this is the code for the render ad
Community› Local Wedding Boards› Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh
New Discussion

ceremony site! HELP!

katenadjohnkatenadjohn member
10 Comments
in Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh
My fiance' and I are having trouble finding our ceremony site.  I don't want to get married in my childhood church, it's not an attractive building in the least and would take serious cash to make it pretty and wedding-y, not to mention the maroon carpet that would clash with every color I can think of for our colors (we're thinking deep orange and cream, for our fall wedding).  He refuses to get married in Heinz Chapel, the only non-demoniational church that's pretty that I know of, and they force you to use their organist, anyway.  We're planning on having an oboe, violin and cello trio, as I and my mother are musicians and we know people who would be willing to do it, and we know their skills.  So.  Does anyone know of a pretty, affordable church to get married in that's within a half-hour drive of phipps conservatory (reception site)?  PLEASE HELP ME!
Report Reply to Post

Re: ceremony site! HELP!

  • cgyvhucgyvhu member
    Knottie Warrior 1000 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Without knowing your wedding size, here are area churches that will allow non-members to get married.

    First Unitarian Church - $500 rental fee, and it's right in shadyside.  That's the cheapest you will find, I think.  Beautiful, imo, and the decor is definitely neutral.  http://www.first-unitarian-pgh.org/Weddings.html

    There is also Bellefield presbyterian, http://www.bellefield.org/
    and
    First Baptist, http://www.first-baptist-pittsburgh.org/

    All of these are within 2 miles of Phipps.

    Best of luck!
    Report Reply
  • carcrashheartcarcrashheart member
    Third Anniversary 100 Comments Name Dropper
    edited December 2011
    yes, making sure the carpet matches the wedding theme is the most important thing ever.

    and i was unaware that heinz chapel was non denom. it seems pretty darn catholic to me. but what do i know. i'm not a pitt alum, so it was never an option.

    why not hold the ceremony at phipp's? it doesn't sound like having a religious ceremony is really the most important thing to you, so why not shell out a bit more to hold the ceremony on site and hire an officiant. that way you can mold the ceremony to your liking.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • InkedMegsInkedMegs
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    LoL.  The carpet in my church is green.  I'm just not even thinking about how it's not going to match.  It just is what it is!

    The inside of the First Unitarian Church is gorgeous.  $500 isn't bad, either.  The Heinz Chapel is $850 these days.

    image

    BabyFruit Ticker
    Report Reply
  • mbriancescombriancesco
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Try the Calvary United Methodist Church. It's on the North Side. It's really beautiful in there and there is an amazing piece of stained glass above the balcony. They also have candle holders along the pews so you can have the florist line the aisle in candles. Obviously its a methodist church, but my Catholic friends were married here-- the groom has been divorced so they had a problem finding a Catholic church to marry them.
    Report Reply
  • Hope61Hope61 member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    A sidenote--
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-pittsburgh_ceremony-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:116Discussion:f2a2a98e-b483-4fbb-9272-d6efc8d2df8fPost:9f822fe1-736b-478b-8ea5-dd86033c8076">Re: ceremony site! HELP!</a>:
    [QUOTE] and i was unaware that heinz chapel was non denom. it seems pretty darn catholic to me.
    Posted by carcrashheart[/QUOTE]
    I agree to some extent on your other points, but just to clarify here... Heinz Chapel is not Catholic at all. Catholic Masses can and have been said there, but it is used by lots of others as well. If you ever visit it, its a neat chapel (but personally, I don't think its all that great), check out the stained glass windows--there's stained glass of people like Ben Franklin and Abraham Lincoln and Emily Dickinson.
    Image and video hosting by TinyPic Daisypath Anniversary tickers
    Little Gabriel: BFP 7/12/11~EDD 3/21/12, miscarried 8/24/11 at 10w
    Report Reply
  • carcrashheartcarcrashheart member
    Third Anniversary 100 Comments Name Dropper
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-pittsburgh_ceremony-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:116Discussion:f2a2a98e-b483-4fbb-9272-d6efc8d2df8fPost:06e6cfe4-45c3-4f9c-90f5-fc8b354341fc">Re: ceremony site! HELP!</a>:
    [QUOTE]A sidenote-- In Response to Re: ceremony site! HELP! : I agree to some extent on your other points, but just to clarify here... Heinz Chapel is not Catholic at all. Catholic Masses can and have been said there, but it is used by lots of others as well. If you ever visit it, its a neat chapel (but personally, I don't think its all that great), check out the stained glass windows--there's stained glass of people like Ben Franklin and Abraham Lincoln and Emily Dickinson.
    Posted by KatieAnne18[/QUOTE]

    yes, i know, i've been there and attended weddings there. they were all very catholic. the church looks catholic. it feels catholic. it just doesn't come off as a very "we're willing to do any denomination here!" though i'm sure they claim that to be the case. i'd be interested to see an event there that wasn't catholic and how it was handled, both on the part of the bride/groom and the chapel.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • phillychica85phillychica85 member
    Sixth Anniversary 100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Kateandjohn-I'm just curious but why does your FI refuse to get married at Heinz? I'm not sure of costs but Shadyside Presbyterian is also a gorgeous church. It's a couple of blocks off of Fifth. 

    I don't know of many churches besides what have already been mentioned but I just wanted to add that we had our ceremony there (Heinz) and it was not Catholic. Just your standard Protestant (Presbyterian) ceremony, i.e. no homily, communion, etc and it was perfect. I had a friend who got married there and her FI is Jewish (she isn't)  so both a minister and a rabbi co-officiated. The service was quite beautiful with both religions being represented in such a striking edifice. 

    Personally, I feel that the interior of Heinz is beyond stunning. I have traveled to more than 10 countries in Europe, seen countless cathedrals that date back to the Middle Ages and I feel Heinz is right up there in terms of "gloried elegance" just much much newer obviously. I mean that is what it was modeled after, the cathedrals in the old country. Just my opinion though. 

    Good luck! 
    My travel and cooking blog

    image
    Maui, November 2011
    Report Reply
  • Y I OughtaY I Oughta member
    1000 Comments Fourth Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    The Old Stone Church in Monroeville is rentable and non-demon. I don't know much info other than that, but I have seen weddings done there a lot. It is usually just a jump on the parkway and right off again to Phipps. You could just do everything at Phipps. My friends were married there last year and it was beautiful
    20130105_202820-1_zps07580b43 Lilypie Pregnancy tickers Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers
    Report Reply
  • Missy5580Missy5580
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I'm getting married at Heinz Chapel in April and it's definitately non-denominational. We are not having a religious ceremony. However, if it's not your preference we looked at the Union Project in Highland Park. It's an old church that has been converted to a community center. There are beautiful old stained glass windows inside and it's only like $100 or so/ hr. We really liked it but I had my heart set on Heinz Chapel.
    image
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards