Hi NOLA Brides - Cleveland girl needs some advice on venues

bezelpup

My fiance proposed on Thanskgiving and soon after was deployed overseas.  We agreed before he left that we want a second line wedding in New Orleans in spring of 2013, so I'm doing my best to plan a destination wedding.

I think for our size and budget, the Palace Cafe will be great for our reception. I'm a little worried because I don't see it mentioned by many people here and I haven't seen much on photographer's websites either.

For the ceremony site, I'm still looking, but Maison Dupuy and the Pharmacy Museum seem to be the most appealing.  I liked the Beauregard Keyes house, but it seems like most of the ceremony pictures online show all the guests standing? St Louis/Hotel Marazin is OK but I'm not sure if I like it as much.

Anyway, one of the concerns I have is that a lot of the pictures shown by the venues have everything decorated for a wedding, but I don't want to have to spend a lot of money or time on decorations.  Does anyone have any opinions on these locations?

AlmostMrsStrong

Wish I had more information on those for you.

Expand your search - some locations have one price that includes food, music, and set-up. 

louisianablue

I looked at renting all of the Palace Cafe, but didn't like the spiral staircase that came down the middle.  I'm not sure what their private rooms look like, so I guess that would depend how large your wedding is.

meganb1977

I have had several lovely meals at Palace Cafe and can vouch for the food there.

One of my bosses had his reception at the Maison Dupuy and has had good things to say.

max&lucy

For the Beauregard-Keyes House, I am sure you could add chairs and have the guests seated if you would like. I would call them and ask - it's really a lovely location.

How many guests are you planning for? I am sure the ladies on here can offer up plenty of other options for you.

NOLAbridealmost

I could be wrong, but I think you're required to have the reception at the Maison Dupuy if you want to use their courtyard for the ceremony.  That was the case when I was researching 2 years ago. One thing I do know is that the Maison Dupuy won't close their courtyard to their regular hotel guests for wedding so there could be people swimming in the pool.  That might not bother you, but it's the kind of thing that would have been a deal breaker for me. 

Palace Cafe has great food and I know they will rent out the entire upstairs for private events if you don't want/need the entire restaurant. I've attended private events up there and the service is excellent and there's enough space for several hundred people and a dance floor. There'd be a big open space in the middle though. 

I don't have any info about the other venues because I didn't look into them during my planning and haven't heard anything specific on here (although I've heard the Pharmacy Museum get recommended a lot on here). 

bezelpup

I'm thinking we will have 50 people. Palace Cafe has a room that seats 80 so that will probably work for us. The minimum food and beverage order is very low there compared to other places I have contacted. So far they have been very responsive to my questions also. As far as ceremony sites go, I don't want to even see a pool because I'll be worried about somehow falling in!!!

bezelpup

Just found out that the small room at Palace Cafe can't accomodate dancing, so I'm back to looking for a reception venue.

If you have your ceremony and reception at the same venue, I'm assuming you second line after the party is over and everyone heads out to Bourbon?

NOLAbridealmost

Actually, I've usually seen the second line between the ceremony and reception but you'd just parade around the Quarter for a while and just return to the venue.  I've, on occasion, seen a second line where basically a second line band comes out for a few minutes during the reception and there is a second line around the dance floor/tables (but that's kind of lame in my opinion). 

bezelpup

I'm thinking restaurant reception venues may not work out as well as I'd hoped, so I'm going to look into some caterers and places to rent, although that will be much more complicated for an OOT bride. 

RYLZ

Bezelpup, it can be more complicated to figure out catering as an OOT bride (I'm one as well) but you might want to consider the Wax Museum.  They have a lot of preferred caterers they recommend and are used to dealing with so it 's not that complicated.  Also, the venue comes with candelabras, chivari chairs and a choice of linens so a lot of your details will be handled in-house.  There's also ample space for both ceremony and reception with your size.  When we visited last summer, we found Beth to be super helpful and they get a lot of rave reviews on here.

Also, in answer to your question about the 2nd line, many brides on here describe having their 2nd line at the end of their reception, leading guests out to Bourbon Street, or wherever you plan to keep the party going :-)

NO2012

Ditto pp. Check out the Wax Museum.  I am an OOT bride also and I couldn't be happier with my choice of venue so far.  Beth is fantastic and will answer as many questions as you have via email.  They allow you to use outside catering or one of their preferred caterers, so you have some cost control.  The reception room upstairs has a very NOLA feel, so I don't think much is needed in the way of decorating. 

silverspark7

Another option for you to look at if you don't want to have to do much by way of decorating -- check out the Cabildo.  It is a state museum right next door to the Cathedral.  It might be ideal for a wedding your size.  They have a great side hall that is beautiful for a ceremony.  Plus, your OOT guests can learn more about New Orleans during your reception because they're smack dab in the middle of a museum!  I looked into it for my wedding, but its a tad small for our guest list.  Good luck!

