Wednesday's are becoming my favorite day in blog world ;)
When it came to deciding where we wanted to get married we both agreed that since it is going to be in the middle of July it MUST be an inside venue with air conditioning. We tossed a couple of options around but both kept coming back to the one we finally decided on.
Location: Cookeville
Venue: College Side church of Christ
It was really a no-brainer for us. We went to a wedding there a couple of years ago for some of our friends and I literally just fell in love with the inside. All white walls and old church pews. I distinctly remember telling Matthew that I wouldn't mind getting married there someday.
We went and looked at it again a couple of weeks ago and made pictures, talked with their church secretary about everything, and got the church's contract. We left feeling like that was the one. We were a little surprised by the cost of it, but ultimately it is A LOT cheaper than any other venue we looked at. Seriously we can't even complain about the price here because we are coming out a lot better than we were expecting.
Here are some pictures we snapped on our phones.
Both of these were taken from inside my car lol. Love those black double doors and that sky!
The double doors I will walk through. We LOVE these doors and the center aisle. A lot of churches don't have this option anymore. So we are thankful for this.
The blinds are closed, but we will definitely have them raised so all the natural light will come through. Seriously I am in LOVE with all the white and natural light. That was my #1 concern with getting married inside. I wanted most all of our pictures to have natural light and this auditorium is the perfect place for that.
They have an upstairs balcony that guests can sit at also, This auditorium holds up to 350 people. We won't have that many but it's nice to know we don't have a small number limit.
The view from the balcony looking down.
Our receptions will be in their gym. Nothing too exciting, just your basic church gym, but it has air conditioning and we have PLENTY of room to decorate!
The only downfall of this venue is that we have to be completely finished by 6PM. Ceremony, reception. pictures, and clean up all finished by 6PM. When I first found that out I was pretty upset and immediately started looking at other venues. After many pro and con lists we kept coming back to this venue. Honestly I am completely okay and at peace with our decision. Being out of there by 6PM now means we won't have a meal, but we will still definitely be using all my vintage plates. We are going to have a pie bar with ice cream and our wedding cake as well. I was completely bummed at first about not having a meal but after I realized 1.) How much money we would save 2.) We could still use my plates and 3.) All of our family and friends that travel up to Cookeville (for some it would be almost a 2 hour drive) will be able to more than likely be back home before midnight assured me that this was the best choice. Meal or not Matthew and I will still be husband and wife, and that's all that matters.
Why we decided on Cookeville?
A lot of people have asked us that and really Cookeville is our place and means so much to us. It's where Matthew has lived the past 4 and a half years, and where I have lived the past year and a half, where we both have been able to grow into our own person and become independent, where he has worked his tail off spending many nights up late studying, where he built relationships with his professors, where we have met and made life long friends, where we have became apart of an amazing campus ministry that has not only shaped us into the people we are today but it has taken us multiple places (retreats, work retreats, and mission trips.) It made our relationship with the Lord even stronger, from the singing nights, weekly devos, to just having a place to hangout with other Christians. It's where our relationship with each other was really able to grow, it's where Matthew baptized me, and it's where Matthew got down on one knee and asked me to become his wife. Cookeville holds a very large chunk of our heart, and we could not be any happier with our decision.
I went last Friday and put the deposit down and signed the contract.
The church is beautiful, and I can only imagine how it will look in summer when everything is in bloom! Even without a meal, you'll have all your friends and family there, and that'll more than make up for it =)
ReplyDeleteThat church is gorgeous (gotta love the middle aisle!) yay!!! I'm excited for you guys. Wow! Just think about all the SAVINGS you'll have! That's amazing. Feeding 200+ people isn't cheap. Luckily our caterer was a family friend and we were able to feed people for like $3 a head, I think. Such a blessing!
ReplyDeleteSUCH a pretty church!!! I can already picture the beautiful photos of you and Matthew inside and outside the church too :) I think the reasons for choosing the location and skipping on the meal are totally perfect! You'll save a lot of money and let's be honest- desserts are everyone's favorite part anyway!
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty!
ReplyDeletePretty church!!! Love the doors! And the story of why you chose Cookeville! :)
ReplyDelete