Introducing the Roundhouse Railroad Museum

So while I always thought (or at least hoped) that we'd find something that we could all be satisfied with and turn into a beautiful and happy backdrop for our special day, I didn't think we were going to find something that was exactly what I'd envisioned. The fact that my own vision has remained quite vague and oddly contradictory could have played a role in this. Whatever the problem, as soon as we walked through the Roundhouse Rail Road museum, I knew we'd found the solution.

We visited kind of on a whim, or I should say on a recommendation by Alysse who didn't like the idea that I felt I would have to settle. Out of options and having just heard back from the Pink House, where we had hoped to move the reception, that October 22nd just happened to be the only Saturday they didn't have available, I was discouraged and burnt out from looking, but we made a split second decision to drop by instead of going to Bonaventure Cemetery.

The first thing Winifred noticed when we walked in was a train from Norfolk and Western railway, where Courtney's grandfather (pop pop) worked most of his career. Instantly the place had a special meaning.




It's a mostly outdoor museum, with most of the rail cars set up in front. If you go through a big brick arch, you see exposed brick walls that surround a number of grassy court yard areas, one of which was set up for an evening ceremony. It has the rustic, funky feel of Savannah Station (which I still maintain a fondness for) but because it's a little closer to town and you avoid the unsightly back road, we wouldn't have to time our guests arrival for after dark. There are also a number of outdoor areas that can be beautifully lit where folks can hang out without looking at a parking lot and a dilapidated playground.




The 'Blacksmith Shop', a long hall with high wood ceiling and a perfect space for a band to play, just happened to be set up for a beautiful reception, which just happened to feature the few parts of a 'vision' that I have been able to vocalize: sunflowers, a rich blue, and a rustic style of decorating. Even if it lacks formality that Courtney leans toward (read: expansive use of marble), I think that this will be the perfect example of historic Savannah with a uniqueness that makes it memorable and lots of opportunity to add personal touches that make the night feel very 'Courtney and Jo'.

Highlights from our Columbus Day planning trip

We started off our weekend with our engagement photos Friday afternoon. Despite some last minute emergencies (discovering a hummus 'pit stain' on a dress shirt and some very high water jeans) I think we were able to clean up quite nicely. We had a great time with Geoff and Leslie, shooting around Columbia square and then heading to Forsythe Park, and are really looking forward to seeing the pictures!

Next we headed to Cha Bella to get a taste of the food we might have catered. We enjoyed a round of cucumber mojitos (my favorite!), grilled eggplant and tomatoes with basil and fried goat cheese and the, salads and the seasonal soup, followed by local grouper, shrimp risotto, and a mahi mahi with grits. To finish it off, we stuffed down risotto and sweet potato gelato, wheatless chocolate cake, and a goat cheese cheesecake with balsamic reduction (quite possible the best cheesecake I've ever tasted). The food was obviously amazing, but we also love the idea that they support local farms and always having a fresh, seasonal menu.


Saturday we started bright and early with a cake tasting from Kerry O'Connor, where we enjoyed banana cake with caramel buttercream, chocolate cake with raspberry preserves and chocolate fudge, and red velvet cake with a cream cheese filling, among others. We then headed straight to a lunch tasting at the Cape Creations studio.

3:00PM was the moment of truth, when we went over to look at the Jepson which was for all intents and purposes, the last venue we hadn't ruled out. In theory, the Jepson is perfect. It's a huge modern art museum with a never ending staircase, glass pane windows looking into one of Savannah's prettiest squares, and marble that provides for a blank slate to decorate. In practice, it felt sterile. I'm sure decorated and lit up at night, it could be made to look beautiful, but I didn't come 600 miles for a blank slate.
Discouraged and grasping as straws we looked at the Telfair Museum (too stuffy), the Owen's Thomas House (too small), and the Ships of the Sea Museum (not available).

A trip to the Olde Pink House, where we're holding the rehearsal dinner, quickly cheered us up. Bianca was kind enough to set us up with yet another tasting so that Winifred could see all they had to offer. Despite complaining of being 'too full to eat' on the walk over, we successfully polished off BLT salads with fried green tomato, she-crab soup, crab cake sandwiched between fried green tomatoes, their house specialty: a crispy scored flounder with Apricot sauce, grilled pork tenderloin, pecan crusted chicken breast, sides of sweet potato with pecan vanilla butter, collards with ham, and bacon whipped mashed potatoes, followed by a pecan basket with ice cream, fresh fruit and dark chocolate and a rich chocolate cake with sherry drenched strawberries and whipped cream. Our hardest decision is going to be what NOT to include on our menu.


Sunday morning, I had to figure out how to fit a twelve mile run into a city that is all squares. Afraid of getting lost and missing our next tasting, I did a number of laps around Forsythe Park, where I saw three weddings, all before 10:30AM. Apparently we aren't the only ones who like that idea... Addy's definitely had advantage with my tasting her cake hungry from a long run. She served us buffet style, and we got to mix and match dark chocolate butter cream, cookies and cream mousse, espresso bavarian, white chocolate mousse, and fresh strawberries with her very moist cakes.

After hearing back from the Pink House (which after seeing a very fun wedding the previous night we had hoped to swap for our reception venue) that October 22nd happened to be the only Saturday they didn't have available, we were yet again at a standstill. On a whim (or I should say, a recommendation from our planner Alysse) we decided to make visit: the Roundhouse Railroad Museum. Although I'm going to dedicate the next post to the Railroad museum, I will say now that I immediately fell in love, and this time, wasn't the only one impressed. As someone as indecisive as myself, I didn't think I'd find a place that I quickly knew was 'the one', but after seeing this I felt confident for the first time that everything might just come together perfectly.

To celebrate our last night and our new found direction, we drove out to Tybee Island to enjoy a feast at the Crab Shack:


As if we hadn't had enough, we stopped at my favorite Savannah Brunch spot J. Christopher's for a goat cheese and portobello omelette and some crunch cakes.

And of course we made the obligatory stop on River Street for as many fresh praline samples as we could get without being called out as repeat offenders (and how can you not buy 2lbs of praline when the little boy giving the samples can't pronounce his P's or his L's and asks if you would 'like to please come try some pralines').

All together, it was quite a successful and productive trip. Now it's time to focus on the fun details!

We Have a Date!

So Friday was the big day... (okay, not THE big day, but a big day!) Morgan was there at 8:00AM when the Park's office opened to reserve us a spot. We weren't able to get our first choice, which was Columbus day weekend, but we were able to get a Saturday in October, and I'm sure it will be a beautiful time of year! Actually, it was our fourth choice of the five Saturday's (apparently it was very competitive, one man had been there since 5:30AM and another planner scooped up all of the other dates!), but other than not wanting Halloween, the rest were somewhat random.

So drum roll...

The wedding will be October 22, 2011!


So mark the date in your calendar! And as Dad pointed out, be sure to select 'do not repeat!