Wedding How did you decide on your venue?

[dogmama]

I am currently stuck between two similar venues that offer a slightly different taste and competitive pricing. Venue #1 has great food, beautiful but smaller gardens, great entrance, bigger room but darker space and great service and our second choice date. Venue #2 has expansive grounds, water views, smaller rooms but with floor to ceiling windows with a view and very good service (from what we know at this time).

The big tipping point in Venue #2 is that its is priced well beneath our budget and we have the run of the place and it is our first choice date. Venue #1 has been amazing to us, and is currently working on revamping the price per head to meet the price of Venue #1 or lower it and throw in enough extras the close the value gap. Plus the food was to die for.

So I want to know: how did you all decide on your venue? What was the prevailing factors? Budget, look/style, facilities/function, food? It might help me make my decision better if I hear how you girls did it. I''m tempted really to base on food and pricing.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

For us, we wanted an old building. So we went through those and narrowed it down to three. The first is the biggest and most popular in the area, and has the best grounds, but cost a lot more than the other two and was dark.

The second was beautiful, had good food and the most amazing views but is a 2 hour drive from where I am and everyone would have to stay at the hotel where it is. This is only a problem because it is expensive and because we both have some supersticious family and this place is supposedly seriously haunted (the shining is based on it).

The third was light, has plain grounds and was cheaper than the others.
1 and 3 had the best location and 2 and 3 were the prettiest, so we went with the third and I am very happy with it. Except for 2 we bring in our own caterers, so that was a non issue. However, the quality of the food was my top priority. People don''t remember the venue usually, but they will remember really good food.

 

[diamondfan]

That is a tough call. Great food would be a draw to me. Can you brighten or warm up the space at all to make it more appealing? When is the wedding? A fall or winter one might work in that space, whereas spring or summer you might like the brighter space, unless you can work with it. I think it is great they are trying to work with you.

I knew from when I was a kid I wanted to get married at this one hotel in Los Angeles. I wanted it, and budget etc did not matter as I really sort of had my heart set on it and my mother was fine with my decision. None of my friends has gotten married there, I was one of the first in my group to get married, and many of the other hotels, though lovely, had been used recently by people I knew, such as the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and the Four Seasons. I did not want to copy anyone or come so soon after someone we knew, so this also helped my choice.

It is secluded, off the beaten path in terms of traffic, and has stunning gardens and amazing food. You approach over a lovely bridge and enter a stunning and quiet spot. It is one of the top hotels in the United States. My mom told me when I was little we went there for brunch and I saw a bride, and I decided this was where I wanted to get married. I did not recall that until my hubby to be and I were talking marriage and I mentioned this hotel, and my mom told me the story.

Minuses were it was a bit small for our guestlist and we had to squeeze more than I wanted to, and they didn't have a Saturday open for 18 months from the night we got engaged. As we did not want to wait that long, I took a Sunday, which was not my first choice but it was fine.

It is called the Hotel Bel Air and it is simply a gorgeous place. We got married by the small lake, in a gazebo, proceeded to a lawn filled with gorgeous old Oaks and amazing flowers to have cocktails, and then went into the dining room.

 

[Gypsy]

Well, as I am venue hunting again. I may not be the most qualified. But... I''d draw up a list of what is most important to you. Then see what matches that best. Obviously right NOW, I''m more willing to give up some convenience and decor for great food and service. I THOUGHT I was getting good food and great service but I was, apparently, wrong. What tipped the scales originally for me was a) I was the only bride that day at Garre and b) the service was great (then) and c) though the reception room needed more decorating it had a ton of space in case of unexpected guest list expansion issues (my parents a pretty comfortable financially so I knew if push came to shove and they felt it was important to them they would want guest added to the list, with them just paying for the expansion outright so I knew that was a large risk and I was right 13 WILL DEFINITELY ATTEND additions just a couple of months ago).

 

[IrishBreakfast]

We had to pay for our wedding ourselves, so budget was our main consideration. If both of these venues end up falling around the same price range, then consider where your guests will spend most of their time. Will they be in the gardens or in the building? Where would you like them to be most comfortable? I would be inclined to lean towards #1, purely because I prefer to be inside. It''s also a bonus that the food is great - your guests will definitely remember that!

 

[diamondfan]

Gypsy, any updates? I recall you were checking some other sites nearby but was not sure about the resolution with your current site.

Sorry to threadjack, just realized I needed to see what was up!

 

[Gypsy]

Sorry for the threadjack lily...

Date: 5/26/2008 3:13:46 AM
Author: diamondfan
Gypsy, any updates? I recall you were checking some other sites nearby but was not sure about the resolution with your current site.

Sorry to threadjack, just realized I needed to see what was up!

