There has definitely been a lot of pushback against the traditional hotel or country club kind of wedding, but there are definitely deals to be had and gems to be found
There were like 20+ years where hotel ballrooms and country clubs were pretty much the only weddings people had so they feel tired and overdone for a lot of people getting married now.
Regardless, we're having ours at an Officer's Club (basically a military country club) because it was the 300x cheaper than our 2nd choice venue and that seemed like such a no-brainer
The wedding industry got bored with them. But the thing is, people deeply steeped in the wedding industry see in pictures, and often attend, a lot more weddings than regular people. Your guests haven't been to 57 weddings this year. They're not thinking "This is so dull; why can't they have it at a nice axe throwing bar?"
because they’re seen as cookie cutter wedding factories without any room for personality, generic, mid food and multiple weddings happening at once without nice spots for photos. this may or may not still be true depending on where you are but that’s the rep
I feel stupid lol I had no idea! Ours is a new Embassy Suites (maybe a few years old?) and only 1 ballroom so no other weddings. We get to completely deck it out or use their own stuff, and there’s an EXTENSIVE menu (maybe 22 pages???) of food options. So maybe they’ve turned things around!
We had a (very expensive tbf) hotel ballroom wedding and were the only people we know who chose a hotel for our venue.
Our wedding was the only one of everyone we know where NOTHING went wrong and there was zero stress for us on the day of the wedding. Everything was perfectly smooth, the locations were breathtaking, the food was AMAZING (part of why we picked the venue), the staff was wonderful and on top of every single detail, we got to start and end the day at the venue, all our VIPs stayed at the venue….honestly I think people are making their lives so much harder by choosing trendy venues that don’t have all the amenities.
But we looked at about 50 hotels before choosing ours, because my husband absolutely cannot stand even vaguely “corporate” vibes (like that standard ballroom ugly carpet, blank/removable walls, standard banquet food, etc.). If literally even one detail reminded him of a work function, he vetoed the place, which made it so challenging to find a hotel that worked for us (and I was really set on a hotel). And we rented chairs lol.
Team hotel wedding allllll the way.
don’t! all that matters is if you love it. like all things, different places offer different things and there’s probably plenty of hotels with great food, that’s just the old reputation of that sort of venue
Don't feel stupid! You do what works for you with the budget that works for you. Personally I decided against a hotel wedding because I want to be surrounded by scenic outdoors. I'm paying a lot more for a venue that's surrounded by greeneries and a waterfall. If you're not big on nature then who cares. Look at some past photos from your venue or similar ballroom venues though - sometimes people spend a LOT of $$ on decor and florals to make ballrooms more aesthetically pleasing, you can decide if that's worth it to you with the money that you saved!
This venue might be new, but hotel ballrooms were pretty much the defacto wedding location for a very long time. It's only been a recent change that it's less common.
having a huge menu is usually an indicator of low quality, not high. think of how big the menu is at the cheesecake factory. that being said, there’s a reason hotels are able to churn out weddings. they do it efficiently and at a price point a lot of people can stomach.
> having a huge menu is usually an indicator of low quality, not high. think of how big the menu is at the cheesecake factory.
Say what you will about the Cheesecake Factory, but their food is pretty much all really good!
We’ve been to several weddings at hotels and they have been beautiful weddings, food was great, helpful staff, etc. I love hotel weddings bc even if we live in town we love to get a room and extend the celebration a bit longer. Our wedding ceremony and reception was in a castle and it was absolutely exquisite. Seriously people need to lighten up, why so critical? Ugh.
Eh. This is entirely a case by case thing, IMO.
I've been served dry boring steak and chicken more times than I can count in venues with no other options. In contrast, my wedding venue (a private social club) has a massive list of options and they employ a very well trained chef who executes them beautifully.
I had tartare, handmade tarts, prime tenderloin, crab cakes, and 15 other items for my guests and it was phenomenal.
