Chapter 3 | Those White Ceremony Chairs

Dear Barr Mansion, You are magnificent, beautiful, and the epitome of dreams.

The house where the bride & groom get ready, drink champagne, & take photos. 

Barr Mansion is without a doubt an amazing wedding venue. If I had gobs of money, I would have loved to get married here. Instead I settled for a good alternative - working here. The venue is at the top of its game as the "first certified organic special events facility in the nation" and the owners have a farm to table approach, complete with onsite recycling and compost. If the setting and venue doesn't capture you, the food certainly will. I still remember all the servers would help themselves to dinner and extra cake between washing dishes and listening in on the speeches. 

Common ceremony spot, beneath the big pretty tree. 

 There are so many details that go into a person's wedding day, it was always fun to see the choices firsthand. I've witnessed many a first dance, cake cutting, and bouquet toss. Aside from the manual labor of helping set up decor, staging white ceremony chairs in the perfect arc, serving appetizers, and clearing plates - it was actually a pretty cushy job. Everyone's happy, the staff was huge so the burden of tasks was well distributed, and the best part - there were always flowers and extra party favors to take home. A true #workperk my roommates and I enjoyed. 

Typically the reception building, often with cocktail tables out on the patio. 

One of the aspects of this job I particularly appreciated was the flexibility. I think you were only obligated to work one event a month and you could just choose the dates and shifts you were available once the options were listed. I worked semi-infrequently with so many different people that I didn't become close friends with anyone (although a good friend of mine got hired after I did), but it was a great summer/fall job. 

Lots of different reception options with beautiful exposed wooden beams & high ceiling.

In 2010-2011 it was mighty popular to cap the night off with Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" blaring loud and proud. It was everyone's queue that the night was winding down and we'd be passing out bubbles or sparklers soon. Even though this was more of a food service/customer service position, it was a bridge to the events world - which I have always loved. Bringing people together, managing details, and pretty backdrops, I'm all for it!

For better or worse,

- SJW