NolaWhit

I also suggest the Wax Museum. I live here, but I'm an accountant and did most of my planning during my busy season. I did most things online and through email so it's easily doable for an OOT bride. Beth is so easy to work with and pretty much takes care of everything for you.

At the Wax, I think a lot of brides do the 2nd line in between the ceremony and reception. A real 2nd line just wasn't in our budget so we did one around the room during the reception. While I would have definitely preferred to parade in the streets, I did not think ours was lame. Our guests had a lot of fun! And so many guests complimented how unique the venue was.

sbelle85

I am also OOT and we are having the reception in the Riverview Room in the Jackson Brewery. They have a great balcony for ceremonies as well, but we are not doing our ceremony there. Like the Wax, it is pretty all-inclusive and the prices are very reasonable. We chose it because we felt that in terms of what you get for your money, it offered the best packages.

Brooke4377

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_louisiana-new-orleans_hi-nola-brides-cleveland-girl-needs-advice-venues?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:84Discussion:c76d5b21-9952-497e-aeab-1676b55befa0Post:4938a7b2-1350-41f3-9ac6-77b2b07ec982">Re: Hi NOLA Brides - Cleveland girl needs some advice on venues</a>:
[QUOTE]I am also OOT and we are having the reception in the Riverview Room in the Jackson Brewery. They have a great balcony for ceremonies as well, but we are not doing our ceremony there. Like the Wax, it is pretty all-inclusive and the prices are very reasonable. We chose it because we felt that in terms of what you get for your money, it offered the best packages.
Posted by sbelle85[/QUOTE]


What prices were you quoted for the riverview room?  (If you don't mind sharing!) Is there a room rental fee there, and was bar included?

sbelle85

<p>In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_louisiana-new-orleans_hi-nola-brides-cleveland-girl-needs-advice-venues?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:84Discussion:c76d5b21-9952-497e-aeab-1676b55befa0Post:7f738242-b1db-47c7-8712-e8725f657ee8">Re: Hi NOLA Brides - Cleveland girl needs some advice on venues</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Hi NOLA Brides - Cleveland girl needs some advice on venues : What prices were you quoted for the riverview room?  (If you don't mind sharing!) Is there a room rental fee there, and was bar included?
Posted by Brooke4377[/QUOTE]

It's around $11,000 for a Friday night, 150 people (150 is their minimum). That includes:

-A three hour reception featuring a full open bar and continuous food service
-Champagne for the bridal party
-Private Bride and Groom's dressing room
-A wedding coordinator to assist the bridal couple
-A personal attendant to assist both sets of parents
-Wait staff in formal attire
-Food and beverage served using elegant china, silver, and glassware
-Tables and chairs (white linens), centerpieces (mirror base with rose petals and votive candle)
-Police officer on duty during the reception
-A Honeymoon send off package (food from reception, champagne, and pralines)

</p>

Brooke4377

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_louisiana-new-orleans_hi-nola-brides-cleveland-girl-needs-advice-venues?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:84Discussion:c76d5b21-9952-497e-aeab-1676b55befa0Post:b8933fd7-024a-423f-9e3a-ee74596798a4">Re: Hi NOLA Brides - Cleveland girl needs some advice on venues</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Hi NOLA Brides - Cleveland girl needs some advice on venues : It's around $11,000 for a Friday night, 150 people (150 is their minimum). That includes: -A three hour reception featuring a full open bar and continuous food service -Champagne for the bridal party -Private Bride and Groom's dressing room -A wedding coordinator to assist the bridal couple -A personal attendant to assist both sets of parents -Wait staff in formal attire -Food and beverage served using elegant china, silver, and glassware -Tables and chairs (white linens), centerpieces (mirror base with rose petals and votive candle) -Police officer on duty during the reception -A Honeymoon send off package (food from reception, champagne, and pralines)
Posted by sbelle85[/QUOTE]

Wow that's pretty good...did that include tax and gratuity? If so it might be worth paying the extra (and then we could expand our guest list a little)...

sbelle85

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_louisiana-new-orleans_hi-nola-brides-cleveland-girl-needs-advice-venues?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:84Discussion:c76d5b21-9952-497e-aeab-1676b55befa0Post:1736083d-e665-4e7c-9436-0b1fd2253b6e">Re: Hi NOLA Brides - Cleveland girl needs some advice on venues</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Hi NOLA Brides - Cleveland girl needs some advice on venues : Wow that's pretty good...did that include tax and gratuity? If so it might be worth paying the extra (and then we could expand our guest list a little)...
Posted by Brooke4377[/QUOTE]

It includes tax and a 17% "service charge". I think it's definitely worth checking out!