Finding the Venue (Part II)

By Aubrey

Another option that we looked into was the Hibernian Hall, the Roxbury Center of the Arts that was established as an Irish cultural/social hall in 1913. It had several things going for it: tie to the arts and Irish roots, and the rental costs were incredibly reasonable. Roxbury leads a double life: some of the most cultured institutions are right on its border, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Wentworth Institute, and Northeastern University, but also has sections that are run down, with bars on windows, and a high crime rate.  We were hoping Hibernian Hall was on the outskirts of Roxbury. Erin was in town and went on our venture to check out the place. As we drove further… and still further into Roxbury, the conversation got continually quieter… and quieter. Spotting the destination, Ryan went to turn the car around and find a parking spot. Erin and I both spoke up at the same time: finding parking was not necessary. We turned around and kept going. Thus, no pictures of this venue.

One bright spot about this venue was discovering that Haley House, a Catholic nonprofit soup kitchen that provides training to the under-employed in the food industry, housing for the homeless, and a farming co-op growing food to distribute to those in need, does drop-off catering for events. Haley House was listed on the Hibernian Hall website as a possible caterer for events. We still haven’t decided on using Haley House, but they are definetly a possibility.

Finding the Venue (part I)

By Ryan

Finding the venue for our reception was quite an adventure. The cost of a wedding anywhere in Boston is exorbitent, and October is the busiest month for weddings in New England. Everyone wants to see the fall foliage I guess. So with more than a year away we really wanted to nail down our venue. Our first stop was Springstep Dance Studio in Medford, MA. Just on the other side of Somerville, it is 20 minutes away from the church:

It is modern and interesting, has hardwood floors and is inexpensive for Boston. We had discussed it for a whle and knew that we didn’t want a hotel. or other corporate looking facility. Wherever we held the reception had to have character and lack ugly, patterned. stain-hider™ carpet or a hung acoustical tile ceiling. We also liked the idea of supporting a dance studio because my mom was a competitive ballroom dancer, and she would have really loved salsa-dancing across the floor.

The view out the windows was nothing much to talk about and this section of Medford doesn’t have the picturesque Norman Rockwell style that our out-of-town visitors would want. We wanted something where we wouldn’t have to do too much decoration, where we could bring in our own caterer to save some money and had a very New England feel.