Congratulations on your upcoming Wedding! Thank you for considering Hillcrest Manor for your Montgomery wedding.
Our goal is: To provide a fairy tale setting for weddings, receptions and special events and to offer you the convenience of obtaining all your Wedding Event needs in one location.
Our Mission is: To radiate love, warmth, grace and composure, and to coordinate, host and facilitate Dream Weddings and Special Events, creating "An Affair to Remember."
A stunning Alabama wedding site, Hillcrest Manor is located on a tree-lined street, situated upon a hill overlooking the Historic Garden District. The mansion rests amid a private 1.91 acres of mature trees, lush gardens, colorful flowers, verdant manicured lawns and formal fountains and statuary. The Wedding Garden is a private and secluded area that is quietly tucked away among the one hundred year-old trees, an arbor dripping with wisteria and a waterfall and stream that flow to a pond reflecting its lush surroundings. Gleaming white fluted columns give rise to a covered and expansive veranda that surrounds three sides of the mansion. The veranda is often set with round tables covered with white linens and flickering candlelight for dinners and receptions. Stepping across the veranda and passing through the mansion's large leaded glass doors, one discovers a truly elegant and gracious era. While modernized with air conditioning and state-of-art fire alarm systems for comfort and safety, the mansion's impressive museum-quality woodwork has been meticulously preserved and remains completely intact. The grand parlor and the dining room, separated by pocket doors, boast of twelve-foot ceilings adorned with intricately carved moldings, fireplaces with ornate mantels, and towering windows. These beautifully appointed rooms become the location for buffet receptions or seated dinners. The cheerful sunroom overlooks the side courtyard and white-columned pergola through multi-paned glass windows and French doors. Guests pause in this room while being served punch from the white-gloved attendant before exiting through the French doors to the beautifully set pavilion a few steps away. Back inside, the adjacent library with its cranberry colored walls and heavy dark wood moldings and high ceilings offers the warmth of a third fireplace and floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelves. The Groom's Cake is displayed and served from under the chandelier in the Library, while the Bride's Cake is typically displayed and served under the crystal chandelier in the Dining Room. We pride ourselves in full event planning, your personal on-site Coordinator and Planner, on-site Catering and Floral and on-site Accommodations.
Beautifully appointed guestrooms upstairs can accommodate the bride and groom on the day of their event or serve as overnight lodging for the Bride and her party or out-of-town guests. (We offer group discounts in conjunction with a wedding ceremony/reception.) The Honeymoon Cottage serves as the private changing rooms for the Bride and her Party on Wedding Day and is often booked as the exclusive retreat for the Bride and Groom on their wedding night. The entire mansion is tastefully furnished with fine European antiques, antique lighting fixtures and crystal chandeliers.
Hillcrest Manor is open for public viewing by appointment except when weddings or other private events are being held. A collection of wedding photos is displayed to help brides and grooms envision their own wedding being held at the Manor. Please feel free to give us a call for an appointment to see Hillcrest Manor for yourself!
Exclusivity of Premises, Capacities, Rental of Guest Rooms, and Event Hours
When you hold your wedding and reception at Hillcrest Manor in Montgomery County, the common areas of the first floor of the mansion, the veranda, and all of the gardens and grounds are reserved for the exclusive use of your party. Hillcrest Manor can accommodate both indoor and outdoor events. Should it rain, garden weddings can be moved to inside the pavilion tent, which has ceiling fans and a sun-blocked tent roof that provide the most comfortable atmosphere. (Limited number of guest seating!)
Maximum guest capacities for seated dinners are suggested as follows:
150-200 guests with full pavilion seating (generally March through November);
150 guests with tent pavilion seating or inside and veranda seating (generally March through November);
60 guests with inside only seating (year-round).
Your wedding event may last up to four hours, beginning as early as 11:00 a.m. or extending as late as 10:00 p.m. -for example, 12:00-4:00 p.m. or 6:00-10:00 p.m. This four-hour time block is measured from the beginning of the ceremony or the arrival of the first guest until the closing of the bar or exit of the Bride and Groom, at which time the guests may depart in a leisurely manner.
Reception Pavilion
The Pavilion is a year-round facility for groups up to 200 people, leaving additional space for large dance floors, DJ Service, Bar and Bartender areas or other space requirements. Here we will help you host weddings, receptions, reunions, and many other functions. It is furnished with round tables, white chairs and includes linens, silver, crystal, china, stemware and experienced wait staff. In our state-of-the art kitchen, we will cater your event with expertise and style. Let us help you select your menu, and our professional staff will prepare food and menus to impress all of your guests. Call us for information on pricing and availability.
