About to start touring venues - need knotties help!!

laurendoster

Hey guys! 

First off, I've been reading the last 40 pages worth of posts.  Super informative, especially to someone who just got engaged and has no experience!

I'm looking at a June-July wedding in 2011, my tentative guest list is 125, and I'm looking to spend no more than $10,000 for the ceremony & reception.  It seems like there are great options for all inclusive or DIY, and I'm open to either.  I would only do DIY; however, if I could mimic a $15k-$20k wedding for $10k.

Here is my list of visits right now, do you have any good ones I've missed??

Chapelle de Fluers
Piazza in the Village
Ashton Gardens
Wildwood Inn
Northeast Wedding Chapel
Bell Tower Ft. Worth
Winfry Point

Second question: what checklist for amenities do I need to check for?  I want to make sure I understand EVERYTHING that is included!!

Thank you so much in advance!!  You guys are the best source I've found so far!

Lauren

bsn1752

I do know that Piazza in the Village won't get you in the price range that you're looking for.  They will be much higher for your guest list.

I am having mine at Sky Creek Ranch Golf Club in Keller... which is not really "all inclusive" but it includes almost everything you'll need.  For 6k, I am having 135 guests, full dinner, beer, wine and champagne toast, and it includes the tip.  She also has plenty of decorations/linens/etc for you to use... and the coordinator (Amy) acts as a day of coordinator.

I hope that you find this board helpful and this recommendation... I'm obviously very partial to my venue, but there are tons in this area.

Good luck and happy planning!

fallbride1109

Hi and welcome.  Here is a recent thread with good suggestions on what to ask venues:

http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_questions-venues

And yeah, Piazza and Ashton Gardens will either be at the top of your budget or above it.  Winfrey Point books really fast so you might want to start there if you are really interested.  Good luck and keep us posted!

InfamousQBert

things to know about Winfrey Point:

1. there's not really a place to get ready, so you'd have to book a hotel or something to get ready in and take a car. that's what we're doing.

2. it's really a totally DIY place. i'm still happy we picked it, but i understand MUCH better now why it costs so much more to have a place with its own staff and what not. you're going to spend more than you realize getting the additional things that might have been included at another place (their chairs are hella ugly, for example).

in general, you want to look for things like electrical outlets that are easy to access for your DJ, lighting, etc. ask about catering - if they're all-inclusive, will they let you use your own caterery or bakery if you want to? same thing for just about anything else. if you decide you don't like some element (chairs & tables, decor, etc), can you change it? how much prep time & clean up time will/can they give you prior to and after the ceremony. you want at least 3 hours before hand for everything to get set up. for decor, you want to know what's allowed or not, in terms of what you can hang from, etc. sometimes that stuff is in an info packet, but not always.

that's all i can think of right now, but i'm sure others will have more suggestions.

above all, pick a place that you really love and feel is "right".

laurendoster

You guys are great!  I appreciate the info on Piazza & Ashton - will call before I set up a full appointment.

@bsn1752:  Sky Creek sounds amazing!  Plus the rents live in Southlake so that would be perfect.  Are you having your ceremony there as well??

fallbride1109

Lauren, Mariah got married at Wildwood--if she doesn't chime in, page her or something because she'll have all the details.  There is a current Knottie getting married there too but I can't remember who.  I know someone is getting married at Bell Tower too.

sparklingdiamond

We are getting married at the Wildwood next April.  I can send you a PM about it if you would like :-)

bsn1752

Yes, ceremony and reception there... the best part is that they just recently completed their actual ceremony grounds too... here's a couple pictures of it set up at a recent wedding.  I can't say enough good things about them though, so far, I love it.  Plus, I'm a Grapevine/Southlake native... so I love the area too.

Call or email Amy - tell her that Brianna sent you!  amy@skycreekranch.com

danac2010

I'm getting married at White Chapel in NRH.  Its about $6000 for everything, such as ceremony decorations, tables and chairs, linens, centerpieces, use of 2 ballrooms, the chapel and outdoors.  We are doing our whole wedding for 175 people for right at 10K.

FebDallasBride

I'm still looking for venues myself, but have gotten quotes. Being in the event business I've made a mental checklist for myself of everything to ask on my site visits. Some of my big ones:
Are tables & chairs included? Some places were charging for a blank canvas and tables and chairs were extra.
Is there cake-cutting/corkage fees? Some places will charge to cut your cake if you don't use their preferred vendor.
Ask for a list of their preferred vendors. With a lot of our guests coming from out of town, we've even gotten some venues with preferred hotels near them that give discounts for our guests.
As silly as this sounds, ask about their guidelines for rehearsal the day before, etc. I had one venue wanting to charge $1000 extra just to have a rehearsal (although if we did our rehearsal dinner there, it was free - I don't want their food two nights in a row, thank you.) Many have specific times for rehearsal.
Decor restrictions (ie candles.) Also, how early can you get in to decorate?

Those are all I can think of off the top of my head. This website (http://weddings.about.com/blchecklist1.htm) has been a great resource, and even has links on some parts of the checklist of things to ask your venue/caterer/DJ.

laurendoster

@ stephie - your list of ?s to ask was PERFECT!  feel more prepared now!!

@ sparkling - any details about wildwood would be wonderful!  my FI really likes the place, so we will definitely check it out

@brianna - you've almost sold me on that place!!!  i'll definitely let amy know!

@ dana - exactly what I'm looking for.  i'll add it to the list of tours!

BIG THANKS!!!

bsn1752

Lauren - haha... I know, I'm so partial to it.  I researched a ton, but only went to one venue... Sky Creek, and we put the deposit down immediately.  She did take $1500 off the fee for us, and I'm sure that she'll work a deal with you too (if you choose it).

If you have any more questions on it, you can private message me! 

Bootsie12

We are having our Cermony and Reception at Timarron Country Club in Southlake. Well within your budget and is an all inclusive with lots of different options.

Here is the link to some pictures - http://www.clubcorp.com/club/scripts/ImageAlbum/view_albums.asp?GRP=10&NS=PCH&MFCODE=TIMCC&APP=94&ANAME=IA_WED_TIMCC&SUBGRP=81

yrosales

Hi Lauren- Ruth Jackson is a really nice place. I found it after I'd already put down my deposit. BUMMER. 

They just re- did their garden. It's really nice. Link below. Good luck!  

 http://www.ruthejacksoncenter.com/

sonataop23

Hi Lauren,

This is my first post....  We are getting married at Harmony Chapel in Aubrey, it is about 10 minutes east of Denton.  I liked Ashton Gardens but I didn't like that they treated me like a business from the moment I said, "Hello".  Ron is the owner of Harmony Chapel and it is a family run business.  Brand New facilities!  I visited the Northeast wedding chapel and the lady there was not very helpful.  Really beautiful facility but we liked Ron and his family better.  The Harmony Chapel only seats 130 people and they cater the reception.  It costs $2.00 pp to have someone else cater because they really want to cater.  Other than that they are pretty flexible.  Our second choice was the Rockwall Wedding chapel  great price great facility.  The reception hall is a bit small but they have an overflow on to a decent sized patio.  We also visited "The Country Abby" in Justin TX.  It was my third choice because they did everything for 10K.  Our budget is about 7K.  Wish us luck.  Check out Harmony Chapel and tell Ron, Julia and Mike say hello.

Good Luck,

Julia
Ps.  Chapelle des Fleurs is Lovely but they are only interested in booking $20K weddings.  We walked into that place and the owner never left her office and our consultant kept running back into the office to ask her questions because she didn't know.  Chapelle is beautiful go there for the free christmas ornament. 

kristoln

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