Inside Our Place on 17 in Mt. Pleasant SC

If you’re planning a wedding, corporate event, private celebration, rehearsal dinner, fundraiser, or other gathering in the Charleston area, there is a relatively new venue in Mount Pleasant that is worth knowing about: Our Place on 17.

I recently had the opportunity to experience the venue firsthand when I performed a solo jazz guitar and vocal set during an open-house-style evening there on August 20 [here is a short excerpt.] I was one of several musical acts performing that night, and since I arrived well before I played and stayed afterward, I had a chance to see much more than just the stage. I was able to walk around the property, experience the atmosphere with people actually using the different spaces, meet owner Dave Poole, and get a sense of what the venue could offer for everything from an elegant wedding to a corporate gathering or an evening built around live music.

What struck me most was how much is hidden behind what, from Highway 17, you could easily drive past without realizing what is there.  Our Place on 17 is located at 2129 N. Highway 17 in Mount Pleasant, but once you’re on the property it doesn’t feel much like being on one of the area’s busiest roads. The restored former church has been transformed into an event venue while retaining many of the architectural features that give the building its character. The owners have preserved elements including the original staircase, floor-to-ceiling windows, marble flooring, and a distinctive Carolina-blue ceiling in the ballroom.

 

A Ballroom That Feels Like an Event Space

The centerpiece of the property is the ballroom, and this was where I performed during my visit. It’s a large, open room with plenty of height and natural light, but it doesn’t have the generic feel that some banquet rooms can have. The windows, staircase, ceiling and mezzanine give the room architectural personality before an event planner adds a single decoration.

That’s important because a good venue should be adaptable without requiring someone to completely disguise the room in order to create an atmosphere. At Our Place, I could easily imagine very different events taking place in the same space: an elegant wedding reception, a corporate dinner, a holiday party, a fundraiser, a cocktail reception, or an evening of live music and dancing.

The venue currently lists a maximum seated capacity of up to 200 guests. Its wedding materials also emphasize that the ballroom can be converted into an indoor ceremony space, with the staircase available as part of the processional and the floor-to-ceiling windows forming a natural backdrop.

When I played there, I was naturally paying attention to the room from a musician’s perspective as well. It has enough scale to accommodate live entertainment without making the performers feel squeezed into a corner of a restaurant or banquet room. At the same time, people can still be close enough to the music that the performance feels connected to the gathering rather than separated from it.

The Outdoor Space May Be the Biggest Surprise

As impressive as the ballroom is, I think one of the property’s greatest strengths is what happens when you walk outside.Our Place on 17 sits on approximately two acres and includes a courtyard with mature trees, a fountain, gazebo and greenery-covered walkway. The outdoor area is large enough to function as a significant part of an event rather than simply being a place where a few guests can step outside. The venue promotes it for outdoor ceremonies, cocktail hours and other gatherings, and tents can also be brought in through approved vendors.

Seeing it in person made the possibilities much easier to imagine. A wedding could potentially move from an outdoor ceremony into cocktails and then into the ballroom for dinner and dancing. A corporate or social event could use the courtyard for an initial reception before bringing everyone inside. A larger event could make both areas part of the experience instead of putting everyone in one room for several hours.

That indoor-outdoor flow is something I think planners should pay particular attention to. It gives you the ability to change the energy of an event without changing locations.

One Venue, Several Different Environments

Another thing I liked about Our Place is that it isn’t just one large room.  The mezzanine overlooks the ballroom and can be used in several ways, including as a vendor area, groom’s suite or DJ location. There is also a Garden Room with stationary furnishings that the venue suggests for cocktail hours, bridal-party staging or guest mingling.

These smaller spaces matter more than people sometimes realize when they’re initially shopping for a venue. Weddings and larger events aren’t static. There are vendors preparing, members of the wedding party waiting, guests arriving, musicians loading in, people having conversations away from the main room, and transitions between different parts of the evening.

Having multiple usable areas can make all of those transitions much easier.  It also gives an event planner more options for creating different experiences within the same property. An intimate cocktail area can lead into a larger dinner, which can then become a dance floor later in the evening. That flexibility was one of the things that stood out to me while walking around the venue.

The Parking Situation Is Refreshingly Simple

There are plenty of glamorous things to think about when planning an event. Parking usually isn’t one of them.  Until it becomes a problem.  Our Place has free onsite parking for up to 90 vehicles, with no valet required. For a Mount Pleasant or Charleston-area event, that’s a genuine practical advantage. Guests can simply arrive, park and walk into the event instead of figuring out garages, remote lots, shuttles or valet logistics.

For a wedding with out-of-town guests, a corporate event where people are arriving separately, or any event drawing from around the Lowcountry, that simplicity matters.  The venue is also ADA accessible, another logistical consideration that can easily be overlooked while people are concentrating on décor, catering and entertainment.

Couples and Planners Have Flexibility With Food

One detail that particularly caught my attention is the venue’s open catering policy.

Rather than requiring every client to purchase food through one exclusive caterer, Our Place allows clients to work with their own team or choose among recommended providers. Bar service is handled through approved dry-bar and full-bar vendors.

That can make a significant difference when someone is trying to create an event with a particular identity. A wedding couple may want food that reflects their family or culture. A corporate planner may already have a catering relationship. Someone organizing a themed event may want a menu specifically designed around that theme.

The ability to build the food around the event instead of building the event around a mandatory catering package creates possibilities.

