Conner Prairie vs. Oak Hill Mansion?

mrskristinyc · February 2012

Has anyone actually visited Conner Prairie and/or Oak Hill Mansion? We want an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception in Indianapolis for this fall, and we need to book ASAP.

The catch? We live in NYC, and can't actually go physically look at the venues. We used to live in Indiana (both of us are BSU grads!), and most of our friends and family are still there, so we decided to have the wedding there. (Also, it's nearly impossible to do a wedding in NYC for under $20k...) We'll be able to go visit a few times during planning, but not in the next month or so.

Our estimate for Oak Hill was a little higher than we'd like ($10,500 for a dinner buffet for 125 guests). But, they have availability on the dates we want (anytime in October). We'd like to keep our total ceremony/reception budget under 7k (not counting flowers or attire), for around 100 guests.

I haven't talked to Conner Prairie yet - anyone know a ballpark for their pricing? I'm interested in the Featherston Barn.

Any thoughts on these, or other venues that might work for us? THANKS!

~Kristin

butterflyjumper1 · February 2012

i attended a wedding at Connor Prairie a few years ago. While I love Connor Prairie as a museum, and the wedding party got some incredible rustic photos, I wasn't impressed with it as a venue. The food was sub-par (I THINK they use thier own catering service, but I am not totally sure) and it just wasn't the vibe that I would have expected. It might be totally different if you had the events outside - but it is REALLY cold in October in Indiana (which is why this particular wedding - which was also in October - held everything inside).

I am actually going to a wedding at Oak Hill in 3 weeks! I am happy to update you afterwards

but Milk Duds filled you in pretty well on it, I think...

feel free to message me if you have any other questions

The Ritz Charles is awesome and definitely something to look into! are you set on Carmel/Northside of Indy locations? There are tons of other options closer to downtown that you might want to look into if you aren't!

mrskristinyc · February 2012

Thanks for the advice!

I heard back from Conner Prairie this morning, and they have a few Sundays in September open, but not Saturdays in October. I think that might still be a possibility, because they look like they're totally in our price range. We definitely want to do the ceremony outside (that's pretty much the ONE thing that's super important to my fiance), so I'm okay with it being in September.

It sounds like Oak Hill might not be the best choice for us... (but ButterflyJumper, please let me know how the wedding you're going to turns out!).

MilkDuds- could you give me an idea of what the pricing's like at Ritz Charles? The garden pavillion looks really pretty!

Or do you have any other suggestions? I'm not totally set on the north side - I'm just more familiar with it. We both went to BSU, I lived on the north side for 3 years after school, his family's in Muncie/Hagerstown, and mine's in New Albany. We're pretty flexible with location, but will have some people coming from out of state (including us!), so I'd like it to be near the airport/decent hotels.

amandashumway23 · February 2012

I've been to Oak Hill for a lot of award ceremonies through work. The staff was not friendly at all as others have stated.

Have you ever heard of Mill Top? It's in Noblesville and it's really pretty inside. You would have to look for a place to hold the ceremony outside at because there is nowhere to have an outside cermony at Mill Top. A lot of the golf courses and country clubs do wedding ceremonies.

ellone400 · February 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_indiana-indianapolis_conner-prairie-vs-oak-hill-mansion?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:611Discussion:8bd672ad-7f0b-4d9d-bc1d-33f1deb7dc70Post:8f2b7528-c4ab-4d79-b137-32b63ab77044">Re: Conner Prairie vs. Oak Hill Mansion?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Conner Prairie vs. Oak Hill Mansion? : We used an inside ballroom for our December wedding reception and the food/beverage minimum for a Saturday night was $7,500 before tax and service charge. I don't know if the minimum applies in the garden pavilion.
Posted by ILoveMilkDuds[/QUOTE]
The minimum applies in the garden pavillion it dosent apply if its on a friday!

kelnash89 · March 2012

When we were looking I thought Oak Hill was a little pricey for what was included. As for Conner Prairie, the food is AWFUL. I worked there one summer and attended several catered functions and it was disgusting.

I would avoid Mill Top becasue they have a history of having to cancel weddings the week of becasue of various problems with permits and what not. Plus they have extremely limited parking and will host several events at a time. I didn't find the staff very friendly either.

We are doing our wedding at Laurel Hall and there are several options for outdoor ceremony spaces and plenty of room for an indoor reception. There is a chapel on the third floor so you have a back up for the ceremony if it rains.

mrskristinyc · April 2012

Thanks everyone!

I ended up sending my dad and stepmom up to Indy (I live in NYC, they're in southern Indiana) to look at venues for us, and we FINALLY decided and signed a contract today!

We're going with The Montage in Castleton. The outside garden is really pretty, and the catering is by Kahn's and looks great.

Now I just have to plan a whole wedding in 6 months- our date is October 13, 2012!!!

mishra30 · December 2012

Hi I know this ia bit late but I was planning to hold my wedding at the Montage and was wondering how much does it cost?

Conner Prairie vs. Oak Hill Mansion?

Re: Conner Prairie vs. Oak Hill Mansion?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards