So we went with Niece 1 and her fiance to look at a wedding venue on Friday. It was pretty cool. Included were:
-White folding chairs for ceremony and reception, tables, runners -Reception and Ceremony Location -Lots of room for cocktails, alternative space options -Reception Hall with Stage for Entertainment (Old Cotton Gin turned in to a Dance Hall) -Bed and Breakfast type building for the bridal party to get ready, lunch, complete with kitchen and sitting rooms, 2 dressing rooms and shower -Groom's den -White Linens included. Lots of votives, runners, centerpiece holders to use FOC. 3 arbors that only need florals. Ice Tanks for Bevs. -Included tear down and set-up other than centerpieces and your own touches. -Beer and Wine have to be purchased from facility but you can provide your own liquor and just pay bartender.
Kind of an inclusive price which was ok considering and I thought the price to rent the facility was decently priced. But, since I got married 10 years ago and worked at the resort where we were married so no venue fee for us. I was curious what others paid for locations for comparison?
We booked a place that did not have a venue fee, but we inquired about a bunch of places that did. Like anything wedding-related, the venue fees ran the gamut -- we saw from like $2000 to $40,000 (or maybe it was $60,000? at any rate, we did not get married at the New York Public Library).
2 years ago our room charge was $950 and the ceremony fee was $595. This included all of the chairs, tables, linens, centerpieces, dance floor. Set-up and tear down. We had a food a beverage minimum spend but we had no problem meeting that.
Post by countthestars on Jul 29, 2014 9:43:58 GMT -5
That looks similar to what we had in terms of a "package". We paid ~$14k for 170 people after all tax/tip was included. Obviously that is some price per guest (plated meals, ceremony set up) and some was flat fee.
ETA: it was probably about $12k for the food/drink for guests and ~$2k for ceremony and reception "flat fee".
$10K for the venue, did include tables, chairs, linens, china, and service. But did not include food/beverage. ETA: I think our food/beverage was about $325/head, but the food was amazing so no complaints.
But technically we paid $0 for the venue, since the venue booted us to a smaller room 3 weeks before the wedding and comped us the venue fee. We still paid food/beverage, but they threw in a bunch of extras so we definitely got our money's worth. My parents generously paid, so mom was pissed, but my dad was pretty happy.
We didn't look at any place that had a separate venue fee. Every place we considered did the food (cocktail hour, dinner, dessert, cake), beverages including liquor, set up/tear down, linens, chairs, etc. all for one price per person. Ceremony on-site was extra, but we got married in a church. The place we picked also included centerpieces, Viennese hour (extra desserts and specialty coffees), and a suite for DH and I the night of the wedding. It was about $80 per person, plus tax and a small gratuity (much lower than other venues in the area). January 2008, NJ.
We had our reception at an aviation museum for about $2200, which included tables/chairs and some setup. This was a great deal in VHCOL. Many of the venues we looked at were $3-10k and most didn't include anything but the space.
Most places in my area (including the one that we booked) are all-inclusive banquet halls that feature these amenities, plus food and drinks. You just pay a per-person package price and then tax and gratuity on top of that.
Prices at these halls in my area, depending on the month and the day, ranged from about $80pp to $150pp (once tax/tip was factored in) at the time when we were getting married. There are local halls that are pricier than that, but we didn't look at those.
The only place I researched where you could bring in your own caterer and stuff was a classic movie theater. It probably would've cost us about $5k to rent the space plus pay for a facility manager and fire marshal. We completely lost interest once I read that we'd have to rent all tables and chairs and linens, pay for our guests to park, find a caterer who could bring in already-cooked food since they don't have a kitchen, etc. We preferred to just write one check to a banquet hall and let them handle everything.
You might have better luck asking about this particular place on a local message board so that you can do a price comparison - City-Data.com has some good forums, at least for my area. Or even Wedding Wire, Wedding Channel, or The Old Place That Shall Not Be Named.
We paid $86.50/person. Ou reception was 6pm-11pm on a Saturday. The price included open bar for 5 hours, cocktail hour with a ton of appetizers, seated dinner with 3 options, cake of our choice and pastries on every table.
Post by sicilygirl on Jul 29, 2014 10:07:19 GMT -5
We had our wedding reception in a hotel ballroom (in 2007) and there was no room rental fee as long as you met the $12,000 food & beverage minimum, which was very easy for us to do because we had 600 guests. I'm in Texas, like you. It included tables, chairs, and white linens, and since we had to use their catering it also included all dishes/serving pieces, etc.