During the August 20 evening I attended, food and drinks were part of the overall atmosphere, and I got to see how naturally people circulated between eating, talking, exploring the venue and listening to music. It felt much more like a social gathering than people simply sitting in one assigned place all evening.

It’s Also a Venue That Understands Live Music

Naturally, this part interests me.  Our Place on 17 isn’t treating music simply as something a wedding couple might add as an afterthought. Live music appears to be part of the venue’s developing identity. The venue already promotes live entertainment as an option for private events, and upcoming public programming includes New Orleans-themed evenings with Savannah’s seven-piece Kanola Band.

Dave Poole is a musician himself, which may help explain why music feels like a natural part of what they’re building. Before opening the venue for public events, his own band began using the ballroom as a rehearsal space, and he was already talking publicly about eventually bringing live performances into the building.

From my perspective as someone who provides live music for weddings, corporate events and private functions, that’s encouraging. A venue that understands musicians tends to understand things like setup, sound, performance space, guest interaction and how live entertainment changes the flow of an event.

Dave also told me they’re looking at developing some Thursday-night jazz programming. I would certainly enjoy coming back for some trio jazz evenings, and I’m also hoping there may eventually be an opportunity to bring my Latin jazz and dance band, Sunset Salsa, to the venue. Those are possibilities for another day, though. The larger point is that Our Place seems interested in becoming a place where people gather for experiences, not simply a building that gets rented for private functions.

A Strong Option for Weddings

Although Our Place can accommodate many kinds of events, it’s easy to understand why weddings are such a central part of its identity.

A couple could hold both the ceremony and reception on the same property, either using the ballroom for the ceremony or taking advantage of the outdoor grounds. The venue does not charge an additional ceremony fee, and its rental includes use of both indoor and outdoor spaces. Tables and seating are also included, along with an onsite event manager.

The venue currently includes ten 54-inch round tables, four cocktail tables, four six-foot banquet tables and 100 white resin padded chairs. Its team reports more than 80 combined years of hospitality experience, which is particularly relevant for couples who want a beautiful setting but don’t want to personally manage every logistical detail on their wedding day.

There are also several nearby hotels, including properties from Holiday Inn Express, Residence Inn, Comfort Suites and Hotel Indigo, making it practical for events that include guests traveling into Mount Pleasant or Charleston.

It’s New, but the Building Already Has a History

There’s an interesting contradiction about Our Place on 17: the venue itself is new, but the building doesn’t feel new.

Dave and Jennifer Poole purchased a former church and restored it rather than erasing its past. That means the property already had a history as a gathering place long before the first wedding, party or live performance took place there. According to a feature on the venue, the restoration deliberately preserved details such as the staircase, marble floors, windows, Carolina-blue ceiling, fountain and other original elements.

I like that.  There are beautiful event spaces that feel like they could exist in almost any city. Our Place feels connected to its particular building and to Mount Pleasant. For weddings especially, where photographs may be looked at decades from now, architectural character has a value that is difficult to manufacture with decorations.

And while the venue is new enough that many people in the Charleston area probably haven’t discovered it yet, it is already being used for weddings, celebrations, professional gatherings and public events. That makes this an interesting time to learn about it.

What Does Our Place on 17 Cost?

For planners and couples comparing venues, the published pricing is refreshingly easy to find.

Our Place currently lists weekday and off-peak venue rental starting at $2,500. Peak-season Saturday weddings and events start at $4,800. Corporate and nonprofit events are priced according to the individual event, format, duration and guest count.

Those starting prices include substantial pieces of the event infrastructure, including access to the venue, tables and chairs, onsite parking, indoor and outdoor use and an onsite event manager. The venue is currently accepting bookings through 2028.

Obviously, anyone planning a specific event should contact Our Place directly for current pricing and availability rather than relying solely on an article like this. Every wedding or event is different, and details can change.

My Impression After Spending an Evening There

Before August 20, I knew about Our Place on 17 primarily because I had been talking with Dave about music.  After spending an evening there, I came away thinking about it very differently.  I saw a venue with an elegant ballroom, a substantial outdoor courtyard, several additional spaces, easy parking and enough flexibility to support very different kinds of gatherings. More importantly, I saw those spaces being used by real people. Guests were eating, drinking, talking, moving around the property and listening to several different musical acts throughout the evening.

That experience gave me a much clearer picture of what the venue can become.  I can imagine a wedding where the ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner and dancing each feel like a different chapter of the same day. I can imagine a corporate event that feels considerably warmer and more distinctive than a hotel conference room. I can imagine fundraising events, rehearsal dinners, holiday parties, cultural events and music-centered evenings that take advantage of both the ballroom and courtyard.

That’s ultimately why I wanted to write about it.  I spend a lot of time performing at wedding venues, resorts, restaurants, private homes and event spaces throughout the Carolinas, and every space creates a different experience for the people inside it. Our Place on 17 has something that can’t easily be added later: character. Combine that with the flexibility of the property and a team that seems genuinely interested in creating experiences, and I think it is a venue worth having on the radar.

If you’re planning a wedding or event in Mount Pleasant or the greater Charleston area, take a look at Our Place on 17, browse their photos and information, or arrange a tour of the property. Photos can show you a lot, but this is one of those venues where walking through the ballroom and then stepping outside into the courtyard gives you a much better sense of what you could create there.

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