The Venue that Almost Wasn't - Succop Conservancy

After realizing how much of a financial crimp a wedding might put into our future, we prepared to tour a venue about forty minutes outside of the city.  My mom drove to our townhouse early on a Saturday morning and the three of us headed North to Butler.  We arrived for our 9:30 a.m. meeting and were already starting to sweat.  It was ridiculously hot for early September.  So, we wiped our brows and got ready to see what this non-city venue had to offer.

Meet The Succop Conservancy* (all pictures are from Succop's facebook page unless otherwise noted) :

The Conservancy's 1830's farmhouse

Succop Conservancy is a nature reserve owned by the Audubon Society.  It's fifty acres include walking trails, two ponds, the farmhouse, an herb garden and tons of amazingly beautiful picture spots.

We met with Nancy, who first showed us through the house.  We saw the upstairs areas, were we could get ready for the wedding, and the downstairs rooms where guests would enjoy a cocktail hour between the ceremony and reception.  It was all gorgeous, simple and vintage decor at it's best.

Then, we took a walk outside, to see some of the possible ceremony locations.

In front of the house is a popular choice.  Seats can face the house or towards a wooden arch supplied by the venue. (Pic from Krystal Healy Photography)

Facing the big red barn would be a fun alternative.

In the herb garden, facing one of the ponds, is another option.

Then, we headed to the event shelter, where the reception would take place.  It was simple, with round tables, wooden beams and white string lights everywhere.  This space could be used as is, with all the beautiful landscape as decor, or could be dressed up with color and additional lighting.

From Red Lotus Photography.  (with some serious up-lighting)

On our way back inside to discuss more details about renting the venue, we walked through the amazing kitchen and had a quick conversation with Pete from Medure's Catering (the exclusive catering company).  He was there, getting ready for that day's wedding, but was warm and relaxed while he took some time to answer our questions.

Finally, we sat down, looked through some photo albums and got an information packet with prices and some vendor options.  We found out that there would be no rental fee for the spaces, the costs are all included in the catering packages and on a per person basis (with a 100 person minimum).  We could put a temporary hold on two dates of our choosing, to get dibs, or put down a deposit to make it official.

As we drove home, my mom raved about the whole place.  She loved it.  The FI did not seem as impressed.  I later learned that he had some major concerns about an outdoor ceremony and reception.  Also, he was still pining over the Heinz History Center.  In the end, he left the final decision up to me.

Pros:
- Gorgeous, unique venue with lots of space
- Private place where there would be no other events at the same time
- We could buy our own alcohol ($$$ savings)
- All inclusive pricing package that included food, service, tables/linens/etc. and was way less expensive than all of the other venues
- Medure's Catering has amazing reviews online and Pete was extremely friendly
- Fun options like a fire pit for s'mores
- Plenty of space for games like cornhole or croquet
- No worries about where guests would park
- Extremely easy to find with only one turn off of Rt. 8

Cons:
- Farther out of the city than we'd hoped.  Visits for planning, etc. would consume a lot more time
- Hotels are not as convenient
- Far away from the airport (all of the FI's family will be from out of town, but many will drive in from Detroit)
- Outdoor ceremony and reception is a risk
- Exclusive caterer (not Big Catering)

A lot more time thinking through the options (and maybe a spreadsheet analysis or two) led me to call Nancy to see which 2012 Saturdays were still available.  I found out that October 27th had two holds on it and September 1st had one.  That was it.  Eek.

Ok - October 27th please...  A Day of the Dead  themed wedding got the FI a bit more interested and I could imagine the beautiful fall colors the landscape would provide.  A day or so later and I found out that one of the couples with a hold decided to take the date.

Only one chance left, September 1st.  What were the chances that we'd get it?

Well, we did.  September 1st, 2012 at the Succop Conservancy.  Our wedding finally had some direction; everything else could start happening...  It was less than a year away and it was time to get planning!

* It is pronounced "suck-up", we checked (several times).

Venues that Weren't - Heinz History Center

When I showed the FI pictures of the events spaces at the Heinz History Center, it was the first time I'd heard him sound truly excited about our wedding.  The main space we'd probably want was the Great Hall, which has an industrial feel, with brick walls and dark steel beams.  It's a beautiful, interesting space that wouldn't need a lot of decoration.

Seats could be set up in the Great Hall for the ceremony, while the table, chairs, etc. get hidden behind large drapes.

Heinz History Center

Following the ceremony, guests would be taken upstairs to the Campbell Gallery for cocktails.  This space is similar to the Great Hall: lots of bricks and simple, industrial chic-ness.  Imagine this filled with guests, passed hors d'oeuvres, cocktails and lots of candlelight:

Heinz History Center

Cocktails would last for about an hour.  Meanwhile, the Great Hall would undergo a transformation and end up something like this:

From Christina Montemurro Photography

Amazing!

We toured the Center one evening after work and both fell even more in love with it.  The whole place felt like us: simple, kind of quirky and geeky (in a chic way).

Instantly, the other venues fell off the list.  This was, by far, the best.

Pros:
- We both loved the spaces.  It felt like us
- The rental fees for the faculty were reasonable
- There is a huge parking lot across the street
- There is a hotel across the street, super convenient for our out of town guests
- We would have help from the Events team, who really seemed to know their stuff.  We received so many helpful hints and ideas just during our short visit
- The Strip District is one of the most interesting parts of the city and there would be plenty of stuff for out of towners to check out
- The menu from the exclusive caterers, Common Plea, was impressive.  There were tons of yummy sounding items and pages and pages of options

Cons:
- The exclusive caterer's (who is not Big Catering) food and alcohol were way more expensive than we planned for - probably somewhere to the tune of $10k more than the venues we'd already seen

That was the only negative we could come up with.  Seriously.  We wanted it so bad.

Next up, a reality check and redefining the search boundaries.

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.

Venues that Weren't - Phipps Conservatory

Phipps Conservatory has long been one of my favorite locations in Pittsburgh.  It's a peaceful, beautiful excursion year round.  It's a chance to see some exotic plants, beautiful sculpture/glass/trains (depending on the season).  And, I always thought it would be an amazing wedding venue.

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.