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250 guests at a 320 minimum hall?

raeeanneraeeanne member
First Comment First Anniversary
in Canada-Ontario
Hi ladies, we got a really good rate for a beautiful venue; however, my FI and I have a bit of a dilemma. We are expecting 250 guests (sending out 280 invitations) but the venue minimum is 320! (7000 sq ft). The event co-ordinator is willing to give it to us but we will have to pay the 250 person minimum.

The hall is pretty big and we are wondering if it will look really bad or really awkward with the extra open/wide space? Any thoughts? They do 10 people per table, we requested for 8 to try and spread it out but it will cost us significantly more for this.
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Re: 250 guests at a 320 minimum hall?

  • SlothGoalsSlothGoals member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer First Comment
    Can you give us the name of the Hall? Some of the ladies around here have probably seen it and can give you a better response if they know which one it is.
    Image and video hosting by TinyPic Anniversary 
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  • raeeanneraeeanne member
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    The West River, in the grand ballroom. The associate is giving us a one week time to decide with the pricing and for that size room.
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  • Jewel224Jewel224 member
    Combo Breaker First Anniversary First Comment
    Can you clarify - do you mean you'll have to pay the 320 minimum or for the 250 minimum you are expecting?

    I think the room size will be fine - just have them spread out the tables a little more.  Also think about how you want your head table to be set up, your DJ table or Band stage, gift table (if you're having one), dessert table, photo booth, etc.  Also, consider square tables instead of round ones.

    For our wedding, the ballroom we were in was a minimum 250 people, but our vendor gave us a deal for 150 people.  I had them fill the extra spaces with seating areas of lounge furniture.  If your venue has lounge furniture, you can have seating areas too.
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  • raeeanneraeeanne member
    First Comment First Anniversary
    Thanks Jewel, we're realizing that we may not hit the 250 person mark and will have to pay the additional amount. Just to clarify, we were asked to guarantee 250. However, for that size of a hall they typically require, 320 as the minimum. The bar location is not ideal to us either as people would be continually leaving and going out to the lobby for drinks. Thanks for the input, I think minus the bar location we would've chose them.
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  • Jewel224Jewel224 member
    Combo Breaker First Anniversary First Comment
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_canada-toronto_250-guests-at-a-320-minimum-hall?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:613Discussion:f99c7089-2106-4a6a-96bb-975f0e023131Post:bfd78d5e-6c41-4768-93b2-150ec2ca5892">Re: 250 guests at a 320 minimum hall?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Thanks Jewel, we're realizing that we may not hit the 250 person mark and will have to pay the additional amount. Just to clarify, we were asked to guarantee 250. However, for that size of a hall they typically require, 320 as the minimum. The bar location is not ideal to us either as people would be continually leaving and going out to the lobby for drinks. Thanks for the input, I think minus the bar location we would've chose them.
    Posted by raeeanne[/QUOTE]

    Can they not put a bar inside the ballroom?  Such as a martini bar or something like it?
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  • raeeanneraeeanne member
    First Comment First Anniversary
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_canada-toronto_250-guests-at-a-320-minimum-hall?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:613Discussion:f99c7089-2106-4a6a-96bb-975f0e023131Post:427e5886-f63a-4d5b-973a-510fe7cc6bf8">Re: 250 guests at a 320 minimum hall?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: 250 guests at a 320 minimum hall? : Can they not put a bar inside the ballroom?  Such as a martini bar or something like it?
    Posted by Jewel224[/QUOTE]
    We never actually thought of that, good question.  <div>
    </div><div>We have sort of moved past this venue now because we realized even though we are inviting 280 people, there's no guarantee that 250 or even 220 would show up!  And at that point we are paying for the additional heads.</div>
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