Venue Thoughts

FebDallasBride

I'm newly engaged, and planning this wedding completely on my own (FI is overseas with military until next July, I'm hoping to book about 1 year prior to our wedding date so I have to solidify everything before he returns.) Food is his biggest concern, and he even told me the venue won't matter as long as the food is good. Meanwhile, logistics is my biggest worry (I am a sales manager for an entertainment venue so I take a different approach to planning things.)

Has anyone had or attended a wedding at any of the following places:
La Buena Vida
Maple Manor
Starlight Room

FI is in love with the menu at Maple Manor, just from reading it.  From what I've seen on their gallery, I'm 80% liking it, but I do have one concern with the venue. From the pics on their Web site, it looks like the dancing area would be separate where everyone would be eating. I'd hate for people to have to move from room-to-room just to enjoy the festivities. I guess I could always put smaller tables in the other room for seating for the older guests to enjoy the entertainment, if that's the case.
As far as La Buena Vida - it looks like their ceremonies take place out in the Pavilion. We are getting married in February (non-negotiable on the date, as I wanted to get married close to my grandparents wedding anniversary.) FI's family is from AZ so this sporadic Dallas winter weather is going to catch them off-guard I think. I'm so worried that we'd have to add space heaters or something which might make the space look tacky. I did have an idea to have a basket of fleece blankets as guest arrive for them to bundle up if that's the case, but FI wants to avoid that if all possible. I'm sure that if they do this year-round, the coordinator at the venue has some creative ideas to stay warm. I could just be jumping ahead of myself.
I haven't done more than look at the few pictures of the Starlight Room, but with it being more industrial, I'm worried my decor pricing will be through the roof (even though I have saved plenty of wholesale decor sites to my favorites.) I'm thinking with the Manor and Vineyard, they have a theme there that I can play off of a little better for decor.

Any suggestions for a spot to do a civil ceremony plus reception for 150(ish) in February? I'm paying for this completely on my own and have set a budget (with tax and grat) not to exceed $15000. With about 2/3 of our guests being from out of town, we prefer Saturday evening, which means we'll want to serve dinner and not just hors d'oeuvres. While FI would prefer it be near downtown Dallas (or in Addison where we live) I am open to Ft Worth & mid-cities venues too. I won't lie, though: I am toying with the though of doing an earlier ceremony (since the sun sets earlier in winter) and doing heavy apps in lieu of dinner.

Sorry for such a long post, I just didn't want to get too crazy with several of them at once

rcpm44

Hi and congratulations on your engagement! I'm not much help when it comes to the Starlight Room or Maple Manor but we are getting married at La Buena Vida in October. Here's some information...

To rent the facility is $1,500 and this is the deposit too. So once you've paid this money it secures the date and covers the cost of the actual rental. This does not include anything else. To give you an idea of the total cost our guest list is 95 and we were quoted (with wine, linens, set up, chairs, food, cake cutting, the whole enchilada) almost $6,000 BUT this is at a HUGE discount price. Typically for what we are getting it would be closer to $10,000.

When you rent this facility you have the rental time 7pm-11pm. This means that the ceremony can not start earlier than 7:30 (because more than likely your house party will still be preparing). If you want your ceremony to start earlier than 7:30 you will have to rent an extra hour at about $900. It's more expensive to rent an hour earlier than later because earlier affects their actual business because they would actually have to close earlier to accommodate you.

As far as food goes, we are starting our ceremony at 7:30 and reception at 8:00 and are serving heavy hor d'ourves. We didn't want to rent an extra hour and as a result decided against a sit down or buffet dinner.

The pavilion that they have also has sides that come down and they have space heaters, fire pits, and the big fancy tents that can be rented. They really have thought of everything.

You should definitely give them a call. Ask to talk to Haley and tell her Renee her October 2nd bride sent you. She is awesome and will work with you (not like the other gal who used to be there). If you have any more questions feel free to ask!

Donnaaries

You'll get better food if you can book a space that let's you bring in your own caterer (then you can taste with multiple caterers). 

fallbride1109

We had a Knottie have her reception at the Starlight Room in April.  She doesn't post much anymore though.  Here is her review:
http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_vendor-reviews-super-long-1

Also Wedding Wire.com is a great place to read reviews on vendors.

SoonToBeMrsHoz

I just wanted to share my experience about out door weddings in late Winer/ early Spring.. I was a bridesmaid in a wedding in 2009 in late March and it just so happened that on her wedding, a cold front came through and it was outdoors... we could barely stand taking out door pictures because it was so cold and they had to move the ceremony indoors. The next day, it was all sunshine and perfect temperatures.

And this year. . we had snow  in March.. so if you pick a venue for an outdoor ceremony, make sure there is also an option to move it indoor just in case.

FebDallasBride

Thanks gals for all the tips, links etc. Definitely trying to avoid being outdoors at all costs, so good to know they have the wall option for the pavilion at LBV, now my big concern there is the size of our party caus eit looks like we may be pushing limits.

The only reason I'm not worried about Maple Manor's menu is cause Old Warsaw is their caterer and it's delicious. My only concern there is, is if everyone will have to move from room to room for dining and dancing. If so I'll be bummed cause they have great reviews from what I've found on google and we loved the Victorian look.

pattc

How about The Old Red Museum at the Old Red Courthouse in downtown Dallas?

FebDallasBride

I did consider Old Red, but I have a friend getting married there right before us.

I did start getting some quotes this week from a few others I came across - La Cima Club and Orion Ballroom. So far their rates are about equal, so I will have to compare amenities, etc. The coordinator at the Orion was so sweet and already started working out customizing a reception package with me, so bonus points there.

I think the hardest part with this is trying to find the perfect venue without FI here to give his two cents. I'm glad he trusts my judgment

fallbride1109

When I first started planning last year, La Cima was a pretty popular venue.  I've seen some pretty weddings Knotties have had there.