Sharie, it doesn't sound harsh or unaccomodating to me at all. We exist to serve the community at large as museums and historic sites, not as party sites. Of course there's a bit of crossover, guests to the event develop an awareness of the site, some places can offer tours for the party guests - but the best mission support a function like this offers is a financial one. Do you require the wedding party to carry liability insurance? And - do you allow alcohol on the grounds? Of course I don't know what the market is like in your area, but I think $50 is way too cheap. And if you are getting completely booked, your audience thinks so too. I looked at your website - you have a beautiful site, with fabulous grounds. So many of us in this field sell ourselves short - how do we expect others to see our value if we don't? Cindy Boyer Director of Museums and Education The Landmark Society of Western New York Rochester, NY (585) 546-7029 x12 [log in to unmask] www.landmarksociety.org The Landmark Society of Western New York 1937-2007 - Serving for 70 years! Our mission is to discover, protect, and revitalize the architectural and related cultural heritage of the Rochester region, and to educate and inform our community about that heritage. ________________________________ From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sharie Mooney Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2007 10:49 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] wedding rentals in historic house museums Hi there- I work in a historic house museum with 4 acres of landscaped grounds surrounding it. Inside the museum almost all of the 14,000 square feet is open to the public for touring, with over 90% of the original furnishings exhibited. For weddings at our museum, we only rent the grounds. Too much could go wrong inside the house. For example, we would want to clear the room of artifacts so nothing gets damaged, and we would have to have a staff member present. High heels would also become detrimental to our originals floors. We would only be able to allow inside rentals when the museum was closed, but during the summer, or "wedding season," we are open 7 days a week, 9 hours a day. So.... we only rent the grounds. We charge $50 for renting the grounds, and people ONLY get the grounds. We offer no electricity (we have no exterior outlets), public restrooms, chairs, changing areas, etc. However, they can set up tents, bring generators, have catering, or even bring porta pots if they want. We don't book more than one event on the grounds per day, so they don't have to worry about time restrictions. They can be there after the museum is closed, and the staff does not have to stay late. This may sound harsh or unaccommodating, but this has turned out to be the best way we can offer space for weddings and still run a museum - which is of course our main priority! And, almost every weekend in the summer is booked for a wedding, sometimes even more than a year in advance. We're very clear about what we can and can't offer, and people know what to expect and plan for. Hope that helps some! Sharie Mooney Curator Trail End State Historic Site Sheridan, Wyoming http://www.trailend.org <http://www.trailend.org/> ________________________________ Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2007 17:31:04 -0400 From: [log in to unmask] Subject: [MUSEUM-L] wedding rentals in historic house museums To: [log in to unmask] Dear list, I'm writing to inquire about those who offer wedding rentals in historic settings. We have an issue with limitations of support facilities for our garden wedding rental program, and I'm wondering how others might have dealt with this. Specifically, we lack adequate changing areas and waiting areas for brides, in particular, and find that brides these days generally expect these amenities, even for a garden weddding. We really want to keep the wedding program out of the historic structures and have considered such possibilities as transforming a charming potting shed (its architecture reflects the historic garage on a small scale) into a changing facility or building something new. Annual revenue does not really support the latter. Another thought is to use our museum shop space, which is in the historic house and would require additional staffing for security. I would welcome suggestions from those who have been down this road! Thanks-- Laurel Laurel Spencer Forsythe Executive Director The Ruthmere Foundation, Inc. 302 E. Beardsley Ave. Elkhart, IN 46514 (574) 264-0330 www.ruthmere.org <http://www.ruthmere.org/> ________________________________ Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. 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