An introduction and a question

LaFemmeRousse

Hello all!  I am newly engaged and starting my search for reception venues in or close to downtown Pittsburgh.  My fiance and I both live in Chicago now but are from Pittsburgh originally.  We're planning for a fairly big wedding of 250-300 people in July or August of 2010.  I've already contacted several venues- Carnegie musems and music hall, Omni William Penn, The Frick, Grand Hall at the Priory, Soldiers and Sailors, and the History Museum.  What else is out there?I've heard great things about the Knot communities from recently married friends of mine, and I look forward to getting to know you ladies over the next year!

pinksonya

Hi and congratulations!  Have fun planning.  I don't have any recs, but I hope you find something you love!

npales

Welcome!!That's a really big wedding- wow!The Pennsylvanian ($$$$$!)The Children's Museum can fit you and I love their space!The Sheraton Station SquareWestin Convention CenterThe HiltonMaybe Heinz Field?I'm trying to think but it's tough with that large a number...I don't think History Center can fit that number in one space, but I might be wrong. Maybe in their upstairs meeting space?Carnegie can only fit that many in the Music Hall.

McBridetobe

Congrats and welcome!  I lurve Chicago!  My best friend lives there.My wedding was at the Circuit Center on the South Side...and IMO it was quite lovely.    It can hold that number.I think the Omni now has a food and beverage min of 35K for a Saturday!!  Eeek!

kwynn

Welcome, welcome!Those are all great choices for venues and the price range on them varies widely with the Omni being the most expensive (probably) and the Priory and Soldiers and Sailors being on the more affordable side.If you have a large budget, I love the Pennsylvanian. It can be pricey, but very beautiful.I actually love all the venues you mentioned. Are you thinking about the Frick mansion (in a tent on the lawn) or the Art Museum?I have listed in my bio (linked below) some other venues I love (look under "Vendors"). We had our reception at Heinz Field and it was absolutely perfect. The Circuit Center has a similar look to what you mentioned above.Welcome again! Yay for being engaged!

cobrien1976

I have no recs. just wanted to say hi and welcome.  I'm a soldiers & sailors bride!!

kwynn

Nuelsi, can the Hall of Architecture fit that many at the Carnegie? I thought it could, but it's been awhile (Hall of Architecture is my favorite!) :)The Grand Concourse is really nice too. Another Knottie (morganphd) had hers there...gorgeous.

npales

Architecture is around 150 I thought. When I went to see it, it's not very big at all...

jennybean2010

hi & welcomewhat kind of budget are you on?i think it was mentioned awhile ago that the omni is 30k min for a saturday wedding-GL! i think the carnegie museum can fit that in it's big marble room downstairs, can't it? i was in a wedding there and it was pretty huge in there. but i have no perception of measurements, so i could be way wrong!

McBridetobe

The upstairs of the History Center would hold that number...we were looking for that size too. 

npales

Jbean-- The big marble room you are talking about is the Music Hall.

LaFemmeRousse

Wow, thank you for all the responses!  Many of you mentioned the Pennsylvanian too, and I forgot- we did look there and were told that they were booked through next September already.  Darn!  It is a beautiful space.  The music hall is the only Carnegie space that can hold our number, and it's booked too already. All this is already making me want to push our number down to 250

kwynn

Nuelsi, you're totally right. Hall of Architecture only holds 200 according to their website. To the OP (original poster), I wanted to tell you that the History Center is really great, but catered by Common Plea. They have a lot of hidden costs. You can download their menu/info online. It is really nice, but they start adding up VERY quickly. Their "Great Hall" can only hold 200, though. That upstairs meeting room can hold more, but it isn't on the floor with the trolley and all that fun stuff if that matters to you.Heinz Field Lounges holds up to, oh gosh, maybe 800? It's definitely over 550 seated, which is a number I remember reading somewhere.

EmilyBerdell

Hi and welcome! My wedding is also large...currently 399 on the guest list. (I know, I know. It's making me crazy, but we have big families. What can you do!?!)Anyway, we are having our wedding at the Syria Shrine in Cheswick, PA. It's about 30 minutes out of down town, but a great space...and holds a ton of people. They just had Fox Chapel High School's prom w/ 600 guests... link is in my bio. I think the History Center MIGHT hold that number in the upstairs room. I looked into it for my wedding, but I can't find the information here for some reason. We didn't go there b/c it's $$$ and because I didn't want my guests to feel like sardines. :)GL and HTH!

LaFemmeRousse

npales- The Children's Museum sounds fun!  I will have to look into that.Kwynn- I believe the tent on the lawn is the only place where the Frick can hold our number, and it's giving me pause to do a totally "outdoor" wedding.  Also, with mcbridetobe- I will check out the Circuit Center!cobrien1976- I would LOVE to get some more info about Soldiers and Sailors!  I'm making a quick trip home this weekend to meet with some venues on Monday, them included.

morganphd

Congrats and Welcome.  Kwynn was right, I did have my reception at the Grand Concourse, which was beautiful, but definitely too small for you.  It has a max of 200 (which is why we were crossing our fingers that we had a lot of no shows from the 267 that we invited) in the main dining area. 

