I just want to pick a venue!!!

emmybound · October 2011

All right, I'm sick of looking at venues! This is becoming stressfull- either it's too much, not pretty, bad food, bad communication. I feel like there is something with each venue we have been to! We have two more venues lined up and they are:

Club West

Concord Events of AZ

Has anyone been to either of these, had a wedding at either? heard of them? Reviews?

I've looked I feel like, just about everywhere.

We've toured:

Aldea

Venue at the Grove

The Foothills

Inspirador

Villa Tuscana

Portico

12 W. Main

DC Ranch

I know there were a few others- but they are all kind of blending into one! Any advice- has anyone been to the two I mentioned above? We are trying to do the entire wedding (dress, venue, rings, flowers, etc) for under 18k. I know it's possible... just have to find the place!!

krissyb146 · October 2011

Have you looked at Tre Bella in Mesa? They have all inclusive packages and Kim the coordinator is awesome!! Very reasonable prices

emmybound · October 2011

yeah... I've seen photos, but haven't actually gone to check it out. I think it's right near 12 w. main though right? Did you have your wedding there? Do you have some photos?

FutureMrsWright2012 · October 2011

Emmy, I unfortunately don't have any other suggestions, but was curious to hear what you didn't like about DC Ranch... We're having our wedding there next year, and I want to make sure there isn't something we should be watching out for... Currently having catering issues ourselves...

skidevil89 · October 2011

If you haven't already, it might be helpful to make a list of your priorities for a venue. For example, when we were looking for a venue it was really important for us to find a place that was near our church and had a reasonably priced all inclusive package. That helped us narrow the location of where we were looking and I contacted each of the venues before we visited to make sure they were in our price range.

We only visited 3 venues and decided on Villa Tuscana because it's very close to the ceremony venue, the package pricing is reasonable, and it's very nice inside. All of our priorities were met so we can live with the fact that it's not as picturesque on the outside.

The venues you've listed vary greatly from price to style to location. There doesn't seem to be much method to your madness, so to speak. You might want to develop a vision for your wedding and then work within those parameters. For example: Do you want a more traditional golf course/country club venue like Club West or a more urban and chic venue like Inspirador? HTH.

Syndelin · October 2011

I don't know if you're set on a specific area, or what exactly you're looking for, and that makes it harder to suggest any other ones.

My husband and I got married at Seville in Gilbert, and were VERY happy with everything about them. Ours ended up about half your budget total, but we had a fairly small guest list also. I'm sure you could do it within what you're looking at though if you went with them.

If you want to see some pics of our day there, they are all here: http://www.mmproofs.com/ac_wedding

ETA: There is a second ceremony site/ballroom that is used for larger weddings as well that really isn't in our pictures. We used the fountain for ceremony site, and the East Patio and room for cocktail hour and reception.

kjoseph81 · October 2011

I also am curious about what you didnt like about DC Ranch. You are referring to the Country Club at DC Ranch? My wedding is there next March.

Future Mrs Wright - When is your wedding at DC Ranch? And what catering problems have you had? I dont think you are allowed a caterer there.

mylittlepwnies · October 2011

It took me months to pick a venue and I looked everywhere, I got to the point where I exhausted all options and got scared I was never going to find a place, stress dreams and all. I finally have a venue and feel so much better, you'll get there, sometimes it takes time

C-Lovell · October 2011

Did you check out Regale at DC Ranch? It is much different then DC Ranch Country Club.

kimberlyb33 · October 2011

When I first started looking for a venue, I was completely stressed out! Everything was over priced or boring and they all looked the same! I couldn't relax at all and it was all I could talk about.
Then I just stopped. I took a good week away from wedding stuff - I didn't talk about it or look at anything online - nothing.
And then we found the PERFECT venue for us. It took some time and I went through a lot of emotions, but when you find the right one, you'll know and you'll be very happy about it.
I know it's difficult, but try to be patient. And, try to think outside the box. We did and we couldn't be happier.

