Where: Midway Village

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Let's just pretend I posted this four weeks ago, shortly after I visited with Amanda and Ma Criner.

I had high hopes for Midway Village, a popular wedding spot in Rockford. It's an educational turn-of-the-century village complete with town hall, fire station and blacksmith shop. A low-key, partly outdoor wedding definitely appealed; beer at the blacksmith, hors d'oeuvres at the historic hotel. They also host Civil War re-enactments, and after the Union cavalry at my brother's wedding maybe we could start a family tradition.

We learned they don't actually rent you the whole village, though. Receptions are usually at the Lakeview Rooms in the main building near the entrance, or the 1905 Barn back in the actual village area. Ceremonies take place all over, including the gazebo and historic church.

The Lakeview Rooms are near the picturesque millpond, and we could use the pond area for the reception and/or ceremony. They're also adjacent to the parking lot — a plus — and the sock monkey statue — a bigger plus. The rooms themselves seemed a bit claustrophobic, with low ceilings and not enough windows. The dance floor was postage-stamp-sized.

The 1905 Barn is a three-minute walk from the parking lot, down a dirt road past the church. A bit tricky in heels or the dark, since there's no lighting for most of it.

The barn itself is, well, a barn built in 1905. Concrete floor, low ceilings downstairs; spacious, high-raftered upstairs. The lighting might be weak, it was hard to tell in daylight. I really liked the three sets of barn doors, especially the ones on the second floor that open to a wide ramp to ground level. All the doors would need to be open, since there's no air conditioning.

We could use the surrounding area here too, scattering tables and chairs and drawing people outside. As with the path, lighting would be a huge problem. Along with the need for extensive decoration, we'd need get there pretty early to set up.

The prices are reasonable, $800 for the barn and $1,100 for the Lakeview Rooms, including a $200 alcohol fee. You basically get them all day, from 9 a.m. to midnight, and can use any licensed caterer. The gazebo is another $175 for a ceremony.

I think I saw more possibility than the Criners. The sheer flexibility to do whatever we want, the outdoor access, and the pricetag kept it in the running. But it definitely didn't turn out to be what we'd hoped.