I absolutely loved Snipes Farm. I can see that you’ve already been there but I’ll share my thoughts anyway.

Robert Snipes doesn’t have a great memory and seems a little flaky but he was incredibly kind and patient, which goes a long way with me. He answered all of my questions and has put a lot of effort into making his farm handicap accessible. Also very very important to me.

He called us about 20 minutes after we left and was very concerned that he had forgotten to show us the upstairs. I’ve called him twice since then with specific questions and he’s been patient and informative.

It’s 2000 dollars for the weekend and that includes Friday morning until 9pm, Saturday until 12am and Sunday until 12pm for cleanup. That price also includes 12 60″ tables and 100 chairs. He requires 50% down, which seems standard. I also thought the little bridal suite was really cozy.

Unfortunately many lovely spots are unsuitable for weddings, in my opinion, because they are so near highways or other noisy roads that the ceremony CAN’T BE HEARD.

Think about it: the officiant faces the assembled guests and officiants are usually pretty good at projecting their voices. But the bride and groom are facing away from their friends and family. Trust me, you will not be heard.

Also, at many weddings guests and family members are asked to do readings. Very few of them have had training in projecting their voices, and so these carefully-selected poems and passages from the bible are heard by nobody whatsoever if there’s traffic noise. This has wrecked several ceremonies I’ve played at.

For instance, Fearrington House is a very popular venue for outdoor weddings. They have many indoor areas for rent (at very high prices) for weddings, but they also offer outdoor ceremonies. If you choose to get married at Fearrington and want to hold your ceremony outdoors, be sure to go there and pick your spot based not only on SHADE available at your time of day (if you’re marrying during the hot months) but also on NOISE LEVEL. We played at an outdoor wedding there one late spring and the wedding planner and bride and groom were roaming around frantically just before the wedding trying to find a spot that wasn’t under direct sunlight – then, the spot they picked was so noisy they might as well have gotten married on the verge of the highway and saved their money!

A wedding florist I know wrote this to me: “Have you done one at the Greystone Inn in Durham? The traffic from the freeway drowns out everything from the wedding. If they don’t have microphones, no one can hear the vows.”

1. No cover in case of rain.
2. Everybody has to walk a long long way from the parking lot, down a narrow muddy unattractive path, to get to this spot. No alternative for people who have trouble walking.
3. Biggest problem: the site is near a big road and roaring traffic drowns out the softspoken young people.

I first discussed this under the heading: “Brides Do Not Control the Heavens.”

Whenever a bride calls to hire us for an outdoor wedding,
one of my first questions is:
“What Is Your Rain Plan??”
So this is a common bride’s response:
“IT’S NOT GOING TO RAIN!”
OK, I say that’s not a rain plan.

Yes, it seems wasteful to have full tent cover if you’re having an outdoor wedding, which are otherwise very economical. Yes, tents are expensive. Yes, gorgeous tiny historic inns and houses are wonderful places to have outdoor weddings IF IT DOESN’T RAIN. But outdoor weddings can also be ruined…

… by intense heat – I played at one where the bride FAINTED AND FELL DOWN IN THE SAND and a friend’s contradance band played one in a tobacco barn in August where it was so hot – and odorous from the tobacco fumes – that several people got queasy and had to leave…

… by cold – imagine ladies shivering in their lovely wedding dresses and having to borrow the gents’ jackets INCLUDING the bride in her strapless wedding gown! …

… by wind – some friends were playing jazz outdoors when high winds knocked over a tent pole that was moored in a heavy piece of concrete and sent it smashing down on the pianist’s piano, narrowly missing his head…

I haven’t yet played a wedding ruined by unexpected snow or hail (I live in Chapel Hill North Carolina, after all!) but it’s not inconceivable.

Here’s my diary post from an outdoor wedding.

The weather was cold, grey, drizzly. Even in a long sleeve shirt and sweater I was cold – imagine how shivery were the bride, wearing one of those strapless wedding dresses so popular this season, and her bridesmaids, wearing thin flouncy maroon chiffon dresses with spaghetti straps (out from under several of which could be seen large, garish tattoos featuring, on one bridesmaid, bold multicolored patches floweringly blazoned CARPE on one shoulder-blade and DIEM on the other).

So everybody was late, late, late getting on site – probably hoping the weather was going to turn. So Jim and I were sitting in a light drizzle, the legs of our chairs sinking a little into the mud, playing for the few hardy souls willing to sit on damp and clammy chairs.

The huddled assemblage’s few desultory conversations were punctuated by anxious looks up into the sky.

