Newly engaged- need reception help!! (LONG)

Brooke4377 · January 2012

Hello ladies!

I am newly engaged on the North Shore, and planning a late fall 2012 wedding in New Orleans. We are having our ceremony at St. Louis Cathedral, and looking for a reception venue that is relatively close (though we can look into transportation as long as it's not too far, say more than 10 miles away) and somewhat affordable. This is my second marriage, and as such my parents are (obviously!) not footing as much of the bill this time

My fiance and I have a son, and a tight budget ourselves, so we want to keep costs as low as possible. I have narrowed the MASSIVE list of venues available in and around New Orleans to (I think) include options we could consider. We will have around 120 guests max, and I have eliminated places that we either don't like, are too big, or are out of our price range or too far away. I would say we will probably have around $9,000 to work with to cover venue, food and alcohol. I will deal with music, photog and all the other costs later! It would be great, however to find something for less, so we would have more to work with for the other costs. Here is what I have narrowed the list to:

Benachi House- price is right, but worried about the noise thing
The Chicory- beautiful pics, but don't know price as it's not on site (so annoying

Musee Conti- hear wonderful things, but don't fully know cost, and not blown away by pictures, but maybe I need to see in person?
Gallier Hall- don't remember much about this one, but it wasn't eliminated by factors above

Rosy's Jazz Hall- again, I think price seemed ok but not sure?
Parkview Terrace- see numbers around $55-60 a head, but does that include alcohol?
Omni Royal- same, see brides stating $60 a head, but does that include alcohol and what is the rental fee?

Depending on the rental fee, the Omni Royal would be my first pick, I love the room and it's close to the church, but I feel this is too good to be true and there must be costs of which I am unaware

Anyhow, any help/advice greatly appreciated! I wish there was a document listing all the venue prices...very aggravating that many of them don't list on their sites. I know that usually means expensive, but am curious anyhow! Also please reccommend anything I may have missed. I am thinking we can afford something $60 a head but only if there was no rental fee (with 30% added for tax and grautity that is already a little over 9k), and if there was a rental fee it would have to be less, but we may find a way to stretch things a bit for the perfect place

Again, not to sound like a lush, but alcohol included is a MUST. Also we are not considering anything on the North Shore as all of our guests will be staying in NO. Thanks so much! The Knot was a lifesaver through my first go-round wedding planning, and I'm hoping for the same experience this time!

sbelle85 · January 2012

Are you getting married on a Saturday night?

We are doing a St. Louis Cathedral wedding on a Friday night and because it's not a Saturday, some of the venues offered us discounted rates.

I think the only venue we looked into that would be within your budget is the Musee Conti. Let me know if you'd like me to email you the price list I received from them.

I don't know about the Omni Royal Orleans costs, but I think the $60 per person is more than likely the cost of the food/drinks alone and does not include room rental or other fees. I'm also not sure if they have minimums in terms of number of guests/amount you are required to spend. I think they probably do because I know that they wouldn't even do a hotel block without a $2,000 food and beverage minimum (in order to block rooms you have to commit to a certain number of rooms AND host a party/luncheon at the hotel where you spend a minimum of $2,000). So, I would imagine they have similar policies for receptions.

louisianablue · January 2012

I think the Royal Omni is going to be out of your budget. They do have high minimums for Saturday weddings and the $60 does not include tax, gratuity or bar. If I were you, I would look at the Federal Ballroom. It's not too far and their caterer has packages that start at $40/person including bar, although you can bring this caterer into other venues.

louisianablue · January 2012

I booked a room block at the Royal Orleans without a commitment to host an event, so I'm not sure that is accurate.

sbelle85 · January 2012

From what I understand there is a convention going on in the quarter the weekend of my wedding, so that may be why they had such strict room block policies when I contacted them.

Brooke, I think your best bet is to find somewhere that has a price/package that is pretty much "all inclusive". That way, it's a straightforward amount and you're not paying taxes and additional fees to multiple vendors. We ended up choosing a reception venue that includes pretty much everything but the cake and entertainment, and it has made planning/budgeting a lot easier.

Brooke4377 · January 2012

Yes, a Friday, so hopefully it will be less....hmmm bummer about the Omni...it seemed for the smaller room numbers-wise we would be fine (the terrace only seats 100 anyway), and another bride posted she was getting buffet AND alcohol for $61.50 a head...I had assumed that didn't include rental fees, but was hoping

I would be fine with chopping the guest list, not an option for DF. I will look into the Federal ballroom...I just checked out the state museum, and with the rental of 3k it would be a little over for us...I guess max we could do would be $60 a head for dinner/drinks and $2k rental, for the perfect place.

Brooke4377 · January 2012

And yes, I would love prices on Musee Conti. BTW- to all- how do I respond to a specific message? Can I only do that by PM? Sorry...haven't been on the site in a while and I forget!

