Ceremony and Reception sites!

staceyxhope

Hey everyone. This is my first time posting. I have been browsing through this site everyday trying to get some insite. I live in the metro detroit area and want some ideas on a ceremony site and or reception site. Cities like,sterling heights,clinton township,warren,rochester hills would be best. I want a small outside wedding with around 70 people. And around 200 people for the reception. We are still working on a budget of 5,000-6,000 dollars so far. Our wedding is August 18,2012. Any insite or suggestions would be great. Thank you in advance.

jhawthorne85

Welcome to the board and congrats! Look at the stickies at the top of the board, and you can get prices....

Mrs0toBe

Hi!  Congratulations and welcome!

I don't have any advice about outdoor sites (mine indoor/indoor) but I was wondering how you planned on having 70 guests for the ceremony and 200 for the reception?   Everyone needs to be invited to both parts.  (not trying to sound mean, just wondering if you knew for sure that only 1/3 would attend the ceremony?)     

staceyxhope

We are doing a small wedding for the most important people in our lives. The wedding is for friends and everything in between. 

AriesAngel86

As a guest, I would be hurt if I wasn't one of the 70 invited to the ceremony. If it was immediate family only I would understand (siblings, grandparents etc.). 

larzhope

agree with PP... either keep your ceremony to immediate family only or invite everyone to the ceremony.  It's really rude and hurtful to essentially insinuate that some friends/family aren't as important as others

staceyxhope

It is immediate family only. Aunt,uncles,grandparents,and parents,plus a few best friends. I would not be hurt,obviously. A lot of people do that. Anyways,I was asking for suggestions to venues you've heard of,been to, or anything of the sort. 

larzhope

You must have a TON of aunts and uncles then... or your "few best friends" are making up a large majority of that 70.

I'm not trying to be snarky, I'm just letting you know that while YOU may not be hurt in this situation, most people would be, and its generally considered a bad idea on these boards to do so, so that is the advice you are getting.  Unfortunately when you post something on a public forum, you open yourself up to getting feedback on all parts of your post, solicted or not.

But to answer your original question, either check the stickies like PP suggested, or look for public parks in the areas you mentioned and rent chairs, etc.

SarahBara7

200 guests with a budget of 5-6k seems like it would be very difficult to do.  Not trying to be negative or anything, it just seems almost impossible for the areas you're looking to hold your reception.  Good luck to you, I hope you find something to meet your criteria!

theleos

I went to a wedding last year that sent invites saying private ceremony but please join us for a reception at 6pm, etc. As guests, we didn't know who was invited to the ceremony and we just assumed it was immediate family. It wasn't a big deal to us not to be invited. We actually considered doing the same (we had a really hard time finding a ceremony venue- and chapels are so small!)

Ours is in Rochester/Shelby Township, but with all the places we found, they are quite a bit over your budget. Are you set on 200 for your reception. FI and I just decided we need to "reevaluate" our guest list and trim a bit. May or may not be the best option for you.

to keep within budget- you can always cut out the bar (depends on you and your friends/family), try a VFW Hall where you can cater in your own food.

staceyxhope

Nothing is set in stone. We are triming our guest list down a bit. The budget is starting,roughly. Not even for everything collectively just the reception. Between me and my fiance,we do have a lot of family members. 

Allycat11

Unfortunately, I have to agree with PPs, it is considered very rude to only invite some people to the reception only.  If you are looking for a good way to do this, just have your parents and siblings (period. No aunts, uncles, cousins friends) for a private ceremony, followed by a larger reception. 

I also have to agree that your budget looks tight for a 200 person reception.  Have you considered having a wedding (ceremony and reception) with just the 70 you want to witness your ceremony.

I would look into parks or VFW halls, maybe community centers? You could also do a lunch time reception, or look into a Friday or Saturday which will lower costs for you.

magsfsu08

I am having a hard time understanding why you would make the ceremony so private. That is essentially the "free" part so who cares if there is 70 or 300 people? The reception is the part where you are going to pay per person. I cut my guest list down to about 140 and it is almost impossible to stick with the $10,000 budget we had. We are getting married at Pine Knob mansion in Clarkston, which is absolutly beautiful. But it is quiet expensive to do in the summer months. 

e3plus1

Try Zuccaros in Chesterfield.  They have an outdoor patio where you can get married and I think their prices might fit your budget.  The Gazebo in Warren is also pretty reasonable, but no place to have your ceremony. 

Fern Hills in Clinton Twp would have a spot to get married outside and have a reception inside.  I have only looked at the Gazebo, which was nice, but I'm not sure about the others. 

Good Luck and if you can't invite everyone to the ceremony, then don't worry! People will understand... and if there is someone who really wants to be there and says anything about it, just tell them they are welcome to come

staceyxhope

Thank you for understanding and thank you also for your input.

e3plus1

You're welcome! I just got engaged in September, so I just started planning and it is so overwhelming and stressful! I just keep telling myself "it's only one day".  No matter what we do, we will never be able to please everyone, so if a small intimate ceremony makes YOU happy, that's what you should do! 

I'm aiming for next October, so it's too iffy to do it outside, and we don't really have a church that we belong to, so I have no idea where we are getting married yet.  I've been cold calling churches, which is super awkward... but oh well.  If a church says yes, but we can only seat X number of people, then I will jump on it! 

staceyxhope

Yeah,planning everything does get overwhelming. We were going to do August-October so we eventually agreed on August and 18 is my favorite number and happened to be a weekend so we picked it. Outdoor is pretty scary but usually places have a backup. My fiance just beat cancer so our reception is going to be a celebration of our wedding and his remission. 8 times out of 10 people only show up for the reception anyway so not everyone even wants to watch it they just want to be apart of the celebration. Small wedding big reception works for everyone. We love fall so we are going to do our engagement pictures soon. Its all so exciting though

KellyLynn1210

I have heard of having a smaller ceremony and really it is your wedding so do as you wish.  It's crazy because my fiance just beat cancer too!  I have been engaged for about a month and a half and yet to narrow down my venue.  I have looked everywhere and have been looking at outdoor ideas.  The area is pretty expensive but my suggestion to you is Sunset Terrace at Stoney Creek Metropark.  If you are willing to do it you can have a very affordable bbq wedding.  It would be more relaxed, outdoor tent, disposable plates, etc.  Good luck!  It is a big decision!