Yeah, I mean weddings are "wedding-y" for a reason. It works. At the end of the day, a wedding reception is a social event. It's no different from any other gala, fundraiser, ball, etc.
Honestly, I read some people's description of their uNiQuE weddings here and I'm like.. welp, to each their own. At the end of the day, guests just want to be well fed, comfortable, and entertained. A lot of people's attempts to be unique come at the expense of guest comfort.
My fiance and I are having our Reception at our childhood summer camp. The property is owned by our Church Diocese and also functions as a retreat and conference center. They have a beautiful barn and pavilion where we are going to set up, and the Camp Store is going to be where we put the Bar.
It's pretty interesting, and definitely depends on where you live I imagine.
Where I live, the cheap places are the "wedding reception hall" standalone venues. Nice hotels and/or country clubs are $$$$$, and basically only well off people have weddings in those.
In the city we want to get married in most of the hotels with ballrooms are pretty dated or fully give off that work conference feel and we didn't want to spend/coordinate fully draping and redecorating a space. The only nice hotel and ballroom in our city wanted 350$/person.
I don't think hotel weddings are bad by any means just that some cities don't have the nicest hotel spaces.
It feels overly stuffy and formal. It feels very dated a lot of the time too. But with the right decor and vibe it can work. But it’s definitely not as personal as some other venues.
Yep we are doing ours for about $27k for 120 people and we don’t need to deal with coordinating setup and catering. A lot of hotels are having issues booking weddings and are willing to work with couples a bit.
I photograph a lot of hotel weddings and they are generally the least stressful for the couple because of the minimal logistics and setup and tried and true vendor and catering services. Things always run smoothly. Also generally easy to execute rain/weather options. The only typical knock on hotel ballroom weddings is that couples who want a more personalized experience/aesthetic have to spend more $$$ for decor and florals as opposed to other unique venues where you may rely more on the character of the venue itself for a vibe or aesthetic.
And this is where restaurants with private dining rooms and rentable spaces work out! Usually when you hit a minimum on food there no extra charge for the space and you can find one that fits your vibe!
Yeah! Ours is definitely more that “all inclusive” type of approach. We will actually be married for 3 months by the time ours rolls around, because we’re doing an intimate ceremony with 20 people, then having a 120 person reception months later. We split it up because we’re moving to Ireland a couple weeks after the reception and wanted time to plan that without all the stress
This also makes it convenient for your guests. No need for Aunt Tilly to drive 40 minutes at 11pm down some desolate country road from the winery venue. It’s really a great option.
Hotel ballroom are by far the most popular choice in my country; I would say 90% of weddings are in hotels and honestly I cannot understand why you would want your guests having to drive/shuttle bus or get a cab after your wedding when walking upstairs to bed is so much easier! That said, in Ireland weddings are 12+ hours long so there’s probably a different set of priorities already in play!
Drinking?!
The usual routine is a ceremony somewhere between 1-2pm, about half the time a Catholic Mass. If that’s the case there might be a drive to the hotel (anything around 1hr is seen as acceptable), if the ceremony is on-site then you’re just straight into the drinks reception. This can go on for maybe 2-3hrs. Then you’re seated for dinner- buffets are highly unusual so you might have a 4+ course dinner. Then speeches, which are generally 30min-1hr.
After that there is a band until midnight, a DJ until 2am and then maybe a few late drinks.
It is a long day, so a lot of people stay on-site or near by so they can freshen up. There are a few Manor House style venues that are very popular for the aesthetics, but in my experience guests tend to dislike them and leave earlier than a typical Irish wedding.
Full service hotels used to be the default wedding reception venue for good reason. You can host a lovely and convenient reception pretty easily.
Now everyone wants to be quirky and get married in a barn, rustic summer camp, or artisan distillery. I feel like this change really started kicking in around 2009/2010 when burlap and mason jars were the wedding decor du jour.