Hi DF! Thank you for asking, that''s very sweet of you! My most recent update (yesterday''s) is in here. Although after all the talk of elopements at the party tonight John was just (like 5 minutes ago) saying that if we have to cancel our current venue he wants US to consider eloping!! Which I could kill him for, cause that''s what I orginally wanted to do... and he wanted the large wedding, and even added a DJ to my plans for a small dinner at a restaurant reception!

I''d be happy to chat about it some more in that thread, since I don''t want to threadjack lily''s too much.

 

[dogmama]

Date: 5/26/2008 3:48:49 AM
Author: Gypsy
Sorry for the threadjack lily...

Date: 5/26/2008 3:13:46 AM

Author: diamondfan

Gypsy, any updates? I recall you were checking some other sites nearby but was not sure about the resolution with your current site.


Sorry to threadjack, just realized I needed to see what was up!

Hi DF! Thank you for asking, that''s very sweet of you! My most recent update (yesterday''s) is in here. Although after all the talk of elopements at the party tonight John was just (like 5 minutes ago) saying that if we have to cancel our current venue he wants US to consider eloping!! Which I could kill him for, cause that''s what I orginally wanted to do... and he wanted the large wedding, and even added a DJ to my plans for a small dinner at a restaurant reception!

I''d be happy to chat about it some more in that thread, since I don''t want to threadjack lily''s too much.

Threadjack away Gypsy! ^_^ We all get off topic anyways! LOL. So destination huh? My plans for that were squashed! I hope it works for you if John''s on board.

ETA on my situation: It''s down to the wire! Venue #2 called. We''re going for a food tasting at the same time they are having a wedding, which they never do. But the banquet manager is nice and I am persistent. We will see if the food is good or not, and since I take detailed notes (read: food nut) I hope that they will compare favorably to Venue #1.

Hopefully Venue #1 will give us a good deal and we''ll make an informed decision on which one we want.

Wish me luck ladies! Dust me, baby!

 

[Pandora II]

- Old historic building
- Formality and feel of a church without being a church
- Easy to get too
- Not a normal venue - ie a hotel of similar
- Ceremony and reception on the same site

I actually knew my venue years before I even met FI, as it was the only one which ticked those boxes in the area my parents live in.

Other than the venue witch (now removed) it is an amazing place and I feel very lucky.

Mini-update on Venue Witch: A friend of my parents (who is the music teacher there) rang them to get an update as she'd been away on holiday. She has met another girl who is getting married there who is having the exact same problems as I had. She is now going to contact the headmaster as well - so that should squash all the venue witch's slagging off of me as a spoilt, demanding bridezilla!

Dust coming your way Gypsy!

 

[Independent Gal]

Well, for WP1, our 'venue' for dinner was mom's garden and dining room. It's so lovely there that it would have been silly to rent out some other place and we didn't even look.

For WP2, I wanted a place that felt like it FIT 80 guests. Too big is NOT a good thing as the party will dissipate. We wanted somewhere that we didn't have to worry about decorating because it already looked great, and we wanted the best food in the city because for us, providing an extraordinary and memorable meal to our guests was our way of giving them each a gift.

So: - low maintenance (i.e., already looks good... nothing to worry about on the wedding day)
- fabulous food
- right size for the number of guests

 

[bee*]

We wanted to get married in a castle.
Budget was also very important as was food.
How the staff treated us.
The views.

Plus I''d seen photos of our venue a couple of years ago and showed D and we both agreed that it would be our wedding venue when the time came.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

budget was my main concern. i live in a very pricey area where most of the places you can have a wedding start at over $100 per head and quickly escalate to $250. that was not going to happen.

my mother got married about 5 years ago at a local reception site. the site is actually right next to the high school that fi and i went to and we used to hang out on the grounds all the time when we were on lunch on what-not. so for us, the site was not only affordable, but we have a relationship with it. we are getting married at the lake that our relationship blossomed at in high school.

aside from our connection with it that way and the price, the room itself is gorgeous. the place might be a little dark, but the room is floor to ceiling windows and filled with skylights. great light.

i can''t wait, less than three weeks to go!

 

[pjean]

I haven''t booked solid yet, but my choice of wedding venue is pretty much determined by customer service. I was deciding between the Paris and the Bellagio, and the people from the Paris have been excellent about getting back to me. Bellagio, not so much. Since I''ll be planning this from afar, that''s huge to me.

The fact that Venue #1 is willing to work to secure your business speaks volumes to me. Major bonus points for that. Is your second choice date a distant second?

 

[Elmorton]

My number one factor was that I wanted a beautiful location that didn't look like a hotel banquet room (I wanted my wedding reception to be different than the million sorority dances/formals I'd been to) and DH wanted amazing food. I found the location (a revamped theater from the 1920's with original woodwork - I'm not kidding, I teared up when I saw it! - in a downtown Center for the Arts building) and then we started working with the caterer (they have an exclusive contract)...and later found out that he does the food for the governor's inaugural balls. I'm going to try to re-create our wedding dinner for our first anniversary. It was that good. When I think of our wedding, I can't imagine having it at a different venue. It was so cool and so perfectly us.

