Camp Kiwanee Review

Let me start at the beginning, with the next time we went to Camp Kiwanee after our initial viewing of the place.  Our final venue visit went all right.  We headed down to the camp a few weeks prior to our wedding day and talked with the caretaker again.  When we got there, he wasn’t around, having forgotten about our meeting.  Sigh.

But when we found him, we told him about our plans, our setup ideas and everything.  He didn’t take any notes, just requested that we email him all the information.  I don’t know if he didn’t take notes because he forgot about our meeting and didn’t bring a notebook, or because he doesn’t generally take notes for these sorts of events, and prefers to let the couple handle everything.  I didn’t ask.  Oh well.  We talked about everything, and then we found out that Camp Kiwanee in fact does not allow candles.  On our first visit to the camp, the caretaker (the same one!) told us they did allow candles.  It wasn’t a big deal — our decorations didn’t center around candles or anything, so it wasn’t like our plans were ruined.  We also found out that the caretaker and his helper had planned to be around for the entire day, which isn’t what we were told initially.  We thought the caretaker would have to be elsewhere, celebrating Father’s Day with his family, which is what he told us over the phone at some point in the last month.  So yay for having a caretaker there all day, boo for the unnecessary stresses our conversations caused.

We got home, put together our plans for our wedding day and emailed them to the caretaker.  Of course, we didn’t know what kind of plans he wanted exactly, so we made a floor plan, we made a list of duties and who they were assigned to, we made a list of all the vendor information, our contact information, timelines, etc.

Then the big day.  When we arrived, the caterers were already there, setting up everything, as was the caretaker and his helper.  Thank goodness.  The caretaker looked harried, but he handled the setup with the help of his helper and our friends.  As far as I can tell, this went according to plan-ish.  I was sequestered away, trying to rid myself of a migraine, so I didn’t get a first-hand view of everything.

Then the wedding started.  We got married.  We took pictures.  We sat down to eat.  And somewhere in there, the caretaker and his helper left.  Just…left.  As in, they didn’t feel the need to stick around and make sure everything went smoothly.  They were gone for at least four hours and possibly more.  They came back in time for cleanup, but it was disconcerting to be at Camp Kiwanee with ZERO CAMP KIWANEE STAFF.

After we ate and danced and talked, people started leaving and we started cleaning up.  The caretaker gave us our parking permits and we distributed them to our friends, and that was that.  Except it wasn’t.  At our first meeting with Camp Kiwanee, we were told we could get back into the kitchen on the morning after the wedding so that we could all cook breakfast together.  About a week before our wedding, they told us we couldn’t.  Sorry!  To make up for it, they gave us a $30 Dunkin’ Donut gift card.  So we thought we’d be able to get in in the morning, store all our leftover food, cook for everyone and then leave, but it didn’t work out that way.

And that really was that.  On the whole, Camp Kiwanee performed just okay.  I wouldn’t expect much more from a venue at the price we got it for, but I was at least expecting that the caretaker would stick around for the whole day.  In summation, I’d say if you’re going to get married at Camp Kiwanee, be organized!  Have everything you agree on written out and signed by everyone, have all your plans written out so that you can show them to everyone, make lots of lists, and get help.  Have one of your friends act as the Day Of Coordinator.  Try not to deal with the woman in the Camp Kiwanee office as much as possible, and go into this with your eyes open, because they are not going to be organized on your behalf.  They just provide the place.  You do the rest of the work.

Fasano’s Catering Review

I’ve moved this content to Bukisa!  For more information about The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and The Verdict, please visit Wedding Vendor Review: Fasano’s Catering.  Thanks!

Calling All Friends

I’m not giving much up to tradition for this wedding.  I’m not big on superstitions, or  traditions that are based on outdated practices.  But for some reason, the “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue,” thing has stuck with me.