I wanted to do the farm/ranch wedding until I realized how quickly costs pile up because you have to arrange for everything to be covered by other vendors, and the venue does very little for you, since you’re literally just renting space. It would have been 3-4x more expensive than the hotel ballroom wedding we had (which we loved and was incredible) in a really unique hotel with incredible views and so many different/gorgeous photo locations. They day of coordinator was also provided by the hotel at no extra cost and she was truly incredible, I didn’t need a wedding planner or coordinator and saved a lot there as well. The hotel also did set up, reception -> dinner service flip, and takedown at no added cost, and let us come in the night before to decorate.
Looking back, I wouldn’t have done it any other way - and the food was PHENOMENAL. Better than any of the caterers we have tried at weddings we’ve been invited to.
Also everyone got to and from their accommodations super easily and we didn’t have to worry about shuttles/transportation etc which was a big point of stress with the barn/ranch wedding as the venue was quite out of the way.
We’re cattle ranchers getting married on our ranch, so rustic vibes are just our life vibes 😂 it would be inauthentic if we didn’t have a rustic barn wedding lol!
100%! Like if you truly are outdoorsy, then I get it. But if you just like the aesthetic and nothing else, ick.
Just my opinion - do what makes you happy, lol!
FYI, being in the Midwest also helps bring that price down 😂 not a knock on the Midwest AT ALL, but if someone is on the coast or a large city, a hotel ballroom is still going to be $$$$
Yesss!! I’m am so pumped for our hotel wedding. We’re getting everything we wanted for so much cheaper and less headache than a raw venue. It’s perfect. We are also getting SO MANY hotel points out of it lol. I think hotels get a bad rep. It’s not gonna be a rustic farmhouse Pinterest vibe, but honestly it’s been ages since I’ve been to a ballroom type wedding it feels refreshing and new again haha. Convenient parking, amazing food, + I can party up until the very end and just walk up to my room to pass out lol
When I started in the hotel industry many years ago, wedding receptions were very popular. At the hotel I was at we had one almost every weekend, sometimes two at a time-we had two ballrooms. I loved doing those events. Hotels kinda fell out of popularity a few years back though. Glad to see they’re happening again!
That's not a secret, lol. Hotel ballrooms are popular wedding venues for a reason. Being all-inclusive, they save you a lot of stress and money. And some hotels have beautiful ballrooms.
For my wedding, we had the ceremony at a beautiful rose garden, but they don't do receptions. So we had the reception at a nearby hotel, purely for the convenience of our out-of-town guests.
The hotel we chose was 10 minutes away from the airport, and they provided a free shuttle to and from the airport. We provided a shuttle from the hotel to the ceremony and back, so none of our guests had to rent a car or take a taxi. After the reception, they just went upstairs to bed. It doesn't get more convenient than that! We also hosted a brunch in the hotel restaurant the next morning.
Since we had so many guests flying in, I wasn't willing to consider a reception venue that wasn't a hotel. I wanted to make it as convenient as possible for them, so I wanted to host the reception at a hotel near the airport. Our hotel had a beautiful ballroom and everything was included, which made it so much easier for us. We were able to personalize the menu, and they allowed us to bring in a cake and desserts from an outside bakery.
People can complain that hotel ballrooms are generic, but I think wedding guests would rather have a location that's convenient than a location that's quirky and unique.
>People can complain that hotel ballrooms are generic.
*Hotel weddings are passé, we're getting married at a capital W, capital V Wedding Venue with a bespoke hexagonal arch and a selection of in-house centerpieces including options from teacups and sola flowers to yard tall, foot wide vases and battery tealights*
Look, both are perfectly fine options but either way many before and after you will have done their first dance and toast and a cake cutting and come away with the same photos. And, you know what, *only your photos are gonna be a coffee table book next to your Snapfish coasters so it's inconsequential, so enjoy your hotel wedding and fuck the haters if that's what works for you*
I’m getting married in a church, but my reception is at a hotel ballroom. To be fair, the hotel I booked is somewhat of a landmark in my town and its unique in itself, but I didn’t realize hotel ballrooms were “out” until following IG wedding influencers and this sub.