Deposits and Payments
Once you have viewed Hillcrest Manor in person, you may place a three-day hold on any available date without obligation. After three days have elapsed, your hold will be released unless you have contacted us during that period to advise us that you wish to formally reserve your date, in which case you will have seven more days in which to deliver a deposit check. To reserve your choice of dates, a $500 non-refundable reservation deposit is required. If you should cancel your wedding, this deposit is not refundable; otherwise, the deposit will be deducted from the balance due on the final bill. Fifty percent (50%) of the event total is due 30 days before your event. A final guest count and full payment are due no later than fourteen (14) days prior to your wedding. Payments may be made by check or in cash -- please note that credit cards are not accepted for wedding payments at this time. There will be a $75 service charge for any insufficient check, plus the additional bank charges.
Wedding Coordination
Complete in-house wedding coordination by Hillcrest Manor's experienced and friendly staff ensures that every detail of your event will flow smoothly.
Once a date is reserved and a deposit check has been received; the bride and groom are invited to set up an extensive meeting with the Wedding Coordinator and Planner, Mary Taylor- Perry. Mary can assist in every detail from the rehearsal to rehearsal dinner, from choreographing the processional to providing suggestions for ministers, photographers, videographers, wedding cake bakers, musicians, and overnight accommodations. Mary continues to be available for advice throughout the entire planning process. Two weeks before the ceremony, Mary prepares a detailed and individualized summary of the day's events, which is forwarded to the bride and groom for their final review.
It is the commitment and goal of all Hillcrest Manor staff to do their utmost to ensure that every aspect of your ceremony and reception will be flawless on the wedding day.
Your Professional Wedding Coordinator Will:
- Answer any questions, provide suggestions and act as your primary contact throughout the planning process.
- Act as menu consultant for all food and beverage selections.
- Detail your banquet event outlining the event specifics and confirming any outside equipment rentals.
- Create an estimate of charges, outlining your financial commitments and deposit schedule.
- Personally oversee the setup of the ceremony and reception areas, food preparation and other operations.
- Assist with etiquette and protocol for invitations, family matters, ceremony and toasts.
- Create a timeline for your entire wedding day, including the ceremony and reception.
- Organize and coordinate your ceremony rehearsal. Remind Bridal Party of all pertinent instructions on the wedding day.
- Confirm details with any contracted vendors prior to the wedding day.
- Be the liaison with your family, bridal party, band/DJ, photographer and other vendors.
- Ensure the ladies have their corsages and bouquets and assist the gentlemen with pinning on their boutonnieres.
- Set up and arrange ceremony programs, place cards, favors and any personal items.
- Choreograph and coordinate your actual ceremony by arranging the bridal party, cueing music, etc.
- Coordinate the grand entrance, first dance, toasts, cake cutting and other operations of your reception.
- Coordinate with contracted vendors and the staff to ensure timeliness of your event.
- Collect and/or store any personal items you may have brought at the conclusion of the reception.
Wedding Food
The wedding food at Hillcrest Manor is expertly prepared in-house by our professional staff. Selections of the finest and freshest ingredients, on-site event day preparation, and artistic presentation have created a reputation of consistent quality and excellence.
The wedding food presentation could begin with an elaborate hors d'oeuvre table available inside or outside on the veranda immediately following the ceremony. Guests wind their way through and around the magnificent buffet tables inside and flow outside onto the verdant lawns of the front or side gardens where full sit-down seating is provided. Sit-down dinners in the inner parlors can also be arranged for wedding parties and rehearsal dinners. (Limited number of guests.)
Hillcrest Manor can prepare any food as requested. Photos/portfolio items and pricing are provided. A service fee of 18% and applicable sales tax are additional. All food pricing is based on current market prices and subject to change without notice.
Changing Rooms for the Day for the Bride and Groom
Or
Bed and Breakfast Accommodations
One of the most beautiful bed and breakfast inns in Montgomery and the surrounding areas, Hillcrest Manor can accommodate overnight wedding guests in its four luxurious guestrooms or the exclusive "Honeymoon Cottage", all with private bathrooms and king or queen size beds. Amenities such as fireplaces, vintage two-person bathtubs, and two-person showers enhance the romance of a stay at Hillcrest Manor. Room prices are subject to change without notice, based on double-occupancy, plus applicable room tax. The room rate includes breakfast each morning. Check-in is between 3:00 and 9:00 p.m. and checkout is by 11:00 a.m. [9:00 a.m. on events days]. Hillcrest Manor sends a welcome letter and map to each guest confirming all pertinent information approximately one month prior to the wedding date.
