Budget Review: Venue & Rentals

Wedding & Reception Venue

Rose Mont Mansion

810 South Water Avenue

Gallatin, TN 37066

Contact: Erleen Blount

{download rental information}

What We Got

Ceremony & Reception

{includes an 8 hour rental period, use of grounds, house & reception hall}

$600

Rehearsal

{includes 6 hr use to decorate & rehearse}

$100

Event Security

{required}

$160

Table & Chair rentals 

{300 white chairs, 10-5' round tables, 35-6' banquet tables, setup & tear-down)

$150

breakage & damage deposit

{refundable}

$100

deposit

{required to book your date & applied to your balance}

$100

Total Cost: $1010

My Friend is Awesome

Today, I got a text message that contained the picture below. My sweet friend Jasmin is already working on ideas for our wedding flowers, and although these aren't exactly the varieties or colors that we are using,  it looks great! She's working really hard on making our vintage Anchor Hocking bud vases for the reception look amazing and she's full of ideas.

I'm super excited about visiting Rose Mont Mansion later this month with Jasmin and Margaret, our coordinator. I'm hoping to get lots of details worked out and I'm certain they'll both have great ideas.

Rehearsal Dinner Venue Booked .... Mostly.

Although Big Spoon's parents have been very proactive with planning the rehearsal dinner they so generously offered to pay for, they are at a disadvantage because they live in Colorado. With so much time to plan, we were more than happy to help plan rehearsal dinner. So on Saturday, Big Spoon and I took a drive out to Hartsville, TN to visit Tully's Bistro and discuss having our rehearsal dinner there. 

Backtracking for a moment, I'd like to discuss why we did not opt to have rehearsal dinner a mere block away from our venue at Monell's. After some discussion at Christmas about the limited restaurant choices in Gallatin, Big Spoon's mom contacted Monell's. They have a location just a few blocks down the street from Rose Mont Mansion. Now, I'm sure their food is great- they have a great reputation- BUT they require a 25 person minimum for a rehearsal dinner. I simply do not understand this. We aren't asking for special treatment, we just want to make a reservation. We could show up unannounced with 20 people and they wouldn't refuse to seat us because we have less than 25, so why demand that we have 25 for a rehearsal dinner? It would be much worse on their staff if we just showed up, right? (That's rhetorical, I waited tables and I know the answer is YES!)

Additionally, they wanted to charge $25 a person for this event. WTH? Seriously? It's southern cooking severed family style. What reason would they possibly have to charge us $25 per person for something I know my mom makes better. Just to put it in perspective, the amount of money Monell's wanted for the minimum pp requirement is 35% of our budgeted reception food/bev cost.

 Now, back to the venue we DID choose ....

I probably would have not known about Tully’s Bistro if we hadn’t been watching Tennessee Crossroads on PBS one Sunday morning. They did a feature on Chef Tully and it got me really interested. Not only is it 20 minutes away from our venue, it’s also 20 minutes away from where I grew up. I love to see good things like this happen to small towns, and trust me, Hartsville is a very small town. Tully’s Bistro is located in a beautiful historical home in the main part of the town, which is in keeping with our “historical home” wedding. You can read all about Chef Tully’s education, food and events at the restaurant website.

Our appointment was at 10am and although the chef had forgotten our appointment and was heading toward Nashville, he postponed his meeting and came to talk to us. He was patient and we didn’t feel as though he was trying to rush through.

We had never been there before, so we let him lead us through the menu design. We decided on a of shoulder cut, glazed tenderloin with caramelized apples and spices, a chicken option, fresh vegetable mix, assorted breads and mini desserts and non-alcoholic drinks. We will have our rehearsal dinner in the upstairs portion of the restaurant.

Grand total: $15 per person. A 20 minute drive equals better food, better communication and willingness to compromise, better price. Chef Tully treated us to a wonderful lunch, printed us a quote before we left and sent us on our way feeling really good about this decision. We talked to Big Spoon's parents about it later on that day and they seemed excited about it as well. We are looking forward to receiving the contract info this week so we can lock in our date.

