Weddingbee Blog

What is the best way to be a rebel bride when it comes to your wedding venue? Well, it depends on a couple of factors. For me, it was all about avoiding the church.

Do NOT misunderstand my love for Jesus. He’s the man. I’m very religious, and one of my favorite things about Mr. Kettle is when he prays for us both while we holds hands. We both attend church and intend on raising our children in church. I love my church and am very active in it.

I just didn’t want to get married in a church. Weddings at my church can be very beautiful.

Personal photo of Kettle Friends’ wedding in 2009

But this side-angled picture doesn’t show the whole shot. See that bright-ass red cloth hanging over the pulpit? Those are all over the front of the church. Also, the wood color is too light. Also, the choir stand is up there, and it just takes up useless space. Lastly, the stained-glass windows, while beautiful, are not at all how I pictured my wedding ceremony.

Were we getting married in the summer, we’d definitely be outdoors in someone’s garden. Even having a wedding in February, I wanted it in a garden atmosphere, just indoors. Momma Kettle and Mr. Kettle didn’t love the idea of it not being in a church, but they accepted my vision and we moved forward without much discussion on the matter.

My pastor and Mr. Kettle’s pastor had both done weddings at each of our proposed wedding venues, so that also wasn’t a problem. My pastor was actually excited about the possibilities of a wedding at one of the venues. The man has style. He’s a Libra—why wouldn’t he?

Once Momma Kettle understood my vision, we both researched wedding-venue options. We picked places that had a garden feel even indoors in the winter. FSIL Grand and Mema Kettle suggested places that were already on our list, but got bumped up higher knowing multiple people thought they were a good idea.

The top three places we came up with were chosen because of location, matching with my vision, family agreement, and that extra factor of fitting our entire family’s flare for the dramatic. We set up appointments to tour these places.

One Saturday, Momma Kettle, Mr. Kettle, and I piled into Mr. Kettle’s car and drove to Joliet. With the traffic, we were surprised with how quickly we got there, which boded well for our chances of deciding to have our wedding outside the city.

Up first was the Jacob Henry Mansion Estate in Joliet, Illinois. Driving up to this place, it looked idyllic.

Image: Jacob Henry Mansion

Personal photo: Main room where indoor ceremony would take place. Gets converted to tables and chairs during cocktail hour.

They don’t have a lot of options for indoor ceremonies. Their big draw is the outdoor ceremony followed by the vintage reception. The three of us immediately noticed that wasn’t exactly what I wanted. But we continued the tour.

We took a tour of the inside and saw how they have the place set up. It’s lots of rooms that make it feel like you’re having a giant dinner party using every room on the first floor of your mansion. The upstairs is for the wedding party to get ready.

Personal photo: The stairs and main foyer. Very, very vintage. For the Kettles, this wasn’t a good thing.

Personal photo: Another of the rooms that would be filled with tables and chairs for our large wedding.

Personal photo: I think this was the upstairs…

Personal photo: The room where the bride could get ready. I wonder if people use the bed…?

Personal photo: Don’t remember what this room is for.

Personal photo: More table, chairs, and vintage flair.

Personal photo: This is definitely the upstairs. Seating for hanging out for the bridal party or cocktail hour, I guess.

After the tour, we asked questions about price and accommodations. If I were at all interested in a vintage feel for the wedding, I would have stopped right there and put down a deposit. But that wasn’t the feel I was going for. Wedding-planning tip #1: Have a pretty solid idea of your wedding theme before you go looking at venues.

We thanked them for their time and moved on. Up next on the list was the Patrick C. Haley Mansion. It was about a five-minute drive away from the Henry Mansion.

While searching for venues, did you find something that would be perfect, just not for you?