First up, the Athenaeum.
I love the building, obvs. It's got loads of character and history, and just the right amount of grandeur for my taste.
The building has one main room which is used as a gallery, and which I think is pretty close to perfect. It's clean, simple, and seems like it would make a nice backdrop for whatever we choose to do with the space. It certainly is nice to have that kind of freedom, and not have to worry about what kind of decorations would work with this wall color or that horrendous carpet. And it is the perfect size for the size event we're planning here. So, I think I like it.
But...
Of course there's a but. We were thinking about doing the ceremony and the reception in the same place to make things a bit easier and hopefully more cost effective. And I could see both things happening in this space. I can see a ceremony setup and a reception/dinner setup. BUT those are two separate things, which would require a re-set between events. Which would mean the guests would need somewhere to go while things are being moved around. And extra space is not something this building has a lot of.
There is a small room to the rear of the main room which might hold 50 people standing, and we could just have you hang out there for a bit until things are ready, but you'd kind of be stuck there. In order to get out of the building or even to the bathrooms you would be in the paths of the caterers.
There is also a very cute outdoor space in the back which according to the man showing the space could "easily hold 100 people" but I beg to differ.
This would be a lovely place to have the ceremony, and then have the reception already set up inside, which would eliminate the problem of where would you go in between time, but I have my doubts that it would fit more than 30 people seated. Or it could be our mingling "cocktail hour" space while the main room is being re-set from ceremony to reception, if we went that route. But then we're counting on good weather. What if it rains? Umbrellas? I've already thought to contact them and ask if they have or if we can get a tent to cover the space. So I'll let you know if anything comes of that.
So pretend you're here with me to help me ask questions, solve problems, and generally figure this business out. What would you do?
I like the idea of having the ceremony outside in the little garden area. If the guy says it could easily hold 100 people, I would think that it would fit 50 people seated, don't you? I don't know, you would have to be the judge on that since you've seen it. But I really like the building and garden area. Let me know what you find out about the tent/canopy. Do you have pictures of other options?
ReplyDeletewell, if they're use to doing weddings they usually can switch it up fairly quickly between ceremony and reception (like 15 minutes). with that said I think it would be nice to have the ceremony outside like you stated and then in case of bad weather you could always move it inside and deal with the 15 minutes of craziness (which really goes smoothly usually). really like the photo potential of it!!!
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