FutureMrsWright2012 · October 2011

Our wedding is going to be at Regale. I didn't realize there was another venue up there, so I guess I just assumed Emmy was talking about Regale. Lol

cas6868 · October 2011

Hi! We are having our wedding at Portico! So far it's been a great experience. Our bodget for the wedding was about 15K, and while we are cutting it really close and will probably go over a bit, you could probably easily stay under 18K. They do offer a lot of packages that are nice, but they also offer the option to just use one or two or however many of their preferred vendors that you want. The best part is that you DON'T have to. A lot of other venues don't give you that option. We are bringing in our food from a restaurant instead of using a caterer (Portico offers a catering packages that includes servers, dishes etc) and it's saving us a ton of money. They are also doing our photography (the people that own it were photographers before they built this venue at their house). The photography package that we got seriously beats the prices of any others I was looking at. It's definitely worth a look, but it just depends on your taste. The wedding is an outside ceremony and the reception is in a tent with walls built around it....very indoor/outdoor the entire evening. It's not the most beautiful location ever (not like a resort or golf course etc.), because it is just a venue that they built on their property, but they are friendly and I'm super confident that it will be a really great experience. Good luck in your search! Picking the venue is the hardest part.

emmybound · October 2011

Hey everyone- sorry it's been a day or two since I've been on! Didn't realize I'd get so much feedback! I'm going to try and give everyone some thoughts:

FutureMrs.Wright- I am talking about Regale at DC Ranch. I wasn't sold on any of the ceremony sites. I kind of liked the one that was furthest away from the reception area.... but I think that reception area with the cat statues was what killed it for me. Also, the girl in charge of catering did seem a little unorganized and since good food and a plated meal is something we are looking for I needed someone on top of it all!

Skidevil- I have an idea of what I want... but I don't think you really can get your heart set on a theme/etc until you have a venue since they all vary so much. I'm thinking that once I fall in love with the venue, all the little details I haven't thought about will follow. I actually plan for a living- so I know that the first thing you need is a location, and then it all goes from there!

Syndelin- I do like Seville- but I think it is a little out of our price range... I know you did yours on a Thursday- and that is probably what helped keep your budget down! I've got a lot of family flying in from out of town so doing a wedding during the week isn't really a possibility. I was open to doing my wedding on a Sunday at Aldea, but the communication kind of stopped when we were ready to put down a deposit- which was a red flag to me. After finding some venues that are able to stay in my price range for a Saturday (like the foothills) I"m really leaning towards a Saturday wedding!

Mylittlepwnies- where did you decide on a venue?

kimberlyp- I am trying to think outside the box... where did you end up deciding? I've taken a few days off but it's getting close to my one year out time and I don't want the date I've been eying to get taken! I have one more venue to look at next week and I think it MIGHT be the one. Has anyone heard of Concord Events of AZ? It's off 44th and Thomas and def. isn't your traditional venue- it's actually an office building that does events- guy seems super flexible... and the ceremony area is over a Koi pond. I have my visit Tuesday so I'll let you all know how that goes!

And yes, I did like Portico, but the reviews on WW and the BBB really did scare me away... I'm not willing to gamble with a day that expensive!! I have a friend getting married there 11/11/11 so I'm curious to see how hers goes over- she said so far so good

Sorry it's long but I didn't realize everyone would actually respond!!!

FutureMrsWright2012 · October 2011

Emmy, Your response made me LOL... We aren't fans of those cats either... But we do like the trees, grass, and waterfalls in that area. We've already talked to our photog about our dislike of the cats, so he's agreed to avoid them as much as possible in our pictures. It's funny that you had that to say about the catering manager... We have had our own issues and met with Tony today to discuss them... Tony was awesome about it, and is working to make sure our wedding is exactly what we dreamed and hoped for when we decided to have it at Regale.

