Riviera Ballroom, Lake Geneva

roseberri29

Hello all.

My fiance and I are planning wedding in the wider Beloit/Janesville/Lake Geneva area for 2012, and we're planning from a plane ride away. We both grew up in the area, but have not lived there for several years.  Most of our guests will be coming in from out of town.  We recently spent a weekend visiting reception sites in the area, and we're leaning towards the Riviera Ballroom in Lake Geneva.  We have a date reserved there, but we aren't completely convinced yet.  I'm wondering - has anyone had their wedding there, or is planning one?  What's your opinion of the site, and of the area vendors?  They have a "preferred" list, including Courtyard Catering, Zilli's, and Celebrations (among others).  You can also bring in your own wine etc, but must hire a bartending service, and I'm not sure what the mark-up for that usually is.

Anyone have experiences/advice to share?  Thanks!

gadragonetti

I've been to weddings there, also had my proms there in high school.  It is gorgeous, but you have to bring in virtually EVERYTHING and hire people to set it all up.  Also, not sure if this is a concern for you, but there really isn't any handicapped access to the Ballroom.  Hope this helps!

LISASUM

Hello!
  You will love it there. I wish we got married there, but we ran into some financial troubles. However, my co-worker got married there and they used Zilli's.
  The room was set up nicely, but it was the beautiful linens they used that was order from Zilli's. They also hleped my co-worker with table rental since they had a huge party and wanted service things tha the facility couldn't offer. The food was delicious and there's a small kitchen with some ovens. The bartenders were also from Zilli's, so it was a one stop shop. 
  They also have security on watch in case any party crashers, because of the location. I actually saw the security escort some people out. The only downfall is the limited parking; my co-worker used a shuttle bus to get the guests there. You should also look at rental cost, because it varies on where you are from.

Good Luck!

roseberri29

Thanks! We decided on it for sure, and we're very excited.

johnolson1234

That is where I got married as well. Just got married on 3/5 and it was amazing. We had Smoov Music DJ's and they provided very nice LED up-lighting, which made the room look truly great. I highly recommend the Riviera.

Check out Smoov Music at www.smoovmusicdj.com....i/">www.smoovmusicdj.com  I highly recommend them as well.

rosascol

I'm also getting married there in 2012 (May 25); I think it's such a unique venue.  I don't know if you have had a chance to visit it recently, but they painted the ceiling this summer, did some work on the outside and got new chairs.

I wish they had REALLY great pictures of the Riv online, but I haven't found any I love yet.  I checked out weddings there almost weekly this summer to get ideas.  I also attended Lake Geneva's Wedding Walk with Gage a few weeks ago where there were TONS of vendors.  If you have specific questions or need names/contacts, I can give them to you- I literally have a huge stack of information from the event.

thinmint86

Courtyard Catering & Celebrations are the last 2 caterers we're trying to decide between.  Did you go with either one of those, or do you have another recommendation?  I feel clueless about this stuff without recommendations!   

cmcdon5

I want to have ceremony and reception at the Riviera Ballroom.

Can you have your cocktail hour outside while they set up the recption after the ceremony?

cmcdon5

What caterer did you end up choosing? I am looking at the same 2 and comparing