New Years Wedding -- *this* New Years??

kaitlynva

Hey guys,

My fiance and I have had a super-complicated visa situation and I'm in the middle of medical school and well, let's just say, wedding shmanciness doesn't really rank on our list of concerns right now (although we appreciate design and nice things and all the other people in the world who do put in an effort to make things pretty and nice!).  We are going for low-key practicality.

So, he is finally allowed to move to the US soon, after which we have to get married - fast.  We just found out about this.  The only date that looks doable for an actual wedding and reception is... December 31, 2011.  Really.  Otherwise, we'll be heading to the courthouse.

We know that a good number of guests would be able to come, since my parents have a giant New Years party each year and all of those attendees would just shift to the wedding.

So... any thoughts out there about whether we might be able to procure some sort of venue at this late date?  Suggestions about where to start looking??  We would definitely like to be somewhere within Chicago city limits, and we don't want to spend a huge amount of money.  I know this might not be doable, but I want to firmly rule it out before we scratch the whole idea of having a wedding.

Golfer09

We had a new year's eve wedding and given that NYE is such a big day for many ppl, many workers in the service industry do not like to work on this day or are off that day.  In my research to find vendors and find a location, many locations were not available because they were hosting their own NYE parties (hotels and golf clubs).  If you were able to find a location, I found that the charge was pricier than a normal WEEKEND wedding.   

I found vendors who were willing to work on NYE, but everything was marked up because of it being NYE.  NYE is considered "holiday rates" and everyone was charging a premium (1.5 x normal rate).  Caterers, DJs, florists, everyone - it was pretty depressing!  

Another issue we had was with normal banquet halls or hotels, they had a strict policy that the reception must end by midnight - on NYE people want to at least celebrate for another hour after midnight when the new year rolls in.  Again, some places would not bend on this policy (like Newberry Library) so we had to go with an unconventional venue where we were allowed to go after midnight (in our case our reception ended at 1 am).

In my opinion if you are looking to save money, do not have a NYE wedding - also keep in mind that many people like celebrating with their friends, some of which might not be acquainted with you - we got people asking to bring others to our wedding since they were in from out of town or part of a group that wanted to ring in the new year together.  It was a sensitive issue that would require us to have to spend more money to feed people we didn't even know - our solution was that we told them they could come after dinner because we owned the bar (brought in our own liquor).

With that said, I know that you might get someone on this board vehemently disagreeing with me - I won't eliminate the scenario that you might find something for this NYE for cheap, but I had 18 months to plan our wedding and finding a location that didn't kill our budget and allow for us to end at 1am was really difficult. 

Good luck!  

CASK85

I think you can do it! Check out Mrs. Murphy and Son's Irish Bistro. 

I have no experience with a NYE wedding as the poster above did, but if you're willing to work hard to get everything planned in the next few months, I think you could pull it off. 

MrsMLRB

Golfer gave you some good, solid advice. It sounds to me like a NYE wedding would not be cheap. I guess my opinion, as a theoretical guest, is if you are doing a NYE wedding, you need to go over the top, which it sounds like it might not be in your budget to do it this late in the game.

I find it really hard to believe that the only time in the months of October, November and December that you can get married is on NYE. What about doing a Sunday morning brunch wedding? I went to a few of those and loved them. They are cheaper since you generally don't need a full open bar (mimosas and bloody marys) and you can have lots of breakfast items. Plus your other vendors will be cheaper (photographer, dj) since that is a more off day.

jlawhead777

Try the Alpine Banquets in Darien, ll. They have good prices, food and you can have the wedding past midnight. I was at a NYE wedding there last year. My friend used Dependable Wedding Djs which only charged their normal price, They also used Monaco Photography for a great price from what I understand and Cali Girl Cakes. Also ChicagoFloralEvents.com There are vendors that don't charge more for a NYE weddings, you just have to look a little harder. Pm if you want more of their contact info for any of these venders.

kblezien

We are having our wedding this NYE, and I think you can do it!

Providing that you are able to find a venue that is not already booked...this will likely be your biggest hurdle...you can definitely pull it off!

Unlike the previous poster, we got all of our vendors for the exact same price as any other weekend.  Yes, we did run into a few venues and orchestras who had a higher food/beverage minimum or charged 1.5x more due to the holidy, but we just ruled those guys out. 

We were able to plan the wedding of our dreams within our original budget and without being upcharged just for the day.  Next month I am standing up to a wedding that was put together in 3 months, and it's going to be beautiful!  As long as you can find a venue, DO IT!   Good luck!

kaitlynva

Wow, thanks for your warnings!  I'll keep that all of that in mind and definitely keep my expectations in check.

kaitlynva

So, the issue is that I only get one day off each week, I never know what day that's going to be, and I can't take any extra days off.  A Sunday brunch would be great but the only option for that would be... Christmas Day

Scarlet Starlet 31

If you're going to seriously persue this idea, be prepared to pay extra for nearly all of your vendors. 
I know you wanted to be in Chicago, but check out the Radisson in Arlington Heights/Schaumburg-it's right off of 53 and Algonquin.  My friend had a NYE wedding there and said they were super accomodating to her.

doctorlovesvintage

Can you negotiate with them? It is going to be winter. would try!