Photo from the website of Phipps Conservatory
My mom, FI and I planned on meeting at Phipps to take a tour and talk with one of their events coordinators. Unfortunately, my mom got lost on her way and the FI (a.k.a. knight in shining armor) had to drive around Oakland a bit to find her and lead her back. This experience showcased one early issue with the venue: standard GPS's were not able to locate/direct people to the botanical gardens... There was an alternative address we could give guests, but this seemed like it may cause some confusion.
Once we had all arrived, we started the tour in the Outdoor Garden. It was gorgeous. A tiered garden with fountains, walkways and a great view of Oakland, it was easy to imagine our ceremony and reception taking place here.
Potential Outdoor Gardens Ceremony Site - Phipps Wedding Site
Next, we took a quick walk through the conservatory to reach the Tropical Forest and Special Events Hall. This is where I really wanted our wedding to take place. It is one of the most impressive parts of the gardens: a walkway through giant plants, ending at a fountain and giant fish pond. The hall itself was a blank canvas, not much different than other halls except that the windows (when not covered with floor to ceiling curtains) show the Tropical Forest. Plus, there is a great patio area off the hall where guests could enjoy the outdoors.
The Special Events Hall - from Phipps Events Page
As our tour wrapped up (we didn't see other parts of the gardens because our guest list would be too large) talk turned to catering. As a self-proclaimed foodie, one of the things I was most excited about for the wedding was picking a great caterer. I had my heart set on Big Catering from the moment I saw their menus and I knew that Phipps was listed on their preferred venue list. So, it came as a bit of a surprise when I learned that Phipps has their own caterers that have to be used for weddings.
After thanking our guide for her time, we sat down with some cold drinks in the cafe area. We had a bit of time before our next appointment and decided to review the menu and discuss the venue. Below are a few of the talking points that came up:
Pros:
- Phipps is, hands down, one of the most beautiful venues in Pittsburgh
- We could purchase tickets for guests ahead of time - tours to Phipps would be a great favor
- The catering menu was impressive, full of sustainable/trendy/yummy sounding items
- The events group knows what they are doing and a lot of the decision making would be negated by standard packages, etc.
Cons:
- May be hard for people to find (only for GPS users, not for people with smart phones)
- The Tropical Forest & Special Events Hall wasn't available for any Saturdays in 2012. We'd either have to agree on a Friday/Sunday wedding, be willing to have the wedding in the Outdoor Gardens or wait till 2013 to get married (I don't think so!)
- Catering would be expensive and was not exactly what I'd hoped for
Phipps would have been an amazing place to get married and allowed us to share one of my favorite places with all of our out of town guests. But, it was not "The Venue" for us.
Next up - our tour of the Mansion at Maple Heights.
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