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How many reception venue did you see...

HinajHinaj member
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in South Asian Weddings
before deciding on your current venue??  Also, as a desi bride, what did you look for in those reception venue to be desi friendly?  I am wondering if there is anything we should look for apart from that the space is big enough to fit our guest list, the indian food, what else? 
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Re: How many reception venue did you see...

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    jnsainijnsaini
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hina
    We saw two venues after I did some extensive searching online and talking with FI about it. The first venue was a Hyatt hotel, great view by the river and they would let us get our own indian caterer. Second venue we saw was pyramid club, they have their own caterers.Its located on 52nd floor of a melon bank builiding in center city, philadelphia. FI's eyes lit up when he saw it, he was giddy like a girl looking at amazing views of the city and he said i know this is it..i love the views we can work on adding few desi items to the menu and they offered a simple no confusion price/person deal so we went with the second one ofcourse!
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    raangoliraangoli
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We saw two and had a list of others to see as well. Funny thing is that we never intended on looking at the place we chose since a) we didn't know about it and b) we thought it would be too expensive. Even more ironic is that the second venue we saw is the one who suggested the one we booked! They asked where else we looked and we said the Marriott and  that we still had a few places in mind. The lady asked if we had considered the Westin, we said no...

    So we decided to give it a try on a whim, and voila! We booked the Westin. Seriously great service so far. The sales manager is quick about getting me answers etc and has been proactive in some respects as well.

    Moral of the story: don't automatically rule a place out because of your preconceived notions and/or budget! Sure, it's a little pricier, but we're getting great service. And with such a short timeline, that's key for us!
    ExerciseMilestone
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    kpwedkkkpwedkk member
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Apart from looking at hotels and finding them to go right beyond our budget we decided to look for reception venues that were close to the temple where we were going to have the wedding.

    As it turned out, the one with the least restrictions - bring in your own catering/food, bartender, a lot of the vendors had set up shop there before was across the street from the temple!

    Ample space, cost was $2k, has a large kitchen, restroom facilities, a courtyard perfect for the cocktail hour, and sufficient parking for our guests --- oh and we had it the temple for the 1/2 day - up-til 2pm, and the reception place all day to come in and set up tables, chairs, decor, lighting etc. 

    There are definitely pros and cons to having something already set up in a particular way, and having to pay for it versus having our wedding coordinator staff coordinate with the decor team to making something magical :)

    "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart." ~ Miss K ~
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    Bhanu&AnujBhanu&Anuj member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I think overall we researched 20 places
    And probably ruled out 5 ...but I'm sure we saw at least 10-12 of the remaining 15.

    Many of the venues we saw offered outside catering and had partnerships with the restaurants of different cultures.

    If I could go back and consider another venue I would consider a venue that had more greenery...the hotel we are at doesn't have enough trees and greenery around it...that is bothering me just a little lol
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
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    rajkumarirajkumari
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    The food
    How long we had the venue
    How early we could get in before the ceremony
    Room block rates
    Food minimums
    Plated vs buffet cost
    Upgrade options for food
    Cake inclusion
    What time we had to be out
    Any setup/cleanup fees
    How many servers per 100 guests
    Deposit policy
    Reviews with BBB
    Fees for food tasting
    Bridal suite

    Hope this helps!
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