We’ve been hired for a wedding at Duke Gardens in Durham NC. The Sarah P. Duke gardens do a rollicking business in weddings – they have a nice building (which my daughter will be married in this June) and they also have many BEAUTIFUL spots in the garden, a pergola for instance, which overlooks a lovely pool, where they book weddings in and out in 2-3 hour slots all day long. The problem is, the pergola and the other outdoor spots do not have any cover in case of rain.

Here are some comments people left on that blog post. The last one has a really good solution to this problem!:

Sheraton Chapel Hill (Hotel Europa) foyer & front desk

Hotel Europa ballroom (Chapel Hill Sheraton)

“The hotel is located off 15-501 business quite near Chapel Hill; the traffic in that area is horrible now. There is a new super-roundabout thing that was supposed to improve the situation but actually I think it’s made it worse; I often go out of my way to avoid this area.

“I had a meal there recently; it was only so-so in my opinion. It’s not very nice outside, but you don’t hear the traffic noise when you get inside…

“Wedding packages, including chairs, tables, linens, food, punch, etc. are are $50-$89 per person – that includes a night for the bride and groom with champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, and breakfast. There are a lot of upgrade options including more expensive liquor.”

Carolina Inn Old Well Room for wedding reception

The Carolina Inn has got a wide range of room sizes. They can accommodate as many as 500 if the guests don’t have to sit down! The Hill Grand Ballroom (below) can seat 220 for dinner.

Hill Grand Ballroom at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill NC

Here’s the floorplan of the Inn:

Floorplan of the Carolina Inn

Range of prices for wedding receptions at the Carolina Inn

You notice how there are three prices for each package? You can save money by booking in less popular months, less popular days. Here’s the breakdown:

1. Package 1 is the most expensive and includes the most popular times: April, May, June, September, October, December, and the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

2. Package II: March, July, August, November, and the Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend.
3. Package III, the most economical: January, February, Fridays and Sundays, some holidays, graduation weekend, and football weekends.

Ashleigh wrote:

Our Food & Beverage Minimums vary throughout the year (based on demand), and vary based on the venue. The venue will need to accommodate your guests based on how many there are, and if you would like a plated/seated dinner, or a heavy reception style (these both require different amounts of space for setup).

If all the math is overwhelming, you can get an idea of what this will cost you by looking at these examples of rates at different times. The cost differential is based on the Package I, II, III as above.

Plated Luncheon Packages: Cardinal, Emerald ($77 – $92 per person)
Heavy Hors d’Oeuvres Luncheons: Tar Heel ($76 -$86 per person)
Mid-Afternoon Heavy Hors d’Oeuvres Packages: Carolina ($73 – $77 per person)
Plated Dinner Packages: Azalea, Pine, Magnolia ($99 – $142)
Dinner Heavy Hors d’Oeuvres Receptions: Piedmont and Dogwood ($94 – $139)

You can also have your wedding ceremony at the Carolina Inn, inside in one of the ballrooms or outside in the small or large courtyard. (If you book the outdoor space, you must have made your own alternate arrangements in case of rain. And yes, it does rain sometimes.) The cost ranges from a minimum of $1,000 to a maximum of $2,000.

Courtyard fees are reduced by 25% if a tent is rented. All rental items must be arranged exclusively through your Carolina Inn wedding specialist.

I took the following pictures at the recent Bridal Fair held in this Chapel Hill venue.

Carolina Inn Ballroom during the Bridal Fair

Carolina Inn main entrance

Carolina Inn, hallway outside of ballrooms

Size of rooms and ballrooms at the Carolina Inn

wedding table settings and floral arrangements

Elegant flower arrangement and table setting, Carolina Inn

Wedding reception table settings

Dramatic flower arrangements for wedding receptions

Lynn's traditions wedding cakes with fondant icing

And these next two pictures are cakes from Miel Bon Bons in Carrboro:

Wedding Cake from Miel Bon Bons

Here are more cakes from Miel in Carrboro, NC:

Tall tiered fondant wedding cake in NC

Cake shooters from Sugarland, Chapel Hill NC

You make them by cutting rounds of wedding cake and then layering them with piping of ganache and frosting – they were served with cute little plastic paddles. I think they were very pretty and much less messy than cupcakes.

Tall fondant cake from Swank Cake Design, Chapel Hill NC

Swank fondant cakes: black and green, black and white, ribbon design

Wedding Cakes from Sugarland, Chapel Hill NC

I’ll be featuring these “cake shooters” (above) in the next post. And here’s detail on Sugarland’s adorable Indian bride and groom:

Cake topper, not sculpey but fondant, for an Indian wedding