Delaware

October 2011 Bride

Hi all!  My name is Leslie, I live in North Carolina, and I'm marrying my best friend Joe in October of 2011! We've been dating just over 3 yrs, he proposed on our anniversary.  Joe and I live in NC because he was in business school the past two years.  We're getting married in the Philadelphia/DE area because most of our family is there and it's where we met.  In two weeks we're moving from Durham to Charlotte - going to be interesting planning a wedding from so far away! Nice to meet everyone here...

 
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Re: October 2011 Bride

  • edited December 2011
    Congrats and welcome!  Any questions you have, just ask; the girls here are awesome!  I also suggest checking out the Philly board, as most of the vendors around this area do both Philly, DE, and NJ.
  • Mattsbride10Mattsbride10 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Welcome to the board and congrats on your recent engagement! I'm an October bride too 2010 though...its my favorite month. Stick around as these boards are extremely helpful.
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  • Santorini2011Santorini2011 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Welcome!
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  • JennLonginoJennLongino member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Welcome! and congrats on your engagement!! I couldn't even imagine planning a wedding from so far away. My FI and I were going to have our wedding at the beach in NJ but decided against it. I'm actually very relieved because I didn't want to plan a wedding and have to go back and forth! Have you checked out any venues yet?

  • lesliejennalesliejenna member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks for the welcome messages! Yall are sweet! Luckily my parents live in Newark and will be helping a LOT with the planning.  We're also up there quite a bit, so we can do the planning, menu tasting, etc. when we're visiting family.  We visited two venues already, the Pearl S. Buck estate near Doylestown, and the Hartefeld National in Avondale.  Peal Buck was beautiful, but I would be so nervous with having so much of the event outdoors.  It's a lot more flexible/customizable, we'd have to pick caterers, linens, figure out the alcohol, etc.  Too many decisions and vendors for us, being out of state.  We really loved the Hartefeld and I'm 99% sure we will have our wedding there.  My parents are going for dinner this week to give the seal of approval.  Have any of you been to weddings there?  I've had Mother's Day Brunch there and the food was awesome.  I've seen some photography blogs with photos from ceremonies and receptions there and I'm really impressed!  I just feel like I should consider more places before I decide! 

    Mattsbride10, where will you be getting married in October?
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  • JennLonginoJennLongino member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I have never been to either. I've seen pics of Hartefeld. That place seems very nice.
  • edited December 2011
    I went to a wedding at Hartfeld last year; it was actually a former Knottie's wedding.  Here are my pros and cons about the place:

    Pros:
    *The food is amazing.  Wonderfully good, and I am pretty sure you get a dessert with it as well.
    *Their package is pretty good; you get things like your cake, appetizers for the cocktail hour, open bar, a limo from your hotel to the place, and I think you also get a room at the Hilton (not sure on that one, though).
    *The set up of the inside room is nice; the tables are around the dance floor, which makes it easy to see.
    *The locations for pictures are awesome; you have tall grass, the golf course, the entry with the trees.  It really makes for some pretty pics.

    Cons:
    *The ceremony was outside.  It was very windy; the flower arrangements kept falling over and eventually ended up on the ground because it was so windy.  There was also not enough chairs for everyone (which they should know how many to put out since you give them a final head count).
    *Since it is a Country Club, members are there all the time.  Including during your wedding.  Since the ceremony site is right outside the patio for members, they sit there and watch everything.  For me, it was really odd and creapy, but others may not care.
    *The cocktail hour was outside, as well as the bar.  It was under a tent (the sides were open), and it was also very windy.  They didn't do a very good job on passing the appetizers; some of the girls we were with had to go scour for them for me, since I couldn't walk around.  That really annoyed me; I like chicken on a stick, but I also like Tuna and Crab Cakes as well, and I would have loved to try those but didn't
    *Because the bar was outside, and the dance floor was inside, the dance floor was pretty bare the entire wedding (and the DJ was really good and really tried to get things moving, but it just didn't happen).  Most people spent their time at the open bar outside, and it was kind of weird to have the event split.
    *The bathrooms were kind of messy and not taken care of in my opinion.
    *The room wasn't ready when we arrived on time; we were forced to wait outside while they finished getting it ready (rushing around).

    Don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous place; my dad had my stepmom's 50th surprise birthday party there, and they did a wonderful job.  But, for me, when I really sat back and looked at things and weighed the pros and cons, I wasn't happy with the overall experience.  Don't get me wrong, others may disagree with me, and this is just my opinion.  Hope my thoughts help you out!
  • lesliejennalesliejenna member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks for all the feedback! It is MUCH appreciated :)

    I think my biggest concern was the public-nature of it all.  I think that's the one downside I can't really control.  The good thing is that I'm sure I will be so emotional and excited during the ceremony that I won't even notice those other people.  My eyes will only be on my hubby to be at the end of that aisle! :)

    It surprises me that the wedding you went to was so windy.  The tent has sides to close up in the case of wind or inclement weather.  I actually want to have some portion of my wedding outside and thought the tent at Hartefeld would be a good vehicle to do that.

    My family and I are investing heavily in entertainment, we've selected The Heartbeats to play for our entire wedding, ceremony through reception. I have a family full of dancers so I have no doubt the dance floor will be packed all night, Despite having the majority of drinks outside under the tent!  I also liked the idea of having some signature drink stations inside for those who wanted to grab a quick drink and not go out for some fresh air to the bar area.

    Has anyone else been to a wedding at Hartefeld?  I'd love to hear more opinions before my FI and I make the final decision!
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