Having our reception at a restaurant was just awesome. The Carolina House has an amazing bar so we were able to have a full open bar and we were able to give our guests the choice of four main meals which meant people could really get a meal they would want rather than the ‘fish/beef’ choice that you get at so many reception places.
We went for a mix of Southern fare with some New England flavorings.
As starting appetizers on platters we had cheese, crackers and crudités and BBQ Wings
Then at the tables we had the Carolina House’s signature amazing Corn Fritters with maple syrup and everyone had an appetizer of Corn Chowder.
For the mains, our guests had the choice of –
Austin Chicken (this dish is amazing – basically a succulent huge chicken breast fried in beer batter.. it is so tender and juicy!)
14oz cut Grilled Boneless Black Angus ribeye
Sun-dried tomatoes, broccolini, capers, red onion, white wine, butter, garlic, and fresh parsley served over Penne
Baby Back Ribs
Sides – Mashed potatoes and vegetables
We used the wedding cake for dessert with coffee and tea.
Looking back we probably could have skipped the soup course – I was worried there wouldn’t be enough food but there ended up being more than enough. A lot of people were taking their leftovers home with them.
The atmosphere was super cozy and cute for decorations I bought artificial fall leaves off eBay and these were sprinkled over all the tables and we also bought about fifty amber glass candle votive candle holders that had little glass fall leaves hanging off the side of them (very hard to describe) then with just a tealight candle in each of these they emitted a gorgeous soft amber glow. The candles were put all over the place and really were lovely touch. The Carolina House has a log cabin feel so really, with just those two small touches it made it feel special – it really was a perfect place! The service was fantastic – everyone ordered and we all received our food on time and it didn’t disappoint. Planning everything to do with the Carolina House was done entirely over email and over photos they had on the website so I could picture what it was going to look like. While Bill had been there a bunch of times, I had only been there once… so that was a challenge but it was even more beautiful than I envisioned and suited the intimate feel of the day. We didn’t have microphones, a DJ, a band, a dancefloor and everything else that a wedding is supposed to have and that suited us just fine.
Here we are at the reception… you can see the candles and leaves on top of the fireplace –
You can view photos of the interior of the Carolina House here.