Weddingbee Blog

We were leaning towards the Bentley Projects, but there was the issue with parking, possibly having to split our guests between two rooms, the issue of some unruly children that might be in attendance (Bentley Projects has a strict policy that kids have to be suuuuper well behaved and essentially micromanaged the entire time they are there - or they will be kicked out!), and the length of the rental (only for 4 hours). So we figured it MIGHT be a good idea to look into other options.

After some more research, we discovered the Tempe Center for the Arts!

We had originally dismissed this location, as we thought it was too small (they had a maximum capacity of 220 in their main room), and were again faced with the dilemma of splitting guests up. After much consideration and seeing the super low rental costs, we decided it was worth a drive down to Tempe to check it out. It is beautiful! The lakeside room is usually used for wedding receptions - but it holds only 170 with a dance floor. Bummer, since I Googled “wedding receptions at TCA” and found a GORGEOUS reception there - with only about 30 people. Boo.

Have I ever mentioned what we wanted in a reception venue? I think it’s best to describe our “style” as being clean and modern. However, my uber-feminine side (which I hide under lock and key) has begun to seep into that, so if I had to choose 3 words, I’d go with clean, modern, and romantic. And by romantic, I’m talking lace, fluffy flowers, etc. So… eh. We shall see how this all works out. At any rate, we wanted a really different location that embraced our style and captured quintessential modern Phoenix. Well, at least that’s what I was looking for. I think Mr. Ramen would probably say he just wanted something cool and different.

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So back to the TCA… it’s set on the edge of Tempe-Town Lake, and it’s kind of isolated. It is a GORGEOUS venue, but the rental prices are phenomenal, but it wasn’t available for our date. It was a big bummer, especially after getting all worked up!

So, what is a girl going to do with 1.5 business days left in Phoenix and 3 days total before returning to school in CA? Obviously, stress out and eat some ice cream.

After recovering with some Dreyer’s Samoas ice cream (uh, hello lover, where have you been my whole life?!), I decided to check into the Children’s Museum of Phoenix.

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While the Children’s Museum is absolutely charming, it was not right for us - the room was too small, as they are going to be building a permanent play structure in the main room, and in general, just couldn’t possibly hold all of our guests.

I decided on a crazy whim to call the Phoenix Art Museum, crossed my fingers and prayed hard that maybe they would have a cancellation or something. Luckily, I have a highly unusual name (no, really) and the event coordinator, Jackie (I love her!) remembered me, and informed me that they had canceled their huge blockbuster December event, and that our date was now available!

The GORGEOUS entryway to the lobby, where we will have our “cocktail” hour

I think I peed my pants a little. You can’t believe how giddy I was - I think I actually giggled on the phone (gross) and started feeling lightheaded. It is in central Phoenix, and is modern and clean and beautiful. Kids can be kids there (with adult supervision in the galleries), and the rental was just right for a 6 hour event. And… we loved it! A HUUUGE sigh of relief!!!

the Great Hall, where our reception will be held

God totally provided in the most perfect timing. And like the really cool person I am, I didn’t take any pictures - we just took videos of almost all the places we viewed. If anyone is interested in seeing these venues, let me know because I have videos, and if I have to, I could upload them to YouTube or something.