests would have in traveling 2+ hours to my wedding and then also needing an affordable place to stay. When frankly speaking, if someone is willing to drive 2 hours to see your wedding, they are likely willing to spend $50 for a hotel. With that revelation in mind, I knew I had my answers and could make a decision that would make me happy. The wedding would thus be at Grandview!
