Missouri-Kansas City

$3500 reception?

Ok, this is my budget for the reception.  A shoe string, I know.  I've been to Adams Pointe Golf Club, Homestead Country Clue in Prairie Village, and the Holiday Inn in north KC.  None of them are really jumping out at me like "hey!  Hold your reception here!  I'm the best one!"  So I was curious as to whether or not anyone else has a similarly small budget, what you did/where you booked to maximize your budget, or generally has any other ideas that I've overlooked.  Thanks in advance, ladies.  :)

-Kellie

Re: $3500 reception?

  • What are you looking for in your reception space that most important to you?  Location?  The 'wow' factor?  Catering?  What is going to let you know that it's 'the best one'?
  • I think location.  I want our (mostly out of town) guests to really see Kansas City, especially since my fiance and I live in the city and rarely venture out to the suburbs, so an urban reception would be totally "us."

    Next important would be alcohol.  I'm slightly less concerned about the catering.  Rarely have I been to a wedding where guests are like "it would have been beautiful, if only the green beans had had more almonds..."  LOL.  My family/crowd remembers the venue and the booze.
  • I felt the same way and I started looking at the Crossroads district downtown because it had some affordable art galleries and other spaces. The rental fees were around $4,000-$3,000. The same with Westport. Were the ones you looked at, in or near the city, what you wanted?  Or did those not really interest you?
  • No, not $3500 to rent the hall.  $3500 for the entire reception - hall, food, and booze.

    We're looking at the event space at Cashew - 2000 Grand - because they're actually somewhat close to our budget.  Long story, the only place the fiance even remotely liked was a little bit out of our budget, so he reworked his finances so we could afford it, and I thought well what could we do with this new, slightly increased budget, and thus the new dilemma.  LOL.  I never thought planning the reception would be the hard part.  I'm tempted to just say screw it and take everybody to the bar.
  • Have you checked our Californios in Westport?  Belvior Winery in Liberty? Stanley Event Space in Lees Summit?  We had a low budget but decided on a lunch reception instead to save costs. How many people are you having?  You may have to do a cash bar to save some money.
     
  • Californos has afternoon-only receptions.  Belvior Winery is still a little bit out of the budget.  I think.  Maybe?  I think we went there one time and it was $2k, but I don't remember if that included the wine or not.  If it includes wine, that could be a possibility...
  • Opps, sorry Kellie!  Have you tried the Morning Glory Antique building in Westport?  It's a flat fee of $800 and you can bring in your own caterer.  Plus, after the wedding they can all walk to the bars in Westport and even to the Q Hotel if you get a block of rooms there!

  • Really?  Awesome!  I'm checking out their website but it doesn't say anything about using it as an event space.  Will have to do some due diligence.  :)  Thanks for the lead!
  • edited February 2012
    We're looking into Cellar 222, its off 20th St. in Kansas City in the Performance Furniture building. Its $1500 to rent on a Sat evening, $1200 for a Friday evening, and $900 on Sunday. Can do both the wedding AND reception there, and from what I understand so far, very little floral will be needed (so that will save quite a bit!) and all we'll need is a caterer/bartender. We have a showing this Saturday, so hopefully it looks as good as it does online - i will keep you posted!
  • Yeah, Kellie!  I know they do events there but they will email you pics as requested.  Let us know what you think of it!!??  I'll keep thinking of any other places to help you get that urban feel!

    ChristinaKrohm-keep us posted for sure.  I saw that place too but I thought the layout looked a little odd?  But since you're doing a showing, you can let us know what you think!

  • edited February 2012
    I'm afraid that with that budget a Saturday evening reception might not be reachable. Of course this depends on your guest list, the smaller the cheaper (most of the time)

    Some urban venues I thought of that I believe are $2k and under are Studio B and Prairie Room.

    I don't know the cost but maybe look into the Event Space at Nara, I think they are more into the food than anything else though. And too bad Arts Incubator got closed down, that would have been perfect. :(
  • Hey,
    For what its worth be careful about the Cashew Event Space. It is very pretty, but the smaller event space (the second floor maybe?) is quite a bit smaller, and for me, what was once in budget, quickly came to be too much because of a higher tax and gratuity rate. (Combined was about 33%) But it is gorgeous...

    Morning Glory is a unique and fun space. He seemed very open and nice to work with, as well as pretty flexible. The wall color takes a little adjustment, but you can't beat the price. (Its a large room with hardwood floors above the antique store.)

    Cellar 222 is gorgeous, and I would have ended up there if the layout was a bit different. Think rustic wineroom, but the room is square, and the stairs are directly in the middle. I don't think it would be a problem for reception, but if you are looking to have the ceremony there, I had a hard time imagining a good way for it to work for an event with my number of guests.

    Hope that helps at all!
  • We're looking at about 60-65 people, so a smaller space will work well for us.  Yeah, I saw that the walls were orange; going to be hard to convince FI of that (especially since he's already in love with the Cashew space even though we haven't been there yet).

    Can they do dancing at the Cellar space?
  • I think you could certainly have dancing, but I am not sure that it would be possible to have everyone on/in view of the dance floor. The stairs make that kind of hard.  (Then again, I am the type who always things that spaces can't hold as many as they really can.)  Another plus is that if I remember correctly, they do have an iPod hook up so that you could do your own music if you want.  The issue there isn't the actual space but the set up of it. I would defintely go take a look though.


  • Depending on your guest list... Check out the NKC community center. You can rent those fairly cheaply. Then have Hy-Vee Cater and Alcohol from Gomers.
  • My fiance and I are having our reception at the Vox Theatre. It's very accommodating! They allow outside alcohol and caterer, provide tables/chairs for up to 150 people (the space can hold 300), have a commercial kitchen, hardwood floors, and more! They fee for a Saturday is $2800. You should check them out! They have a website and a Facebook!
  • Alcohol isn't allowed at the community center. That was the only downfall. 
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  • Our reception is at Olde Mill Emporium in Parkville - it's adorable. www.oldemillcatering.com. Really reasonably priced both rental and catering (it's a family-run business), and we even got more discounts when we booked for our Sunday wedding. 
  • You might check out some of the Masonic Lodges and Knights of Columbus halls...they rent fairly cheap and most allow alcohol.  I actually went with the Scottish Rite Temple at Linwood and Paseo for the wedding and reception and they worked with us on price to get down into our price range. Good luck finding something!
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