Intro and reception venue help?

WestPAWolverine · July 2009

Hello...I've been lurking for a few weeks now because I am shy, but have gotten lots of great ideas for vendors, etc. just by reading. However, now I have a dilemma I am hoping you can help me solve.First of all, a short intro...I am from a small town NE of Pittsburgh and my fiance is from just across the Ohio border. We met at work, he's a teacher and I'm an administrative assistant. We bonded (ironically) over the fact that he is an Ohio State fan and I went to Michigan, but we are both Pittsburgh fans. We are having a March 2010 wedding and are just getting started planning. Not much time, I know! So, my dilemma is that after a couple weeks of not truly liking any of the reception venues I had seen...I found two that I really like for different reasons, plus there are a couple places I'd still like to see. I really like...The Magnolia Room in Creighton - it is beautiful, has a gorgeous room for the bridal party, and has the look and feel I had in mind; however, *I think* that the owners are new to the business, parking looked like it might be a tight fit, and the buffet line reminded me of a cafeteria serving line.Stratigo's in Irwin - seems very classy, staff seemed very professional, great facility / side room for buffet and outdoor patio, great discount in March, but lacked the charm and personality I am looking for.I am also planning to see the Great Hall and the Wendell Inn.Does anyone have any experience with either of these places and might be able to provide some insight? I'd like to find a place that is easy to work with and is sort of a one stop shop, so to speak.My email is jessica.blose at gmail dot com if you don't want to post on here.Thanks in advance!Jessica

themissizz · July 2009

We went to a wedding at the Magnolia Room and I thought that it was lovely. The wedding we went to was in July 08, so unless it has new management, they have at least a year under their belt. Parking wasn't an issue, there was a gravel lot to park in also. The buffet line was set up in another room which was kind of nice, it was hidden from sight and felt more like a plated dinner. We had a really great experience as wedding guests there.

greenet · July 2009

welcome. dont know anything about those place

AMK2009 · July 2009

I've been to a wedding at the Magnolia Room too, and it was very nice. I liked the food being set up in a seperate room. The food was delicious. I don't think parking was a issue at all.

hey_its_jenn · July 2009

I'm having my reception at the Harmar House in Cheswick, and the owner also does the catering for the Magnolia Room. That said, their food is AMAZING. And I really like that they have the food in the separate room. And the Magnolia Room, overall, is a very pretty venue with plenty of parking. The only thing I didn't care for was when they cut the cake, they left it in a small corner by the stairs and you couldn't really see it. I would suggest, if you go with them, that they move the cake to the dance floor so everyone can see.

McBridetobe · July 2009

No advice from me on those venues, but congrats on your engagement and welcome!

KimWard · July 2009

I'm not familiar with these venues, but just wanted to say hello. GL with your planning- the time will fly!

bellchacie · July 2009

I have never used/been to those places either, but welcome to the board! GL with planning and have fun!

dreamalotmp · July 2009

Hi Jessica. Welcome to the board!

I've never been to any of those venues, but sounds like you're getting some good advice. Good luck!

AMK2009 · July 2009

The only thing I didn't care for was when they cut the cake, they left it in a small corner by the stairs and you couldn't really see it. I would suggest, if you go with them, that they move the cake to the dance floor so everyone can see. I agree with this depending on how many people you have. At my friends wedding, there were tables set up in that back corner too, which is where we were sitting, so we could see perfectly from our table. But from that corner, you can't see the dancefloor, we watched their first dance on the tvs set up by the bar. Where's your ceremony at? And how many guests are you having? Have you looked into Riverside Landing in Oakmont? That was my very favorite place, we had our date on "hold" and then let it go because we were going to have a destination wedding. When we decided to go back to a wedding here, they were booked through August, and we didn't want to move our date since my brother is getting married in Sept. Blah. Just a thought though, but it's not really big. It just has a really nice deck outside that overlooks the river, that's what I liked about it most.

EmilyBerdell · July 2009

Welcome! I've been in a wedding that took place at the Great Hall, and attended a 2nd wedding there as a guest. Lovely space. The audio for the DJ at one wedding wasn't all that great, but the 2nd wedding was fine acoustically. The staff was amazing and the atmosphere is really very elegant. If you want more info / feed back let me know and I'll email you.Also, I'm from a small town NE of Pittsburgh...and your last name in your email is familiar. Wondering if we are from the same / neighboring towns?