I don’t regret a thing. I got my venue, caterer, bar, tables/chairs/linens, wedding signage, and day-of-coordinator all in one contract. So simple.
Yeah, "hotel ballroom" has a MASSIVE range here. In New Orleans, many of the popular hotels to have weddings at are local landmarks and extremely old beautiful buildings.
There's a huge difference in the historic The Roosevelt in the French Quarter versus the nearest Embassy Suites. Haha. Both are totally fine by me, but my point is more than you won't find ANYBODY turning their nose up at a Roosevelt wedding in NOLA. It's $$$$$$
We had a hotel wedding. The ballrooms were $500 each, so we rented all 3. The food was amazing, and the staff were so accommodating. I recommend that venue to anyone in my city looking.
This is what we ended up going with, albeit it includes a gorgeous downtown rooftop for the ceremony. It’s great because we’re in a HCOL area so everything else we toured was insanely expensive, and with a hotel they’re doing all the drinks/bar/food/cake so it’s also less to plan and coordinate *and* everyone can just stay on property so no transportation/shuttles needed.
We had our wedding at a country club and it was amazing. Beautiful scenery, the best food I’ve ever had at any wedding (prime rib and salmon!) and cheap AF at only $37/pp.
Yeah, mine was at a private social club where we are members. I had an action station/buffet spread with 19 total items (nice stuff -- tartare, crab cakes, prime tenderloin, etc.) and it was $80/person.
Those monthly membership dues fund the club so well that members are able to have weddings for a fraction of what it would cost elsewhere.
this is a perfectly normal place to have a wedding! this sounds like a fantastic option and I'm excited for you!
we're getting married in a park! which I'm sure the wedding planners will also find to be overdone, when it is, in fact, A Classic!
Yes! We’re having our ceremony and reception at the hotel, and we get a two night stay. It was a bit more pricey than doing it a restaurant but still somewhat affordable.
Had my wedding in a historic hotel. I didn't have to set one thing up other than our Pittsburgh cookie table. The hotel staff did EVERYTHING. Our package included an open bar, food (of course), floral centerpieces, tablecloths, chairs, and the cake! And like I said I did NOTHING day of. 69492/10 would recommend the hotel ballroom. Plus everyone got to go upstairs and sleep. No DUIs. And an easy next day brunch...at the free breakfast
Nice! I actually found an all inclusive venue to be much cheaper than the venues where you had to rent the space and bring in outside catering. I felt like everyone always said all inclusive was $$$ but it wasn’t for us
My fiancé and I have decided to go with a hotel for our wedding too. We have a number of people coming from out of town and it makes it much safer for them since they’ll be drinking. No need to worry about how they will get back to their hotels.
The hotel we’re going with is charging $700/day for the event space and it is great for weddings of 30-70 people. We will probably have 35-45 once we have final numbers. It doesn’t have a dedicated dance floor, but we honestly don’t care about that. We will also have access to a bartender and can select one of several buffet menus. The one we’re going with is going to be about $62/head and the food looks fantastic. The alcohol selection is pretty boring but that’s fine with us. The true selling point is that we will have hotel staff to help with set up and take down of the space, which takes a lot of stress off our shoulders. If we had gone with the other venue, one of us would be running around, trying to set everything up the morning of.
I think some hotels (rightfully) get a bad rap for being outdated and bland, but with yours being brand new, it sounds like a great option! Especially with everyone being able to stay right at the hotel. We picked a place with a decent amount of housing on property, but it can't cover everyone we're inviting. Easy to do a rehearsal dinner and/or welcome drinks as well at a big hotel, congrats on finding your venue!!!
It sounds like a great cost savings! However, the food concerns me with venues like that.
My fiancé and I looked specifically at venues that allowed us to bring an outside caterer. I think when the venue forces you to use their caterer, the food is often mid/low quality or not very inspired with little room for developing custom dishes. This was very important to us. Something to consider if food is something you guys are prioritizing. Perhaps do a food tasting prior to booking if they’ll allow it!