Queen Jane · January 2012

Hi Brooke, we had our Sunday wedding at Benachi. Honestly, looking back, for how perfect the venue is otherwise, I got over the noise thing. We were able to have an awesome second line, and the band continued playing for the cocktail hour, just not at full force. Then we had a DJ for the rest. During the dinner, the music that could be heard at the tables (the way we had them set up), was like background noise and during dancing you could hear it just fine on the dance floor and it started to get a little muted as you went away from it. Which was actually nice bc people talking on the other side of the yard could actually hear one another. We used Capdeboscq catering and paid about $43 a head for food and bar.

Queen Jane · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_louisiana-new-orleans_newly-engaged-need-reception-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:84Discussion:ab982cf6-c53f-431a-b635-67c8bdd26fd1Post:48ab3b7e-7804-4567-83c9-3fe0c1bf05e0">Re: Newly engaged- need reception help!! (LONG)</a>:
[QUOTE]And yes, I would love prices on Musee Conti. BTW- to all- how do I respond to a specific message? Can I only do that by PM? Sorry...haven't been on the site in a while and I forget!
Posted by Brooke4377[/QUOTE]

On the bottom right hand of the post box, there is a "quote" button. You can quote individual responses as I did above :)

Brooke4377 · January 2012

Queen Jane-

Yes, I had read your review of the place and that's what made me interested

People also complain about the proprietor though and yesterday while he was emailing me he struck me as rude...especially regarding the noise concern. I guess though maybe he was just annoyed that it's always coming up? He was very prompt. My concern is only for dancing, I don't mind if you can't hear it elsewhere. Was it loud enough when you were dancing? Also how did it go with cleanup/set up etcetera? did you have to hire a cleaning company? or did hte caterer handle that?

sbelle85 · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_louisiana-new-orleans_newly-engaged-need-reception-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:84Discussion:ab982cf6-c53f-431a-b635-67c8bdd26fd1Post:48ab3b7e-7804-4567-83c9-3fe0c1bf05e0">Re: Newly engaged- need reception help!! (LONG)</a>:
[QUOTE]And yes, I would love prices on Musee Conti. BTW- to all- how do I respond to a specific message? Can I only do that by PM? Sorry...haven't been on the site in a while and I forget!
Posted by Brooke4377[/QUOTE]

Do you have an e-mail address where I can send the info? I will forward it over this afternoon. :)

louisianablue · January 2012

I looked back at my emails and the Royal Orleans has a $10,000 minimum for the Terrace. The menus started at $49/person, but that price did not include the bar which starts at $28/person. I don't see anything about rental fees, but when I inquired there was a fee for having your ceremony at the venue.

Queen Jane · January 2012

Oh yes, it was loud enough for dancing. It wasn't head-splitting or anything, but we definitely had dancing going on. I never once said "I wish this music was louder" while we were on the dancefloor.

We had the wedding the day before us (this would work even the week before, you just have to contact that bride) leave their tables up so and then we arranged them as we wanted, then our DOC took care of everything else.

We paid the caterer I think an extra 100 to clear the tables, take them down and put them away. It was well worth it.

Brooke4377 · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_louisiana-new-orleans_newly-engaged-need-reception-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:84Discussion:ab982cf6-c53f-431a-b635-67c8bdd26fd1Post:f7e154dc-5c4c-4163-bded-1969d9c1e769">Re: Newly engaged- need reception help!! (LONG)</a>:
[QUOTE]I looked back at my emails and the Royal Orleans has a $10,000 minimum for the Terrace. The menus started at $49/person, but that price did not include the bar which starts at $28/person. I don't see anything about rental fees, but when I inquired there was a fee for having your ceremony at the venue.
Posted by louisianablue[/QUOTE]

Great, thanks! wonder if fridays are cheaper? I guess I need to wait for the other bride to get back to me who said she had food/drinks for $61 a head...she said they are willing to make substituions on packages, etcetera...If I could get it for exactly $10,000 we could swing it, but it would be tight so I should probably continue the search. Thanks for your help!

Queen Jane · January 2012

Oh, and on the owner, you will probably never even meet him. He's not at te wedding, he has someone else do his showings for him (our DOC actually). I see as him more of the "money man".

MarcusandMelissa · January 2012

No one has spoken about Parkview Terrace in City Park yet so I thought I'd chime in. Unless something has changed since we booked last year, there is a $1000 rental fee and then the food (passed hors d'oeuvres) and alcohol package is together and priced according to how many people you have attending.

For instance, if you have between 100-119 people, you will pay $39.95 for house liquor, $42.95 for call and $45.95 for premium per person. This is the route we are going. Though we have heard that the passed hors d'oeuvres are way more than enough food (from brides on this forum) we are still going to have a few stations, which definitely adds up. Plus you have to think about the addition of 30% to the bill (service and taxes - ugh).

But overall, it sounds to me like you could get away with spending less than $10,000 for Parkview Terrace (you can have the ceremony underneath the canopy of the 2nd floor complimentary I've heard). Whatever you do you should definitely visit there. The grounds are amazing and the views are priceless. Since you are elevated on the 2nd floor you have views of the marshes, the swans, the towering live oaks with their draping Spanish moss and Popp Bandstand, which is gorgeous.

