Post # 1
Member
7975 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
After exhausting the list of venues on The Knot (all 13 of them were at least double my reception venue budget… hmmm….), googling many variations of “wedding reception venue” and my hometown’s name, and asking my older brother for recommendations downtown, I’ve kind of run up against a wall where I feel like my boring little city has nothing to offer besides hotel ballrooms and country club ballrooms. Bleh.
How did you start your venue search? Were there any wedding websites in particular that really had a good, comprehensive list of venues in your area? Or did you work through a coordinator/word of mouth more?
Post # 4
Member
873 posts
Busy bee
As I’ve posted before, I found everything on the Internet – specifically, my area has http://www.theweddingring.ca and http://www.kettlecreekweddings.com/ which is actually a wedding officiant site but has lots of info on venues. Obviously I know that we are not from the same area, but maybe you can find something similar in your area?
Also, just something to think about, my Canadian wedding is not happening in my actual hometown (which is a village – the largest building is a church with a very very basic basement which would hold about 50 people). In the city next to my village, most people have their reception at the local union clubs or sports complex which are places which do not fit our style or wedding vision. My mum has always had a fantasy about me getting married at this inn about 15 minutes from her house. I had chosen 2 other locations in a nearby city to check out and she was really really against going outside our local area. However, when she saw the location we eventually picked, she realized it was much better to drive a little further in order to get a venue that better suited the style and size of the event. Are there any cities not too far away that you could hold your reception in?
Post # 5
Member
245 posts
Helper bee
I would check gatheringguide.com. You can find anything from the venue, to the florist, photographer etc.
Post # 6
Member
7975 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
hmm… thanks for the advices, girls. 🙂 I did a little more searching and found a few more venues in my area – including an art museum that might work if we can cut down by about 50 people! (and if we went there, I’d cut kids off the list, which is already like 25-30 off the list… sweet!)
Post # 7
Member
3344 posts
Sugar bee
what about weddingwire.com?
Post # 8
Member
10218 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
actually Dirty Delete i did a google search for wedding venues in (city name) and tons pop up, very strange off the beaten path ones actually. If you’d like to let me know the city, I can definitely start a US search (some may be blocked because you’re in China)…
Post # 9
Member
4566 posts
Honey bee
There are alot of city specific websites I managed to pull up for my tiny town, plus a general knowledge of the city helped too. Art galleries are always really awesome, but I’m biased having been a photo minor (til I got too lazy to finish the required classes). Maybe there’s a guidebook you can look at that might list popular attractions? Alot of places let you use them for private events too!
Post # 10
Member
545 posts
Busy bee
I think I used Project wedding, Weddingwire, and the knot to start, then I also got recommendations from FI’s co-workers, etc. (I don’t know this area very well). Then, I found out a great way to find venues. Look at your local caterers’ sites. A lot of them list their preferred venues on their website. I found TONS of places that weren’t listed on the other wedding sites. Just look around and find your local random caterers’ website and search a way.
Post # 11
Member
1684 posts
Bumble bee
I googled till my fingers bled and asked my friends for suggestions too. You should check if your area has a wedding resource. I live in Westchester County and there’s a whole site & Magazine entitled Westchester Weddings. It goes a little beyond our area too. Theknot and weddingchannel didn’t really help me at all – most of the places they have listed are wedding factories. I did get a few good ideas through the “real weddings” section though.
Post # 12
Member
3344 posts
Sugar bee
There might be a local wedding publication in your area. I got a small magazine when I visited a venue, and it listed ALL the sites within 2 hours of me. I would go to a wedding fair (there are usually tons in January) and you might get more ideas there.
Post # 13
Member
7975 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
@Crebre, it’s Grand Rapids Michigan. I’ve looked at countless ballrooms, and am kind of burnt out on them/figure out one to be my backup (it’s awesome, but … still a ballroom). We’re looking at around 200 guests, MAYBE 150, which is part of the problem, I think.
I’ll check out the Knot Real Weddings feature- I hadn’t looked there, thanks Dancy!. I think the distance is part of what makes it hard, that and my good friends who have gotten married lately all had budgets 2-4x the size of mine 🙁 so their venues are all out of my price range (around $1000).
@JoJo, there is a local wedding rag, but their website is 3 1/2 years outdated 🙁 and only lists like 4 venues.
For a city of half a million (and the local metropolis), I am so disappointed in my hometown! This is part of the reason I left, haha… I’ve always been more of a big city girl. I used to daydream about our family moving to Chicago when I was a kid.
Post # 14
Member
176 posts
Blushing bee
@ daydreamwanderer, as crebre80 mentioned, you may not have access to some U.S sites from China. Maybe you can ask someone in the U.S (mum, sister, friend) to google wedding venues in your area.
Remember, museums, botanical gardens, parks, resturants can all be used as a wedding venue.
If you still can’t find something suitable in your town, look at towns/cities nearby which may offer more venues. In this case, you could hire a coach to transport guests to the venue and back if the venue is a significant drive.
Post # 15
Member
7975 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
@briar rose – that’s a thought…
Winter wedding in the north (think at least a foot of snow, and temps around 10 degrees fahrenheit) make anything outdoors not an option. Bleh.
Post # 16
Member
176 posts
Blushing bee
I’m having a winter wedding too (in Arizona hehe). Keep in mind that you may be able to bargain with your venues and even vendors as not many weddings take place in winter.
We’re hopefully booking a Hilton resort for our January 1st wedding, and I’ve found that they’re willing to bargain because January is their “quite month” for weddings and conferences. We also have quite a few out of town guests that will be staying at the resortl at a discounted rate.
