After a month of enjoying engagement bliss, Jon and I decided to start looking for reception venues. We knew that if we really wanted an awesome place, we needed to start looking early. This will be our biggest expense. We wanted to see some numbers and find out how much of our stuff we need to sell on E-bay. haha! Just kidding. But for my parents and I, we are very particular with the type of food we will be serving our guests. Food, Food, Food! My Mom wants the presentation to be great and my Dad really wants his Filet Mignon option. So I've just been asking around for a few suggestions based on people's experiences with food: was it memorable? Did you like it? Was it served hot? And then from there, we starting making appointments for site visits. I was mainly looking forward to seeing the different types of menus and the price per plate.
Jon, on the other hand, had a different approach when looking at the different properties we visited. Being a 2-time homeowner, he had that "homeowner" mindset. And to be quite honest, I was very impressed. I wasn't as detailed as he was when it came to that stuff. But Jon did make a point that it is quite the same thing: buying a home and choosing a reception venue. Here are the similar factors:
1) Location, Location, Location: The 3 magic words of Real Estate. But same holds true when looking for a reception venue. How is the neighborhood? Is it easy to get to? Easy freeway access? What surrounds the venue: beautiful parks, buildings, ocean view, the trolley, etc?? Luckily, we live in San Diego - so almost any venue you consider is in a beautiful location, overlooking the water, or near a major freeway. Is parking nearby? Will there be enough spaces for your guests? Do you have to pay for parking? Limo drivers and guests will appreciate directions to venues that are easy to follow and complimentary parking.
2) Situation Factors: Usually, this means looking beyond the location. Is your venue in a public place? Will people other than your guests have access to your reception area? Are there a lot of stairs to climb or different floors to go to? Consider this also, as you may have to prepare to make signage to make sure your guests don't get lost trying to find your cocktail hour. Or you may have to make an extra effort to "separate" the space for your party and anything else going on at that location.
3) Check Out the Neighborhood: Ummmm, I think this means... Check Out the Neighborhood and see if it's ghetto.
4) Consider a Reception Venue's "Curb Appeal": Your reception space and location should reflect your lifestyle/personality. Are you a laid back couple? Then maybe the formality of the US Grant or the Hotel Del Coronado may not suit you. Look at exterior features as well. When you walk up toward the venue, is the landscaping attractive? Are the sidewalks safe?
5) Size and Floor Plan: Jon was SUPER particular with this factor. He always asked about the square footage of the ballrooms, as well as the cocktail hour area. He wanted to know exactly where the restrooms were located. Make sure you know your space and if it will fit all of your guests comfortably. We are expecting 350 guests and we realized that anything less than 7,000 square feet was too small. Jon and I want to make sure we can still WALK in between the tables and chairs (especially in my dress), without asking anyone to scoot in or move. But with such a big space, we definitely aren't gonna try to FILL it. We want the space so we can USE it: super large dance floor, areas for the bartenders, and a separate kids area.
6) Bedrooms and Bathrooms: Well, in our case, it would be the hotel rooms. We chose to have our reception at a hotel because we are expecting a lot of out-of-town family and friends. And we love the ease of our reception and the guest accommodations to be in the same place. In our search for a venue, we had to consider hotel room rates and make sure they were affordable for our guests to stay the weekend.
7) The Kitchen: In our case, it would be the location of the service doors. Where is the kitchen and where will the food be coming from? Jon surprised me when he asked "Will the waiters be coming out of those doors?"...which happened to be right behind the area they suggested the sweetheart table to be. We imagined it wouldn't look too good if the focal point of the evening is the bride and groom, and right behind them are waiters walking in and out of swinging doors with trays of food and pitchers of water. (yea, so particular right?) We would have to rent a linen backdrop to hide this...and that's an extra expense.
8 ) Homeowners Association (HOA): If you are going to pay a fee, what is included? Chairs, Tables, silverware, stages, dance floors, linens? Does the reception venue have everything you need? Are there any included amenities? What will you have to rent anything? And the ONE thing I believe that should be included is the Cake Cutting Fee! (if the cake is not in your package) Goodness, if our catering contract is over $25,000 and you're still gonna charge me to slice a piece of cake and serve it...then, No THANK YOU. I'd do that myself. My mom would help me too!
9) Windows and Lighting: Do you want a bright sunny room with a pretty view? Do you like the look of high ceilings and chandeliers? How is the in-house lighting of the venue? Lighting is definitely an important decor element when it comes to weddings. Does your venue already have up/down lights installed or will you have to rent them?
10) Finishing Touches: The most simple space can look spectacular because of the little things, like crown molding, lighting hardware and... the chairs! Is there anything you need to upgrade? (like...covering the chairs?) Since the chairs cover more square footage than anything else in the room, we're trying to figure out how this will fit in our budget. Unfortunately, standard hotel chairs aren't so pretty and clash with our color scheme.
Overall, Jon told me to look for that feeling you get when you walk into a home for the first time and you think "Yea, I see myself living here for the next 10 years"
... so, in terms of reception venues, there was only one place where we BOTH had the feeling of "Yea... we see ourselves celebrating our wedding here."
Stay tuned for that information.
