Karen, Erik and Jack

Verdict – Would work, but…eh.

I think I liked this place more than Karen did, so hopefully she’ll chime in below in the comments. The Palmer Building (according to it’s web site) is a restored Fire School, constructed in the late 1930s in an effort to employ people during the Great Depression. As you can see from the photos (the last of which we’ll be borrowing as our digital camera has arrived!), it has a rubble stone facade around the entire exterior, making it look somewhat like a castle. It’s not over-the-top though, and comes off really nice.

The inside on the other hand, is a little dark. Everything appears to be the original decorations, nicely preserved over the many years the building has been around. However, all the wood is stained very dark, and the interior is very much an auditorium, complete with a stage. The space inside would be very accomodating, and in case of inclement weather, we could use the stage for the ceremony. Since it is a historic building, decorating may be difficult, and we would definitely need to do something to lighten the inside up to look more like a wedding.

The main ceremony area is a nice courtyard guarded by trees and another building (a doctor’s office, with a brick facade), with a patio and steps leading up from the courtyard to the patio, making a natural stage area. Since the other building is a Dr.’s office, we wouldn’t have to worry about people going in and out since it will be a Saturday. Unfortunately, as nice as the courtyard is, it felt a little cramped and might not set up too well for groups larger the 50 (and we’re expecting about 150). I think it would definitely work if we forced it, and the pictures for the ceremony would look outstanding, but the guests might feel uncomfortable in the cramped area, and we don’t want that.

Also, they didn’t have any of the dates available that we were hoping for. They had dates that might work (I’ll know more about September obligations after January). Ultimately, this was another place that would work for us if we needed to, but all in all, it wasn’t as ideal a location as we’re hoping for.

Next up: The Asbury Park Grove

Verdict: Perfectly Adequate

Karen and I visited the Birkdale Country Club on Wednesday. Since our new digital camera had yet to arrive, you’ll have to settle for the (small) pics I copied from their web site. The reception area was alright. Perhaps a little plain, very very white, but adequate for our needs.

It looks like they’re in the middle of a little remodeling (the place reaked of a fresh coat of OIL based paint), and it definitely could use some improvements. The bar, while very large, looked like stained plywood in desperate need of a new coat, the floor was painted grey concrete, and the ceiling was white 2×6 rafters. Not exactly the stuff dreams are made of, but not distracting either, and the space would work well for us. Good set up for the DJ, dance floor, bar, and tables. If we had to go over 150 guests, it might be a little tight, but we’ll see.

The area held for the cermony was nice. It over looked a nice man made lake in the background, and was setup on a nicely manicured lawn. Unfortunately, the pro shop, golf range, and bag drop were all less than 100 ft. away and the cart path ran right next to the area (about 10 ft. from where the ceremony would go on). The coordinator (when she wasn’t dogging other weddings that they’d hosted there) explained that they would coordinate it so that no golfers would go thru during our ceremony, but that is a lot of faith to be placed in the local golf ranger.

Ultimately, this was the first place we saw that would accomodate all of our needs and meet our budget. They didn’t have our preferred date available, but our did have our second date available. We’re going to play wait and see on this one.

Thursday’s visit will be to the Palmer building, an old Fireman’s house.

On Tuesday, we went to visit a possible wedding location. First, an explanation – we are looking for a place that can host both the ceremony and reception. So we’ve looked at museums, historical houses, estates, hotels, and so on. We need a place that will fit us all (our guest list will likely end up around 200, so 160 or so actually attending), be in or close to Charlotte, not cost as much as a new car (excluding those places that said they have an $18,000 minimum charge), and not feel like a convention center (excluding some hotels – even their pictures of weddings they have hosted had an air of “today’s corporate agenda” about them).

Our first visit was to the Magnolia Room, in Rock Hill, SC. Charlotte is on the NC/SC border, so Rock Hill is not too far away. The Magnolia Room is a large room situated in some upscale community. The Room itself is surrounded by the community swimming pool, tennis court, and parking lots. In other words, not very secluded and no real outdoor location for a ceremony. Our host, Warren, explained that we could divide the room in half and have the ceremony on one side and the reception on the other. That was the point where I stopped thinking “this could still be nice” and started thinking “No. No no no no no. Not for us. No.” It also did not help that when he heard where I work , he started asking for my advice on why their speaker system and microphone system wasn’t working. Luckily, Erik’s technical expertise helped. Warren chatted a bit with Erik (Warren was a Pi Kapp), and then we left.

Pros of the place:
It really is a lovely space. Real hardwood floors (possibly maple?), great big windows, high ceilings. Has a beautiful bar area with dark woods and black marble. And the price was affordable. And has built in house sound system (although it sounded as if they were not sure how to use it).

Cons:
Only one dressing area – either Erik and I would have to share and see each other before the wedding, or one of us is getting ready before/in the manager’s office. No area for a ceremony – we are not splitting the room, and we just can’t picture our ceremony being out by the parking lot. And it’s in South Carolina, and Erik doesn’t like that state.

Me: “I thought you said you didn’t care where we got married.”
Him: “That didn’t mean we could get married in another STATE.”

Today: a visit to Birkdale Golf Club.