Need help planning from afar (long)

FKS

Hi ladies,

I am getting married in Louisville (my hometown )  in May 2011, but I currently live in New York with my FI.  We are going to have to make a few wedding-specific trips to Louisville to meet with vendors, caterers, DJ's, etc.  I would like to narrow down my options as much as I can so that we meet with our final choices when we come to visit (it is difficult financially to travel back and forth often).

(BACKGROUND: our guest list will likely be 300+ and almost half of those will be OOT guests, so I need a venue that is in close proximity to the hotels where guests will be staying. Also, FI is Dominican, so this plays a role into the type of caterer and DJ we are looking for.)

That being said, if you've had experience with and can provide advice and/or recommendations for the following (even if you have recommendations of places to stay away from), I would REALLY appreciate it:

Venue (able to fit 300+)
Caterer (that offers some spanish food options)
DJ (that has some spanish music)
Photographer
Florist

I know this is asking for a lot of information, but I am at a loss as to how to narrow down options and make our trips to Louisville more efficient.  If it's easier to email me, let me know and I can give you my email address. TIA!!

squirrly

There are a lot of good photogs. 
Bella Grace Studios
Redtree Photography
Photograby by Sara
Kriech-Higdon

Those are the ones that interested me when I was looking.  I booked Bella Grace.  Our e-pics turned out well, I think.

For food. . . I would talk to Seviche and Havana Rumba.  Both restaurants are great, and both do a medly of Latin food.  I'm not sure how much catering they do, but that's definitely where I'd start.

Florist. . . if you've picked Mother's Day, you need to get somebody booked asap.  Most florists wouldn't even return my calls - including the ones most recommended on here.  I am going with a florist out of Lawrenceburg whose wedding work we've seen twice.  Let me know if you want his name/number.

DJ - I have no idea.  I would think most competant DJs could incorporate that, though.

Venue - what sort of space do you want?  Hotel ballroom?  Outdoor?  Urban loft?  

Overall, I'd say go check out the vendors page on WeddingWire for Louisville.  The listings there are a bit more robust than here & the reviews are helpful.  Also, www.kentuckianaweddings.com might have some good info.

FKS

Squirrly, very helpful as always!  Thank you for the great ideas to get started.

To answer your question, I've seen pictures of The Gillespie (dowtown) and loved it, so I'm thinking that type of venue (it seems to be ballroom-esque but with a more modern look and feel).  A hotel ballroom would probably be the easiest for guests, but I'm guessing that would also be much more expensive.

I would love the name and number of your florist if you don't mind!

squirrly

Lawrenceburg Flower Shop -- Bob Stakelin -- 800-779-3867
http://www.lawrenceburgflowershop.com/

Venues - what about the Henry Clay?  It's also downtown.
http://www.thehenryclay.com/

Hotels to avoid - we just had a work conference at the Hyatt.  The hotel itself was really nice, and the meeting spaces were fine, but the food at lunch was NOT impressive.  The fish was decent, but the chicken was DRY and tasteless all week.  The banquet at the end of the conference had a really nice steak option, though.  I wasn't willing to try the chicken by that point, though.

Churchill Downs might be an interesting option for you for the venue.  The Derby Museum can be rented, too.  http://www.derbymuseum.org/rooms.html

The Mellwood Arts Center has a variety of cool spaces available.  http://www.mellwoodartcenter.com/rental5.htm

I think the Brown Hotel is really pretty.  http://www.brownhotel.com/events/weddings.html

Gardencourt:  http://www.lpts.edu/Rentals/GardenCourt/Default.asp

The Olmstead:  http://www.theolmsted.com/facility_information.htm

That's a broad price range.  Let me know if any of those look/feel like the right type of thing, and I'll see if anything else comes to mind. 

FKS

You are my louisville wedding guru!  

The Henry Clay and Mellwood Arts Center look like great options, as does The Brown (I actually had my senior prom there and loved it - it is gorgeous!). I'm thinking something downtown may be easiest for everyone to navigate to. I am SO glad you told me about the Hyatt - I acutally spoke with them a few days ago but obviously didn't know what to expect from them.

Also, your suggestions about Seviche and Havana Rumba were genius.  I checked out their menus and they were exactly the types of places I was looking for. I got in touch with Havana Rumba and they do cater!  I'd never heard of either place, but I am really excited to have some spanish restaurants to take my FI to when we come in town.

Thanks again for all of your help!

squirrly

No problem!  I'm a foodie anyway, so that's the easy part for me.  And, it's a snow day here today, so I'm bored.  Plus, since I read all the posts on here, I tend to remember a bunch of stuff from others.  And I have 4 friends getting married in town in the next 2 months.  Two of them on the same weekend. 