Venue Reviews, Part 2

Now that we have officially booked our venue and signed the contract, I'd like to wrap up the venue reviews. There are many lovely places in TN that I have not mentioned here - budget and personality were key factors while venue shopping. My suggestion to all new brides in this area is to check out Ashley's Bride Guide for ideas. Her website is a wealth of information and ideas.

Click here to expand and read reviews.

Belmont Mansion
Nashville, TN

Belmont Mansion is actually the first venue we looked at (way back in February). It is a beautiful home - inside and out. The mansion is now a part of Belmont University's campus. I did call them again while we were re-searching this week. Apparently, they have a new website and event coordinator, which is great for them. You can also now purchase packages to suit your wedding and/or reception needs. However, I could not visualize seating 100 to 125 people in the main room comfortably.

Pros: A beautiful, historic home in the heart of Nashville.
Cons: Small interior and limited rooms for use.

The Hermitage
Old Hickory, TN
We live nearby the Hermitage and I honestly haven't been there since I was a child. It is a lovely place and there are lots of affordable options that I feel are budget friendly. I had no problems setting up an appointment to meet with the event coordinator. You can also just drop by for a tour if you'd rather not commit to a weekday meeting.

Pros: Numerous options for ceremony and reception settings.
Cons: You must arrange all rentals through Grand Central Party Rentals. If you are a fan of choices (like we are), this could put a damper on things.

Old Hickory Country Club
Old Hickory, TN
This venue is nice and affordable - your ceremony and reception could take place in one spacious upstairs ballroom or use the patio area for an outdoor ceremony. They have a facebook page with lots of pictures detailing the customization you can do.

Pros: A spacious, mirrored ballroom with a stage and fireplace mantle.
Cons: Easy to miss the entrance and must use their catering.

Rock Castle
Hendersonville, TN
  
Rock Castle is an interesting-looking historic home (with connections to the Hermitage). It is located right on Old Hickory Lake and the grounds are lovely. All rentals and bookings must go through Grand Central Party Rentals (Kim McLean, who is very nice and helpful).

Pros: A new covered pavilion and historic home right on Old Hickory Lake.
Cons: No use of the house.

We Have a Venue!

This weekend, Big Spoon and I decided to get right down to the business of finding a suitable venue for our wedding ceremony and reception. With our same list of priorities and our newly learned lessons about venue hunting, we started in Hermitage and wound our way up to Gallatin. I'll cover all the stops we made today and the Budget Bridal Show in another post. For now, I'd like to introduce you all to our new wedding and reception venue:

Rose Mont Mansion

This mansion has a charming history. Owned by the City of Gallatin,  Rose Mont Mansion is maintained by a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving this gem of the past. Although 45 minutes outside of Nashville, this is by far the best venue we looked at in price and functionality.

The majority of the mansion will be open for the bridal party to use and for picture taking. Guests will not be allowed inside, but that is fine because Rose Mont has a wonderful *new* reception hall in the back of the property. There is a lovely rose garden between the two buildings. The inside is elegant, simple and spacious. A small kitchen in the back and out of the way, a front and back patio that we are welcome to use for whatever! There are white tables and chairs on site for us to rent for a very small fee. Most importantly, we get to rent the venue for our rehearsal on Saturday and we have somewhere warm and dry for our guests to enjoy the reception (or for the ceremony to take place if there is inclement weather).

It's beautiful, affordable and just a mile from the charming town square of Gallatin, TN - the city of my birth. What makes this even more special, we booked it exactly one year from our wedding date. What a weight off my shoulders! I now feel like all the pieces to our wedding story are fitting nicely - we worked as a team to overcome the disappointment of losing a venue, exploring many different options and gathering information and through that, found one simply perfect for us.

•   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •
A big thank you to Rita Rowland, CJ Dickinson and all of my blogger bride buddies for their suggestions, support and encouraging comments. 

Lessons Learned: Planning your Nashville wedding more than a year ahead? Do NOT count on Two Rivers Mansion!

I've been busy with getting materials ready for reappointment at my job, so Little Spoon has been taking up the blogging slack. She's also been responsible for collating most of the info regarding new venues, and she was great at setting up all kinds of appointments with the new possible sites. At the risk of sounding whiny and emo, I want to summarize our saga with Two Rivers Mansion in the hopes of saving future brides and grooms the hassles we had with them. Click to expand the timeline.

