Hi Izzy, i2012do, and any other SFC/Towers brides!
We got married last weekend (5/12) and had an amazing day. Because you all have been so stinkin' helpful especially as I've planned from out of state, I wanted to do a quick recap of our day - if you want more details, just let me know!
Village Inn - They've definitely remodeled and upgraded the hotel since we visited in Feb. Rooms were affordable (prior to high season) and super clean. The convenience and view cannot be beat. Only con is their delivery system of guest gift bags doesn't always work properly since people sometimes ask for different rooms upon check in (they deliver the bag to the room rather than hand it to the guest at check in). It was a little bit of a headache switching bags and we did have one guest never receive a bag. We also had our rehearsal dinner/welcome party in one room of their old restaurant - not the most beautiful room, but the convenience is what sold us (that and no where else closeby was able to accomodate us). West Bay Gourmet catered it and it was awesome - see below.
West Bay Gourmet - KC is Village Inn's event coordinator now and also heads up West Bay Gourmet (as well as South Ferry Church). We had a buffet of salad, crab and scallop stuffed sole, grilled artichoke pesto chicken, mashed potatoes, and grilled veggies. The food was unbelievable, especially for the price. We also had an ice cream sundae bar for dessert as well as our other guests. The waitresses (from WBG) did a great job and also brought cocktails, wine, and beer from the bar. We went over our time and there wasn't any pressure to leave so we were able to enjoy our evening and catch up with family and friends. I also ordered a variety of sandwiches, side salads, and a fruit platter to be delivered to the room the girls and I were getting ready in on Saturday morning. Food was delicious, on time, and affordable. It was really great to be able to relax without having to run out for food.
South Ferry Church - This place is beautiful. We scheduled our rehearsal for Friday at 6pm. When we arrived the church was locked. After 15 minutes of calling KC and my brother getting in the church through a window, I remembered reading about people being locked out, googled "south ferry church locked out" and got the name and number of a guy to call (David Kreb off the top of my head). I called him and within 3 minutes, we were in the church. He was super apologetic, explaining he locked up after a wedding was finished that afternoon. It may be a good idea to confirm with him prior to getting to the church. On Saturday the church was opened at the time we talked about and clean.
Del's - We arranged to have a Del's cart outside of SFC for after the ceremony. I was actually worried it might be too cold to have frozen lemonade in May, but the weather was fantastic!! Mike was on time and really nice to our guests. Everyone loved it. We didn't plan on a receiving line, but were able to mingle with everyone outside so we didn't feel the need to visit tables during the reception. We took some to go on the trolley and got some cute pictures with Del's cups on the beach. For not a lot of money, this added a really nice Rhode Island touch for everyone.
Places to take pictures - We did our first look on the courtyard of the Towers, then took more traditional family and bridal party portraits on the patio and then on the lawn in front of the Towers. We got on the trolley and dropped the boys off at SFC. Since the girls and I had about 20-25 minutes, we decided to drive further on South Ferry Road towards the URI Bay campus. At the end of the road is this really cute little beach with the Jamestown Bridge in the background with lots of rocks. We took some really fun pictures of just the girls and then headed back to the church. Our initial plan for pictures after the ceremony was to stop by Chafee Wildlife Refuge on our way to Hazard Rock. Our trolley driver warned us that if there were a lot of cars at Hazard Rock, that he wasn't allowed to go down. Since that was iffy, we decided to all head back to the beach (end of SF Road) for pics and then stopped by Chafee on the way to the Towers. Loved that we have a mix of beach/water pictures and pictures with the beautiful stone walls - I have a few professional teasers at both of these places - let me know if you want to see.
Viking Tours - Trolley service for 4 hours for us and bridal party to get back and forth from church and for pictures. Kirtley was great to work with over the phone and email. Tom arrived early, was very professional, and gave us the heads up about Hazard Rock.
Towers - Again, this place is beautiful. The sun was shining and it was nice and warm for our cocktail hour out on the patio. We had decided with our caterer (Morin's) that we would do a mix of passed wine and beer and cocktail service for those that wanted a cocktail. The open bar was set up just behind the blue gate if people wanted to walk up themselves. While the set up was pretty much next to Morin's rental truck and not super aesthetically pleasing, it was a good compromise so that we could still serve alcohol to our guests. Kate mentioned that the weekend prior that a wedding had a bar set up downstairs in the lobby and that people would just grab a drink and head back out to the patio for food. Since we had a small wedding, we decided to do the passed/cocktail service bar and it worked out just fine. Something to note: in the days leading up to the wedding, I gave Kate our final table/chairs count. My parents actually dropped off the check to her on Thurs. since we were out doing something else. She gave them a receipt with the number of tables/chairs we were renting. Thankfully, I looked it over and noticed there weren't enough tables, so double check once you get it in writing! The Towers attendants were very friendly throughout the night.
Will write more later - let me know if you have any questions!!