lodge/rustic feel venue ideas

mtm1004

Hi ladies,
I'm just in the beginning stages of planning and looking at reception venues, and I absolutely love the Mayernik center.  Its in a great location (our ceremony will be in Allison Park) and has the perfect cozy, lodge feel.  My FI and I are looking at Oct 2013 for our wedding, which sounds like it gives us plenty of time to book the Mayernik.  The problem is that we wouldn't be able to book our venue until around this time next year.  My FI is in the Army and won't find out until then if he is moving to a new place or if he is being deployed.  I'm nervous to book the venue without knowing whether he'll be here or possibly deployed until Sept 2013, which would be cutting it close to our wedding.

Does anyone have any suggestions about places that have a similar feel to the Mayernik that aren't out in the middle of nowhere?  Since our ceremony will be in Allison Park, I don't want to have more than a 30-min drive to our reception.

Thanks!

cgyvhu

I think Armstrong Farms is within a 20 minute drive from Allison Park, and that will have a rustic feel. However, I think it's at a different price point than Mayernik.

I admittedly know nothing about the military and how that works for weddings, but if your FI is guaranteed to be back no later than Sep 2013 for an Oct 2013 planned wedding, I don't see why you cant swing it.  You have plenty of time to sort out details/contact vendors before his deployment and if he doesn't mind you taking care of details like invitations without him, you could make it work.

I'd also try talking to mayernik, explaining your situation, and seeing if they can do anything to accomodate you (ie, giving you half your deposit back if your FI is deployed and you contact them by a certain date).

good luck!

Janiceb2010

I don't know anything about the venue you are looking at, but being an Army Vet of 12 years....knowing how unpredecitable life can be, I would DEFINITELY look into wedding insurance.  There is an old saying that the only thing for sure about life in the military is that you don't know what tomorrow will bring.

Best of luck to you and please post if you have more questions.  The girls on here are pretty fabulous!

Ash2985

I went through a lot of this while trying to book for our wedding.  I asked every vendor about their cancellation policy, and how they would handle an unexpected deployment, before I signed anything with them.  All but one of my vendors was very understanding and said that they would reschedule, no issue, no penalties, as long as we had a copy of H's orders.  

Ditto Janice on the wedding insurance.  However, if you can get a provision written into your contracts regarding potential deployments, that will CYA, too.

And sorry, no suggestions on places that are comparable to Mayernik.  GL!

mtm1004

Thanks for all of the great advice!  I'm planning on checking out the Mayernik when I'm home in the summer, so I'll see what happens then.

hellopals

Have you heard of the Lodge in North Park? If not, here are some details I can share: We went to a wedding there in September and it was very rustic and well kept. The space is pretty big and there's a big porch off the main room (similar to Mayernik). I wasn't able to find much during a quick google search but I can tell you there are 2 floors to it. At the wedding I was at, they used the bottom for the buffet set-up and there was a small bar area. Also, the bathrooms were downstairs. There was a patio off of that area with a bunch of picnic tables outside. The upstairs part is dvided into 3 large rooms and there's benches outlining the room and the tables were set up along the walls with additional chairs for the 2 end rooms. The main room was the wedding party and DJ/dance area.