Let me know if you have any other questions about PT or CP and I'll try to help. Otherwise, good luck in your search!

RYLZ · January 2012

Brooke, I can send you the Omni's 2011 Catering package if you'd like. Not sure I can attach it to a PM though but you could PM me your email address. Louisianablue's pricing info for the Omni Royal matches what they quoted me, and they didn't mention a room rental fee when I was investigating last Spring but there was a charge for the ceremony ($1000 at the time). They did mention a minimum but with 120 people it would be easy to meet, but in any event, I have found after months of wedding planning, that EVERYTHING is negotiable! I negotiated our $12000 minimum down to $7500, just so I could sleep better at night :-)

We found pricing at the Royal Sonesta to be comparable to the Omni but they didn't charge extra for the ceremony.

Catering packages at the Prince Conti seemed to start below $50pp including bar and there was a wide variety and different price points. And you would probably end up saving because of all he included items for decor, but you should definetly visit the space in person before making a decision (on any venue, that is).

We're getting married at the Bourbon Orleans and our 5-hour sit-down dinner and reception will work out to $77pp including call brand alcohol. But we negotiated on price and all the details. I think you can also save a couple dollars if you go with beer and wine only.

Good luck!

sbelle85 · January 2012

Brooke, I e-mailed you the info I have from Musee Conti

louisianablue · January 2012

I think the mininum might be cheaper for a Friday wedding, but the cost of the food will likely be the same.

sbelle85 · January 2012

Brooke, I e-mailed you the Musee Conti info. Let me know if you don't receive it for some reason

Brooke4377 · January 2012

Thanks everyone for all your help!

I think now we will look at the following:

Omni Royal- min is $10,000, and if I could talk them into having it be 10k AFTER tax and tip are added that's doable..think they might for an offseason friday night...(we are open to summer if we love the place)

Federal Ballroom- looks beautiful! Waiting on pricing.

Parkview Terrace- a little further away than I'd like, but price is right

Musee Conti- DF is not taken with the idea (the wax museum part) but I think we need to see it, I told him it isn't like that in the venue space

Benachi House- worried about weather but otherwise LOVE.

Riverview Room- $11,000, but again if it's a little cheaper during summer on a Friday or Saturday during the day that would work. Really pretty.

In looking more closely at our guest list I think realistically (since I've been married before and most of my family is in the Northeast) we will have closer to 100, not 120, so if I can talk down the minimums it won't matter if it's a little more expensive per person.

Thanks again everyone! I'll update after we look

LOLways · January 2012

Hi there, I thought I'd chime in since I'm an Omni bride.

I really don't think you'll be able to swing it for 10k at the Omni. They charge 22% tax/gratuity on top of what you're paying per head. So if they're telling you 10k, add that 22% to it.

We are paying 20k for a cocktail hour and buffet for 200 people, and FI's family is paying 10k for the alcohol for those 200 people. So 30k total for 4 hours, including tax/gratuity.

We aren't doing the bare minimum package, but I didn't think we were extravagant either. The venue in general is just kinda pricey. I think not only do they do it because it's so nice, but the location is a big part of it since it's right there in the FQ, walking distance to so many things and places to see. Something not in the FQ might enable you to stay within your budget without too many worries. Or maybe you could have a brunch so that you don't have to pay for alcohol?

Brooke4377 · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_louisiana-new-orleans_newly-engaged-need-reception-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:84Discussion:ab982cf6-c53f-431a-b635-67c8bdd26fd1Post:afdb276f-9a0c-42f0-9466-7c8ba12c305a">Re: Newly engaged- need reception help!! (LONG)</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi there, I thought I'd chime in since I'm an Omni bride. I really don't think you'll be able to swing it for 10k at the Omni. They charge 22% tax/gratuity on top of what you're paying per head. So if they're telling you 10k, add that 22% to it. We are paying 20k for a cocktail hour and buffet for 200 people, and FI's family is paying 10k for the alcohol for those 200 people. So 30k total for 4 hours, including tax/gratuity. We aren't doing the bare minimum package, but I didn't think we were extravagant either. The venue in general is just kinda pricey. I think not only do they do it because it's so nice, but the location is a big part of it since it's right there in the FQ, walking distance to so many things and places to see. Something not in the FQ might enable you to stay within your budget without too many worries. Or maybe you could have a brunch so that you don't have to pay for alcohol?
Posted by LOLways[/QUOTE]

Actually in August or September minimum is only $8k, so we may luck out. I could care less the month- I love the summer weather around here while everyone else dies in the heat :) Also we may be lucking out with a higher budget....turns out DF mom has a wedding fund for him, if I can convince him to take her up on it! We will see! Either way hoping to go see in person soon, along with several other places. Thanks!

Newly engaged- need reception help!! (LONG)

Re: Newly engaged- need reception help!! (LONG)

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