The Colonial Inn was an amazing place to have our 12.11.21 winter wedding! Like many Covid brides, I had rescheduled my wedding several times and initially had it at a beautiful farm location. However, I am a Hillsborough native, now living in Los Angeles, and had a long history with The Colonial Inn – my grandparents stayed there when I was a child, and I was always fascinated by the space and its historical significance. I toured the Inn in 2019 when it was just a construction / renovation site as a possible location for guests to stay, and at the end of 2020 decided to move the entire wedding; ceremony, reception and lodging all to The Colonial Inn. It was the best wedding decision I made.

I have so many wonderful things to say about the experience. When you book the Inn, you are not just booking a beautiful 200 + year carefully renovated space that has survived two wars – you are booking the entirety of downtown Hillsborough. There are plenty of gorgeous NC venues for a wedding but few offer the kind of all-encompassing local experience of The Colonial Inn. You do not need a shuttle, an extra hotel block, and in many cases even a car. There are bars, restaurants, the Eno River, historical sites, trails, hikes, even a hardware store, and plenty of Air BnBs for overflow (the Inn has 28 rooms so accommodates 60 or so guests), all within walking distance --- many literally steps away. When several guests missed the little rehearsal dinner shuttle, they simply walked the one mile to the House at Gatewood! (also, highly recommend). Additionally, the courthouse is across the street! So, the actual legal part of the marriage was literally us wandering to the wrong place (the lady at the courthouse kindly told us she’d take our money but couldn’t help us!) and then ending up at the office of the registrar, two blocks away!

The Inn itself has been stunningly upgraded. A far cry from the dingy carpet and dark corridors I remember as a child, the rooms are inviting, well furnished, the lobby beautifully decorated and the tiny bar is so cozy, especially in the winter. It does not feel like a hotel – in the sense that it’s not corporate or cookie cutter. It feels like an Inn, from the wood floors, to the winding bannisters, to the chandeliers, original windows, and beautiful wrap around balcony equipped with rocking chairs. Over half our 111 wedding guests were from the west coast and or NYC and they couldn’t have been more thrilled with the adorable/festive/inviting vibe of the Colonial Inn.

As a bride, it was amazing having most of my people on site and totally accessible through rehearsal, evening bar crawls, and impromptu room hang outs. The bridal suite was perfectly situated next to the ballroom for bridesmaid hair/make-up as well as for this bride to maneuver into her dress with the help of her designer/big sister! We all had so much fun getting ready in there and one of the most visceral moments of my life was standing in that room alone waiting for my cue to head towards the aisle!

The honeymoon suite was amazing. Two nights come free with the wedding package and then we stayed for two more nights (highly recommend spending the night after your wedding there so you don’t have to rush out). Every single night we came back to the room and chilled in the massive Jacuzzi rehashing the events of the day. It was magical. The ballroom / event space itself was so adaptable. It already has beautiful chandeliers and fire places (not working) but with the added wedding décor, candlelight, flowers, cedars, Christmas trees + the magnolia wall brought in by West Queen Studio, oh man it was just transformed into a dream!

I also really loved working with Elise, the GM of the Inn. We were in contact for over 2 years from my first time touring the Inn, (after which she mailed me a wedding journal – so thoughtful), all the way through to the last text I received from her telling me how beautiful I looked in my wedding dress. She answered all of my questions and was always so kind and professional, and often if I needed something I would just call her cell. Because I lost money switching venues, Elise waived the ceremony fee. She was available for negotiations on just about everything and I always appreciated her honest and open nature. Because my original wedding was cancelled five weeks before the date (April 2020) I already had many contracts in place; particularly my wedding coordinator (Emily Katherine Events!) and food and alcohol (Sage & Swift!). Elise let me keep those vendors and transfer to the Inn which of course saved time and money and honored the relationships I already had. Elise’s staff was wonderful too from helping me get the shower temperature right, to replacing my key card not one, not two but four times.

Of course, there were hiccups. The Inn is new, especially as a wedding venue; but it is not so much the problems that matters, it is how problems are addressed and solved. There were some booking mix ups but Elise took full responsibility and we worked together to correct them. I will also note that our wedding was pretty large for the space. We had about 120 people there including the band + an additional 10 or so of catering staff and it was definitely tight. It did rain so we rented a tent for the outdoor patio area which was an additional $1300. We did not rent heaters as it was 70 degrees but even if as it got colder (it dropped to around 50 after dark) it was totally fine. Body heat + adrenaline + alcohol + outdoor escape from the dance and eating area. The bar and food were served out there so it made for great movement between the two spaces + added tons of ventilation having the doors open all night from the ballroom to the patio. The downpour during dinner was overwhelming but lovely! I should also mention that since our wedding was on the larger side the dance floor space was limited since we also had a live band + musical acts throughout. Still, people more than made it work. I’d say the best guest count for the space is max 100.

We also had a hard out after 4 hours in the ballroom – which is something that I didn’t realize until pretty late in the process. After 4 hours, we’d be charged an hourly rate of around $1100. However, because of the rain, we had our ceremony inside and thus the flip from ceremony to reception took longer. The wedding ran over a half an hour and Elise did not charge us for that. Again. Classy. Elise, I love you. So, our ceremony started at 4 and the reception ended at 10. We then had a private after party at Radius Pizza (also lovely) one block away until 12:30, and then the last stragglers went to Hot Tin Roof (which was deserted so also felt private) until 2. Again, perks of having the wedding in town. A multitude of options for everything.

The next morning, we got to casually say goodbye to our guests as they left; some of my best conversations of the weekend were on the beautiful stone porch of the Inn as people departed; and then my husband and I took off for Paris the day after that!

I am still reeling from how wonderful our wedding weekend was. On the heels of so much isolation it was absolutely staggering how joyful it was to bring our families and friends together; not to mention how lucky we were with timing in terms of Omicron. (We did require proof of vaccination or negative test for the wedding and I’m so glad we did.) We have gotten texts for weeks reiterating how much people loved the experience, and I too was over the moon and will remember it forever and ever. Thank you so much to Elise, The Colonial Inn, and the town of Hillsborough!! You (Identity) Crushed it!!!!