On the Hyatt - I don't know if it was just b/c it was served buffet style, but the chicken really was awful, every day.  Oh - and they have smoking floors, which are REALLY smokey.  Our hospitality suite was on one of them.  Yech.  I hate to "hate on" someplace, but it wasn't wedding worthy, IMO.  I think they do offer nice wedding packages/rates, though, so if you don't use a hotel for the reception, it should be fine to do guest hotel blocks there.  It is quite helpful that they are connected to 4th Street Live, so guests who want to go out can do so quite easily without cabs and all.  If you were wanting to pay for guests' parking, I think they make that pretty feasible to coordinate as well, if you use the attached garage. 

As for 4th Street, I think the Marriott is also connected, though.  Might be worth playing them off each other for the best rate. 

FWIW, I have zero experience with the Seelbach, but I've seen other brides on here mention having issues.  Now, more people are inclined to complain about bad service than praise good service so take that with a grain of salt.

21c gets awesome reviews, but it's very mod and a bit pricey, I think.  And then, there's the Hampton Inn, Fairfield, and Courtyard also.  And - duh - the Galt House.  I think they just did a big renovation, so it's much snazzier than it used to be.

Outside wedding stuff - you should check out Mojito's, out off Brownsboro Road.  It's the same ownership as Havana Rumba, but focuses on Tapas and more European/Spanish flavors rather than Latin - but SO yummy.  Just someplace fun for dinner for you and FI when you're here. 

One last venue idea - the Calumet Club, in New Albany.  It's a little less ornate looking, but maybe one to consider if budget gets to be an issue.  (I'm going completely off pics on the web here, though - no personal experience with them.)  http://www.thecalumetclub.com/

FKS

These tips are going to be so helpful, and will save me so much time.  It's nice to know which places to focus on vs. which to not waste time on.  I heard about the snow today (my whole family lives in Louisville), and I was so jealous everyone got a snow day! We are supposed to get 10 - 15 inches here, but since we all take the subway we never get "snow days" and get out of work unfortunately.

We're definitely going to try all three of those restaurants.  I'm slightly embarassed that I lived in louisville for 20-something years (and can't wait to return), and I don't know about these places!  I may come to you for more recommendations in the future

squirrly

No problem!  I like being helpful.  Makes me feel like my knotting is not in vain. 

FKS

I can assure you it is not  

ladylum

The Grand in New Albany is a GORGEOUS place to have a wedding and reception as well. It is very ballroomesque as well. The Muhammad Ali Center is another good place but it is pricey, gorgeous but pricey.

FKS

Thanks for the suggestions ladylum!  I will look into these as well.

melissaharris01

The Gillespie is gorgeous! We just went to a wedding there and it was amazing, I might consider it for my venue. Did you find a florist? I'm using Nanz & Kraft hopefully and my photographer is James Byrd Photography. We haven't decided on food yet, planning a wedding can be stressful but hope that helps! Oh and another venue is the Marriot downtown, we checked it out and it was so pretty inside! 

FKS

Thanks Melissa!  I've only seen The Gillespie in pictures but I'm not surprised to hear that it is amazing in person - it is already booked for EVERY Saturday in May and June of 2011!! 

JewelsMarie11

FKS What part of NY are you planning from? I too, am planning a Louisville wedding from NY. These ladies have offered excellent suggestions. If there is any question I can answer about distance planning for Louisville, please let me know!

meganlela

Havana Rumba is my favorite restaurant in town..so you'd be well off using them!

I have to chime in on photogs. Please check out www.monarch-photography.com!

I love them. They have done pretty much every professional picture we've had taken of us or our son in the last 5 years. (I made the mistake of going to a cheap photo place for our son's 2nd bday.) You'd love them. Very nice, amazing work!!

FKS

I am hearing amazing reviews about Havana Rumba!  Can't wait to try it.  Thanks!

casey61810

Our reception is at the Frazier museum in teh 4th floor cultural arts center. It reminds me of a New York style loft with exposed brick. Frazier also has a rooftop garden for the ceremony. 

FKS

That sounds beautiful, Casey!  Do you happen to know how many people the 4th floor cultural arts center holds?

casey61810

I know the 4th floor holds 360 but I'm not sure about the rooftop.

bmerante

If you're looking for a great hotel to get a block of rooms, I definitely recommend Hilton's Homewood Suites (voted #1 Homewood Suites in the country for 2008), Embassy Suites and the Hilton Garden Inn- Summitt. They are all sister hotels and the staff is very friendly. I am working with them all for our wedding!!