Michigan-Detroit

Help! I need a reception venue for 125 people that allows outside caterng

It seems impossible.  Every place I find is either too small or I get there and they say they don't allow outside catering May-August.  My wedding is August 10th, 2013 and I want somewhere in the Metro Detroit area such as Southfield, Farmington/Farmington Hills, Royal Oak or Downtown Detroit.  I tried the Detroit Historical Museum but Wrigley hall was too small and the Streets of Detroit has cobblestone roads which will not be good for the elderly and those of us wearing heels.  **Sigh** Please help me I'm getting nervous since things are filling up so fast.  Thanks for your help guys :-)

Re: Help! I need a reception venue for 125 people that allows outside caterng

  • I got married at Greenmead Village in Livonia, intersection of 8 Mile Rd and Newburgh Rd. It's a city of Livonia park, and while their chapel and banquet facility only hold 100 (fire laws), you can set up a tent outside next to the banquet building.

    I think the rental for us (hubby was a Livonia resident) for both the chapel and banquet facility was $1000, plus 10% of the food budget. Not sure what a non-resident rate is right now. You could set up tents to accomodate all your guests if you wanted, and use the building for it's nice air conditioning (LOL) for your dancing and maybe the food??? It's worth looking into if you are that desperate. You HAVE to use outside catering because all they supply are the tables, chairs and dancefloor. They also have tons of picnic tables you can have set up outside wherever you want.

    Another facility is Beverly Hills Park, on Beverly Rd (I think that's 13 1/2 mile) just west of Southfield Rd. Not sure of the rental price, but they have a massive pavilion.

    Not sure why you are insistent on an outside caterer. That was one of the things I also insisted on, but to be honest, even with the reduced price of alcohol by supplying it ourselves (we had beer, wine, signature drink, I think it totalled less than $400), the catering pretty much ended up costing us what it would have been with a package "per person" rate from an all inclusive venue. I'm a "foodie" and had a vision for the food I wanted, and the food was amazingly delicious. But, it was not necessarily cheaper than any of the standard nice banquet halls we could have used. When you use an outside caterer, you also have to supply everything else, like tables, chairs, linens, servers for the food (even a buffet needs people to clear the tables and replenish), chafing dishes, cold or hot places to store the food, plates, utensils, glassware. Once we went down this road with deposits, there was no turning back. Don't get me wrong, I loved our wedding. But there was really no savings with an outside caterer.

    Also, there is a building on Wayne State's Campus that is a former chapel and can be used for a reception venue. I think it's called St Andrew's Hall (NOT the musical hall in downtown Detroit). My son had an honors ceremony there when he was a student, and it's lovely, but while we thought about it, we went with Greenmead.

    Also, if you go to the bottom of this board, you can search "this site" or "this board", enter the words "reception venue" or "venue" and you'll get every prior post with suggestions.

    The post at the top of the board, with the pushpin, labeled Vendors Review also has all the vendors used by other brides and can be a source of info.

    Good luck.
  • edited January 2013
    Wow tons of information!!! Thank you so much.  The two locations you mentioned I never thought about.  The main reason I want an outside caterer because I don't want the tpical roasted chicken, potatoes and vegetables.  By having to buy everything such as linens and such it's not super cheaper but a little cheaper since one of the caterers can supply a great meal at $8.00 per person which is a steal.  Thanks again for your post I will chech these locations out.  Have a great day!

    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_help-i-need-a-reception-venue-for-125-people-that-allows-outside-caterng?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:88Discussion:5240b3da-2163-40d7-8a5d-157d32c49ee7Post:a7bf9ad7-222e-4d0d-a1e8-35011e07b9d3">Re: Help! I need a reception venue for 125 people that allows outside caterng</a>:
    [QUOTE]I got married at Greenmead Village in Livonia, intersection of 8 Mile Rd and Newburgh Rd. It's a city of Livonia park, and while their chapel and banquet facility only hold 100 (fire laws), you can set up a tent outside next to the banquet building. I think the rental for us (hubby was a Livonia resident) for both the chapel and banquet facility was $1000, plus 10% of the food budget. Not sure what a non-resident rate is right now. You could set up tents to accomodate all your guests if you wanted, and use the building for it's nice air conditioning (LOL) for your dancing and maybe the food??? It's worth looking into if you are that desperate. You HAVE to use outside catering because all they supply are the tables, chairs and dancefloor. They also have tons of picnic tables you can have set up outside wherever you want. Another facility is Beverly Hills Park, on Beverly Rd (I think that's 13 1/2 mile) just west of Southfield Rd. Not sure of the rental price, but they have a massive pavilion. Not sure why you are insistent on an outside caterer. That was one of the things I also insisted on, but to be honest, even with the reduced price of alcohol by supplying it ourselves (we had beer, wine, signature drink, I think it totalled less than $400), the catering pretty much ended up costing us what it would have been with a package "per person" rate from an all inclusive venue. I'm a "foodie" and had a vision for the food I wanted, and the food was amazingly delicious. But, it was not necessarily cheaper than any of the standard nice banquet halls we could have used. When you use an outside caterer, you also have to supply everything else, like tables, chairs, linens, servers for the food (even a buffet needs people to clear the tables and replenish), chafing dishes, cold or hot places to store the food, plates, utensils, glassware. Once we went down this road with deposits, there was no turning back. Don't get me wrong, I loved our wedding. But there was really no savings with an outside caterer. Also, there is a building on Wayne State's Campus that is a former chapel and can be used for a reception venue. I think it's called St Andrew's Hall (NOT the musical hall in downtown Detroit). My son had an honors ceremony there when he was a student, and it's lovely, but while we thought about it, we went with Greenmead. Also, if you go to the bottom of this board, you can search "this site" or "this board", enter the words "reception venue" or "venue" and you'll get every prior post with suggestions. The post at the top of the board, with the pushpin, labeled Vendors Review also has all the vendors used by other brides and can be a source of info. Good luck.
    Posted by Sue-n-Kevin[/QUOTE]
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