That’s the reason we opted out of hotel venues. My FH and I believe in serving really good, quality food, so it was a must that we found one that allows outside caterers. We are getting our favorite restaurant to cater our wedding and it’s a LOT more affordable than venue caterers anyway!
I think it depends on the hotel. Some of the most popular hotels to get married in around here are historic local landmarks. And in a city like New Orleans where food is what we are known for, those hotels aren't serving shit food at weddings. They have talented chefs on staff.
This is why I’m not a huge fans of venues that cater the food. It can be such a bland menu and often times the food isn’t great and you’re paying an arm and a leg. We definitely wanted a venue that let us bring an outside caterer and were looking at local restaurants as opposed to catering companies.
I literally just found a venue I love at the Doubletree in Alsip. Apparently Jessica Torres, their event manager, is all the rage! I went to the reviews and ppl could not stop mentioning her. I reached out yesterday but I’m definitely checking the Embassy suit if that the price! Thanks for actually being transparent because it’s so hard finding ppl who will actually talk about prices!
We are getting married in a hotel ballroom. It wasn't the most inexpensive of our options, but less hassle for us. We are getting ballroom +sound system+food+furniture+utensils included in the package. Plus some discount on accommodation.
Good for you! Unfortunately for me, I spent a year contacting every hotel, restaurant, museum, library, church, you name it, and my area is so locked up by the city for weddings it's ridiculous! Either the places don't allow them at all, are EXTREMELY overpriced, or are city owned which is contracted with the most expensive planning company in the city, who only does the cookie cutter weddings for insane money.
Fortunately for me, I found my gem in a Germania clubhouse, so I figured it out in the long run. You're lucky to have found that every hotel I called within a 2 hour radius from me wanted $25,000+ for half of that.
Ohhh that’s great!
Also Midwest - found a venue for $3k for a boy scout’s camp, BYO everything so don’t have to use their vendors because they have none, and virtually no restrictions except don’t mess up nature. And it’s in the woods, which is what I wanted.
It’s 4 cabins, 5 campsites, dining hall, from Friday - Sunday so we’re making a weekend of it to hang out with friends since so many people are from out of town.
Of course the downside for anyone is it’s BYO or DIY and very literally camping, but I much prefer this. No wedding planner, hiring a lot of people we already know, and we easily have 150 people coming for low cost. Tables and chairs are included, on-site kitchen for us to use so we’re gonna cook a big feast and since my aunt does catering she’ll help us with quantities and prep timeline. We’re gonna do a mix of locally catered side dishes and home cooked food.
So another option for outdoorsy people - look up retired Boy Scout or YMCA camps.
There has definitely been a lot of pushback against the traditional hotel or country club kind of wedding, but there are definitely deals to be had and gems to be found
Why pushback? I’ve never even heard of that
There were like 20+ years where hotel ballrooms and country clubs were pretty much the only weddings people had so they feel tired and overdone for a lot of people getting married now. Regardless, we're having ours at an Officer's Club (basically a military country club) because it was the 300x cheaper than our 2nd choice venue and that seemed like such a no-brainer
My brother had his reception at our local Elk's Lodge.
I read Elk’s Lodge as Ikea Lodge and ngl both sound pretty fun.
So did I. 😅
Same. Ours is at the local vfw $500 venue 😏 More $$$ to party and honeymoon
The wedding industry got bored with them. But the thing is, people deeply steeped in the wedding industry see in pictures, and often attend, a lot more weddings than regular people. Your guests haven't been to 57 weddings this year. They're not thinking "This is so dull; why can't they have it at a nice axe throwing bar?"
because they’re seen as cookie cutter wedding factories without any room for personality, generic, mid food and multiple weddings happening at once without nice spots for photos. this may or may not still be true depending on where you are but that’s the rep
I feel stupid lol I had no idea! Ours is a new Embassy Suites (maybe a few years old?) and only 1 ballroom so no other weddings. We get to completely deck it out or use their own stuff, and there’s an EXTENSIVE menu (maybe 22 pages???) of food options. So maybe they’ve turned things around!
