Southern Wedding Recap
August 27th, 2008 @ 1:14 pm by Mrs. Pinot Noir
Mr. PN and I recently traveled to Birmingham, Alabama for a wedding! Birmingham was just lovely and we had a great time. We arrived on Friday afternoon and checked into our hotel, Embassy Suites Birmingham, and went off to find some lunch. Mr. PN then went to the church for rehearsal and when he returned, we got ready and took the hotel’s free shuttle (best hotel amenity ever!) to the rehearsal dinner at The Club. We enjoyed spectacular views of the city and heard many wonderful speeches about the bride and groom.
On Saturday morning, Mr. PN and I took advantage of the hotel gym (we are total gym rats) and then we enjoyed the fabulous free breakfast buffet at the hotel. We parted ways and I took this opportunity to do a little exploring, so I took a suggestion from the hive and ventured over to the wonderful Pepper Place Saturday Market. I love farmers’ markets and it was so much fun to explore a new city’s market.
After exploring the market I connected with the other girlfriends/wives. We used the free shuttle (again!) and the wonderful driver took us to the cutest neighborhood called Homewood. I found a new dress there that I am pretty sure will make an appearance at our rehearsal diner! The shuttle promptly picked us up to take us back to the hotel when we were done. We agreed to meet back in the hotel lobby for the free happy hour later that day (this hotel was relatively inexpensive and filled with perks)!
Finally it was time for the wedding. Guests boarded a coach bus and headed to the church. The ceremony was beautiful and the wedding party looked great! I tried to take pictures but my camera batteries died (just like during our engagement)! I should be an ad for Energizer or something—buy quality batteries or else you will miss important life events!
After the ceremony, the coach bus took us to the reception at the beautiful Vestavia Country Club. These pictures are from a different wedding (since my camera broke) but they do give you a good idea of the event space. The site really was amazing!
There were multiple buffet stations set up around the room as well as two bars. This is the first wedding I have been to with station receptions, and I must say, I loved it! To be totally honest, this is the first time I had even heard of food being served this way at a wedding. I have been to sit down dinners and to standard buffets, but this hybrid seems to have the best of both worlds! It encourages people to move throughout the room, and I think this encouraged socializing and dancing. I also loved that the guests could eat their favorite foods throughout the evening, and they could eat as much or as a little that they wanted - a bonus for me since I am a vegetarian so I avoided the chicken station and devoured the fried okra!
Are you doing a variation on the traditional sit-down dinner?
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8 Responses to “Southern Wedding Recap”
I’ve only been to one wedding with stations. I wasn’t too big on it, to be honest. They were fairly spread out, had lines and weren’t labeled. So, you had to hop in a line, wait a long time without knowing what you were waiting for, and then get your little plate of tiny food to eat alone at your table because everyone else was still waiting in line.
I love me a buffet, though. Chicken or fish? Both!
We’re doing stations for our reception and we couldn’t be more excited! Our wedding is on Cape Cod and heavy on the seafood, so it’s great to have stations cause it throws in Pasta and a Carving station for the non seafood eaters. Yum!
I love the idea of stations, it’s a nice spin on the buffet, and since the stations are spread out, you don’t have one super long buffet line, your guests can go to the stations that interest them.
We are planning on stations too– I love this type of setup. You don’t feel like you’re waiting in line, you get to try everything (or only 1 thing, if you’re so inclined) and you don’t have to wait for table service.
Sounds very Southern wedding to me! I love Homewood and am glad you enjoyed your visit to Alabama! 
Yeah, stations are very common down South. B’ham is beautiful and friendly and filled with gorgeous ballrooms and estates that are perfect for weddings. Glad you had fun in my home state! Sorry about your camera!
Our venue does kind of a sit down/buffet hybrid. The first two courses of the meal (soup and salad) are served at the tables, and then the main entree and sides are buffet. Best of both worlds, I think!
Mrs. Pinot Noir, New York/Napa Valley
Age and Occupation: 24, Health Educator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Market Researcher
Engagement Date: November 10, 2007
Wedding Date: October, 2008
Blogging Since: June 25, 2008
Venue: Auberge du Soleil
About Me: I am a Minnesota raised, NYC transplant planning a destination wedding in Napa. I'm balancing my love for the environment and my hubby-to-be's love for tradition to create our "green wedding in disguise." Our wedding will include local food and wine, antique touches and lots of love and laughter. When wedding planning isn't taking up my free time (and money) I love to read, cook, workout, watch baseball and travel! Follow along in my adventure as I attempt to plan an eco-friendly and socially responsible wedding (with eco-oblivious Mr. Pinot Noir).
yup- we’re doing it that way as well! I think it’s a Southern thing, because I’ve never had a sit-down dinner at a wedding back home!