Help! Good Dallas reception locations??? My head is going to explode.

TheDarlingZ · December 2011

Any advice on finding a solid reception location. Both families are from out of state -- are hotels the best option.... or just random banquet halls. The knot.com is helpful, however super freaking overwhelming.

120ish people. Help - help! Thank you

bsn1752 · December 2011

Are you looking at outter areas of Dallas too? Budget?

professorscience · December 2011

Budget would be really helpful. We had a huge OOT population, and our reception was at Cityplace Tower.

MarieSD · December 2011

I don't know Dallas (I'm in Fort Worth) but all our wedding guests were out-of-towners as well. I also was initially very unsure of how to help them out the best and was super worried about my family and friends being able to get around.

Hotels in wedding ballrooms are beautiful but they can be pricey, so that depends on what your budget is. Ladies on here can help you if they know what you can afford to spend on the room rental, food, and beverage. Hotels (and golf/country clubs) usually require that you use their vendors for everything, and they generally charge a food and drink minimum in the thousands of dollars. For a Saturday night wedding, the food/drink minimum might be $7,000 (with no room rental fee). But if your food/drink budget is much more limited, you'd be best trying to find a venue where you can bring in your own vendors.

Also, where are you getting married? We were getting married in our church, so I limited my search to a few mile radius of our church. I needed a budget-friendly venue, so I found a DIY one where I could bring in the booze and select my own caterer.

Then I found a couple of hotels near the reception venue; one offered a free shuttle for my guests. That particular hotel ended up falling through with the free shuttle, so I paid for a shuttle to drive my guests to and from each location, all night. That is NOT required, but I worked it into my budget.

I put all the information on my wedding website on how to get to and from each location, the various options and prices to use Super Shuttle/cabs/free shuttles/etc. It worked out fine.

In short: Ask other ladies here for specific recommendations based on the area you want to be in and what you can afford to spend. Try to get a room block at a hotel close to your reception venue. Try to make sure the church and reception venue aren't too far apart (no more than 30 minutes). But OOT people won't have as much of an issue getting around as you might think. Planning a wedding is stressful enough without worrying about the logistics for 120 people. I know this from experience!!!

TheDarlingZ · December 2011

According to this website I'm going to guess $$.

I heard Dallas locations can be more expensive vs a little bit north. I'm debating whether I should have a nice location and blow all the money on decor..... or a great location with subpar decorations.

This is soooo overwheliming -- I give hugs to everyone on here -- just because it's difficult.

TheDarlingZ · December 2011

Thanks!

professorscience · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_good-dallas-reception-locations-head-going-explode?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:102Discussion:e1fdaa74-2bd1-45fc-993e-e65765457ed6Post:64dc1796-5e8c-41f6-9a4e-31d7f6002f8b">Re: Help! Good Dallas reception locations??? My head is going to explode.</a>:
[QUOTE]According to this website I'm going to guess $$. I heard Dallas locations can be more expensive vs a little bit north. I'm debating whether I should have a nice location and blow all the money on decor..... or a great location with subpar decorations. This is soooo overwheliming -- I give hugs to everyone on here -- just because it's difficult.
Posted by TheDarlingZ[/QUOTE]

What does "$$" mean? We can't be of much help if you are not forthcoming with information. What is your budget for your venue? If you don't have a budget, you need to figure that out before you go throwing down money.

MarieSD · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_good-dallas-reception-locations-head-going-explode?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:102Discussion:e1fdaa74-2bd1-45fc-993e-e65765457ed6Post:1f790893-6f3f-4a4e-a9a4-415763cc6399">Re: Help! Good Dallas reception locations??? My head is going to explode.</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Help! Good Dallas reception locations??? My head is going to explode. : What does "$$" mean? We can't be of much help if you are not forthcoming with information. What is your budget for your venue? If you don't have a budget, you need to figure that out before you go throwing down money.
Posted by professorscience[/QUOTE]

On the knot website (not our knottie site) the prices are in dollar signs. OP must think we use the same symbols here.

OP, my original budget was $3k toward reception venue/food/drinks, 10k total for the reception (although I did exceed that by quite a bit because I added a lot of stuff at the last minute). My H and I brainstormed what we both wanted most out of the reception he wanted an open bar. I wanted dancing and to keep the prices down. So, we decided to find a place where you can bring in your own liquor (this saves a TON if you're having an open bar) and had a Saturday night reception with a DJ, full dinner, etc.

Just think about what's important to you. And check the site we just created that lists out our vendors. It might be a sticky on the first page of the forum that says something like "New here? Start here!"

laurencste · December 2011

Doubletree, Campbell Centre! We had 123 come to our wedding, they gave us a great group rate, and it has a package so it's really reasonable-- they will include 12 flowers in a centerpiece per table, a cake from Elena's cakes (SO GOOD), linens--anything you want! We did the top floor ballroom with pretty views of the city. Only $89 a night for hotel guests, and there were lots of freebies thrown in-- $50 town car transportation for an hour, etc. etc. Go check them out, Mayra there was so helpful and wonderful to us, and our wedding looked like a million dollars without costing that!

fallbride1109 · December 2011

I would start by browsing our vendor sticky--it has a lot of great information and you can easily narrow it down by your guest size, budget etc. See what speaks to you--what matches your vision? Do you want an outdoor option? We have that listed as well. You can also think about good hotels in proximity to the venues you like for your OOT guests, as that might be something to consider.

I did get married at a hotel and I loved it. I loved having all of our guests there, I loved getting ready with my girls in my suite, loved the bar, loved the decor, loved everything about it.

Dallas is a great wedding venue town--there are lots of great options.

winechic25 · December 2011

I know I personally went with an okay location, and completely transformed it into our vision. If you go with a really nice location like you mention, you don't necessarily have to have sub-par decor, because if you chose the right place, the location could speak for itself. I had a close friend get married at The Stoneleigh in April and she had very little decor, but it was absolutely stunning. Totally agree with PP, know your budget, figure out your style and that will help the list (and us) get narrowed down.

Jay&Marissa · December 2011

Also, don't limit yourself to venues advertised on the Knot, because that is all they are...advertisements. The boards are a completely different story!

aaronkannowski · December 2011

Have you checked out the Filter Building? I've been there several times, and it has a really cool vibe if you like the "industrial" kind of look. Here's a picture from just this past Saturday.

aaronkannowski · December 2011

Have you checked out the Filter Building? I've been there several times, and it has a really cool vibe if you like the "industrial" kind of look. Here's a picture from just this past Saturday.

Help! Good Dallas reception locations??? My head is going to explode.

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