Checked out 3 venues today....

ahr1982

Allure Gardens - Not in the best area of town and not well maintained either. The name is also weird because there is no "garden" or outside area to speak of for a ceremony or reception.

The Ritz - Great prices and they seemed willing to work with me but I don't like the location or the banquet rooms. It just seems very 80s or Bar Mitzvah-ish to me.

Sunset Gardens - It was almost exactly the same as The Ritz but more expensive. Also, I did not like the gentleman I met with. He acted like he was very busy and important but he just came off like a jerk.

All in all, an epic fail for today! Hopefully Saturday will be better -- we have appointments at the Platinum Hotel, Las Vegas Country Club, and Ravella Lake Las Vegas. I think my fiance is beginning to see that we will need to spend a little more money to get what we want. I just want to have the venue & date selected before I start nursing school in 2 weeks! Anywhoo, will keep my fellow Vegas Knotties updated!

Best,
Amy R.

Natrasha

We quickly realized that we would have to spend more money than we thought we would for what we wanted. But I think most people can find a good balance between perfection and cheap! There aren't many people on these boards that are unhappy with their venue decisions, so you'll find the right place  Good luck on Saturday!

direy25

Sorry the first round was a bust, good luck on Saturday!

gordonsparents

Hey Amy,
We looked at a lot of those places too. We ended up choosing Cili Restaurant at the Bali Hai Golf Club. It's really beautiful and everything is included; officiant, DJ, flowers, cake etc. You need to get your own photographer, though.

There is a beautiful place to have the actual ceremony overlooking the green golf course with lots of palm trees and lakes. The reception hall is open and airy with access to a beautiful balcony.

Check it out!

ahr1982

Thanks for the suggestion, I will check it out!

dstatesmp

I am not sure you are really being fair. I know Allure Gardens and it's beautiful inside. You may be looking for an elite place but if you are looking for a really nice place with really nice people with great prices then Allure Gardens is perfect. We are now going to have our baby shower there next month. Yes there are nicer places but it goes with the price tag. You can have your wedding reception at Allure Gardens for around $3,000 all inclusive. You just have to compare apples to apples. The building is older, but it has a lot of Las Vegas history behind it. It's been there since the 60's.
I also have seen Sunset Gardens. I think that's nice too but 3 times higher in price. Some of us are on real tight budgets these days 

ahr1982

I'm not being unfair, I was simply stating my opinion. I'm not looking for an "elite" venue, just one that appeals to me and is reasonably priced. Unfortunately, the places I visited the other day were not my taste. That certainly doesn't discount them from being  perfect for someone else. The only intention of my post was to share my experiences so that I could help other Vegas Knotties one way or the other. I'm sorry that you took it so personally.

biibu

You might also want to check out some of these venues:

Revere Golf Club
Lakeside Weddings
The Plaza at Whitney Ranch
Wellington Place
Victoria's Family
Alexis Park

I haven't been to all of these places but I know most of them have pretty good prices. Good luck.

ahr1982

Thanks for the recs biibu! We are going to check out The Plaza @ Whitney Ranch next weekend =o)