The Great Venue Search

After the engagement ring, the next big "investment" in the wedding planning process is the venue.  Not very often do I get an opinion out of Jason, but with our 11-ish hours of driving to see both our families for Christmas, I was actually able to get some thoughts out of him about our venue.  We know that we want the ceremony and reception to be at the same location.  And I would like to have an outdoor ceremony (with a VERY easily adaptable place in the event of rain), but it's not a requirement.  So after talking, there are 3 types of places we will look into for our wedding:

1.  A Golf Course.  Some of the golf courses around KC have a part of the clubhouse that you can rent out for events such as weddings.  We could get married on the golf course green!  The wedding party could drive around the course in golf carts to take pictures... How cute would that be?!?  The biggest downfalls: cost and size.  It costs quite a bit and some of the rooms aren't big enough for 200 people.  Plus, there isn't always a hotel close for guests to stay.


2.  At A Theater.  Many of the theaters in the area can be rented for wedding use.  This is such a unique idea that we both love!  Plus, they seem to be right in the mix of the city.  There are hotels, bars, and restaurants within walking distance.  These places too are kinda pricey, and many of them have a bright red curtain on stage that would totally clash with the pink I want in my wedding.  If we go this route, you may see a blog-overhaul from pink to red!

3.  At A Local Park.  Many of the parks in the area have a hall that can be rented out for pretty cheap.  We would be able to have the wedding outside on the patio of the hall and the reception inside.  This option is MUCH cheaper than the others (and they let you pick all your own vendors, so cheaper there too)!  Jason and I went to look at two of these places over break.  The scenery was blah (what do you expect in the dead of winter), but we got the basic idea.

The Lodge at Ironwoods (website)
(147th and Mission)

This was a really nice building.  From the outside, it's a big red barn... but walk inside and you have one HUGE room.  The two-story ceiling makes it seem even larger!  It's got beautiful exposed wood beams and a vaulted ceiling.  

 The patio outside is barely big enough for a 200-person wedding, but they've done it before (207, actually).  There is a view of the lake, but it's though the trees.  

 It really is a nice place.  Some of the downfalls: you can't do any decorating to the place (just centerpieces), and you have to be out by 10 pm on a Sunday (and it would cost $1000 more for a Saturday).  This place fits perfectly into our budget!

Davis Hall at Wyandotte County Park Lake

(a couple miles NE of the Legends)

After a hilly, curvy drive into the park, you get to the beautiful stone building.  When you walk in the main entrance, there is a coat room and the bar.  Then there are two big rooms, one on each side.  This is a long, narrow building.  The outside patio runs the length of the entire building and is GORGEOUS!!!  The lake spans almost the entire patio (sorry, I can't find a good picture online).  

The patio is a little bigger, and we could more easily get 200 people out there.  We could then have the dinner in one of the inside rooms and the dance in the other

The downfalls: the actual building isn't at nice as the other, and it's capacity is more like 150-175 (we may have to cut down on the guest list).  But on the plus side, this place is a whopping $625 to rent FOR THE ENTIRE DAY!  But to get it, you have to go to the park office exactly 1 year before the day you want and they have a lottery to see who gets it.  So, are you feeling lucky?  We are considering reserving another place now and then seeing if we can even get this place.  Even if we loose a $300 deposit, we will still be paying WAY less than any other place!




Have any of you been to a wedding at either of these places?  What did you think of it?  Help!  I need some input!!!