• February 23: We toured the mansion and decided that it would be a great place to have our wedding and reception. We wanted to put down our deposit immediately to reserve the date, but we were told that the Metro Parks department would not book the venue more than a year in advance. Nevertheless, we were penciled into the venue's datebook and made an appointment to deliver the deposit on Friday, October 9.
• May 27: Little Spoon e-mailed the gentleman who led our tour and penciled us in to confirm that we would be able to book the venue on October 9th. He agreed and confirmed that we were the only ones on the schedule at that time.
• August 9: Little Spoon e-mailed the venue's planner once more to ensure no one else had expressed interest in our date and offered to put down the deposit that week. She was told that we'd have to wait until October 9, but that we were still on to put the deposit down that day.
• September 29: Little Spoon e-mailed the venue's planner to set up the appointment on October 9th. He told us that someone else was now in charge of booking the venue, so he gave Little Spoon the contact information for the new planner. Little Spoon called her per the previous planner's instructions but received no response.
• October 2: Little Spoon e-mailed the new planner to set up the October 9 meeting because the new planner had not responded to Little Spoon's voice mail message.
• October 6: The new planner told us that the mansion had been booked for a Metro Parks event. Little Spoon contacted the old planner to confirm this and to see when that event had been booked and to inquire if it could be moved. The old planner said he would see if the event could be moved.
• October 7: We were informed that the event could not be moved. Little Spoon escalated to the appropriate head in the Parks service, who rebuffed us and refused to offer any assistance in finding a new venue. She insisted that their event had been booked since before February, but she produced no evidence of this claim.

So, what lessons did we learn from this scheduling debacle?

1. If a venue refuses to take your money when you're ready to put it down, move on. Find another venue. Especially if your date is really important to you (as ours was to us - which is why we were trying to book over a year in advance!).
2. Don't take being "penciled in" as anything remotely equivalent to "booked". We had too much faith in the good word of the scheduler, and it bit us in the rear. Hard.
3. Don't take anyone's word regarding important aspects of your wedding. If it's important to you, sign a contract - for your own protection.

Venue Reviews, Part 1

Today, I'd like to wrap up my thoughts on some of the venue's that I have looked into this week for our 2010 wedding. I'll talk about the ones I've visited and some I didn't and why. I hope this helps someone out there looking for a great place for their ceremony or reception.
Click here to expand and read reviews.

Hermitage Golf Course
Old Hickory, TN 37138

This is by far the nicest looking golf course I've seen to this point. The Future Mrs. Smith had her ceremony and reception here in September, which is how I found it. Kara Torphy is the special events coordinator and she is wonderful to talk to. She shoots straight and answers any and all questions. She seems to be a great person to work with and coordinate wedding details. I especially liked their garden and gallery. You can rent all their spaces (minus the course) for $2500.

Pros: There are two built-in rain plans.
Cons: You can only use an outside caterer if you pay a buy-out fee.

Hazel Path Mansion
Hendersonville, TN

If you are looking for an all-inclusive historical venue on the north or east side of town, this might be the place for you. Located in the heart of Hendersonville, this mansion has really been kept up. It's gorgeous on the inside, with numerous chandeliers and rooms to use for the wedding party, buffet line, etc. They will also work with you if you do not want a package.

Pros: It rivals many other historic mansions in beauty and price.
Cons: You must tent the reception. Tables & chairs not provided if you don't go with a package.

Timothy Demonbreun House
Nashville, TN

This is by far one of my favorite finds. The owner is an ancestor of Timonty Demonbreun and named the B & B in his honor. If you are interested in a more intimate gathering with great anemities, contact Richard Demonbruen. He is so very pleasant and helpful. They sell alcohol at cost, can handle the catering (because they are a B&B) and also have wedding weekend packages.

Pros: Lovely place and lovely prices.
Cons:  No Sunday weddings. (Which was the downfall for us).

Baber House
Gallatin, TN
  
If I could do this thing over again, this would be the first place we would have looked at. I think my heart was set on a Nashville venue, but 45-minutes outside of Nashville, this place is this gem. I've never been there, but I've driven by it for YEARS on the way to my hometown and had no idea it was used for special events. The pictures are breathtaking - an old historic home meshed with contemporary styling. We were really disappointed to find that this venue is booked for our wedding weekend. They only book one wedding per weekend, which could be a pro I guess.

