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On a bit of a budget and feeling overwhelmed

JackiCrotteauJackiCrotteau member
First Comment
in Minnesota-Minneapolis and St. Paul

A toxic combination indeed...

Regardless, I am an in the beginning stages of looking for venues. I feel like I'm having a hard time finding a venue within my budget. There are so many hidden fees.

I guess what I'm looking for is recommendations for a place that will still be elegant and beautiful, but work with our budget.

My second question is, how do we go about choosing a perfect venue for us? If a place requires we use their catering, do we get to taste test before placing a deposit?

Clearly, I'm in a bit over my head here! Thank-you for your assistance in asking any of my questions!

"They couldn't remember a time until now that forever didn't seem long enough."
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Re: On a bit of a budget and feeling overwhelmed

  • maybe984maybe984 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Any preferences on where the venue is?

    Both my ceremony and reception are going to be at the Historic Washington County Courthouse in Stillwater. For our Sunday wedding, the rental fee was only $1000... and they let you choose any licensed caterer... and you supply your own beer and wine (which saves a lot of money compared to them requiring you to use a licensed beverage service.) You also get essentially free-reign of all the other details you can think of.

    So.. not a lot is included in the rental price... but that allows you to bargain-shop with your other vendors. If the idea of coordinating everything puts you in a tizzy... there are plenty of affordable options that are more of a one-stop-shop... but it all depends.
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  • lboerner88lboerner88 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I found our wedding reception venue to be one of the least expensive in the south metro area. Our reception is at Royal Cliff Banquet Hall in Eagan. It is a large hall with amazing food! It is family owned and operated and I found the meals to be very reasonable compared to the other places that we looked :)


    Planning Bio - updated 04-02-11

    Married Bio - updated 04-06-11
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  • schmoodschmood member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I was very happy with how things turned out at our reception at River Oaks in Cottage Grove.   We've had many compliments on on the venue itself as well as the food.  The room isn't anything fancy...but it has a nice patio off the room that overlooks the golf course.   The minimums were very reasonable (around $2500) I think and meals averaged about $15-20pp. 

    www.riveroaksweddings.com
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  • kkaew816kkaew816 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Ditto Maybe on the Wash County Historic Courthouse, it's a beautiful venue and you can save a lot of money despite the higher rental fee because you can choose your own caterer and bring in your own alcohol. I just had my wedding there earlier this month, I have pics in my bio if you want to check it out.
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  • MAYA3300MAYA3300
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    My second question is, how do we go about choosing a perfect venue for us?

    Things to consider when choosing a venue:

    1.  location (is it close to your ceremony site? is it a central location for most of your guests?)
    2.  style of the venue (does the style of the venue fit your wedding style/theme?  modern, historical, etc)
    3.  rental cost
    4.  parking
    5.  availability
    6.  what amenities comes with the venue (kitchen, tables/chairs, coordinator, set up/take down, etc).
    7.  Food/Beverage minimum
    8.  Does the venue require that you use certain vendors?  Can you bring in your own caterer/alcohol?


     If a place requires we use their catering, do we get to taste test before placing a deposit?

    Most places have a list of preferred vendors that you can choose from.  And I'm assuming that you can do a taste test before you decide.

    If a venue has one exclusive vendor and you'd prefer to have more options, that venue may not work for you.   
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  • graysquirrelgraysquirrel member
    5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I third the Washington County Courthouse! It is perfect for us because it fits our Victorian theme, budget, and is truly beautiful. 

    What really saves your budget is that you can pick your own caterer & bring your own alcohol. This is HUGE!!! I have had friends who were stuck buying cake for $6/slice because they were locked into a vendor at their venue. We decided to go with Kowalski's catering and can get delicious food for less than $15/plate. Never go with a place that won't let you taste test first. That is a very bad risk because people remember food at weddings before anything else.

    The courthouse also lets you use their sound system during the ceremony and reception for toasts, music, etc. They also have an old jail that you can let your people tour for like $50 for the night. We will be setting up a photo station down there with props. This lets us do fun pics without paying $1000 for the traveling photo booth. 

    How does one pick a venue? First pick what look you want to go for. Then solidify a budget. Ditto MAYA's advice. It is OK to visit lots of places and to go back a couple times. Don't let anyone pressure you into booking until you are for sure. Good luck!
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  • brimavenbrimaven member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    you are asking the right questions. Which part of the cities do you want to be in?
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  • Steph0871Steph0871
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    What is your budget? How many people are you expecting?

    We're doing the ceremony and reception at Profile Event Center.  Including food, taxes, tip, rentals, etc etc it will end up being about $35 pp (for a 3-entrée buffet.)
    image
    Eat.Drink.BeMarried. Blog.
    BabyFruit Ticker
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  • polichikpolichik member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We had our reception at Spill the Wine in the warehouse district of MInneapolis, and I LOVED it. I negotiated our way into:

    -no rental fee
    -free parking for guests
    -no cake cutting fee
    -no fees to set up and take down ALL decorations

    Meals were $17/pp. We chose to use free-range, organic chicken, which brought our chicken dish cost to $24/pp. Open bar (two types of beer, four types of wine, soda, etc.) was $24/pp for four and a half hours. There were no hidden fees.

    If something a little more urban, offbeat, and unique is your style, I'd defintely check it out. If you do decide to look into it, tell Katie (the coordinator) that Sarah from the Septembe wedding referred you, and she might give you the same discounts :)

    There are a few photos in my bio, but you really need to see the space yourself at night to get the feel for it :)
    image
    Planning!.....Married!
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  • honeybear25honeybear25
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    My total budget was 8000 so I know how you feel.  Decide what you must have out of a venue and then only look at places that cover those things.  This is what I had to do because the options are truly endless.  You and FI need to decide te most important top ten things of your whole wedding, break down your budget accordingly and that will tell you what you can afford and what venues fit in. Also like ppls said negotiate! I am having my wedding on a friday at The Wild's in Prior Lake in the off season for a fraction of the cost (2000) including hosted bar, cocktail hour, and three theme station buffet.  Time of year was not important to us but elegant timeless venue close to ceremony was.  It can be a scary dark hole if you open yourself up to every option there is for every aspect of planning.  Breathe and then enjoy cuz this is the fun part too!
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  • JackiCrotteauJackiCrotteau member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Update: We went to THREE different venues yesterday and decided on Profile Event center. This place was pretty reasonable, especially when it comes to an open bar. They have an AWESOME liquor policy. It will end up being a little bit more expensive than I would have liked, but I won't have to worry about so many things. And, I plan on doing the ceremony there as well (which will help a little bit). Thank-you for all of you input!
    "They couldn't remember a time until now that forever didn't seem long enough."
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  • leggwilliamsleggwilliams
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_bit-of-budget-feeling-overwhelmed?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:81Discussion:358b0f0d-2453-480e-90ce-cb47eddf4fb3Post:10b68923-7e44-41c6-95f0-5517f47813f7">Re: On a bit of a budget and feeling overwhelmed</a>:
    [QUOTE]Update: We went to THREE different venues yesterday and decided on Profile Event center. This place was pretty reasonable, especially when it comes to an open bar. They have an AWESOME liquor policy. It will end up being a little bit more expensive than I would have liked, but I won't have to worry about so many things. And, I plan on doing the ceremony there as well (which will help a little bit). Thank-you for all of you input!
    Posted by JackiCrotteau[/QUOTE]

    You'll love the PEC! Heather is fantastic to work with and everything is really reasonable IMO. What room did you book in?
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