Venue #4: Old Dekalb Courthouse

At this point in our search, Old Dekalb Courthouse on the Square is my favorite venue.

Our trip to check it out started with a couple snags. We ran a little late for our noon appointment. (Comment from the fiancé: What my benevolent bride-to-be is so graciously omitting is that I had us take a couple wrong turns, which ran us late.) The vacant handicapped spot was quickly snatched as we tried to hurry inside. We also faced a minor problem when all the accessible entrances were locked. After we walked around the entire building to no avail, Rob finally had to call Stacey, our point of contact, to open the one of the accessible doors on the basement level.

Stacey first showed us features located on the basement levels. The venue included a bridal room for the bride to prepare for the ceremony. The bridal room included a spacious area for dressing and the largest bathroom out of the venues we have seen. On the downside, the bathroom had only one accessible toilet (i.e., with a raised toilet seat and grab bars) in the bridal area.

Stacey informed us that the bridal area can also be used for the couples to relax together for a few minutes prior to the reception. While I love the idea of having a separate area, I wasn’t impressed with the area itself. I got the impression that the only areas that are kept up in the facility were areas guests saw. The bridal area was worn down and old looking. All of the behind-the-scenes areas were also ragged.

We took the elevator up to the main courtroom, which is where the ceremony and reception are held. (Rob later pointed out that the lights on the elevator buttons didn’t seem to work.)

Although the non-public areas left something to be desired, this room is beautiful. I love the marble on the walls. The elegance of the courtroom nearly makes up for the lackluster appeal of the behind-the-scenes areas.

The open door on the left is the "Grooms Room"

Also, the courthouse did supply several little extra spaces that you could use for whatever purpose you pleased.

In the pictures, a small, mediocre “Grooms Room” or coat room (depending on how you want to utilize the space) is visible through the opened door.

Across the hall from the courtroom, there is another extra room with wooden floors. Stacey told us that some people employ that area as a buffet, cake, or gift room.

Down a flight of stairs (or elevator ride), is the lobby. Since the lobby is seen by guests, it is beautiful.

Lobby entrance

Stacey acknowledged the area is typically used for a cocktail hour while the courtroom is flipped from ceremony room to reception room.

After finishing the tour, we went to Stacey’s office to get paperwork with prices and their regulations. Prior to our visit, I looked online to view the availability of the courthouse for next summer. According to the website, the venue wasn’t available until August. Stacey confirmed that what I saw online was accurate.

Also, as a precaution, we asked if they would return our deposit/move our date without penalty if Rob, who is in the National Guard, happened to get deployed. . Right now, he doesn’t have orders to deploy anywhere, but given the fact that we are still in the middle of two wars, it seemed best to be proactive and get clarity on their policy regarding military deployments.

From Stacey’s reaction, it appeared as if this was a new dilemma for the venue. She said that while she would have to check with her boss to be sure, she thought we would still have to pay $200 to change the date. She mentioned that the paperwork involved would cost them money.

Her answer to this really made my mad. If we indeed wanted to book the venue, and her boss said they would not waive the fee, I would reconsider the whole thing. It eludes me how a former government building could be unsupportive (and I see charging a fee for changing the date due to deployment as unsupportive) of the military. It felt like a double penalty to me. Of course, this is all hypothetical. Still, in the event of a deployment, we would first have to postpone our wedding and the start our lives together while Rob heads to a dangerous area to serve our country. Then, we would be charged an extra fee on top of that? It’s extremely off-putting to me. I will have to get a definite answer on whether or not they will waive the fee before we decide to use this venue.

Yay!

• Beautiful public areas!!!
• Bridal area. I really like the idea of having a private area to have a moment together as a couple before greeting the guests.
• Outside area for photos (even if it is a somewhat limited).
• Huge restroom in the basement.
• Alcohol is BYOB .
• Tables and chairs included in the rental.

Nay…

• Charging a fee if the wedding had to be postponed due to a deployment.
• Unappealing non-public areas.
• Limited parking. Guests would have to utilize parking decks nearby.
• The venue charges an extra $1,000 fee if you don’t use their preferred caterer.
• Not available until August.
• I couldn’t exit through the main exit (there are stairs), which would make for an awkward exit at the end of the evening.

Venue #2: Trolley Barn



I adore old historical buildings and have looked at several old houses that serve as wedding sites. However, while I enjoy looking at them, I've also realized that these sites probably won’t suit us well from a practical standpoint. Old venues tend to be inaccessible—stairs to get in, stairs inside, narrow door ways, and tiny bathrooms.

That being the case, when I looked at the Trolley Barn, my first concern was wheelchair accessibility. As we arrived, I was delighted to see the barn doors open up on the ground level, with no stairs needed to enter the building!

I admired the antique look of the entire place. The high ceiling is beautiful, with old wooden beams. The reception area also had well-maintained wooden floors. A metal spiral staircase leads up to the balcony level and down to the basement level.