WestPAWolverine · July 2009

Thanks everyone for the feedback! I'm glad to hear that parking isn't an issue for Magnolia Room. The parking lot looked a little small to me, but then again...I'm not very good at guessing how much space is needed for cars.No one I've spoken to seems to be familiar with Stratigo's, so I'm not sure if that should worry me or not. We are thinking probably 150-175 people and will be having the ceremony at First Unitarian in Shadyside. All the reception locations we have looked at are a bit of a drive, but seem more reasonably priced than in the city.AMK, do they have a full service package at Riverside Landing or is it basically just a room rental? I couldn't really tell from the website. It looks nice though. I'm not really a very decisive person, so I am looking to work with as few vendors as possible...otherwise, I'll agonize over which to choose.

Emily, do you know if one or both used the Great Hall's DJ or an outside DJ? Wondering if that affected the sound? Also, I'm from Kittanning if you know where that is.

AMK2009 · July 2009

When we looked at it, Riverside Landing had 3 different caterers you could choose from, and there was one that the guy from Riverside Landing recommended. I think it was bring your own alcohol, they provide pop/mixers.

EmilyBerdell · July 2009

I'm from outside of Kittanning - near Blanket Hill Raceway. Small world! I went to Shannock Valley before they closed it down. Did you go to KHS? Just curious!Anyway, the wedding with the bad audio used a DJ from Entertainment Unlimited. I've actually heard him elsewhere and he sounded good, so he's probably a toss up. The other wedding actually used a band, so their sound was projected a lot better. I think the Great Hall has a lot of space and sometimes that eats up the sound. I think if a DJ is familiar with the space, he/she would be able to combat that issue with no problem. Upon re-reading that, I think it may be less than helpful. Sorry if that's the case! GL!

morganphd · July 2009

I could be wrong, but I want to say that Stratigo's is actually on the newer side. I'm not sure exactly when they opened. They were always the caterer's that my high school and my family used for everything. But, back then, they just did catering and didn't have a hall of their own (this was 13 or so years ago). Somebody was using Stratigo's. I think it may have been one of the very recent weddings. (Blond girl, did a bridal portrait session recently - help me out people). Not sure exactly who it was though, but somebody was definitely using them.

AMK2009 · July 2009

http://www.riversidelanding.com/pdf/stratwood.pdf

McBridetobe · July 2009

Shannon, is it Amanda? Shafferrdh?

morganphd · July 2009

That's who I'm thinking of, but I'm not sure if it was her wedding or not. Definitely someone is using (or used) Stratigo's though.

kwynn · July 2009

Hi and welcome!If you are having your ceremony in Shadyside, I would not have my reception in Irwin. It will take a lot longer than you think to get between the two places, etc. (I only say this because my sister was in a wedding this past weekend as a bridesmaid and said it was a long trip with the Parkway, they felt very rushed, etc.)I looked into Stratigos and have been there many times. They are SO overpriced in my opinion. Like you mentioned, it is just a hall that you rent. When I called for my February 2009 wedding, it was a minimum of 5k to rent the hall, then food was on top of that. I just found that to be much too much!We ended up having everything (ceremony and reception) at Heinz Field and wouldn't change it for the world. I list a lot of my favorite venues in my planning bio under "vendors." Click below to read. HTH!

pittsburghprincess · July 2009

The Wendel Inn is ran by Ches Anthony right? If so, I hear it is nice, but if you are going to have a lot of older guest, it may not be the way to go. There is a large staircase that you have to use to reach the room. There is a decent amount of parking too. It is BYOB. When I added everything together before the alcohol, it was around what I am paying now at the Georgetown in Pleasant Hills. It also seems a little dark in the Wendel Inn. Not sure though. I have just seen pictures from a few weddings there and it looks dark. I decided to not look at it because of the steps and the vibe I got on the phone.

ashtennis · July 2009

I checked out Stratigos when I was looking also for a March wedding at the time. I really liked the look (modern and it was my wedding colors as well). The staff was friendly as well. However, they didn't seem to be very flexible with things we wanted as other places were. The one thing I really did not like was that they have more than one room. I wanted one over the other because it had a cocktail room attached. However, regardless of the fact that I was the only one currently scheduled for that day they could not guarantee which room I had. I didn't like that so much.

WestPAWolverine · July 2009

Thank you everyone for the advice. I'm going to show my mother the Magnolia Room on Saturday and see if she likes it as much as I did. You've definitely made me feel better about parking and the buffet. Thanks also for the info on Stratigo's!

Intro and reception venue help?

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