The Upchurch — Attraction in Apex

I’m someone who appreciates reviews so when I have a noteworthy experience, it feels important for me to share my thoughts. I had my fusion wedding at The Upchurch in April 2023 (South Asian, Italian, Greek). My partner and I first met Hannah and Cara, the owner, at The Upchurch right after they hosted their first wedding. From the moment we met them, we knew they were special. There are two things to address here: 1) the people of The Upchurch 2) the venue itself. From the beginning, Hannah and Cara made us feel like family. They spoke to us with kindness and respect, giving us their full attention when engaging with us, and expressed a genuine willingness to help, brainstorm, and support. They are just downright amazing humans. Our experience only got sweeter when we booked The Upchurch and they continued to amaze us by being allies for us through every aspect of wedding planning. This extends all of the way through wedding week and wedding day, when they surprised us with a very thoughtful gift at the rehearsal, and jumped in ready to rescue me on wedding day when I needed additional support. Now, let’s move on to the venue. Because of Cara’s experience in wedding photography, she has an eye for design that is evident in many aspects of the venue. We’ve noticed that Cara, her husband, and Hannah all treat this venue like their baby with a lot of attention and care. Indian weddings often have multiple events that are in different locations. Before finding The Upchurch, we looked at farm-like venues that required a lot of walking between spaces or gravel paths to navigate which would have forced us to get creative trying to figure out how to smoothly transport older relatives to each part of the property throughout the day. The Upchurch has it all. We were able to plan multiple events on the same day in different locations on the property that all had unique vibes. Overall, it was smooth and easy for our guests to flow through the day and the property. For example, you could have a ceremony on the Magnolia Lawn, cocktail hour at The House and Patio, and a reception in The Conservatory. We also had a really fun baraat to honor my Indian roots in the parking lot at the start of the day! I am a nature lover so it is also wonderful that The Upchurch has greenery, a beautiful treeline, gorgeous flowers in front of the house, and a water feature in the back of The Conservatory. It’s hard to believe the venue is right off the road given all of that, but we loved how easy it was for our guests to get there and take advantage of their large on-site parking lot. The coolest thing about all of the spaces on the property is that they are pretty on their own and can serve as an amazing framework if you’d like to elevate from there. Our wedding party enjoyed the bridal suite and the guys loved the vibe of the groom's area. Our vendors appreciated that there was a room dedicated to them and their things throughout the day. We feel really lucky to have found this venue and its people. Our big day was absolutely more special because of their presence, impact, and thoughtfulness. We love The Upchurch and we...

Dearest Hannah,

There are no words to describe how wonderful you are and how awesome you made us feel during the process of planning Sami and Kyle's wedding and the day of. Through the entire process you gave us your complete attention and took care of us in such a special way. Never one moment did we feel unworthy of your time or that we had a stupid question or that it wasn't going to be perfect and it surely was perfect! I just cannot believe the incredible way you cared for us and took care of everything else, all at the same time. You are so special, Hannah, and kind and you were on top of everything from day one until the very end, loading the cars. Honestly, I'm feeling so sad because we are going to miss you so much!

Hannah, you are the best in wedding planning and the Sykes and Edwards families are so blessed to have had the honor of knowing and working with you. We received so many compliments about the wedding, it was so beautifully run, like a well oiled machine! Everyone was so complimentary of the venue, Sami's Grandmother Pam mentioned she'd been to a lot of weddings in her life and even recently but the Upchurch was her favorite.

Hannah, honestly, Sami and I love you so much! You made my daughter's wedding experience the greatest and I just can't thank you enough! Please thank the owners of the venue for me and let them know how proud I am to have had my daughter's most special day there. The grounds of the Upchurch are gorgeous, the house is gorgeous, the conservatory is gorgeous...there's not one thing I do not love about the Upchurch! I am still amazed by the fact that we never felt crowded getting ready with two mothers, a staff of four hairdressers and make-up artists and nine bridesmaids in one room getting ready. That room is so sufficiently laid out and beautifully decorated! We had everything we needed from the dining table, fridge and coffee table to the mirrors. The extra area with the lighting for makeup is so great and the beautiful sink with the mirror is perfectly placed. The staircase and landing upstairs is just stunning as well!

Anyway, I could go on and on about how happy I am with the whole experience but I won't keep you. Just know that y'all are so good at what you do and we appreciate you and the care that went into our special day.

Most...

My fiance and I were crazy...we booked 10 wedding venue tours in 3 days. It was my ludicrous idea and I could tell by #9 he was running out of steam. "Please wait for #10," I begged. "I saved my favorite for last," I promised him. And I did. I saw pictures online and read reviews and I secretly dreamt of having my own wedding there. It took all of 10 minutes of sitting down with Hannah at The Upchurch to make me realize: this dream, thankfully, could and would come true. We booked The Upchurch the next week and the entire planning process and ultimate day-of was all truly a prayer and vision come true. The Upchurch checked all of our boxes: unique, local, welcoming staff, ample space, and a little bit of our home to share with our friends and family. And The Upchurch staff became like family: Hannah and Melanie were encouraging, attentive, honest, and present for all of it. We elected to not only book the venue, but also to book a day-of coordinator from their staff, and we are so thankful we did because it made the entire process even better. Hannah called us every few months to check-in, and not some rushed phone call, but a real talk with a friend that felt like coming up for air during the crazy wedding planning haze. We truly cannot say enough about this venue and the beautiful vision that has come to life there. The ease of the catering (shoutout Rocky Top!), the preferred vendor list, the flexibility of hours and meetings, literally all of it was divine arrangement and my husband and I cannot fathom our perfect day taking place anywhere else. All of our friends and family members couldn't stop talking about how wonderful it is, like we didn't already know, and we just smiled and agreed knowing that was what we wanted all along: the perfect place for our perfect day with our group of...