Getting Closer to the Bullseye - Part 1

We had another round of venue hunting this past weekend, but this time we went with a purpose.  This round was definitely different than the Walk'n'Gawk from a few months ago.  This time, we had ideas of what we wanted to do with the space and we were getting price information.  First off, let me just get this out of the way "HOLY CRAP events are expensive!"  Ok.  Much better.

Though it was not our first stop, I feel it's best to follow up that little shout with the Hotel Roanoke.  We had gone around and checked out rooms and areas on our own during the Walk'n'Gawk, but this time we met with someone to talk about packages and options.  The Hotel definitely gave us sticker shock when we got home and totaled stuff up, however, you definitely will get what you pay for.  You just have to be able to afford it.  The only room we'd have to pay for all weekend would be the room for the reception, and that could become free depending on what we spent on food (which was a very easy number to reach).  The lady we met with, and later the head chef who stuck his head in, were really excited with our theme idea and even ended up giving us a few more ideas that got us even more excited!  (Did I mention we have a theme?  You know you've found the right theme when people start running with it themselves.  More on that later.)  We would love to work with these folks, their recommended decorator, florist, and light guy, just based on their energy alone.  During our tour of some of the available ballrooms, we were able to see the vendors taking apart a room that was used for a NYC graffiti themed bar mitzvah.  So we were able to meet these folks briefly and see what was left of their work.  Very creative folks.  The best thing about the Hotel Roanoke was how inclusive everything was.  We could even decide to plan for the wedding to be out in the back courtyard (which will be lovely after the remodel this winter) and they will set up a room inside just incase of bad weather at no extra cost.  All I'd have to do is call them that morning and say "in" or "out".  Very nice.  We could make everything happen that we want to have happen using the Hotel and have everyone in one space.  However, it comes at a hefty price tag, no group rates or price breaks for the guest rooms, and we didn't really fall in love with any area in or on Hotel grounds.

Another venue we visited was the Grandin Theater.  The main room in this non-profit theater has a lot of character to it, including gargoyles.  It's got character and Douglas loves this theater.  It was reasonably priced and we would only really be able to use the space for the ceremony.  The big draw back was that we would have to do the ceremony during non-business hours.  So we would have to have a late morning wedding, which is not my preference.  The other big problem with the Grandin is that parking is a HUGE pain.

Coming up next...Metamorphosis and the Market Building.