Searching for venues online is about as productive as dress shopping online - what looks good on the 'model' may not translate so well in person. Particularly my person. Of course, a possibly misleading photograph is better than no photograph at all, at least in the world of international wedding planning. I'm beginning to become disillusioned with my 'hometown' wedding what with all of the pitfalls of a destination wedding included, minus the sand. But I keep reminding myself that all of the research now will make it much easier to accomplish a lot in just the little time we'll be in Pennsylvania this Christmas.
Now my original idea of having a Christmas wedding in western Pennsylvania was that it would be sparkly and pretty and white. Keyword being white. I had images in my head of when I was growing up and there was always at least ten feet of snow on the ground in December. Then recent years descended upon my consciousness and I began to recall images of gray skies, dead trees and mud. A world of brown is definitely not on my list of 'must haves' come December 2010. So naturally I came up with a handy solution: ski resorts. Ski resorts have long been popular places to hold beautiful weddings without going too far out of one's way. Thus began my online venue search.
The first thing I did was to email Seven Springs Resort, Pennsylvania's most famous. They got back to me right away, and I excitedly opened the email, visions of snow capped mountains in my head. "I'm sorry to be the one to shatter your illusions and destroy your fantasies, but we simply don't do winter weddings as they interrupt our ski season," read the reply. Or something like that. Only probably much more diplomatic. Crushed, I ran to Him and lamented the situation. Before he had time to console me, I'd already realized that perhaps the smaller resorts in the area wouldn't be so fussy. Renewed, I returned to my computer to run a search on Pennsylvania ski resorts.
I'm not sure if you're aware, but there are some very comically named ski resorts. He and I cheerfully pictured ourselves being wed at The Blue Knob and the hilarity it would bring to our friends. Clearly they're not as mature as we are. Camelback, Big Bear, Eagle Rock and Elk Mountain round out the animal-themed resorts. Great places to ski, but I can't exactly picture saying my vows on good ol' Camelback. Jack Frost Ski Resort naturally piqued all of my winter wonderland fantasies, at least until a perusal of their website revealed no lodge in which to host weddings. I can't get through to Hidden Valley, and two other resorts have sent their regrets at being unable to host a winter wedding. While there are still a few other places that I have yet to contact, we've pretty much moved on to other options.
We're leaning now toward something in the Pittsburgh area. Our favorite option at the moment is Springwood. They have a large glass atrium that will fit up to 120 people for a winter wedding. Their photographs show a beautifully decorated place with tall Christmas trees in front of the expansive windows looking out into a winter fairytale. And they'll hold both the ceremony and the reception. They have a fabulous fireplace in the cocktail room that we can make use of during the turnover, and they're free for our projected date. They've responded to my email in a rather ambiguous way - they won't discuss pricing at all unless it's in person. So we won't really be able to get an idea of whether or not it's feasible until December of this year. But we're definitely keeping our fingers crossed for this gorgeous winter wedding destination. And looking into renting snow making machines. Just in case.
*All photographs are the property of Springwood Conference Center*
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