I’ve got the new (that would be my dress) and the blue (a bit of embroidery on the inside).  I’m sure I could dig up something old to wear, like my shoes, or some of my grandmother’s costume jewelry.  The part that’s giving me trouble is the borrowed.  Specifically, I’m looking for a brooch, to wear on the dress.  I would prefer not to have to buy one and then gift it to a friend, who would then loan it to me.  That seems like cheating.  So!  Do you have a brooch?  Something silver-toned, with something pearl on it?  I’ve been looking at these:

From ChadwickCottage57

From LifeTravelsDesigns

From kittyBcreative

If you have a brooch that looks similar, and is silver, and has something pearl on it, I would love to be your best friend for a day and borrow it from you.  What do you think?

xxxooo, SavvyChristine

The Great Venue Reveal

Here it is, here’s our venue.  It’s called Camp Kiwanee, and it’s located in Hanson, Massachusetts.  This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who’s been chatting with us in person, but we finally sent in the deposit and locked in our caterer, so I can say that it’s official.  To my family and friends: please stop reading after this next picture if you don’t want to know about pricing or pros and cons (the way I’ve been talking about on my MA Wedding page), or if you don’t want to know any of the pleasant surprises that we’ll be having at the venue.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Here’s an old postcard of the camp:

Pros: It’s freaking beautiful.  It’s on a long, wooded drive by a big lake, and there are plants everywhere, and you get married on the back deck overlooking the lake.  They set up long wooden benches for your guests, and extend the deck into the library via some walls that drop down into the floor on a pulley system that you find in theatres.  I can’t believe this place isn’t more popular.  The caretaker is helpful — more helpful than I would’ve thought, and easy to talk to, and seems to sincerely love this place (unlike other caretakers that we’ve met).  There are cabins on the property for you to camp in, and a little cottage for you to rent out if you want to stay after your wedding, which is what we’re doing.  The pricing is excellent.  We’re renting out the function hall, cabins and cottage for $1600 total, and that includes tables, chairs, benches, and possibly even linens (I can’t remember, I’ll have to check the contract).  Overall, they’re quite flexible and seem happy to have people interested.  And I almost forgot to mention the beautiful function hall with a small stage inside, so you could get married on the stage in inclement weather.  And the outdoor activities and walking trails they have everywhere.

Cons: It’s in Hanson, MA; there’s nothing to do in Hanson, MA.  It’s the middle of nowhere.  The closest hotel is 20 minutes away.  Also, Camp Kiwanee is owned by the town, so there are restrictions on how you can serve alcohol.  And since it’s owned by the town, there aren’t that many employees, so this is a DIY kind of hall.  The inside of the function hall is covered with pine, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on your point of view (I like it).  There’s no designated parking by the hall, but your guests will probably park on the basketball court just outside.  If not, they’ll have to park down the hill and hoof it the rest of the way.

Thoughts: We fell in love when we walked in, even though they hadn’t yet cleaned up for a party the night before. Both the caretaker and the office manager were helpful and friendly, and bent over backwards to get nice things for us in the contract.  The one disappointing little thought is that when we got the contract, they asked for caterer information at the same time as you send in the deposit, so then we spent 2 months finding a caterer only to find out that it wasn’t necessary.  They had taken us off the calendar because we spent so much time looking for a caterer, which gave me a minor heart attack, but we got the date just fine.  It didn’t turn out to be a problem in the end.

And there you have it!  Our big venue reveal.

More Failed Wedding Ideas

For some reason, the failed wedding ideas always seem to be mine.  Seth’s ideas are good ones.  Mine are goofy.  Here’s what we’ve rejected:

1.  Walking down the aisle to the Shirelles singing “Going to the Chapel of Love.”  It’s not technically correct since we’re getting married at an old camp, and it’s kind of a long song so everyone would have to walk down the aisle to this instead of just the bride.  I could see it working, except for that chapel part.  Am I getting the artists wrong?  Because I’m looking for the lyrics, and the Google is telling me that the Dixie Cups sang this.  At any rate, I don’t think having the Dixie Cups sing this would make much of a difference.  It’s still out.

2.  Dancing to “You’re Awful” from the movie On the Town with Betty Garrett and Frank Sinatra for our first married dance together.  We both love Frank Sinatra, and we both love making fun of each other, so I thought this one would be a no-brainer.  We entertained the idea for a few days (I may have thought about this for longer than a few days), but in the end, our actual song won out.

3.  Having our officiant say “Engage!” in Jean-Luc Picard’s voice instead of, “You may now kiss the bride.”  I suppose this would have worked better if she had been at our engagement.  Or, you know, we were dressed in Star Trek gear.  Don’t worry though, I’m not that big of a Star Trek fan (translation: I suggested Star Trek gear, and Seth said no).  I also suggested that we invite Patrick Stewart to come to our wedding, but we figured he probably wouldn’t come.  Poo.