Pros: It's gorgeous and the price is fantastic!
Cons: They are BOOKED. Our date plus two back-up dates for 2010 are already taken.

Venue Search Updates

Today was rough. I talked to the idiot brigade at the Metro Parks office again about Two Rivers Mansion. They are hands down the most unprofessional group of people I have ever had the displeasure to deal with. Needless to say, we aren't getting married there.

I'm experiencing blackout and exhaustion, but I'm still going. These are places we are looking at in the coming week or so:

Hermitage Golf Course
Old Hickory Country Club
Bluegrass Country Club
The Hermitage
Belmont Mansion
Hazel Path Mansion
Rose Mont Mansion
Rock Castle

Any other suggestions are welcome ... I'm beginning to look out as far as Gallatin. I'm not too keen on the South-side. Also, anyone who has hosted a backyard wedding, please feel free to comment!

I am going to continue my search, but the next step is to consider my grandparents farm that is an hour plus north of Nashville or (and we really don't want to) changing our date. That would suck majorly.

Wish me luck.

O-M-G

I sincerely cannot believe we are going through this. Is there no where in Nashville and the surrounding area we can get married???

Here's the deal - we are on a budget. Because the State of Tennessee Department of Parks and Recreation decided to seriously screw us over, I don't see how we can stay in budget, keep our date and all the vendors we want to use.

I'm at my wits end, here.

And no, I don't want to get married all the way out in Franklin.

Here are the places that are OUT due to budget or they have already been booked:

Cedarwood
Riverwood
Cedarvine
Baber House
Houston Station
Ambrose House
Cragfont
Belle Meade
Anywhere in Franklin

HELP. Anyone? How does one work and deal with a crisis alone?

Our Venue Fell Through. Today Sucks.

Today sucks. Let me just get that out there. The weather is appropriate for the news I got today.

I'm normally pretty cool under pressure, but today I lost it. To my knowledge, I didn't swear at the woman. I yelled. I slammed the phone. I cried loudly for five minutes and a co-worked had to come over and rub my back I was shaking so badly. What happened, you ask? Well, after months of
staying on top of the Metro Parks Office, asking questions, asking if they would be so kind as to go ahead and take my money while they insisted they couldn't book us until Oct. 9, 2009 for Oct, 10, 2010 .... I get an email saying that they have ALREADY BOOKED our venue. TO THEMSELVES.

What the hell.

I've been hesitant to mention the fact that we were hoping to book Two Rivers Mansion online. So much for that because they booked it to themselves!!!!

I immediately called the person in charge of reservations (a detail I got a mere week ago after corresponding with them since February). That conversation didn't go well, so I called the guy in charge.
And he said "oh, well that date isn't solid. I'll see if I can get this taken care of for you. I'll try to shuffle it around". They were supposed to call me back in the afternoon.

And of course, they didn't. I called and left a detailed message and followed that with a detailed email. We are both just floored and the lack of eptitude and common courtesy.

Today, I saw *almost* my entire vision for our wedding day evaporate like a puff of smoke. I'm emotionally drained not to mention an emotional wreck, but I'm positive that this will all work out and we'll find another venue.

Now, let the research and phone calls commence. Sigh.

400 Days and Counting

Our wedding day is exactly 400 days from today!

That means there are only 34 days left until we put the deposit down and book our venue, at which time I will reveal exactly where it is we are getting hitched. I've been hesitant to do so (although we looked at the venue in February) because we just couldn't book it more than a year in advance.

We have accomplished many of the "big" things already, which leaves a great deal of room to work on details that otherwise would be impossible (or at least more stressful) with a short engagement.

14 Months. Yes, I'm counting.

August 10, 2009. Today marks ...

• Two months from today, we can "officially" book our venue (which I have not revealed on our site yet for fear we won't get it). I have double checked with them twice now that we are still "penciled in".
• My future Mother-In-Law's birthday!
• 14 months until our wedding day!
• 16 days until Big Spoon's birthday! Yay!

Today is a good day.