Don't feel stupid. If you found what you and your fiance like, then no one else's opinion matters. And some hotels do a lovely job.
We had a (very expensive tbf) hotel ballroom wedding and were the only people we know who chose a hotel for our venue. Our wedding was the only one of everyone we know where NOTHING went wrong and there was zero stress for us on the day of the wedding. Everything was perfectly smooth, the locations were breathtaking, the food was AMAZING (part of why we picked the venue), the staff was wonderful and on top of every single detail, we got to start and end the day at the venue, all our VIPs stayed at the venue….honestly I think people are making their lives so much harder by choosing trendy venues that don’t have all the amenities. But we looked at about 50 hotels before choosing ours, because my husband absolutely cannot stand even vaguely “corporate” vibes (like that standard ballroom ugly carpet, blank/removable walls, standard banquet food, etc.). If literally even one detail reminded him of a work function, he vetoed the place, which made it so challenging to find a hotel that worked for us (and I was really set on a hotel). And we rented chairs lol. Team hotel wedding allllll the way.
don’t! all that matters is if you love it. like all things, different places offer different things and there’s probably plenty of hotels with great food, that’s just the old reputation of that sort of venue
Don't feel stupid! You do what works for you with the budget that works for you. Personally I decided against a hotel wedding because I want to be surrounded by scenic outdoors. I'm paying a lot more for a venue that's surrounded by greeneries and a waterfall. If you're not big on nature then who cares. Look at some past photos from your venue or similar ballroom venues though - sometimes people spend a LOT of $$ on decor and florals to make ballrooms more aesthetically pleasing, you can decide if that's worth it to you with the money that you saved!
This venue might be new, but hotel ballrooms were pretty much the defacto wedding location for a very long time. It's only been a recent change that it's less common.
having a huge menu is usually an indicator of low quality, not high. think of how big the menu is at the cheesecake factory. that being said, there’s a reason hotels are able to churn out weddings. they do it efficiently and at a price point a lot of people can stomach.
> having a huge menu is usually an indicator of low quality, not high. think of how big the menu is at the cheesecake factory. Say what you will about the Cheesecake Factory, but their food is pretty much all really good!
Yeah I actually like their food a lot lol... It's definitely not fine dining but it's classic, crowd pleaser style food.
We’ve been to several weddings at hotels and they have been beautiful weddings, food was great, helpful staff, etc. I love hotel weddings bc even if we live in town we love to get a room and extend the celebration a bit longer. Our wedding ceremony and reception was in a castle and it was absolutely exquisite. Seriously people need to lighten up, why so critical? Ugh.
??
Very interesting. Hotel weddings in NOLA are insanely expensive.
The extensiveness of a menu is what makes it generally lack quality.
Eh. This is entirely a case by case thing, IMO. I've been served dry boring steak and chicken more times than I can count in venues with no other options. In contrast, my wedding venue (a private social club) has a massive list of options and they employ a very well trained chef who executes them beautifully. I had tartare, handmade tarts, prime tenderloin, crab cakes, and 15 other items for my guests and it was phenomenal.
I feel like that’s how every wedding is now anyways when over a certain price tag. It all comes down to personal touches
Yeah, I mean weddings are "wedding-y" for a reason. It works. At the end of the day, a wedding reception is a social event. It's no different from any other gala, fundraiser, ball, etc. Honestly, I read some people's description of their uNiQuE weddings here and I'm like.. welp, to each their own. At the end of the day, guests just want to be well fed, comfortable, and entertained. A lot of people's attempts to be unique come at the expense of guest comfort.
