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Places to have a reception area in NEO?

maina1713maina1713 member
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in Ohio-Northeast
Hi All,
I'm new to the area and getting hitched in a year! 
The wedding will likely be on or near the CWRU campus.  Any general thoughts or suggestions on how to select a reception venue?
What's a reasonable range for the reception price per head in and around Cleveland?  We want to be thrifty, but I really don't know what that is here.  Are open bars pretty typical?  Beer and wine only?  Any input is much appreciated!

CO-girl.
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Re: Places to have a reception area in NEO?

  • JKohioJKohio member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Congrats! My DH is a CWRU grad. :) Hmm.. regarding reception site selection, think about approx. how many guests you plan to invite, whether you want an indoor or outdoor site, etc. The typical place provides catering, but a handful of venues let you bring your own caterer in, if you have one in mind. Also, consider the atmosphere you're going for... formal vs. casual, big city modern vs. rustic elegant. Would a banquet hall or ballroom be ok or would you prefer a more unique location (often costing more $$$) such as a zoo, winery, gallery, theater, etc?

    Pricing varies, anywhere from $25-40+/pp further away from downtown to $50-100+/pp in the city. Also, if a location is very popular, has an amazing view or high end food/beverages, that will drive costs up a bit. As for alcohol, open bar is definitely the thing to do. I'd say it's an even split though, regarding folks who serve beer/wine only vs. adding liquor and mixed drinks to the offerings. My DH and I only served beer and wine, to help keep costs down.

    Hope that helps!
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  • cupcakewarfarecupcakewarfare member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Since you're a June bride, and because of your location, I'd probably get the scoot on your venue hunt. However, right now is also a really good time to take a look at the area because you'll know what the scenery will look like on the big day. Like pp said, there are so many options available to you depending on what type of feel you're going for. I'm pretty sure that every single museum in the University Circle area hosts weddings. There are also a few historical buildings in that immediate area that provide venue services as well. Some of these places will require you to use their preferred catering vendor. I would personally do a hunt online for every single venue in that immediate area, and then start visiting as many as you can to get a feel for pricing. Plus, it's a nice way to get to know the area!
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  • July2012brideJuly2012bride member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Agree with PP's.  If you are looking for a ballroom near CWRU, there is the ballroom at park lane villa.  I think max it held was 150 or so, other places near there include the cleveland botanical gardens (very pricy though), the Western Reserve Historical society, and most of the downtown hotels. 

    There is also The city club at cleveland, Massimo Milano, Glidden House and a few others.  I can give you more of an idea if you know your approx. guest count and the feel of your wedding.

    Hope that gets you started.

    Also, CWRU has a farm in the suburbs (Squire at Valleevue) that looked pretty cool wen I was looking at venues. (I think only CWRU alum can rent/sign off on the rental so you might have more luck booking there than other places that are already booked by now for next june.)
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  • maina1713maina1713 member
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    edited December 2011
    Thank you for all the feedback! 
    Our guest list is ~140.  I have been pricing various places (botanical gardens, hotels in the area, the Glidden house - which is sadly totally booked for Saturdays), and the range is 100-150$/head, with space fees from $0-5k.  Our budget for the reception is 10k, so I'm at the point where I am trying to decide whether we will need to increase it, decrease our guest list, or find someplace that is closer to 70$/head.

    Do I have unreasonable expectations with respect to the price?

     I will check out the farm - that sounds very pretty!  Our style is some combination of laid back (me) and elegant (him) - I would like the venue to look nice (and avoid the scary loud carpets, or "prom in the gym" feel), but I'm open to how it's pretty (city, country, mod).

    I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed - I didn't know how much there was to do for a wedding, and am feeling behind...



     
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  • SarahP787SarahP787
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Don't panic, you can totally do it :)

    I'm not sure how far from Cleveland you'd be willing to go, but Springlake Party Center in Lakemore OH has super reasonable prices! They do have a minimum guest requirement... I forget how many... so it's possibly more than what you're looking at, but could be worth checking out.

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  • K ByteK Byte member
    First Comment First Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    Botanical gardens is really expensive because of the room rental fee. Have you thought about Maggiano's Little Italy up at Beachwood mall? I think you'd stay under your max PP plus the food is great. They do weddings, we looked at them for the RD but they were a little pricey for what we wanted. I don't think 140 would be too much of a guest list but might be around the max they can accommodate. Plus it's not too far from Case.

    There's venues in the general area from really inexpensive up to $150+ pp in some of the nicest hotels. And most people around here do at least partially open bar, either beer/wine only or a full open bar. Cash bar is not too common (dry weddings are more common than cash from my experience!)
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  • maina1713maina1713 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thank you ladies!
    I am back on track and making calls =)
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  • nmcoopernmcooper
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Something else to think about, I've noticed that especially around the Cleveland area, getting married on a Friday, or Sunday can significantly reduce the cost of the reception.  We ended up choosing Sunday of Memorial weekend (the price was less, and won't inconvenience our guests because of the holiday on Monday. Just an idea! :) I know that the Hyatt downtown Cleveland has special pricing (around $64 pp food, bar) without tax for doing a reception on Friday or Sunday.  I have the specific information in my e-mail and can email you that information also! 
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  • maina1713maina1713 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I like the idea!  Unfortunately my sis (and maid of honor) can't make any 3 days weekends, and many of the out of towners have job related stuff that makes a non-Saturday an issue.  We have started looking at hotels in the area - I don't know what took me so long to do this actually.  Everything else I've researched is 15k for the 140 people, and I still think that's nuts!

    nmcooper - did you like the Hyatt?  Was it much more for the Saturday?

    Thanks =)
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  • mikey0531mikey0531 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Have you looked into The Bertram in Aurora, Ohio?  There are banquet rooms as well as hotel rooms.  My niece had her wedding there and it was very nice.  Also the Lake Forest Country Club in Hudson, Ohio is very nice.  I don't know prices though.  Having a beer/wine bar will dramatically decrease your bar costs and is totally acceptable -- a cash bar is not a good idea.
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