Wedding packages at Kenan Stadium appeal to fans

He liked it, and he put a ring on it—and then he cut the cake at Kenan Memorial Stadium.

In the Chapel Hill area, popular wedding reception locations include the Carolina Inn, Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery, Fearrington Village and, now, the Blue Zone in Kenan Stadium.

Shannon Weynand held her wedding reception in the Blue Zone in August 2013. She and her husband began looking at the event space in January 2013 after their November 2012 engagement.

Weynand and her husband both attended UNC and were heavily involved in Carolina Fever.

“A lot of our memories are on campus. When he proposed, he proposed at the Old Well with my family hiding behind Old East,” Weynand said. “For us, it was more meaningful to have everyone come to Chapel Hill and see where our relationship started.”

Alison Purdee is the catering manager for Rocky Top Catering, the Blue Zone’s in-house catering company. She said Rocky Top has hosted 20 to 25 wedding receptions since the Blue Zone’s completion in 2011.

Purdee said not many people know about the Blue Zone as a wedding reception option.

“It’s a fantastic event space, and it’s something that’s not advertised a lot, which is why a lot of people don’t know about it,” she said. “It’s such a great alternative, specifically for weddings. The backdrop of the Bell Tower and the football field is just beautiful.”

But Ginny French, director of Tar Heel Athletic Hospitality, said there’s a reason why it’s not well known.

French said the Blue Zone was specifically built for football and does not host receptions on home game weekends. She said receptions in the Blue Zone have taken off from word of mouth and haven’t required advertising.

Two of the areas that can be rented for events in the Blue Zone are the Concourse Club and the Upper Club. The Concourse Club — the larger of the two — can accommodate 300 to 400 people, and the Upper Club can hold 100 to 250 people for wedding receptions, Purdee said.

Purdee has been involved in the catering industry since graduating from UNC in 2006 and said catering in the Blue Zone is easy.

“It’s an easy place to work. It already has built in bars for beer and wine,” she said.

Heavy hors d’oeuvres stations are a popular choice in the Blue Zone, but Purdee said formal sit-down meals are popular as well. Prices range around $25 to $50 per person for food and beverages, Purdee said.

Weynand opted for the heavy hors d’oeuvres stations with more cocktail tables. The Blue Zone’s menu flexibility and price is what made her choose it over other traditional options, she said.

Weynand said one of her favorite memories was the private room used exclusively for the wedding party after the ceremony.

“We were able to go up the elevator to the suites on the top level,” she said. “Rocky Top had set up refreshments and drinks before they introduced us.”

Dylan Trentanove, an event manager at Top of the Hill, said the restaurant’s Great Room is another good option. It can host around 200 people for wedding receptions. The busy months are April and May, and most receptions are on Saturdays and Sundays, she said.

Trentanove said she’s seen a lot of cool reception themes, including a recent UNC theme, but she said the space is great alone.

“For our sake in particular, we’re really lucky that the space is really pretty on its own,” she said.

But for college sports fanatics, Weynand said the Blue Zone was the best choice for her and her husband.

“Our years at Carolina were basically defined as being very enthusiastic fans.”

university@dailytarheel.com