Do you mind sharing the venue (maybe in PM if not here)? I have a friend whose father is an architect and recently converted an old cotton gin into a house for her and her husband. It's the coolest thing.
I think the venue fee was $1000 or so. Included tables and chairs, along with set-up and take-down, but did not include any decor whatsoever (though they did set up everything we provided for decor). This was for one reception room, patio, and then a separate entranceway and bridal party suite. We paid for everything else separately.
I think the rental portion of our venue was 7.5k. That was only for chairs, tables and set up. We used three different areas of the venue, so would've been cheaper if we'd just used one as they charged for each one.
Post by jerseyjaybird on Jul 29, 2014 10:14:04 GMT -5
$2,750, at a 10% discount for a Sunday event. This was for a historic home in a park, so we had plenty of indoor and outdoor space. Included were 15 round tables and 150 chairs; other rentals (gift table, bar tables, linens, etc.) were made through the caterer. May 2014, suburbs of Philly
Post by emilyinchile on Jul 29, 2014 10:23:26 GMT -5
Our venue fee in Santiago was about $4,000, and I think the most expensive place we looked at was like $8,000 on a Saturday in high season (and it's a super well-known, popular place).
Just over 8K for the ceremony/reception location. They provided the food, wine, sangria, champange, cake, decorations (minus flowers), favors, table/chairs/linens, etc. I had a seperate area on site to get ready and they provided us girls with free wine and a cheese platter the day of just because. We had about 65 guests. We provided our own beer. We got married at a winery in NE PA.
Post by lasagnasshole on Jul 29, 2014 10:29:43 GMT -5
Ours was $52/person, $5000 minimum for food, open bar, champagne toast, linens, servers, bartenders, etc...everything but chair covers, centerpieces, and cake.
9.5k, the church and reception were at the same site. This included basic chapel decor and tables, chairs, white linens, dance floor, and servers before tip.
$2500 to rent the space. Included use of their tables, chairs, linens, china, and glassware, though we still rented chairs because I wanted the little bamboo ones. It didn't include any booze or food. LCOL in 2001.
My reception was at a winery and it was pricey. I think $2500 just for the rental and that didn't include anything. We still had to rent tables and chairs, buy wine and beer from them and hire a caterer. It was probably around 20k for everything including my dress, tux rental, etc.
Post by Velar Fricative on Jul 29, 2014 10:47:21 GMT -5
Like others in the NYC/Northeast area, ours didn't have a separate venue fee - the per-head cost covered everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. For us, it was $100/pp including gratuity (Friday night wedding, or else it would have been at least $125/pp I think).
Post by wanderlustfoodie on Jul 29, 2014 10:59:02 GMT -5
Our reception venue fee was around $9000, which included nothing. Church donation was around $1000; so $10,000 in venue fees. We only considered places that weren't all-inclusive (since we did not want to be encumbered by an on-site caterer) so all the venues we visited had rental fees. To make this MM, the one we booked, which was our favorite by far, happened to be one of the least expensive we saw!
Post by polarbearfans on Jul 29, 2014 11:36:05 GMT -5
We had an 80 person guest list. I think the reception was around $6k. We had an upgraded bar package with premium liquor, 3 entrees for the buffet, 5 or 6 awesome apps that people filled up on and didn't eat dinner lol, valet parking, cost check. The cake was another $800 I think, but I went fancier than needed I guess. It was delicious. The DJ was our friend so he did it for free and we only paid what he paid to the company he worked at for the equipment so like $200.
Our photographer was ridiculously expensive, didn't get all the shots I wanted, and still owes us some prints.
Eta: church was free and it was the 2nd or 3rd week of Easter so the church was already decorated.
Post by bostonmichelle on Jul 29, 2014 12:01:06 GMT -5
We paid $1500 for the location, but that included all the tables, linens, plates, etc. It was a nice small country club that only had 1 wedding a day. It also included a separate area for the cocktail hour, a dressing room/suite for me and the bridesmaids, use of the gardens and greens. Booze, food, appetizers, cake, etc were additional but reasonably priced (apx. $80/head all included).
I think we had a venue fee which was either $1000 or $1500? That was all the setup/breakdown for the ceremony room and reception rooms. Then I think we paid like $140 pp before service fees/tips that was open bar, food, cake, etc.. We spent a lot of money if you include everything else, but we were very happy with how it all turned out.
$1800 for entire lower level of a conference center (3 rooms and big patio area) included all chairs, tables, basic white tablecloths, and if interested that had some centerpiece options.