Recently Engaged- Biltmore?

meagan.carey

Hello All!

I'm recently engaged and am about to start my planning! I moved to Providence about 10 months ago, and my fiance and I are planning on getting married here (he's a RI native).  

I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions regarding venue.  We have been thinking about the Biltmore, we live downtown so i've walked by there quite a few times, however i've never attended any events -or- weddings there, and their website isn't really giving me a good feel for what to expect.

Any advice/thoughts/recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!

JessiTess

I went to a wedding there just before Christmas and it was a great venue.  At the time, it was decorated for Christmas, and looked very classic. 

I thought the food and service was very good too.  The only complaint I had was that we arrived to cocktail hour literally 10 min late and all of the passed HDs were gone.  Not sure if this was the venue's fault or the package that the couple purchased.

Also your guests have to pay for parking, which is likely the case in all of Providence.  We walked, so it wasn't a problem for us.

Overall, as a guest I thought it was a nice venue, I was impressed as I expected it to be an older and boring facility, but it has a lot of charm.

Happy hunting!

jlsimon56

Melissa Robotti has pictures of weddings there on her blog.  I think it's a lovely space.

DansBride52911

gorgeous space...we fell in love with it but it was out of the budget and the parking situation just wasn't for us.

good luck with planning :-)

i2012do

Hey, congrats on the recent engagement.

Its a really pretty space, but I personally owuld prefer to be married in the upstairs, (main) ballroom, the lower one has very few windows and is off the upstairs lobby. I had an event there back in college and people kept peeking in.

Also, its pretty pricey. I mean compared for providence.
A Saturday night minimum on food (not beverage) is 15,000$, and thats pretty average for a lot of places in Newport...

I am checking out some places in providence. The Renaissance hotel, squantaum, and Hotel providence as alternatives.

Andrea&JasonWed108813

Congratulations on your engagement!  A friend of mine had her reception at the Biltmore years ago and liked it, but it was costly even then.  Other options - Roger Williams park botanical gardens, Blithewold mansion, or the crown jewel of RI - newport.  Depending on budget you have  a ton of options!  Good luck!

meagan.carey

thank you all so much for your advice! I really appreciate it!

jmorta04

Congrats on your engagement!  I am getting married at the Biltmore next July.  The minute I walked into the ballroom, I fell in love.  Scott is amazing to work with and absolutely hysterical.  He has been very helpful throughout the planning process.  Our DJ has worked there many times and has nothing but great things to say.  Our wedding is 4th of July weekend, so we are hoping for some amazing fireworks from up that high.  It is definitely on the expensive side, but we were looking for a place where our guests could also stay bc we have so many OOTers.  Parking was a concern for me, but with so many people staying at the hotel, they are going to have to pay for parking anyway.  We may try to pay for our non-OOTers valet costs that night if at all possible.  Let me know if you have any questions about the planning part (can't comment on the actual day yet!)...I'd be happy to help!

hollygb22

I got married there last year

The price wasn't that bad compared to other downtown venues we looked at. If you're thinking of a city wedding, it was (obviously) my favorite of all hotels and venues we looked downtown after nixing the idea of a Newport wedding.

We almost went with the downstairs ballroom but then looked upstairs and the 2 don't compare. I thought the food and dinner were excellent. We went with only passed h'ors D'ouevres...no one complained that there weren't  too many. When we walked in with 10 min left to cocktail hour they were still being passed.

Overall we had an excellent experience there. My husband is not from RI and half of my family wasn't as well, so it worked so well having our room blocks there, and the reception there as well as the morning after brunch

Flowers By Helen

 Congratulations to you ! As a local florist I have delivered to many venues. the Biltmore is beautiful. However there are many, many equaly as beautiful in the area. From the high style of providence, Country charm of Rehoboth, and the beautiful ocean front of Bristol and Newport. Do yourself a favor and check out the local community to make your choice. Good luck and most of all  have fun !!!!

jaz0822

Hi & congrats!!  I just got married at the Biltmore in June and LOVED it!!!  ALL of my friends, coworkers and relatives have said it's the most elegant wedding they've ever been to with top notch food and service!  EVERYTHING was amazing!!! 
We had the top floor ballroom (i agree that the 2nd floor doesn't compare) - the only reason we could afford it is because we took a date that was "last minute" - only 6 months to plan (I think it was open because he had a cancelation - I would ask about dates he could work with you on... it saved us a ton)  I was insane and didn't get some of the other vendors I wanted, but it was SO worth it.   Plus, all  the pictures are amazing with that backdrop!  Scott went above and beyond and I loved every second. He is hard to get a hold of before the wedding, but he definitely has everything down to a science the day of and we didn't go without or worry about a thing.  It was perfect and a fairytale.
The only downfall is the parking situation - but if that's really an issue, you can offer to pay for everyone that's not staying at the hotel? We paid for some people in our families that we knew would complain. 
Good luck!!!

[Deleted User]

Biltmore is a wonderful venue and the photography spots can be amazing.

Congratulations on your engagement and I wish you all the bset