Can't find a Chapel and I'm pulling my hair out!

jandamathews

OK Ladies, help if you can.  I have been on the search for a chapel in the ABQ area for at least 6 months now.  I love the chapel at Hotel ABQ but it's horribly over-priced.  We REALLY want a chapel wedding but there doesn't seem to be anything else in NM that is protestant and doesn't cost over $1500.  We'd use our church but it's um, I don't mean to sound snobby, but it's just not very pretty or wedding-ish feeling. HELP!?!     (and please don't say Loretto becasue it's in the same out of this world price range.)

Zillian

We just booked our ceremony at the Albuquerque Old Town Chapel. The final price, including taxes is around $1,900. To be honest, it is a lot of money, but everything is overpriced when it comes to weddings. We are having our reception at the Hispanic Cultural Center, which is fairly reasonable, so we were able to have a reasonable recepetion. The total cost of that will be around $3,000, so I was able to justify the ceremony cost, with the affordable reception.

I looked and called around a lot of places and this is what I ran into.
a. Had to be a member with the church for at least a specific amount of time and book at least six months in advance.
b. Have an outside ceremony, also pricey and weather is always a concern.
c. Everything else will be around 1,500 for a ceremony.

My only option for you is to contact the Alumni Chapel at UNM. It is really inexpensive and if you're a full time student, have family members who have graduated from UNM, or you have, than you can apply to have your ceremony there.

Good luck!

jandamathews

Yeah, already checked with UNM, we do not qualify to use the chapel there.  My budget is around 5K for the whole wedding and $1500 for a cheapel is just rediculous, much less $1900.  I just feel like I'm paying someone to rob me!

Thnaks for the suggestions. Any one else have any ideas?

horsevaulter

Wow, I didnt know they were so expensive! What church do you go to? Whats your wedding date? I may know of a really pretty curch...

stevie_kate

Check out the Lobo Theater! They are both a church and a cool venue!

Beazilla

Check out the Lodge at Sante Fe. They have a really nice chapel ( I think it holds 50, but you can expand seating out the doors) and it's a great site. The chapel is $250 for setup and an hour of use. There's several areas to use for a reception in the hotel and courtyard. If you do Saturday, it's a $4500 minimum (put towards food, drink, etc) and Fridays and Sundays there's no minimum. Regina, their coordinator, is super helpful. I'm currently trying to convince my FH that we should do ours there. Plus since it's up on a hill you get nice views of the city and mountains.

nikkismiles

I know that Buffalo Thunder also has a chapel, but I don't have the slightest idea of how much they charge.

Also, have you tried looking into other local protestant churches that are eye catching?  They might be cheaper, and that way you at least know your money is going to a good place.

We are getting married that the St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe.  It's a Catholic Cathedral, but as we are parishoners of an Albuquerque Catholic Church, they only charged us $300, and we know our money is going exactly where we want it to go, to benefit the church.

horsevaulter

If you are still looking for a chruch, our church Sombra Del Monte will let nonmembers use the sanctuary and its beautiful! It is only a little over 300 to use I believe..