Wedding Venue

The first post should probably be about the first thing we did with wedding planning--booking a venue.  I had never even heard of this place until my mom asked me to come to her office after I got off work--she wanted to show off my ring to everyone :) One lady who was recently married, Molly, told me about a venue in Monroe called The Cotton Warehouse where she actually had her ceremony and reception.

I emailed Jakob at The Cotton Warehouse during the week asking if we could possibly take a tour of the site on Saturday, June 18th. He didn't call me back until Saturday afternoon and asked if we could be there within the next 30 minutes-1 hour and informed me of an AMAZING deal they were having for this weekend only. Luckily, we live very close to Monroe, so mom and I made it there in time to tour the facility before a wedding that afternoon. Jakob (whose last name is coincidentally the same as my grandparents'--Garner) owns the catering and floral company Beyond Details which purchased TCW within the last couple of years.  Because the venue is owned by the company, the contract includes a clause stating that you have to use their catering services. That's fine with us, because we've only heard great things--especially about the mac n cheese.  I got a little nervous when he told me that another bride was looking at our date, basically the only date feasible for us next summer. August 4th is just right with Anthony's school ending, my work ending, and just over a week before my school starts back. Fortunately, my mom was okay with rushing things a bit even on father's day, because she took my Grannie to see it before lunch on Sunday then went back with Anthony and me to sign a contract after lunch. We ended up saving a pretty large chunk of money because of the deal that was over after the weekend.

Anyway, a little more about the facility: the ceremony will be outside in the garden area. Yes, it will be hot. Sorry! I couldn't pick the time of year, but I have always wanted a unique wedding venue and TCW is PERFECT! We will more than likely have fans as a wedding favor provided for our guests and the ceremony will not be too terribly long (remember, we'll probably be even toastier than our guests!)

While the wedding party and families take photographs after the ceremony, there will be a short "sweet tea" hour with hors d'oeuvres--inside, with air conditioning.  It's what Jakob calls a "cocktail" hour, but this will be a DRY wedding, so that would be incorrect :)

The reception will be inside, which is personally my favorite area.  It's an area you actually have to be in to fully appreciate! There's no describing how perfectly this space fits with Anthony and me!

We will have a buffet-style dinner...more details on that after our tasting with Beyond Details on July 17th :)