Once we stepped off the plane and returned from our trip to New York City where Sam proposed, it took us all of one week to narrow down our potential wedding venue sites and make appointments to see them.
Both Sam and I are planners, so as soon as all family members were called and friends notified, we dug into the essentials of what we wanted for our wedding celebration. In the dreaming phase, we considered a few Bentonville options.
- Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Throughout our dating years, we spent any weekend away seeing art at museums around the country. Any special weekend in Northwest Arkansas typically included a trip to Crystal Bridges.
The thought of getting married here made sense because it was already indicative of our values and said something about us as a couple.
We loved the idea of having minimal decorations and a venue that entertained our guests before, during and after the event. Many of them are from out of town, and it would be a great chance to show off the best of our region.
But in terms of art style and era, we both lean more toward the modern, not historical. So we then considered our local modern art destination.
2. 21c Museum Hotel
The first of Sam’s birthdays that we spent together was at 21c Hotel, where we spent a weekend to soak in all the good food the Hive restaurant had to offer, the off beat and unexpected art galleries and enjoyed its proximity to so many other things in downtown Bentonville.
It is gray, sleek and modern-all style things that Sam gravitates toward-and would be pretty convenient for guests to have a short commute between their hotel room and the reception hall.
I had been to a mock wedding event (like a wedding expo, but more of a party) at 21c, something I covered for the paper, and was kind of in love with all the different ways the space could be transformed for your special day.
Also rolling around in my mind was a more traditional option.
3. Avondale Chapel
I was initially drawn to this venue because, in the scheme of things in Northwest Arkansas, it’s fairly new. It has a beautiful, naturally lit reception hall and a quaint garden out back. But the more we talked it over, I knew it was too traditional for our tastes.
In the end, all three of these locations were far more expensive than we wanted to budget for. We realized that our first priority was finding a venue that would allow us a fun, memorable celebration that allowed us to enter married life without going into debt.
Finally down to business, we got serious about what we really wanted, so we started with what we didn’t want.
We didn’t want a barn wedding. Though we’ve both been to our share of them that were beautiful and well done, it just didn’t fit our style.
We didn’t want a chapel wedding, since neither of us attend church regularly.
And we didn’t want to get married on an old estate.
All said and done that left very few options, which was great because it made the choice easy. We explored two of them in our home of Springdale.
- Sassafras Springs Vineyard
Sassafras Springs Vineyard has been open only a couple of years and has a tasting room converted from a milk barn, chapel ruins and a reception venue converted from a horse barn.
The site is on the location of a historic mill. Before Sassafras Springs owners Gene and Cheryl Long got a hold of it, the place was owned by former head Razorback football coach Houston Nutt.
The vineyard itself has more than 600 vines and it’s producing a few wines already. They use grapes from other local vineyards to supplement when they need more. The bridal quarters, called the peacock room, sit above the wine making room and look out onto the vineyards. Beautiful.
The proximity of so much wine was also appealing, not gonna lie.
The reception hall is a hop, skip and a jump from those bridal quarters. It struck me as a bit of a walk, if you account for the ridiculous shoes and gown I plan on wearing.
The inside of the reception hall, converted from horse stables, was nice and the restrooms were spacious and clean.
Though the cost of renting the venue was reasonable, we had to account for the cost of outfitting the patio, which in late October would need a couple of tents, some string lights and several heaters.
What really gave us pause, the part we loved the most, was the gorgeous chapel ruins.
It is chapel-like, without being an actual chapel or church, which we liked. Images of other wedding ceremonies in the evening hours, with Tuscan string lights, are absolutely gorgeous. And then there’s these beautiful doors…
We nearly booked the place for these doors alone. What a perfect entrance for our guests and an ideal spot for bridal portraits.
Overall, we were still (lightly) concerned about the amount of walking distance between the chapel ruins, bridal quarters and reception hall for those in high heels and trying to gauge what the comfort level would be in late fall weather.
2. Fairlane Station
Fairlane Station is another newly opened event space in Springdale and it happens to be only a half mile from our home. We first came to Fairlane in the fall of 2014 for a “Folk and Food” event that brings folk artists and food trucks into the area for a night.
We loved the whole atmosphere of the place and kept going to Folk & Food events, about once a month in the fall and winter.
The color scheme-white walls, black doors and grey detail-is similar to how Sam decorated our home. I liked that it wasn’t all hardwood floors and shades of romantic rose blush like many antique style wedding venues.
A big plus: the space is so versatile that either side (indoor, outdoor) can be used for ceremony or reception, and the managers said it’s almost exactly down the middle for how people “usually” do it. Kind of cool to have a choice.
The outdoor patio has these quaint string lights, a dreamy spiral staircase and a dark gray privacy fence with ivy growing up it. One side has this little covered portion–a good backup for bad weather and nice area for musicians and their instruments to set up.
I was really hoping the spiral staircase was a way for the bride to make her entrance, but alas the second floor of Fairlane is closed to the public.
Even the bridal quarters are dramatic and midcentury. If you took it out of context, would it seem like bridal quarters? Probably not, and that’s what I like.
Practical things, like having enough space in the front room and a kitchenette for our food, wine and goodies, are taken care of.
And look at all these fun details…
The wedding party gets to use the white bicycles on the big day. Can you tell how biased I am? We totally booked this place.
We’re getting married at Fairlane Station in Springdale on Saturday, October 22!
her fearful symmetry 