Summit Manor?

graysquirrel

Is anyone familiar with weddings at Summit Manor? I have not visited yet, but it looks like a great location for my Victorian wedding. I would like to find out what they provide, how the service was, etc. Thank you!

hkiesling

I had my wedding there, and I LOVED IT!  I can't say enough good things about it, unless you ask me to, in which case I'll go on and on about it.  Feel free to ask me anything.

graysquirrel

Awesome! I do have some questions and you can feel free to gush  How far in advance did you have to book? They said online that they provide centerpieces. What were they like? Did you get to pick colors or anything for them? Did they provide any coordinating type of services? We are trying to save money and might do an ipod reception. Did they have a good sound system? Thank you so much!

Ps- I love your shoe/ring picture! I have never seen anything like it before.

hkiesling

We booked almost a year in advance, but we pretty much had a wide open month of dates.  I'm not sure how quickly they fill up, but just ask.  David was great to work with.

For centerpieces, they go to the farmers market that morning and buy fresh, seasonal flowers.  You don't get a choice in the colors.  Since my colors were "fall leaves," the fresh flowers fit in perfectly.  Its a small bouquet in a vase on each table.  They also have flowers around the manor in various spots.  This saved us a TON of money.  I had them leave the headtable ares tables bare and brought my own vases to have the BMs and my bouquet be the centerpieces.  Since those tables get cleared for the dance floor anyway, I didn't see any point in spending a ton of money there. 

I don't know if I'd call it a coordinating service exactly, but David was very prompt with any questions I had and helped me figure out where everything would go.  As you can imagine, I was a bit of a "hands-on bride," to put it nicely.  He never said I asked too many questions or made too many requests.  I had them use a family recipe for one dish, clear a room for my photowall, set up a popcorn bar, set out my 150 jars of canned-goods favors, save me out some cheesecake to take home,..... there were a lot of little things, and everything went off without a hitch  David is just as much a perfectionist as me (well, almost!).  He even tracked me down our wedding night when my aunt accidently set off our house alarm (cops and all) to gently break the news to be that our house was being broken into!  Good thing it was a false alarm.

We had a DJ with a soundsystem.  I know they have a PA system and play soft music through it during dinner.  I"m not sure how "rockin'" it can get though.  You might want to rent a bigger speaker.  That said, the dance area isn't terribly big and there is a noise level restriction (residential area), so it wouldn't have to be all that big.

The shoe letters were super easy to do.  Michaels has gem stickers.  Just peel and stick.

graysquirrel

Thank you very much! I am excited to take a tour when we get things more nailed down. I'm a hands-on person, too, and knowing that they will save me time and money with the flowers is great. You have been really helpful!

hkiesling

Happy to help.  A few other money-savers there I found were:
-bring your own alcohol.  This was HUGE!
-Pretty much zero decorating costs.  I got a few bags of Hersey's kisses and had them spread around each table.  That was about it.
-Linens, china, silverwear, and some single-use items (cake stand, cake cutting set, champaign glasses) all included.
-They don't allow the DJ to have lights and fog, so we got a discounted rate with our DJ
-Meal prices were between $18-$30 per person, kids under 5 ate free
-No cake-cutting fee
-Set-up and clean-up was included (other than what we brough in ourselves)
-No centerpieces
-You pay by the hour, so you can determine how expensive the rental is

graysquirrel

Great! Just from the pictures on their site I have my heart set on it. As soon as we pick a date I will book a visit! Did you do yours outdoors? I am wanting to but am scared of rain. Do you think they'd move it inside if that happened?

hkiesling

Our ceremony was at a church, but at the reception, people were definetely using the yard.  Before dinner, I gathered everyone (about 120 people) out on to the porch and thanked them for coming.  Then we took a big group picture.  It was one of my favorities, because you can see everyone who was there. Then we dismissed them for dinner.

The yard is pretty with a really big tree in one corner.  It does sit right on Summit Ave, though, so there will be a little traffic going by.  I've driven by when the outdoors was all set up for wedding and it was really pretty with white chairs.  It would be a little more cramped on the inside to have the ceremony there, although that would depend on how many people you're inviting.  There's a PA system that runs throughout, so everyone could hear, if not see, you.  I'm sure they would be able to re-set up inside in the case of rain.

I have a few pictures in my bio if you want to see some more.

graysquirrel

Great! Your photo booth board was so creative!

hkiesling

Thank you (it's for sale, wink wink nudge nudge).  It went perfectly with the vintage feel of the manor.  We set it up on the top floor in the little semi-empty room.  The kids especially loved it, and it kept them busy all night long - and out of trouble! The adults got into it too, and I hear they also spent some time trying to identify all the old family photos we had on it. 

graysquirrel

Thanks-- I will keep it in mind. We don't have a date set yet, so I have not started buying anything. The whole thing is contingent upon me getting a better job . Stupid economy! It seems like a wonderful idea, though!