The balcony includes an open space that overlooks the main room. Unfortunately, there is no elevator for me to access the balcony or basement, but I’m OK with that. We figured that the balcony could be open for people to get away from the crowd for a few minutes. It would also serve as a nice perspective for the photographer to get some interesting shots.



Picture from the balcony

 

Upstairs reception area

I checked the bathroom on the main level—it was accessible. The handicap stall wasn’t as large as I’d like, but it would work. Another down side to the restrooms on the main level, there are only 2 stalls in the women’s restroom. Additional bathrooms are available in the basement, although I'm not sure of how many.

Trolley Barn also has a gorgeous outdoor area that included a brick patio nearly as large as the main room. The garden area is colorful and would make for fantastic pictures.

Linda, the proprietor, did point out that this area is only for guests to view. Guests are not allowed to walk through the garden area, and children are not allowed to play there. She made an exception, however, for taking wedding pictures.



View of the barn from the patio

Another cool feature was the outdoor wooden bar—there were little holes cut out of the top so at night the light would shine out for a pretty effect.



Outdoor bar area



Negatives:

• Parking at the Trolley Barn itself was limited. There is a small lot adjacent to the barn that could hold maybe 10 cars. However, the barn has parking agreements with the judicial building across the street and the church down the block, which makes parking less of a problem. You are required to have a security guard, who would guide cars to available street parking.
• Bathroom is smaller than I’d prefer. I can get in and close the door, but I do wish there was more space. There are only two stalls in the women's restroom on the main floor.
• Some areas (balcony) would not be accessible.
• Tables and chairs are not included in the rental fee and can be rented for an additional fee.

Positives:

• Large, beautiful open space.
• Bringing our own alcohol is permitted.
• No stairs are required to enter the main floor. Rob and I would be able to walk out and make a “grand exit” with bubbles, flowers, birdseed, etc. the same way as everyone else
• Reasonably priced.
• There is an accessible bathroom.
• It’s nice to have the outdoor area available for people to enjoy, if the weather permits. The bar outside makes the area even more useable.
• They have at least one Saturday in June and most weekends in July currently available.

Overall, my impression was very positive. I was nearly ready to book it right then and there. Since it was only the second venue we had checked, though, we should see a few more before we make our final decision.

The Search Begins...Venue #1: Emory

We started our search with the Emory Conference Center. It is a beautiful site, and the event coordinator, Uli Burgess, was friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. I'm sure the venue is worth every dollar you'd spend on it. Unfortunately, that's a LOT of dollars, and more than we're willing to spend at this point.

The Knot, a wedding magazine I've been reading, listed Emory under the $$ (out of $$$$). As we began our reception venue search, we started with places listed as $$ or below. Neither of us have expensive tastes, and we're also planning to buy a condo this year, so we're trying to be cost-conscious.

Emory was beautiful—there was an enormous ballroom with plenty of room for the 150 guests we anticipate inviting. Uli also told us that if we wanted extra space between table, which I would need to get around and visit with guests during the reception, we should have a space that seats about 20-25 more than we plan on attending. It’s helpful to know that we now should be aiming for a location that comfortably seats closer to 180 than 150.

Emory also had a fun space comprised of six bowling lanes, several pool tables, a video game station, and a bar. When showing us the space, Uli informed us the area is frequently used as a rehearsal dinner spot to take the awkwardness out of meeting distant relatives.

Additionally, Emory was fully handicapped-accessible. Sometimes, different facilities use a narrow definition of "accessible.” I checked out the bathrooms to ensure they had the same idea of accessible as I had.

Another nice feature is having a hotel available right there for guests from out of town.

Everything at Emory was wonderful. Then we got a cost estimate: $17,000 for the reception. In addition, that price didn’t include everything that we’d need for the party, such as flowers, DJ, cake, etc. With one calculation, one potential venue was removed from our list.

Of course, I’m sure that if you have a budget vastly greater than ours, Emory would be worth it. It truly is a beautiful venue. The facilities were accessible. We had a choice of two dining rooms for different sizes of events.

Uli, the event coordinator, is wonderful, and I'm sure she would take all the pressure off organizing and planning. Rob was impressed that she actually talked to me, as opposed to directing all questions to him. Sometimes, when people are talking to the two of us, people tend to direct questions to Rob when he's standing. Uli, however, was quite courteous, and continually shifted her attention from one of us to the other while we were speaking.

Ultimately, though, we can't justify the cost. It would save us a lot of effort in planning, but given our budget, and the prospect of paying for a condo this year, we're better off taking on some of that effort ourselves.

Even though we passed on the venue, though, I’m glad we went to Emory and got the quote. It broke the price down and showed us how much we’d be spending for what services.

Also, once we realized that a three-hour open bar could run around $4,000-$5,000, we decided to rule out places who do not allow you to bring your own alcohol. Next to the rental fee for the facility itself, that's probably the best place for us to control costs.

The most important thing we learned from visiting Emory was that $17,000 was what we’d end up paying anywhere around Atlanta for a similar type of venue.

So, we started searching for different types of venues.

(We did not take pictures at Emory. If you want to check them out, visit http://www.emoryconferencecenter.com/weddings/.)