Board of Trade vs Wax Museum

Kimboely2000

I am having a hard time deciding between the two. I have not been able to get a very clear picture of venue cost for wax

I know board of trade is around $4000 and I'm seeing the least expensive food option is $67 per guest with basic bar. I wanted to keep venue and food low cost low in order to go all out with decor to really make the space unique.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

KLS123

From what I remember, the wax charges it's rental fee per person (maybe $30 a head?) in addition to the bar package and you use outside catering (there may be an additional fee if you go with someone other than their preferred catering list). They include tables, chairs, linens and candelabras if you want them and various other things which is nice.

The Board of Trade is a set rental fee of $4000 which includes the indoor and outdoor space, tables, linens (I think) and gold chiavari chairs for 100 ppl. You have to use their catering but they are really flexible. The lowest "sample" menu is $67 per person but you can build your own package for less than that if you want.

Neither of them have minimums to book even on saturday which is awesome and rare in NOLA

IMHO the food/drink/rental cost may be less for the Wax depending on your head count and food package BUT you would need to spend a lot more $$ in decor to dress up the Wax. This was a big factor in why I ultimately went with the BOT over the wax for my wedding.

You also may want to note that the Wax reception space is upstairs and the only way for hadicapped people to access it is on the back catering elevator...not very glamorous...Just thought you may want another piece of info that made me choose BOT over the Wax.

GeauxTigerLily129

And make sure you're taking into consideration that the BoT sample menus already have service charge and tax included in those prices.  I initially blew off Pigeon when I saw those prices, because they looked so much higher than everywhere else. But then I realized they were actually cheaper when you added all the "fees" into the other quotes.

louisianablue

Personally I prefer the Board of Trade to the Wax Museum.  Pigeon Catering is very reasonable and I liked having the option of a nice outdoor space.  We actually had our ceremony in the Courtyard.

tinkerbek

I had my wedding at the BOT in september and it was wonderful the food was fantastic and the staff left me, my party, and my family wanting for nothing!

sfinnin

I looked at the BOT and Wax and ended up going with the Wax for several reasons, mostly I liked the feel of the Wax better, location, etc, but the BOT is a great venue as well and was def one of my top choices. If you're looking for cost differences the Wax is a cheaper venue rental fee...$2600 vs $4k for the board of trade. But it's possible that the prices have gone up since I signed my contract in June.

It's kind of confusing the way they break down the price when you first look at it because they list the venue rental price as a per person price, rather than a flat fee. But it's only based on the first 100 people so it really ends up being a flat price.

Food/bev prices are pretty equal if you go with one of the suggested caterers at the Wax. But a MAJOR plus with the wax is that you can go with an outside caterer at no additional charge if you'd like, which is what we've done. I have a friend of a friend that runs a catering company and I was able to get a price for catering that's about $10/head cheaper than the cheapest package that the preferred caterers offer. That being said, I did meet with Shirley at Benedict's Catering and she basically said they're flexible and sometimes come back cheaper based on what you choose. So it's up to you whether you want to go with one of their suggested caterers or try to find someone else on your own!

PM me if you have any questions about the Wax! I'm a little over 2 months out so I'm doing all the fun little detail stuff now

mnols

I was torn between those two also. We ended up going with the BOT and i was thrilled with the results. The main thing for me was the courtyard and it allowed us to have outdoor space for our ceremony and cocktail hour. So i guess it depends on what your envisioning.