This is going to be long so bear with me - I've just started my research for a reception venue in Cleveland - preferably one that we can have the ceremony at as well. I would love something modern and contemporary that will look great in photos but the problem is that my fiance's family and my family are very food oriented. They're all 100% Italian and long after weddings have come and gone the one topic is the food - was it plentiful enough, tasty, etc. I want a delicious meal but I have so many other factors to consider - the majority of people are going to be coming in from out of town so we would like it to be in downtown or the east side neighborhoods as my fiance's family lives out in Bainbridge and some of the family members have a hard time getting around due to illness so we don't want them to be driving too far and then if it's downtown it will be easier to reserve blocks of hotel rooms for the out of town guests. The problem is I've only been to Cleveland twice so far and both times we've only ever spent at fiance's family's house - not scoping out wedding venues. We live 1100 miles away so it's not like I can go to a bunch of venues and tastings, etc - we'll have to narrow it down to four or five places and arrange a tasting weekend or something like that. I'd love to keep my budget under $120 pp including alcohol. What are your best ideas including price ranges. I'm looking for dramatic, pretty space that isn't going to require a ton of floral arrangements, special lighting or things like that to transform it. Also, a place that has a good selection of linens and nice chairs already so that I can save some budget there as well. I'm asking for a lot I know but any help at all would be appreciated.
ETA: We'll be having about 200 guests and about 100 of them will be from out of town.