Hey everyone, I figured I'd put this up for you brides that are considering a Cescaphe wedding (Vie, Cescaphe Ballroom, Tendenza, Atrium at Curtis Center) or a Down Town Club wedding. As of a few weeks ago the Cescaphe folks took over management of the Down Town Club. They will be renovating the place in January and February of 2013 and will open back up March 1, 2013. How do I know this? My fiance and I are scheduled to have our reception at the DTC in April of 2013 so I've been keeping up with the latest on the club.
We spoke with a Cescaphe rep and overall we're excited because we're getting, what they call, a "Cescaphe Wedding" instead of what we were getting with the DTC package. From what I've seen and heard, that means a ridiculous amount of food and drinks and some very nice features. We're excited. In terms of renovations they are planning to knock down some walls to some conference rooms to give full views of the city when you first enter. They are building a brand new bar in this area and closing off the kitchen entrance to the main ballroom (a definite plus). This new area will be for cocktail hour. They will also be replacing the carpet and all furniture (yes, the chairs) as well as draping in the ballroom. They will be keeping the molding and all the great features everyone loves about the DTC though.
Even though we thought some features were outdated, we booked this place given the superb location and views across the street from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. We originally ruled out the Cescaphe locations because they were either way too expensive (Curtis Center) or not in what we thought was a prime location (i.e. Northern Liberties). Combining this location with a Cescaphe wedding seems like a home run. I'm sure once this announcement is made more mainstream, dates will fill up quickly. It's neat that unexpectedly, we're having one of the first weddings in this "new" venue.