But, all that said, honestly, if I had to do it again, I would have gone with food #1, space #2. The space was amazing, but what DH and I remember most vividly was that amazing meal that we tried to actually eat.

If the date has a special meaning to you, that would be a pretty big factor..but from your description, it sounds like I'd lean toward #1...TDF food is so rare for weddings! And it's wonderful to have a venue who WANTS to work with you and works hard to do that. Our venue bent to our almost every whim AND understood that we were working with a budget so they thew a bunch of stuff in for free (sound system, lighting, our names on the marquee outside of the theater - we were the first couple they did that for!) - and their kindness was really so priceless.

Oh - but do check with your photographer and see if she's done weddings there. Some of our reception photos were really dark (like you can see the people but the background seems black) until the photog asked if we could raise the lights a bit, and then the photos looked MUCH better. If the reception space is truly dark, that might be a problem for photos.

Either way though, sounds like you have two beautiful options. Good luck!!

 

[zoebartlett]

Lily, I''d choose venue #2. I hope they pull through for you. Once it''s been decided, will you post pics?

It took a while for us to choose our venue. Since we live pretty close to the ocean and lakes (both are 45 min.-1 hour away), and mountains (2 hours away), we knew we wanted to get married at one of those places. We also decided that it would be fun to have somewhat of a destination wedding, thinking that those places would have more to do than my small hometown. We fell in love with one particular venue in the mountains up north but it was just too far away to ask guests to drive after landing at the airport.

We then narowed our focus to the ocean, and in particular, the town we got engaged in. My FI and I had lived close to this town before, and we love it. We miss not living closer (we moved away from there almost three years ago). I think the venue we ultimately chose was one of the first, if not THE first one we saw once we chose the town. We had heard about it from friends who had gotten married there a few years ago.

It''s in a beach town, so the area is especially popular in the summer. There are plenty of things for guests to do if they choose. The venue itself is a restaurant, and we had decided when we first began looking at venues that we wanted to deal with one vendor only. Some of the other place we looked at required us to rent a tent, chairs, tables, linens, have lighting set up, and food/drinks catered by outside sources. That didn''t sit well with us because it would have been a lot to plan and we were''t completely familiar with resources. At our venue, because it''s a restaurant, we don''t have to worry about working with a lot of vendors. They take care of pretty much everything. That was very important to us. The grounds are beautiful, and it''s a very peaceful place. We also have the place to ourselves for the day, which was also important to us.

 

[dogmama]

Okay ladies! So we went to the food tasting today, and while the food was good for wedding food, it had nothing on Venue #1''s food. Venue #1 is the kind of food you drop $150 a plate for in a restaurant in terms of creativity, taste and presentation.

So essentially we were stuck on pricing (tight budget) and the grounds. FI said we should go with Venue #2 at one point because it was so much more affordable and hopefully we could tweak the menu. One reason we believed Venue #2 was affordable was because the quality of the food was lowered (hor d''eourves were knishes, fried mozzarella sticks, pigs in a blanket) and there were significantly fewer choices.

I told him that we should get the pricing for both and see what we could get out of Venue #1. At Venue #1 we managed to get the price per head down by $2 and keep our minimum as it was. This was an $8 difference between Venue #1 and Venue #2, but I felt that the high quality food and variety (shrimp, mussels & clams, filet mignon, asparagus, mesclun greens, duck, salmon, etc.!) balanced out the $8 difference.

So we were sitting there. I knew that FI loved this one place. He even said, I''m 60/40, 60 Venue #1 and 40 Venue #2. So when it came down to it, and I knew I had the poor banquet manager''s hands tied in terms of price(she even threw in an ice scultpure!), I went for Venue #1.

FI was ecstatic. I was happy, but not like him. I hate, hate, hate going out of budget! BUT it was one of my top 2 choices and the food was a major player for me. I wanted to make him feel apart of this wedding and he does! He''s talking center pieces, linen colors, table numbers...I feel like I''m living in the twilight zone. LOL.

I''m not sure if I''m allowed to really post links, but here it is!
Westbury Manor! http://www.westburymanor.com/

I am having cocktail hour in the gardens (among peacocks, parrots, ducks), bar lounge in the Library and dinner & dancing in the Garden Room (French doors open up onto a veranda)! Pictures to come when I go back again with a camera!

 

[Haven]

We''re getting married in my synagogue, which is obviously a very special place to me. However, FI didn''t love the idea at first, so we did look around for a bit.

For me, the way I feel in the space is very important, as well as the quality of the food. Other than that, I''d look at the cost and see which offers the best balance between quality and affordability.

It sounds like both of your venue options are great choices, so I know you have a tough decision. Good luck!

 

[FrekeChild]

Lily--that place is gorgeous!!!!I''m jealous...

 

[RLG]

That looks amazing!