Charlotte Wedding Venue Blog Series
Part 1: On Ritchie Hill
Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 to go live this month!
The Story
Just a few blocks down from the historic district in Concord, North Carolina sits a little white farmhouse up on a hill in the middle of an 11 acre farm. The farmhouse was originally built in 1898 and when the Ritchie family purchased the home in 1906 they added the famous wrap around porch and sleeping porch upstairs. The inspiration for adding the porches came from the European piazzas.
Their family made many memories and held gatherings out on the porch and was home to four generations within the Ritchie family. They didn’t have television, computers and most certainly any smart phones. As you can imagine growing up in the 1900s most of the time children played outside. So the porch attracted a lot of friends and family members. In fact, the majority of the family members actually got married on that very porch.
The three siblings (Robert, Heath and Beth Ritchie) first listed in 2008 when the housing market was not in good shape and unfortunately, the only curious offers were from large corporations. They wanted to preserve the memories and honor the home’s history so “Plan B” was suggested by Heath Ritchie’s daughter, Elizabeth, to turn it into an event venue. Elizabeth had just finished reading a book about 4 women who used their different skills to run a wedding venue. That book was the true inspiration of how On Ritchie Hill was formed.
Come 2012 the Ritchie siblings officially started working with the city to create a business plan and to make sure the house was in perfect condition. There was a major renovation to fix the structure, some water damage and at least a year’s worth of redesigning the landscape and architecture. After three years of renovating, On Ritchie Hill had their grand opening on March 27, 2015 with their first official wedding the following month on April 10th.
On Ritchie Hill exudes the family atmosphere, so the majority of the brides who fall in love with the venue are calm, down to earth and value their family. When you walk into this house you can immediately feel at home and just melt in the quaintness of this sweet farmhouse. Almost every single room as a fireplace perfect for your favorite pictures.
Sydney Rhyne, the venue director said it best when she described their brides as ones who “melt into the home and make it feel like their own” and it’s something all of their brides look for.
The Details
Ritchie Hill is extremely flexible with their couples how they want to use each space, which vendors they can use, and the design of the entire wedding. You can be as simple or as extravagant as you would like. They have several outdoor options for ceremony, that include the front lawn and front cobblestone in front of the house. They also have an arboretum out back that is perfectly quaint for an intimate wedding.
The really encourage their couples to use as much square space of the venue as possible, as much as you fell in love with the venue your guests are going to be curious to see each nook and cranny of the house as well. The house has a perfect layout to have cocktail stations in different rooms of the house, even out front with the entire reception dining on the wrap around porch.
Because they are a mid-level elegant venue they typically book out a year in advance so if you value a family atmosphere and love quaint and simplicity Ritchie Hill is the perfect venue for you!
For more detailed information and to see images from weddings visit their website here: http://www.ritchiehill.com/
Meet the Team
Sydney Rhyne | Venue Director
Shannon Cudmore | Sales Director
Brad Barnett | Facilities manager
Owners:
Robert and Priscilla Ritchie
Heath and Carolyn Ritchie
Beth and Keith Alm Sr
Keith Alm Jr
