Wedding Thoughts on all-inclusive banquet packages…

[Shoopy]

We’re kind of all over the place with planning. I want to elope or have a small ceremony, he wants a small wedding with 50 to 60 guests, and in reality our guest list is about 150 so we have huge decisions to make. We’ve narrowed it down to three choices, albeit three very different choices:

1. Elope. Those that can make it great, those that can’t well catch you on the flip side
2. Intimate ceremony at the Spanish Monastery (my fav church) with a reception to follow with more guests. The reception would be at a hotel and would force us to keep the guest list at 50 to 60 max
3. Banquet hall which would help us get up to 100 guests.

I just received the pricing for a banquet hall that I find to be very beautiful. They have an all-inclusive package that covers everything under the sun: ceremony, reception, flowers, photography, video, cake, open bar, champagne toast, music, limo service, invitations, guest book, garter, pillow, unity candles…you get the point. The only thing of the package that I would probably change or add on is some additional photography from an independent photographer. The price is extremely reasonable. Now, without having seen the place (only photos on websites) what are your thoughts on banquet hall ceremonies? I am considering it only because it would be great to have everyone see the ceremony but I can’t have everyone go to the church. A quiet, intimate ceremony at the Monastery is about $2,000 less than having everyone there. Keep in mind that the hall also has just reception packages available as well.

Here’s the website for those interested: http://www.floridianballrooms.com/

P.S. The funding is coming from el banco de Mr y Ms Fieryred so that's that

 

[vintagelover229]

I say do what makes YOU happy. It''s YOUR wedding day...not anyone elses. But the ballroom looks nice if that helps. But in my opinion, I''d elope or have the 50-60 ppl come. My wedding is going to be small...and heck, I''m not inviting half my family! They''ll get over it! Have a reception when you get back!

 

[clop]

^ ditto!

 

[HollyS]

If you have seen the venue in action (visited while they were setting up a wedding), if you have seen their linens, cakes, etc.

and

if you can taste test the food before signing

and

if the contract has clauses and outs, i.e. reducing the total bill by the item(s) that you might not need to use like an officiant if you have your own

and

if you can be confident leaving all of this in their hands

and

they have come highly recommended


then, and only then, use an all inclusive venue. We did, and it was perfect! You will be amazed at how much that will save you overall.

 

[pocahontas]

Date: 8/4/2008 7:44:15 PM
Author: HollyS
If you have seen the venue in action (visited while they were setting up a wedding), if you have seen their linens, cakes, etc.

and

if you can taste test the food before signing

and

if the contract has clauses and outs, i.e. reducing the total bill by the item(s) that you might not need to use like an officiant if you have your own

and

if you can be confident leaving all of this in their hands

and

they have come highly recommended


then, and only then, use an all inclusive venue. We did, and it was perfect! You will be amazed at how much that will save you overall.

Ditto what Holly said! A good friend of mine and her husband went this route and were extremely happy with what they got and had no regrets about their decision.

 

[surfgirl]

Only you can answer that fiery. Your "elopment" option isn''t really eloping though, it''s a DW. Eloping is really when the couple runs off to get married and it''s a surprise to all and it is not announced beforehand. I dont know why that bugs me but it does.

SO...Your DW sounds lovely to me, but then again, I''m an eloper so I heed the less is best approach!

I do think your Monastery sounds lovely, but I also think it''s a bit weird to invite some people only to the wedding reception. If I was invited to only a reception, I''d feel odd about not being invited to the actual ceremony as well.

How badly do you want those additional 100 people? That''s the question you need to ask yourselves. Along with how much you really want to spend on this. If you really want more people there, and if you can say yes to all of the issues on Holly''s post, then go for it. I did see a Doctor''s office on the ground floor of that banquet locale, which made me think it''s more like a really fancy strip mall, with a doctor''s office on the ground floor. Not sure if that would bother you or not. Dont know how many more other offices are in that location.

 

[Shoopy]

Date: 8/5/2008 12:04:04 PM
Author: surfgirl
Only you can answer that fiery. Your ''elopment'' option isn''t really eloping though, it''s a DW. Eloping is really when the couple runs off to get married and it''s a surprise to all and it is not announced beforehand. I dont know why that bugs me but it does.

SO...Your DW sounds lovely to me, but then again, I''m an eloper so I heed the less is best approach!

I do think your Monastery sounds lovely, but I also think it''s a bit weird to invite some people only to the wedding reception. If I was invited to only a reception, I''d feel odd about not being invited to the actual ceremony as well.

How badly do you want those additional 100 people? That''s the question you need to ask yourselves. Along with how much you really want to spend on this. If you really want more people there, and if you can say yes to all of the issues on Holly''s post, then go for it. I did see a Doctor''s office on the ground floor of that banquet locale, which made me think it''s more like a really fancy strip mall, with a doctor''s office on the ground floor. Not sure if that would bother you or not. Dont know how many more other offices are in that location.

