If you haven’t heard all the hype yet about this new wedding venue, The Estate at New Albany in New Albany, Ohio, you’re about to fall in love with this beautiful venue It’s one of the most beautiful wedding and event venues in the greater Columbus area, and is not only amazing for it’s white walls and beautiful ballroom – but also because of the incredible staff that work there. I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down the Kirsten Pulcheon, the Director and Event Coordinator of the Estate at New Albany to chat about the venue and all it has to offer! And wow, is it AMAZING! If you are looking for the perfect venue, you’re going to want to read through this one!!
The Estate of New Albany opened in December of 2017. They haven’t even had a wedding season yet, and are already booked out through 2019! They booked 50 weddings before it was done being complete. So many couples trusted the Brooks and Kristen and their vision. It’s been absolutely amazing to see how it’s blown up, and to be a part of the styled shoot at The Estate at New Albany during their opening in December of 2017. I already have a couple of couples getting married there in the next couple years, I am so excited to work with their amazing staff and to serve our couples well!! So let’s dive into what The Estate is, how it was born, what is has to offer brides & grooms, and what makes them unique.
HISTORY
The Brooks family owns WatersEdge, Brookshire, and now the newly built venue, The Estate at New Albany. Joy Brooks was a wedding planner and decided to start with venues by creating Brookshire, a venue that offers many vendors included to alleviate some of the stress of planning. Since Brookshire was blowing up, they decided to also open up WatersEdge, another local Columbus venue. After all of their experience with the past two venues, they took everything they knew and put it into The Estate at New Albany. The Estate At New Albany as a dream that came to life in December of 2017. They have nicknamed the property “Brookshire 2.0!”
THE SPACE
The Estate consists of a Grand Foyer with loads of natural light and 28 foot ceilings, two private suites with restrooms, two corporate spaces which can operate individually or as one larger space, a 75 foot Gallery which is wonderful for cocktails and small gatherings, our Great Hall with a built in bar and dance floor, and two private outdoor patios. The space is set up with weddings and events in mind, and is laid out in a way to make them flow smoothly. There is a beautiful outdoor area for ceremonies, but also an amazing backup space indoors that’s filled with light and white walls. In case of poor weather, they will transform their Forest & Noble Rooms into a bright and airy ceremony space where it can comfortably fit 250 guests. The Great Hall comfortably fits 350 guests.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
Included in your price per person package is the cost of the venue, your event staff, your tables chairs and linens, all your catering & beverages, full set up and tear down, your floral centerpieces, wedding cake and DJ! Couples can absolutely choose to enhance their wedding with a variety of add-ons, from up-lighting to chargers. They also have a wide variety of customizations to make each wedding unique to the couple. Even though there is so much included with the rental, everything is still completely customizable. It’s not their way of giving you three different floral options you have to choose from; but rather, alleviating the stress of finding some of those difficult vendors and including ones who will make your vision come to life. They also always guarantee a wedding rehearsal the day before your wedding!
There are two private suites for couples to use while getting ready and through out the course of the evening! The Bridal suite features a built in vanity, floor length mirrors, a mini bar and a private restroom. The Groom’s suite features a pool table, flat screen equipped with an Apple Tv, mini bar and private restroom. Both suites have state of the art technology allowing anyone to plug their phone into the wall and play music through the speakers in the ceiling, and private keypad locks allowing their personal items to stay protected.
When couples are having their ceremony at The Estate, they will get 8.5 hours at the venue, 2 for pre-ceremony, 1 for ceremony and 5 for the reception! That last half hour is our tear down and goodbye time. Most couples add on a few extra hours pre-ceremony to relax and get ready in the space.
They also get the benefit of having Kristen on their team, the Director and Event Coordinator. She explains a little bit about her role in the planning process:
“Currently, I am playing duel roles as both the Director of The Estate and Event Coordinator! I am available leading up to the wedding day to assist clients in building timelines, ensuring all linens have been picked and decided up, any extra detailing that couples may want, and to just offer my hand and advice! I will always give true feedback for what is possible versus what looks great in a styled shoot but not for practicality of the wedding day! My goal is to allow our couples to have a stress free planning experience and enjoy their engagement!”
