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By
Helen E. McKinney
Contributing Writer
(February 2006) – Brides often
spend months planning a wedding that is
distinctively theirs. Finding a unique location
for your wedding can be a difficult choice,
but many options are available for those
who prefer something other than traditional
church weddings.
Couples find Milton, Ky.’s Richwood
Plantation charming, said manager Kraig
Bergeron. “Especially women.”
The charm of a 200-year-old mansion gives
it the feel of a luxury resort, said Bergeron.
The plantation sits on 117-acres on the
wooded banks of the Ohio River. Amenities
include a five-person hot tub and an in-ground
pool.
Couples can lease the entire facility, which
consists of a reception hall and suites
for guests, two of which are located in
an adjoining carriage house. Accommodations
for out-of-town guests are an added plus
to Richwood Plantation. The facility is
perfect for a weekend wedding. As is oftentimes
the case, a rehearsal dinner will be held
on a Friday night, the wedding and reception
on Saturday, and a sort of family reunion
on Sunday, said Bergeron.
“We accept all caterers,” said
Bergeron. He keeps a list of area caterers,
but it is up to the couple to provide a
caterer, decorations and a minister. Tables
and chairs are provided.
Bergeron is booked for weddings every weekend
of May, June and July. He said many of the
couples attend Hanover College. Typically,
either the bride or the groom is from the
Madison area. Not wanting their families
to be scattered around in hotels, couples
opt to have their wedding at Richwood Plantation
so most of their guests can book a room
in one of the resort suites.
Even couples that have never seen Richwood
Plantation book the facility in advance.
Bergeron said a recent wedding was conducted
in this manner by a Jewish groom from New
York and his bride who resided in Florida.
She was originally from Madison.
Part of the allure of Richwood has to do
with its history. It was once a working
plantation, with the main home built in
1803. It is thought there was a tie to the
Underground Railroad. Several different
families have owned the home since it closed
its doors as a girl’s riding school
in 1969.
Across the river in Madison is the Lanier
Mansion State Historic Site, a popular location
for outdoor weddings. The mansion and Ohio
River “provide a beautiful, scenic
background,” said Cultural Administrator
Phyllis Stephens. “We can accommodate
a small or a large wedding,” she said.
There are several locations on the grounds
on which to hold a wedding: the gazebo,
two large areas on the north lawn, one area
west of the mansion, the south lawn (which
is surrounded by a stone fence), and a smaller
south portico. The designated areas are
spacious enough to hold both a wedding and
a reception in one location.
All functions are held outdoors, and tents
are permitted. The Madison-Lanier Visitors
Center is available across the street, which
provides restrooms. A conference room doubles
as a dressing room.
James Franklin Doughty Lanier constructed
the Greek Revival mansion in 1844. “It
was the grandest home in the west by J.F.D.
Lanier, a prominent citizen,” said
Stephens. Lanier moved to New York in 1851
and made Civil War loans to the state of
Indiana.
The state-owned mansion has always been
available for weddings, but only in the
last three years have they been popular,
said Stephens. It has been restored to the
1851 time period inside and out.
Weddings are booked on a first come, first
serve basis, and couples must go through
an application process. “It takes about
two months for the paper work to go through,”
said Stephens. A $50 deposit is charged
to hold the date. Rental charges range from
$60 an hour to $115 an hour, depending upon
the area rented.
Stephens said that for the previous fiscal
year, she had 32 applicants and 17 contracts
for weddings for May through October. She
is already in the process of reviewing 2007
applications.
Couples from as far away as London, England,
have been married at the Lanier Mansion.
A couple from Ireland heard about the mansion,
visited it and loved the Madison community
enough to be married here, said Stephens.
The Schenck Mansion in Vevay, Ind., provides
a special atmosphere for couples not wanting
a traditional church wedding. “It is
very romantic and intimate,” said owner
Lisa Fischer.
Fischer and her husband, Jerry, run this
35-room mansion, which is also a bed and
breakfast. This last feature is perfect
for families that want to book all of the
rooms and stay in the area during wedding
festivities, said Fischer.
“It’s a pretty house in a quiet,
private area,” said Fischer. This aspect
lends to its appeal, and Fischer said she
doesn’t do a lot of wedding decorating
because she doesn’t need to. Some couples
incorporate the mansion’s spiral staircase
into their ceremony and pictures.
Built in 1874, the mansion contains six
guest rooms decorated in the period style
of a wealthy riverboat captain. Smaller
weddings and receptions can be held indoors
for parties of up to 25 individuals. Larger
ceremonies and receptions of up to 250 must
be held outdoors.
Weddings can also be held at Gardencourt
Estate, a facility the community can rent
on the Louisville Presbyterian Theological
Seminary campus. Built in 1906 for the daughters
of Kentucky financier George W. Norton,
the mansion is on the National Register
of Historic Places.
The tree-lined drive and formal rose gardens
make it a “nice venue for outdoor weddings,”
said coordinator Lisa Miller. The Olmsted
brothers, a son and stepson of Frederick
Law Olmsted Jr., created these formal gardens.
The Seminary acquired the home in 1987,
and then it went through a renovation process.
It opened in 1991 for the first wedding.
Couples literally feel like they have “stepped
back in time,” at Gardencourt, said
Miller.
She provides a catering list from which
couples are asked to choose a caterer. Tables,
chairs and cleanup are included in the rental
fee. Many brides have discovered Gardencourt
while attending the nearby University of
Louisville’s School of Music.
Since opening in the summer 2004, The Livery
Stable has become a popular wedding location
in downtown Madison, Ind. Owner Libby Mann
had the building renovated into a stylish
hall that features a bar and plenty of room
for dancing. The building is adjacent to
her restaurant and bar, the Historic Broadway
Hotel & Tavern, located on Broadway
Street.
Mann purchased both buildings in 1992. The
stable subsequently became a place for storage
but remained a project-in-waiting for nearly
a decade, according to Linda Spann, who
manages the facility.
“The entire inside of the building
was gutted” to create the reception
hall, said Spann. It has since been used
for numerous meetings, dinners, concerts
and wedding receptions.
Once used to shelter horses and carriages
of the inn’s guests, the approximately
6,000 square-foot building had over the
years served other business purposes, but
none that had required the kind of interior
worthy of a formal affair.
The facility accommodate approximately 350
people. The main room of the building features
a divider to allow for smaller parties.
The building is also completely wired for
sound and includes a kitchen. White linens,
china, glassware and silverware are provided.
“It’s something that’s really
needed, especially downtown,” Spann
said.
A variety of different venues such as these
are available throughout the region to create
a fairytale wedding for those wanting something
out of the ordinary. Many couples wish to
create a special memory in a special place
with results that will last a lifetime.
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