HA You summed up everything I am feeling in your post:

1. The DW is the idea I prefer and wouldn''t be eloping since we would want family there.
2. I feel its weird to only have 10 ppl at the ceremony and then a bigger reception

And
3. I don''t want these people there but I feel like in the what five days that I''ve been engaged, it''s snowballed into something much bigger than I hoped for. I have people that I haven''t seen in 10 years or talked to in 5 to 6 years calling me and asking when''s the wedding

. I have to check out the location as the photo seemed nice but now I''m wondering if the area isn''t.

We will see how this all turns out.

 

[surfgirl]

Well after reading your post, it seems like a DW is what you really want in your heart. How does your FI feel about a DW? I mean, if you''ve been engaged for all of FIVE DAYS and you''re already being bombarded with "what about this" and "what about that" and "you''re doing this and that, aren''t you?!?" then I think it''s only going to get worse. You know, as soon as my mother heard we''d eloped, in the two more days we were on our minimoon, by the time we got back I found that my mother had gone into full blown "tell everyone about our elopement and start planning a big wedding party reception..." and I was like STOP RIGHT NOW! We thought for like a New York minute about having a reception afterwards but we felt like we''d eloped for really solid reasons and to have a big party/reception afterwards would defeat the purpose of eloping because we''d end up dealing with the very crap we''d wanted to not deal with if we''d had a more normal wedding. When I read your posts, you dont seem to want to deal with all that wedding stuff. You seem to want to go off somewhere lovely and get married and whomever can be there, great, and whomever cannot, no problem. I think you''ve already answered your own question now. You just need to be sure your FI is in agreement so that you can start telling people it''ll likely be a DW but you''re not sure where/when yet.

Engaged 5 days and people are bugging you already? Jeez!

 

[Bia]

d e s t i n a t i o n w e d d i n g

 

[Shoopy]

Date: 8/5/2008 12:57:26 PM
Author: surfgirl


Engaged 5 days and people are bugging you already? Jeez!

Yes!!! I think the main reason is that at the moment there are two engagements/weddings going on: mine and a male cousin. My cousin''s fiancee''s family is paying for the wedding and its supposed to be the party of the year. My aunt (one of those aunts that every family has) is being very strict about who is invited from our side of the family because I guess the girl''s family is wealthy and she has always been embarrassed of our family for some odd reason. So everyone is looking to mine as the party to go to..although NONE of them will come because they''re all in NY/MA and this will be in Florida. My response to all is the same "I''ve waited 6 years for this engagement, I''m going to enjoy being a fiancee for a while before I start planning"

Double

 

[Mediterranean]

I''m in your city.

Ya know, I wasn''t too crazy about the condition of the Monastery. Are you doing it in the Chapel, or outside? The Banyan Tree location was kind of my favorite, but the aisle was just SO banged-up! When I visited (3 or so months ago??)There was visible silver ductwork outside, and lots of construction debris near the gardens (has it been cleared up yet?) I also wasn''t too crazy about the level of service for the price (everyone was VERY kind, and super-sweet, but they were very....uh...relaxed, shall we say? There just wasn''t a sense of urgency or a lot of answers to my questions) Also, on the day I toured, there was leftover mess from a previous event at the wishing-well location. Now, again...i do''t know if this is standard for them, or if I caught the staff on a bad day or what, but I was kind of alarmed by the shoddy state of the place.

i can see, though, why you LOVE the place...It''s GORGEOUS, despite the stuff I''ve mentioned. I also understand what you mean by a very intimate ceremony and a different locale for the reception. If you want to do that, and you''re in love with that classic European architecture, I know that Vizcaya has a daytime ceremony-only package for a really small number of guests (I think 15 is the max) and it''s about $1200. There are also lots of great (and very pretty) restaurants near that location for a reception (the Rusty Pelican comes to mind immediately).

I''m not too crazy about banquet halls here in town. Mostly, I have heard the same bad story about "alcohol on consumption'' charges over and over: basically, the place charges on consumption, and the catering staff leaves with cases of wine and liquor in their cars, on your dime. I keep hearing that stuff.

The hotel reception idea is a good one. That''s kind of been the best bet in town, as far as what I have seen. Surprisingly affordable for a SMALL (50 or so people) ceremony and reception: The National Hotel on Collins Ave in South Beach. I think that with that place, parking will be your biggest charge. If you can find a limo-bus service, or convince everyone to stick around on Miami Beach for the evening, you might avoid that too. But, yeah....The National surprised me with its price. They''re easy to talk to and work with as well. So much so that I may actually go with them if I don''t fall in love with something else.

It''ll be gorgeous whatever you choose. Ya know, as long as you don''t do it at high noon outside in August around here, LOL>..

