oh, the places you'll go...

Andy and I have settled on Fort Scott, KS as our happy medium location for the wedding, with the date being July 25, 2009. Now we are in the midst of trying to find suitable places for the ceremony, the reception, and the photos. This is not the easiest thing to do when you have to cram it all into one or two trips! Luckily, we easily found a beautiful place for the ceremony: St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. It is a lovely historic church with gorgeous stained glass windows and a pipe organ. (We would be happy to have referrals if you know someone who actually plays the pipe organ!)

We also liked the Old Congregational Church but it would have taken quite a bit more work to get into shape. Still, it had a wonderful tall steeple with a bell you can ring yourself, as well as really beautiful stained glass windows.

The reception location has been a little bit harder. I had high hopes for the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple, but it was a little disappointing, although still not out of the question. I don't know anything about the actual group, other than that they have 32 degrees. I don't know what that means. But, Andy and I were lucky enough to get to see their auditorium, which was substantially neater than their dining hall and has all the original backdrops they need to perform the 32 degrees. Whatever that means. All I know is, I saw columns and forests and animals and architecture, and it was pretty nifty.

We also went to the Liberty Theatre, located right across the street, which is one of our top picks. It's very nicely decorated inside, spacious, and flexible for our catering needs. Equally nice was the River Room, a newly renovated space on the third floor of an old manufacturing building. The bottom floors aren't done yet, but by the summer the building should also house a restaurant and retail shops. (Andy was disappointed that they weren't going to put in a bowling alley and skating rink that had been there years ago.) Although the price would probably be considered spectacular if it was in Johnson County, it was still rather beyond our budget.

The Fort Scott Country Club is closed for the winter, which means we can't get ahold of anyone to discuss renting it, which means it is not an option - but we did take the opportunity to peer through the windows, and it seemed suitable for what we need, if it comes to that. The Elks Lodge and the Fort Scott Inn both had rooms that were okay, but we really weren't impressed.

I adore the Lyons Twin Mansions, but due to the size and layout of the houses, we would have to do part of the reception outside, which makes me extremely nervous, considering the likelihood of our guests suffering heatstroke. So, our runner-up location of the moment is the Buck Run Community Center, which, although a bit sparse in the aesthetics department, is quite quite quite affordable, and therefore attractive.

Have no fear, we are planning on nailing down exactly what we want in the very near future.