Have you looked at the Bentley Projects? I have heard that they're reasonably priced, more modern, and unique. You can google it to find more info and look at some pics of the gallery. Good luck to you!

skidevil89 · October 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_arizona-phoenix_just-want-pick-venue?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:71Discussion:5592ada6-74d7-4162-b484-ab8fb606aac1Post:d691b8f7-613a-415a-b58e-722156f4ebf2">Re: I just want to pick a venue!!!</a>:
[QUOTE]Skidevil- I have an idea of what I want... but I don't think you really can get your heart set on a theme/etc until you have a venue since they all vary so much. I'm thinking that once I fall in love with the venue, all the little details I haven't thought about will follow.<strong> I actually plan for a living- so I know that the first thing you need is a location</strong>, and then it all goes from there! [/QUOTE]

So you're an event planner? In that case, you know a lot more about this than I do. I'm a law student and I knew that I would not have the time to visit 10+ venues and still be looking when my semester started. I was suggesting that you narrow your scope so that you aren't frustrated and you don't visit every venue in the Phoenix metro area in the hopes that one of them sticks. That's one thing that really helped me with planning. As an event planner, this is something you probably advise your clients of regularly anyway.

But if you're wide open in terms of location, size, cost, and ambience, then here are some venues that I have heard great things about that are not on your list:

The Castle at Ashley Manor
The Waterfront
Secret Garden
Arizona Grand Resort
Boojum Tree Hidden Garden
W Scottsdale
Stonebridge Manor
The Wright House

Good Luck!

emmybound · October 2011

Not an event planner- but a production coordinator- so I plan shoots all the time. Location always takes the longest to nail down. I am definitely not wide open in terms of cost and size as I have a budget and I want a space that won't feel too big, or too small. Final (hopefully) venue to look at happens tomorrow- and I've got one more I might be interested in I don't fall in love with that one... We will see- I'll let you all know where I end up choosing!

emmybound · October 2011

Not an event planner- but a production coordinator- so I plan shoots all the time. Location always takes the longest to nail down. I am definitely not wide open in terms of cost and size as I have a budget and I want a space that won't feel too big, or too small. Final (hopefully) venue to look at happens tomorrow- and I've got one more I might be interested in I don't fall in love with that one... We will see- I'll let you all know where I end up choosing!

cu97tiger · October 2011

It doesn't look like you've checked out any of the golf courses. We're getting married at Starfire at Scottsdale Country Club. The grounds are beautiful, the people are great to work with and the food is amazing! Depending on how many you're planning on inviting, staying under $18k shouldn't be too difficult!

emmybound · November 2011

Starfire I thought could only accomodate 90 for a dinner? I do like Starfire- so if they can accomodate more that'd be great. We have checked out a few golf courses too- The Foothills and Club West. Might take a visit to AZ Country Club too!

mylittlepwnies · November 2011

On the topic of golf courses, you might also want to look at Ancala. Very pretty and they have a vendor package for $3500 (florist, photographer, dj, officiant).

kikilay17 · November 2011

We've booked the foothills golf club for our april 15th wedding. So far theyve been great the wedding coordinater laurie has so much info and knwlege that she doesnt mind sharing shes been more like a wedding planner than just the coordinater. We just did our food tasting and the food was great. Hope that helps you with your planning. Their site is gorgeous and they are budget friendly and down to earth good luck

ericadanielewicz · November 2011

We looked at a few of the same places you looked at and I wasn't thrilled with any of them. Then I fell in LOVE with Sassi! The price per person is a little pricey, unless you don't want to have an open bar then it's actually cheap! The rental fees of the site are actually some of the cheapest I'd seen but their alcohol prices are some of the highest! But Its gorgeous, classey, the food is amazing and their ceremony site is simple and elegant. After we booked with Sassi I kept adding everything up over and over becasuse I coudn't believe we could afford such a gorgeous site :-)

They also offer discounts for certain months - we're getting married in Feb and we're getting a discount.

Good luck!

emmybound · November 2011

Can I ask how much Sassi is? I just asked them for an estimate and I'm excited to get it back!!

I just want to pick a venue!!!

Re: I just want to pick a venue!!!

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