Vendor Review: Callanwolde Arts Center

*I actually wrote this last year, but forgot to post it. I know that it's been a LONG time since I've posted on my blog, but I'm getting back on my game. I have a lot to share so stay tuned.

Well....our venue ended up being a hard choice, but in the end we chose:

Callanwolde Arts Center:

Bride's Grade: A/Groom's Grade: A

Did you guess right?

When I began researching venues, I had several criteria:

• Ceremony could be held outside in a garden (my husband was adamant about this otherwise, it would be held at a church which I wasn't all that interested in doing)
• Reception space could be inside and hold 200+ people
• Venue would allow outside catering of some sort
• Venue would allow us to bring our own alcohol
• Venue costs would be no more than 18% of my budget

Once I started looking, it narrowed down my choices to about 5 places:

• Atlanta Botanical Gardens
• Piedmont Park
• Cator Wolford Gardens
• Callanwolde Arts Center
• Villa Christina

Ultimately, we went with Callanwolde Arts Center because they fit almost EVERYTHING in the budget. It also allowed us to set up the children in a daycare room as it was a mansion with several rooms in the house. We did end up going over our venue budget as it took up 25% of the budget instead of the original 18%.

*Tip: If you go over budget in one area, make sure to make it up somewhere else. In our case, we made it up in photography, videography, and my dress budget.

We booked Callanwolde 13 months out from our wedding, and in that time, they changed 3 rental managers, however, it wasn't a headache to deal with at all as they made sure the transitions were simple and easy.

The best thing was Michael Rice, the event manager who spoke with us during our pre wedding meetings, rehearsal and the day of. Because our wedding was outside, we decided to rent chairs for people to sit (instead of on the steps; the chairs inside the venue are not for outdoor use). We were going to set the chairs up ourselves after the wedding rehearsal, but Michael and his team set them up for us, which we thanked God for as we knew it took quite a bit of work.

All in all, it was a GREAT choice and would definitely recommend this venue.