Should you only need a room or rooms for the day for changing for the Wedding, you may reserve a room or rooms for that purpose. Room rates will be based on the room or rooms available (discounts may apply) and check-in time will depend upon the Wedding Ceremony time. (Maximum two-hours prior to Wedding Ceremony start.) Checkout time will follow the end of the Reception. Rooms must be left clean and free of trash or debris. You must have approval to take any food or drink into the guestrooms. No Reception Food may be taken to the upstairs rooms of the Mansion. Wedding Guests are not permitted in the upstairs areas.
Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to weddings and receptions at Hillcrest Manor:
- No smoking is permitted inside the mansion, the Cottage, on the verandas or in the courtyard. Smoking is permitted only in the designated area that is clearly marked and where smoking receptacles are placed for cigarette disposal.
- No littering (e.g., birdseed or rice) is permitted on the property (with the exception that flower girls may toss rose petals during the processional of the ceremony). All or a portion of the Security Deposit will be required for litter pick up and excessive trash removal, i.e. cigarette butts, beer cans and bottles.
- No alcohol other than beer, wine, and champagne may be consumed on the property. No alcohol consumption on the property prior to the opening of the bar. The bar will not open until the conclusion of the Wedding Ceremony.
- The consumption of alcohol must cease upon the closure of the bar, any remaining alcoholic beverages, including kegs, will be retired to storage for subsequent removal from the property by the wedding party.
- There will be a Bartender Fee per bartender needed.
- No food may be taken into the guestrooms during the reception and no outside food may be brought into the mansion following the reception.
- Amplified music is permitted until 10:00 p.m. Dancing is permitted outdoors only on the rented dance floor under the tent.
- Dance music is permitted only by pre-approved disc jockeys or bands, and Hillcrest Manor reserves the right to limit the volume of such music.
- Children under 12 years of age must be supervised by parents.
Required Elements & Procedure
The following requirements must be part of your event held at Hillcrest Manor and are non- negotiable.
Hillcrest Manor cannot accommodate large events or weddings indoors. All large ceremonies and receptions are performed outside in the Wedding Garden or in the tent Pavilion.
Therefore:
- A tent Pavilion (rented from outside source) must be in place for all large events and/or Weddings at Hillcrest Manor. The Pavilion provides us with not only our "Rain Plan" but also provides the necessary shade for the comfort of your guests. The Pavilion generally also includes (but is your option) a dance floor, 15 x l5 extension for live bands, stage for the band and heaters in the winter months. These additional items are considered upgrades and are additional charges. The locations and set-up of Pavilion is determined by Hillcrest Manor.
- Hillcrest Manor has a mandatory "Basic Start Package" that will include the Site Fee and the basic floral and decorating requirements for your event. This is our "minimum package" and will be the start point that you can build upon.
- Hillcrest Manor requires the use of Bartenders for all events held at Hillcrest. The number of bartenders is based upon the number of guests. No outside Bartender(s) may be brought in by the Client and Hillcrest Manor maintains the right to hire/provide the necessary Bartender(s).
- No outside floral or florist is allowed. All floral is done on-site by Hillcrest floral professionals.
- No outside catering or caterers are allowed. Hillcrest Manor has professional staff that prepares all food on-site in our new state-of-the-art commercial kitchen that is inspected, licensed and permitted by all City, County and Health Department standards.
- Any, Bands, DJs, Photographers, Videographers, Cake Designers or any other outside vendors must be approved by Hillcrest Manor. There is a service charge when outside vendors are hired for DJ service and when Bands are hired to play live music. The fee is a case-by-case evaluation and based on the equipment and/or load put upon the power source provided by Hillcrest Manor. Hillcrest Manor reserves the right to limit the volume of any amplified music or the use of any equipment that might pose a danger or overload the power source provided.
- The Client must sign Release of Liability forms to Hillcrest Manor for alcohol consumption for any events when the client will be providing alcoholic beverages.
Hillcrest Manor reserves the right to protect the Client by asking for ID for proof of age and refusing alcohol to any guest who is under age. The Bartender or owner also has the right to determine when any guest's alcohol consumption should be terminated. Any outward signs or early indications of drunkenness, disorderly conduct or harmful behavior to himself/herself or others will constitute refusal of any further servings of alcoholic beverages. The Client will be informed of said guest and our actions in advance.
|