The Venue

My dream venue...we found it!

Decisions, decisions! We worried about finding a location that would be convenient to the majority of our family, but had difficulty in finding a good place for our wedding. We knew we didn't want a large wedding, but wanted to surround ourselves with our family and closest friends that weren't coming to the wedding for any reason other than to be supportive of our union as man and wife, and those who wouldn't judge us for our budget! We put ourselves on a budget because we have a trip planned to Alaska and of course, I'm still in college studying nursing. We decided we didn't need to have the most expensive wedding, and with a little imagination, we knew would could have the wedding we want without spending a lot of money. Thankfully, we both have awesome sisters who are just as creative (and crafty) as we are!

That said, many venues were automatically thrown out when I obtained pricing. That left little option to get married in our first choice, Heber Springs. Sometimes, though, God knows best when He closes doors because as frustrating as it was for me, He had a better place in mind! A couple of weeks into my search, we visited Jon's sister, Audra, and Jon spent much of the weekend turkey hunting. We'd been to Calico Rock to see what the gardens there were like. Of course, it was a gorgeous location but at a price of $2,000 for the venue we knew that wouldn't work! Some other venues were either booked or just not a good fit for our wedding day.

Audra and Douglas (my soon-to-be-nephew) took me to visit one last location. Before we even got to the Bull Shoals Dam, I could see the James A. Gaston Visitor Center from a distance. Audra told me that we were heading there to check it out! It was gorgeous, and we were thrilled to discover there was a wedding going on when we pulled up. That meant we could see how this venue would fit, and within a few moments of walking around the Center, I knew it would be perfect! Thank you, Audra, for finding the perfect place for us!

Jon and I are both adventurers. We love the outdoors and scenery. The view is amazing, as you can look out over Bull Shoals Lake, the Dam and the White River from the decks. There is so much to do at the Visitor Center, from the butterfly garden, to a hiking trail, observation deck, a historical movie in which visitors sit in rowboat chairs (adorable!), exhibits and even binoculars for bird watching! The Bull Shoals-White River State Park is just down from the center and there's kayaking, camping and fishing. When I entered the building, I knew it was perfect but at one point, I teared up as I told Audra it was "the" place - just like you know when you try on the "the" dress!

The wedding that was taking place was small and intimate, and decorations were simple. That is the look we're going for as well. The view and the building are so beautiful that a lot of decorations aren't needed! There are two conference rooms, a kitchen, restrooms and several places that you can use for the wedding. You can even use the covered deck with ceiling fans for part of the reception!

Part of the deck (it continues on to the right with patio chairs and access to the conference rooms). The two-story tower is beautiful!

Now came the difficult question: how much does it cost to rent this gorgeous facility and was it available for Aug. 31, 2014? I was surprised that we could rent the deck for only $70 for two hours. Renting two blocks of time actually gives you five hours, so I reserved the deck from 5 to 10 p.m., and the coordinator said we can start decorating at noon on the day of the wedding! There is no limit to the number of guests that you can have, and there are other areas that you can rent including the Pavilion (which has tiered stadium row seating or the Tower (limited to 20 people due to size). Any of these can be rented for the same price, but we chose to rent the deck because the Pavilion is adjacent to it and any place that we didn't rent is actually available to our guests (there may be some other visitors in these areas but most people tend to be respectful and stay away from weddings, so we aren't concerned about visitors that may be at the Center). The deck area, however, will be limited to our guests only. It features some round table seating which will be ours to use on our day, too. These tables and chairs are situated under a beautiful covering with ceiling fans.

A view looking toward the White River. This is going to be the view we have chosen for our ceremony.

We also chose to rent both the conference rooms (they hold 40 people each), and the kitchen. There are tables that come with the rental and chairs for 40 people, so we're saving on table and chair rentals. We can also choose to rent outdoor chairs if we'd like (they're only $1 per chair if we set them up ourselves). As a bonus, we have access to a podium with microphone, DVD player and screen, internet access, projector, counter space, controlled lights, automatic shades, ice maker and coffee maker, as well as very large, well-appointed restrooms that are for our event only. Rental for one classroom is $125 for a half day or $200 for a full day; or both classrooms can be rented for $200 for a half day or $350 for a full day. There is a security deposit of $100 that has to be paid at the time of reservation.

That said, we opted to rent the deck and both conference rooms, with the conference rooms being available for us all day to give us time to set up without being rushed. We didn't need to rent additional time on the deck as we are able to start decorating outdoors at noon. Our outdoor decorations will be kept simple, so we're certain we'll have more than enough time to get ready for our guests!