Venues that Weren't - The Mansion at Maple Heights

A few weeks before getting engaged, the FI and I attended a friend's wedding.  It was the first wedding I'd ever been to where the reception followed the ceremony immediately at the same location.  We both loved this set up and decided right away that we wanted something similar.  This would be especially good for us because neither of our families are familiar with Pittsburgh.

And, to be honest, I started researching venues a couple days after that wedding, even though we weren't engaged yet.  Soon after, I had our entire wedding planned.  It would all take place at the Mansion at Maple Heights and it would be fabulous.

Seriously, this place looked amazing:

From the Mansion's website

After our tour of Phipps, and a quick debriefing in the cafe, we all piled into the FI's car (we weren't going to chance my mom getting lost again) and headed to Shadyside to see the Mansion.  We headed up a steep hill, used the intercom to let them know we arrived, waited for the gate to rise and drove up to the Mansion.

This venue offers some very cool options for a wedding.  First off, it's a bed and breakfast.  So, bridal parties, close family guests and the bride and groom are able to stay in the rooms the night of the wedding (the rooms can be booked for the night before for an extra charge).  

There is an amazing entertainment room upstairs, that would easily occupy younger guests (supervised, obviously) or the groom and his buddies.  It has a huge projection TV, theater style seating and a couple game consoles.  We were shown a brief promo video while in this room.

The ceremony would take place outside, somewhere in the yard, which is beautiful.  The reception would happen under a tent (like the picture above).  And, the catering?  They work exclusively with Big Catering!  So exciting.

There were so many amazing details throughout.  And, I had such an emotional response to the idea of getting married there.  Seriously, at one point, our guide was leading us back downstairs, describing how the FI and I would be presented as husband and wife coming down the steps.  I welled up and started crying.  I was shocked at the response, but I could see us and imagine how I'd feel.

So, on our drive back to my mom's car and later that night, we discussed the venue:

Pros:

- This place is impressive, from the first moment people drive up to the gated drive to the beautiful rooms and grounds

- Close family and friends would have a place to stay the night of the wedding (so would the FI and I if we wanted to)

- The bridal suite was amazing and would be a great place to prepare for the wedding and/or unwind afterwards

- Alcohol is purchased by the couple, not the caterers.  This is a great opportunity for savings

- Speaking of the caterer, it was the ones I wanted to use: Big Catering

- Everything was customize-able, down to the curtains and salt & pepper shakers

- The feeling of this venue, while impressive, is homey.  Its relaxed and private and there are plenty of spaces for people to sit and chat (besides their dining table)

Cons:

- Everything was customize-able.  For a couple who has a hard time picking out salad dressing, this was incredibly overwhelming.  How in the world would we be able to make all those choices on linens, flatware, etc.?  And, did we really want to?

- The customization could lead to $$$.  Although the basics were covered in the main package, upgrades could add up quickly

- And, on the subject of money, the price was higher because of the included night's stay in the B&B rooms.  Our original budget hadn't incorporated this extra expense

That's about all I can think of for cons.  The Mansion was definitely a gorgeous venue and stayed in the running for awhile.  It wasn't until our next venue tour, the Heinz History Center, that The Mansion fell off of our maybe list.