Saying Hello

MeganW1012 · October 2011

I just wanted to introduce myself, and say hi to everyone. My name is Megan, and I plan on getting married early October 2012. I've been lurking for a while, and after the depressing wedding week I have had, decided to say hello and try to regain my "go wedding" attitude.

I had put a deposit down for my venue, Hillcrest Golf Course several weeks ago, only to hear on Thursday that they are going out of business. I know I have lots of time, but the thought of starting over is definitely a bit of a bummer.

I'd love some advice, what was the deciding factor for you when choosing a venue?

Thanks!

kelleyku05 · October 2011

Welcome! Congrats on your engagement and sorry to hear about your venue! When I chose a venue I wanted something different, something that could accomodate my guests, and something with a convenient location. I also wanted in house catering so I didn't have to worry about another vendor.
Have you looked into some other country clubs? Hotels will also give you similar accomodations. What are some things you Need for your reception?

theluckiest555 · October 2011

Hi Megan! My name is Molly and I just got married in July. I am sorry to hear about your wedding venue, I'm glad you still have enough time to find another one though. I had my reception at the Intercontinental Hotel on the Plaza. I wanted something that was not too far away from my ceremony site and that was in a nice part of town because I had a lot of OOT guests, so I wanted them to be staying in an area with lots of fun things to do. Other than that, we didn't have very many requirements. I liked that our reception venue was a hotel because they had a wedding planner on staff and they took care of EVERYTHING. Made life so much easier!

Where is your ceremony going to be? Can't wait to hear more about your wedding! Congrats and welcome to the KC board.

MeganW1012 · October 2011

Thanks so much! I'm super excited to have somewhere to talk wedding. I think I might be making my friends and family a bit crazy.

My ceremony was going to be at the same location, so now I'm back to step one. I liked that the country club was a historic building, and had some great details to it. It gave me the chance to make the wedding very personal. The catering was part of the venue, which was nice. Except the tasting was after booking. I know I am a new to all of this, but is that normal? What happens if the food is terrible?

I had planned on my wedding being small, vintage-y and autumn inspired. Oranges, purples, reds and golds. I am having around 75 guests, and am on a relatively small budget. Not shoestring, but certainly small enough that I have dived headfirst into the DIY world. I had almost gone with Drexel Hall, which is beautiful, but a really empty space. I decided against it because I contacted 4 caterers to get estimates, and none of them were easy to deal with.

I'd love something thats easy, but I can still add as much to as I'd like. Within budget, and makes my FMIL happy.

Sorry I'm all over the place. It was difficult making decisions the first time. Vegas is sooo tempting at times.

[Deleted User] · October 2011

Hi Megan!
I'm so sorry to hear about your venue but you sound like you have some great ideas and I'm sure you can pull them together to creat that personal effect at any venue.
Oh-and we love talking wedding here!
My choice was based on location and that 'wow' factor. I wanted it to be super different and new.
For your vision, maybe revisiting Drexel Hall would be a good place to start again. There are alot of caterers and I know two off the top, that are reliable and great. You can request a tasting before the contract is signed, which is totally resonable before signing away to spend all that money. But some caterers just don't do that and if the food is terrible, just ask for another and discuss what you didn't like about it.
Is there a certain type of caterer? Do you want one that also has liquor options?

MeganW1012 · October 2011

If I go with Drexel Hall, I would probably consider providing my own liqour. My fiancee and I had already agreed to a limited bar, with beer, wine, and a few mixed drinks. Which I think I could handle without a caterer since Drexel doesn't require a bartender. However if we end up at a different location, a lot of it depends on the vendor requirements.

As for type of food, I am totally all over the place. Di (the future husband) was born in China, and while he loves American food, his family still has very traditional tastes. And every time I mention Chinese food to my grandmother she complains about sodium. So I was thinking about doing asian inspired appetizers and a more meat and potatoes dinner. Could I ask about the two caterers that you know and trust?

Thanks so much, you all have been so welcoming and helpful. I'm definitely getting back in the wedding mood!

heaterj · October 2011

I am sorry to hear about your luck. These girls are right we love to talk weddings. I have looked at venue after venue before we chose the Uptown theatre. We are getting married in May next year, but the lady there has been so helpful with everything. They are doing all the catering and bar and have a beautiful space. We are having the reception in the Valentine room. Something small like you are saying I love the chapel at the Powell gardens and they have reception space there I can't remember on food and such but that is a beautiful space. I have a friend of mine getting married and reception at Peeper Ranch. I had never heard of it but it is really nice and they have an outdoor option and an indoor option for the reception. I also loved the Loose Mansion is also a great space. Hope that helps you a little.

kelleyku05 · November 2011

Here are some catering reviews from past KC knotties
http://knotkc.weebly.com/catering.html

coffeeismylyfe · November 2011

Hi Megan!

If you're looking for a venue that you can have both your ceremony and your reception at, and is a historic venue, you should check out the Elms in Excelsior Springs. They are renovating through April, so it would be nice and fresh for your October wedding! My fiance and I were going to have our reception there this November, but they cancelled on us because of the renovations; so I know how you feel about losing your venue! But I promise they are not flakey people, they totaly turned the situation into a positive one and I highly reccomend them even though it didn't work out for us. They have a WONDERFUL space.

HTH!

laurennwilson1 · November 2011

Welcome Megan! For catering, try looking at Affordable Catering - you can get a quote right on their website which makes things simple. Plus, the food is great and they have awesome reviews! They are even helping me with the table decor, which I love.

For a venue that includes everything you should look into Californos! The space is a bit big, but their prices are amazing and the food is great. The Clushouse on Baltimore also has rooms to fit lots of sizes and includes food. Figlio Tower is also a great choice that not many people know about - yummy food and great views of the Plaza!

Good luck to you!

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