Introduction (Venue Advice Needed)

audubonbride2013

Hi, I'm Mary.  I just got engaged on Christmas Eve (my birthday)!  I grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, but currently live in Northern Virginia since I work in DC.  My fiance and I are planning to get married Summer 2013 at St Teresa of Avila in Audubon, PA.  Although we haven't made any concrete plans yet, we have begun discussing possible reception venues.  We're looking to go with affordable places since we both have fairly large families.  So far our short list includes:
Radisson in Valley Forge
Westover Country Club in Jeffersonville
The Club at Shannondell in Audubon

Can you please share anything you know about the reception venues? 

Thank you!

Mary

BlissPhilly

Welcome and Congrats! (sorry I have no info on those places)

jelybeancg

Congrats! Sorry, I am not familiar with any of those either.

BethtoWed

Isn't the Radisson the hotel that's going through construction for the casino? It might be a bit messy there now. I went to a work event there and thought it was okay, but not great to be honest.

 Other places that have really good prices that are close to Audubon also would be Center Square Golf Course  in Worcester http://www.centersquaregolfclub.com/weddings.htm and Columbia Station in Phoenixville.  www.theweddingcaterer.com Good luck.

audubonbride2013

Thanks for the welcomes and suggestions!  I think my mom had mentioned the golf course in worcester.  I'll definitely look into those options.

Yes the Radisson is the hotel that is next to the casino construction but we're not getting married until Summer 2013 and the casino is supposed to be done this Spring.  So we should be good on that and honestly the Radisson isn't my top choice, but it's my fiance's top choice at the moment because he thinks it'll be fun to keep the party going in the casino after the reception.

Also how many reception venues do you think I could look at in one day?  How long do the appointments generally last?  My fiance and I have to drive up to look at the venues on a weekend so we want to try to squeeze a bunch of appointments into one day.

RecoveringActor

Hubs and I divided and conquered when we were first looking at venues.  I called a bunch of places and got packages emailed to me first so that I could rule out venues out of my price range, or ones that had funky contracts. 

Hubs went to one venue (a CC) and my dad and I went to the other venue that was at the top of our list, which we ended up booking.  I think the whole meeting was about 45 minutes.  It went a little longer because my dad wanted a tour of the whole hotel. 

You could probably squeen 2 or 3 in one day.  I know for me any more than 3 and I'd be BEAT.

Congrats, btw

jessa1228

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-philadelphia_introduction-venue-advice-needed?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:105Discussion:d81c7b30-f41e-4a08-a0b5-51eee50cbae9Post:b945a2bb-7f0f-4a7c-8a41-8cc31c886355">Re: Introduction (Venue Advice Needed)</a>:
[QUOTE]You could probably squeen 2 or 3 in one day.  I know for me any more than 3 and I'd be BEAT. Congrats, btw :)
Posted by RecoveringActor[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>Agreed. The most I did was 2 in one day and it was exhausting. My appointments usually lasted 1.5 hours (sometimes more, sometimes less) because my dad likes to ask 347324 questions.</div><div>
</div><div>Congrats on your engagement and good luck with planning!

</div>

lroth8383

I'm not sure what your budget is, but i checked out the Radisson in Valley Forge last weekend.  There are three ballrooms there.  One is kind of old and ugly, one is huge and it just a typical ballroom, and the other (the waterford) is modern with a huge stage (which i didn't like because i wasn't having a band) and a mezzanine for the cocktail hour which is cool.  They wanted us to spend a minimum of $20,000 for a friday night off-season wedding in the waterford which i thought was too expensive but it all depends what your budget is.  They are going through a lot of renovations right now, so we couldn't really see what the restaurants would look like in a few months.  

You could also check out Dolce in King of Prussia (they have an awesome bar for the after party).  

nancyr

I know the Radisson's casino is only supposed to be open to hotel guests.  Not sure how that might effect your fiance's plans or if the group is staying there.  They have good food at the Radisson for general food not sure about their wedding food.  I agree that the Dolce might be a good choice as well.  Also Villanova Conf. Center. Not sure it's what you want, you'd need photos.  If you're not wedded to just that area you could try up near Plymouth Mtg mall. William Penn Inn and Normandy Farms are both up there.  Normandy has a huge hotel complex and is down the street from Wm. Penn which is a small colonial inn that they've turned into a very nice venue.  Ck the websites.  

ysl1983

Hi and welcome!  My fiance and I are in the same situation (we live in Northern, VA and getting married in downtown Philadelphia). 

When searching for venues, I did as much research as i can by e-mailing venues and talking on the phone with them about pricing. Then once I had a good list of venues that were willing to work with our budget, I scheduled appointments all on the same day (7 appointments total on a Friday).  FI and I went to all of them together (I thought it was important for him to have his input too) and by the end of that day, we narrowed down our choices to two.  It was tiring but fun and since we didn't live up there, it was very efficient to get all the visits done in one day.

As far as actual venues, have you looked into the Phoenixville Foundry?  It's a gorgeous space

audubonbride2013

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions!  I'll definitely have to check them out online.