Merry Hill

My husband and I booked Merry Hill in early 2016 as our ceremony and reception venue for our May 2017 wedding. It was the second venue we looked at and we both knew almost immediately that it was the venue for us. We had a pretty specific vision in mind and Merry Hill allowed us the flexibility to create a space that was truly our own. We did have a rain plan in mind as there are no indoor ceremony locations at Merry Hill, but were lucky enough that the forecast changed mid-day on our wedding day and the rain plan wasn’t needed. The staff was friendly and flexible and enabled our vision to come to life. Our wedding day was absolutely breathtaking and Merry Hill was the perfect back drop to an amazing day.

First, let me just say that Merry Hill perfectly fit what we were envisioning for the setting of our simple, southern wedding - outdoors, natural, quiet, and the white house is so classic. It is so lush and green, and the dark pink knockout roses are a great pop of color. You don't need to go overboard with extra flowers/decorations because the setting is so naturally gorgeous already. I would recommend the venue for location alone, hands down. They do have a lower price for their non-Saturday weddings, which we appreciated. Their pricing is literally just for location and space to get ready. There are lots of hidden add ons.. We had to pay extra for day of staff (parking attendants, house attendant, staff to help set up the ceremony and move chairs, a security guard if you serve liquor). The dance floor is rented through Merry Hill and isn't included. They partner with Hayden Tent Rental Company and have a discounted package for the tent and tables/chairs for 150, which is nice. I got a basic quote from Hayden before I booked Merry Hill just to ballpark my cost, but with all of the additional costs from Merry Hill and a ton of things that I didn't know at the time to ask for on that initial quote, we ended up spending a lot more than I thought we would on venue and rentals. So just beware, and have a contingency fund in your budget. The only staff that is included in the venue fee is an event coordinator provided as your point of contact throughout the planning process and will be there the day of to answer Merry HIll-specific questions and help make sure things run smoothly. Joannie was our assigned event coordinator, she was so sweet and easy to work with. She went out of her way to check in with me throughout the months leading up to the wedding and make sure anything we needed was taken care of. She handled all of my questions (a lot of them on repeat until we got answers from the Saturday couple’s coordinator) with patience and as much expediency as possible. I really liked her and would definitely work with her again. As a Sunday bride, communication was where I was most frustrated with Merry Hill. I would imagine it is much less of a problem for Saturday brides. I was hesitant to book at first because the owner, Lynne, kept suggesting that we start our ceremony at 530 or 6. We loved the venue and our wedding planner thought we could definitely make it work, so we booked, decided on a 4:00 start time and crossed our fingers. But in the back of my head, I was a little worried; would I feel like I was playing second string to the Saturday bride on their priorities because I was paying less? This was a recurring theme throughout the planning process. Could we do hair and make up at Merry Hill or did we need to do it off site depended on if the Saturday couple chose to stay the night. How much extra we had to pay for staff the day of depended on what tables/chairs the Saturday couple was using - did they have to be changed out completely or just shifted to where we wanted them? The dance floor cost depended on if we wanted it in the same place as the Saturday couple, or if it had to be moved. Our rehearsal timing was dependent on what the Saturday couple was planning on doing, so we couldn’t make rehearsal dinner reservations until they had made a decision. Despite asking numerous times starting 6 months before the wedding,, I didn’t get answers to ANY of these questions until the week of my 30 day meeting...

I was convinced I could find a reasonable rustic venue, and I did! The farm is gorgeous, the people are helpful and friendly, my guests raved about the place incessantly! Everyone loved exploring the nearby areas: close to Chapel Hill, Durham, Saxapahaw, Historic Hillsborough. Great spot for families coming from eastern and wastern NC to meet. Only warnings: 1: No rain spot, factor in tent costs! I spent way more than planned on my tent. 2: Beware hidden costs!! The up front price is not all of the expense. They hit us with an invoice for an electrician (hourly) that they said our amount of lights necessitated. They also insisted on a house attendant that we paid hourly. (I wish they would add this in to the total cost up front, they acted like it was optional but it isn't).