 

[Shoopy]

Date: 8/11/2008 12:52:03 AM
Author: Mediterranean
I''m in your city.

Ya know, I wasn''t too crazy about the condition of the Monastery. Are you doing it in the Chapel, or outside? The Banyan Tree location was kind of my favorite, but the aisle was just SO banged-up! When I visited (3 or so months ago??)There was visible silver ductwork outside, and lots of construction debris near the gardens (has it been cleared up yet?) I also wasn''t too crazy about the level of service for the price (everyone was VERY kind, and super-sweet, but they were very....uh...relaxed, shall we say? There just wasn''t a sense of urgency or a lot of answers to my questions) Also, on the day I toured, there was leftover mess from a previous event at the wishing-well location. Now, again...i do''t know if this is standard for them, or if I caught the staff on a bad day or what, but I was kind of alarmed by the shoddy state of the place.

i can see, though, why you LOVE the place...It''s GORGEOUS, despite the stuff I''ve mentioned. I also understand what you mean by a very intimate ceremony and a different locale for the reception. If you want to do that, and you''re in love with that classic European architecture, I know that Vizcaya has a daytime ceremony-only package for a really small number of guests (I think 15 is the max) and it''s about $1200. There are also lots of great (and very pretty) restaurants near that location for a reception (the Rusty Pelican comes to mind immediately).

I''m not too crazy about banquet halls here in town. Mostly, I have heard the same bad story about ''alcohol on consumption'' charges over and over: basically, the place charges on consumption, and the catering staff leaves with cases of wine and liquor in their cars, on your dime. I keep hearing that stuff.

The hotel reception idea is a good one. That''s kind of been the best bet in town, as far as what I have seen. Surprisingly affordable for a SMALL (50 or so people) ceremony and reception: The National Hotel on Collins Ave in South Beach. I think that with that place, parking will be your biggest charge. If you can find a limo-bus service, or convince everyone to stick around on Miami Beach for the evening, you might avoid that too. But, yeah....The National surprised me with its price. They''re easy to talk to and work with as well. So much so that I may actually go with them if I don''t fall in love with something else.

It''ll be gorgeous whatever you choose. Ya know, as long as you don''t do it at high noon outside in August around here, LOL>..

Hey! Haven''t heard from you in a while.

If we do the Monastery, it would be by the French Altar with 10 to 15 people tops. I''ve heard the same complaints about the alcohol and food. One of my good friends got married at the SM and she had about 2 tables empty (20 ppl) yet she had no cake left over. Hmmm

Thanks for the National Hotel reference, I''m going to contact them tomorrow. We''re actually thinking Signature Gardens (or Grand in Broward). Have you heard anything about them?

 

[Mediterranean]

Signature Gardens in Kendall? Our school''s Senior Prom was held there, and I can tell you that back then, the staff was professional and ON POINT. They are (were?) super-efficient at handling events. The only issue I have with that place (and it wasn''t a BIG deal for a Prom, but it would be for a wedding reception) is that i could hear other parties through the walls.

Any kind of amplified sound, music or an MC talking...you could hear it through the walls. Not loud, but enough to be annoying. And I know a lot of people here have live bands with a lot of low-end, like bass, or a lot of brass/horns (like the salsa bands and stuff) and that stuff gets loud.

Signature Grand in Broward is a lot newer, and the food is terrific. The function spaces seemed quite plain (I guess they do that to make it easier to customize for people who rent it) but it''s so simple that it seems as though it would be pretty expensive to decorate it to the point where it doesn''t look too "stark" The ceilings are quite high, the walls are plain, so I can see the florist/lighting tech bill getting pretty steep, pretty fast. It looks like it would need tall centerpieces, intricate lighting, wall decor, etc. to keep it from looking like a business conference or a seminar.

I''m looking at Fairchild tropcal gardens later today: I''ll let you know what their deal is, although that''s a fairly far drive south. I nixed the Deering Estate because of the drive, but thats a nice spot, too, and if you keep it small, the bill is reasonable. I''m looking at outdoor stuff to keep my "decoration" bill low...

 

[Shoopy]

Let me know about Fairchild. I was looking on their site today and it doesn''t seem too bad except daytime weddings have a maximum of 60 guests. I want my guest list to be 60 but I have a feeling it might be more. Let me know though! Thanks!!

 

[crystalheart1]

I would check out the quality of the food . I am in the suburbs of Philly and there is a very nice place that is all inclusive...marble, fountains, flowers, cakes, ice sculpture.. but there is one gltich.. the food is AWFUL..

I even heard of a couple who walked away from their $2,000 deposit because the food would be a disaster.

I went to a Christmas Party there of a very high profile individual in the community, thinking they might upgrade the food.. sorry just as bad

I have learned you get what you pay for.

I would rather do small and upscale.