Reception Venue help...

kila816

Hello everyone!  I am very excited to be here!  I am hoping you ladies can help me with something.  We are getting married on 9/17/11 in a church in Zelienople, PA, which is north of Pittsburgh.  Right now we are penciled in at the Days Inn in Butler PA for our reception but something just has just felt off about it since we talked to them.  I'm not sure if this is my gut saying pick somewhere else or nerves about such a big decision.

I have decided to just look around a little more before signing the contract.  Can you ladies help me?  We are inviting around 300 people and would love to be able to bring in our own caterer to the venue but that might not be possible. We are also trying to keep it as inexpensive as possible (as far as weddings can go anyways). 

Any ideas on where we can look?

Thanks soo much!

duqcheer04

I'm not sure how far you are willing to travel, but the Marriott in Cranberry, Twelve Oaks on 228 and the Camelot/Columbian Room in Wexford. 

I just googled an found The Grand Ballroom at Cornerstone Commons. Looks nice- I have no experience with the space, prices are listed on the website.

Did you look into Shakespeare's Restaurant & Pub?

My sister went to a wedding at the Succop Conservatory, she said it was very pretty. The food was "ok" but I'm not sure what the policy is on caterers.

lseemiller

I have no suggestions, just want to say what a great day! That is our day too!

jlbaxter33

Ooo isn't there a farm in Saxonburg that is supposed to be cute? Also, I think there is a Butler knottie on here, so hopefully she can jump in.

Ash2985

Hi!  I'm from Butler.  I've only attended one wedding at Days Inn, but it was FSIL's wedding and that was about 7 years ago, so I imagine things have changed.  I remember being surprised that the ballroom was actually quite nice, but think the food was rather nondescript.  FI's family (mom & aunts) all worked at Days Inn for a long time, coordinating and planning weddings/events.  I know that I personally didn't want to have it there, but that's because I was trying to avoid Butler altogether (nothing wrong with it, I was just born & raised there and it's not my favorite place in the world).  I'm not going to lie, if you have a gut instinct, I would look elsewhere.  Since you haven't done anything officially yet, it certainly can't hurt.

One of the girls I know from high school recently got married at Succop Observancy, and the pictures were very pretty.  I briefly considered the Grand Ballroom, but didn't care for the location in downtown Butler.  The Atrium in Butler is also a really popular option, and I've been to a few weddings there.  Again, gorgeous setting, I just remember the food being OK.

This is ending up to be very long, sorry!  The farm in Saxonburg that jlbaxter mentioned I think is Armstrong Farms... another friend from high school got married there recently, and had very pretty pictures.

We're doing the Marriott North in Cranberry, which might be an option for you, but it's definitely more costly than Days Inn.  Hope some of that at least helps!

LaFemmeRousse

Does Hartwood Acres allow you to bring in a caterer?

In Wexford, there's the Chadwick event facility.  They don't allow outside caterers but I think it's a pretty affordable option.

kila816

Thanks ladies!  Those are all wonderful places, I had found most of them in my search the first time for a hall.  The problem lies with two things – the number of guests (that my fi won’t budge on) and the cost of the halls.  I did find one place that my mom is looking at today while I’m at work.  It’s called Jeffries Landing and it’s in Bridgewater.  Not the best town but the pictures look okay.  We’ll see.  He is really set on the Day’s Inn…I just want options to make sure the cheap cost outweighs other benefits.  I hate how expensive everything is.  The Day’s Inn was really nice and did a custom package for us, so in turn they basically set up the tables and leave the rest to us.  I’m nervous about a family member having to coordinate all that when they should be enjoying their niece or nephew’s wedding (and me letting them take control and not stress).  Day-of coordinator is out of the budget also.

Ash2985 – Thanks for your opinion on the Day’s Inn.  My fi’s family has a huge festival there every January so I am familiar with the venue and also that their food just stinks – that’s why we are bringing in our caterer if we decide to do it there.