WHAT MAKES THE ESTATE UNIQUE?
Kristen (the Director and Event Coordinator) says, “Our mission at The Estate is to remove the stress from the wedding process. I have been in the industry for almost a decade, and over that decade there has been a change, from Pinterest to Instagram, couples these days are oversaturated with decisions and options and limitless ideas! That can be incredibly creative and exciting, or sometimes, daunting and overwhelming. We want to remove the bulk of that stress and make it just a little easier! No more worrying about coordinating a variety of vendors, no more getting to your venue at 8am just to set up for your wedding, and no more begging your bridal party to stay after the reception to pick up! We want our couples to relax, enjoy their engagement process, and feel confident that they are getting a team of experts who want nothing more than for them to have the best day of their lives!”
At The Estate at New Albany, you get the advantage of having a shiny brand new venue with experience staff. Their staff has been in the wedding business for years. You’re still going to get amazing service with a beautiful new venue. Kristen further explains, “The Estate is unique as we built this from the ground up with the intent of making our couples have an incredible day. There are subtle details built in that allow an event to seamlessly flow from room to room without pause. We do not need to do room flips for back up plans, we do not need to have our couples leave the property for photo ops as we are situated on 5 acres, and we can feel confident in our level of service at every event as we have over a decade of venue experience! Essentially, you are getting a brand new facility with the perks and comfort of a very experienced staff!”
KRISTEN’S BEST ADVICE FOR COUPLES
Kristen states that the best thing an engaged couple can do is to stick away with your vision and not get swept away with all of the possibilities. Start with what you like, and then you can work from there. She says,
“My best advice for couples when starting to plan their wedding, is to trust their gut and go with their vision. This is not your best friends day, your Mom’s day, or your future Aunt-In-Law’s day! Find something that inspires you, whether it is a color, a flower or a song, and don’t lose sight of that! And then, when you find your vision, stop trying to over-plan! You will always find something new and interesting, but does that new and interesting idea work with your vision? If not, toss it aside or pin it for a friend!”
Once you figure out what works, her next piece of advice is to step back from the planning and let go. She stated she has a pretty strict rule with her couples: after their meeting one month before their wedding day, she doesn’t want to hear from them after that. She wants them to put their phones down, stop emailing, and enjoy the last month of being engaged. This meeting wraps up all of the final details, so there is nothing else to plan. Does that sound amazing or what?! Planning should be exciting, not always deciding the details of your wedding. She encourages couples to go out on date nights and make time for what really matters.
Without a doubt, Kristen allows this to actually happen for their couples. She allows them to focus on their new marriage and not worry about planning 24/7. Once that one month mark hits, you can totally relax and let go of worrying about the last minute details. They have you covered. I am truly excited to shoot here, to support them, and to see how their business is booming!!
Here are a few views of the Estate at New Albany driving up. What a beautiful building!! I just love those blue colored walls!
The front doors!
Upon walking in, you enter the Gallery (foyer) below:
The photo on the left is from a styled shoot I participated in last December. What a perfect place for indoor portraits!
If you walk over to the left upon walking in, there’s a little sitting area to wait. It’s adorable!
Another view of the foyer during the styled shoot. Perfect place for some furniture for cocktail hour!
Now for the bridal suite! A light and airy place for you and your maids to get ready! :)
The getting ready suite for the guys. What a great bonus for them to have a space to get ready as well!
Below is the indoor ceremony space: a perfect Plan B for when the weather acts up and getting married outside isn’t an option! :)
The Great Hall, a beautiful ballroom perfect for receptions!
A few more portraits taken on site at the styled shoot:
The florals were created by the Estate at New Albany’s in house florist. Simply beautiful and swoon-worthy!!
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