LaFemmeRousse

Kwynn again- you had your reception at Heinz Field?  I think my fiance would LOVE that.  Did you incorporate the sports theme into your wedding at all? Emily- wow, your guest list IS huge!  I haven't seen the History Center space in person and definitely don't want my guests to feel smushed either.  I haven't looked closely at the Common Plea costs and fees yet, so I appreciate the suggestion.  I have a fairly large budget, but I certainly don't want to waste money for no reason 

cobrien1976

email with your questions cobrien1979 at yahoo dot com

kwynn

We had both our ceremony and reception at Heinz Field. We did a "Pittsburgh" theme, so we definitely incorporated the Steelers with a football garter toss and personalized Terrible Towels. We did black/white/gold as our colors. Is your date flexible or set in stone? I only ask because Heinz Field's booking policy can be a little complex, but I am so glad I was able to find a date that worked for me there. And the plus side is they can hold a big crowd.Where is your ceremony being held? That might be able to help you narrow down where to have your reception?The Syria Mosque is GREAT for a large crowd. You almost need a big crowd to fill it up, so that could work for you. Like Emily said, it's in Cheswick.Also, have you thought about PNC Park? I also love Soldiers and Sailors and they were definitely on my list as one of my top choices.

d78

Hi & welcome! I'm no help on your venue hunt (we had a much smaller guest list, budget and a different theme), but good luck! :-)

LaFemmeRousse

Kwynn, I've been looking at your bio (all this terminology is new to me!), and your wedding was beautiful!  LOVE the Terrible Towels.  I hadn't thought about using the stadiums before for a reception. We have our ceremony site narrowed to three churches around downtown, one slightly in the South Hills, one on Mt. Washington and one on the North Side.  We are flexible with our date as long as it happens before the end of August, but earlier (July) would be better. Cobrien, I will be emailing!  Thank you so much.

snorge

Hello and welcome! Where in/near Chicago do you live? I grew up in the far northern 'burbs, and was just there this past weekend for a shower. Don't know what kind of venue you're looking for, but we're having our wedding at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association--I can't remember how many people their larger room can hold, but I would guess it's in the neighborhood of 250 (we're more in the 150 range, so will be in a smaller room).

LaFemmeRousse

Snorge, congratulations on your shower!  I still haven't even been here a year yet, but I started out in north Lincoln Park and just moved down to Old Town.  LOVE it.  I have many friends who grew up in those burbs, though!  Which one are you from? I really like the Pittsburgh Athletic Association but I think it will be a bit too small for us, unfortunately.  Apparently 250 is the absolute max and I want to allow for more than that in case we end up closer to 300.

KimWard

Hello, congrats, and welcome!

Vanessa4444

Hi! I'm a little late to this introduction, but I just wanted to say Welcome to the Pittsburgh board!  You will find that this is the most useful place for any type of information wedding related, or not! It sounds like you have plenty of recs for venues, I hope you find the perfect one!!

snorge

I lived in both Libertyville and Mundelein--so way north (Lake County), almost all the way up to WI. This weekend's shower was out in Bartlett at my aunt's, but I've also got family in Palatine and Park Ridge. So do you think you're *inviting* 300, or do you think you'll actually have that many people attend (i.e., inviting even more than that)?

npales

LaFemme-- Are you looking at Saint Peter Church on the NS?? That's the Church I'm using. It's purrrty!My reception is at the Aviary, but the max here is 120.

LaFemmeRousse

Thanks for all the other welcomes, ladies!  Is this the nicest internet message board in the world?  Snorge, I was up in Lake County this past weekend, passing through on the way up to Door County, WI.  It's pretty! We will definitely be inviting at least 300 and probably more (350 or so is my guess for now), which is why I want to be sure the venue can accommodate it all.  Any idea what the usual percentage of "yes" responses is?  Most of the family is living in the Pittsburgh area but the vast majority of our friends are not.

LaFemmeRousse

npales- We're looking at St. Boniface.  It might only be pseudo-North Side; it's up on East Street.  I've seen St. Peter though, and it is pretty!  Your wedding locations sound great.  My dad has requested a visit to the aviary while I'm home this weekend for his 60th bday, in fact.  I haven't been in awhile and I'm excited!

king26

Congrats and welcome!

dreamalotmp

Hi - Welcome - Congrats! I was just reading through all of the responses. We do have some super helpful knotties, huh? I like the idea of Heinz Field since it can hold the # you will have. It would be such a fun thing to do, but also classy since their 'banquet' rooms are so nice. Just my 2 cents. Good luck!!