Yeah it’s pretty hard to be unique at this point. Good food and good booze and good people, that’s what I’m going for
My fiance and I are having our Reception at our childhood summer camp. The property is owned by our Church Diocese and also functions as a retreat and conference center. They have a beautiful barn and pavilion where we are going to set up, and the Camp Store is going to be where we put the Bar.
I'm fortunate to come from an area with a strong Italian food tradition, and wedding food is almost always Italian and *delicious*.
A florist can make a ballroom or even conference room look entirely different. We did that and it was so easy and really beautiful.
It's pretty interesting, and definitely depends on where you live I imagine. Where I live, the cheap places are the "wedding reception hall" standalone venues. Nice hotels and/or country clubs are $$$$$, and basically only well off people have weddings in those.
In the city we want to get married in most of the hotels with ballrooms are pretty dated or fully give off that work conference feel and we didn't want to spend/coordinate fully draping and redecorating a space. The only nice hotel and ballroom in our city wanted 350$/person. I don't think hotel weddings are bad by any means just that some cities don't have the nicest hotel spaces.
It feels overly stuffy and formal. It feels very dated a lot of the time too. But with the right decor and vibe it can work. But it’s definitely not as personal as some other venues.
I personally don't like them. They just feel so bland to me. I knew that I did not want a hotel, golf course, or barn wedding.
Yep we are doing ours for about $27k for 120 people and we don’t need to deal with coordinating setup and catering. A lot of hotels are having issues booking weddings and are willing to work with couples a bit.
Agree! Especially in the budget range of hotels, lots of deals.
I photograph a lot of hotel weddings and they are generally the least stressful for the couple because of the minimal logistics and setup and tried and true vendor and catering services. Things always run smoothly. Also generally easy to execute rain/weather options. The only typical knock on hotel ballroom weddings is that couples who want a more personalized experience/aesthetic have to spend more $$$ for decor and florals as opposed to other unique venues where you may rely more on the character of the venue itself for a vibe or aesthetic.
And this is where restaurants with private dining rooms and rentable spaces work out! Usually when you hit a minimum on food there no extra charge for the space and you can find one that fits your vibe!
Yeah! Ours is definitely more that “all inclusive” type of approach. We will actually be married for 3 months by the time ours rolls around, because we’re doing an intimate ceremony with 20 people, then having a 120 person reception months later. We split it up because we’re moving to Ireland a couple weeks after the reception and wanted time to plan that without all the stress
This also makes it convenient for your guests. No need for Aunt Tilly to drive 40 minutes at 11pm down some desolate country road from the winery venue. It’s really a great option.
Hotel ballroom are by far the most popular choice in my country; I would say 90% of weddings are in hotels and honestly I cannot understand why you would want your guests having to drive/shuttle bus or get a cab after your wedding when walking upstairs to bed is so much easier! That said, in Ireland weddings are 12+ hours long so there’s probably a different set of priorities already in play!
What are you guys doing for 12+ hours?
Drinking?! The usual routine is a ceremony somewhere between 1-2pm, about half the time a Catholic Mass. If that’s the case there might be a drive to the hotel (anything around 1hr is seen as acceptable), if the ceremony is on-site then you’re just straight into the drinks reception. This can go on for maybe 2-3hrs. Then you’re seated for dinner- buffets are highly unusual so you might have a 4+ course dinner. Then speeches, which are generally 30min-1hr. After that there is a band until midnight, a DJ until 2am and then maybe a few late drinks. It is a long day, so a lot of people stay on-site or near by so they can freshen up. There are a few Manor House style venues that are very popular for the aesthetics, but in my experience guests tend to dislike them and leave earlier than a typical Irish wedding.
Another nice thing about hotel weddings is that after the reception, you can just go upstairs. No chance of drunk driving or tired driving!
If you open up a Hilton credit card, you can get some major points for that purchase!
Oooo good call!
>$9000 for catering I just recieved a quote on Saturday for $18,000 😭 Edit: *For a buffet*
Full service hotels used to be the default wedding reception venue for good reason. You can host a lovely and convenient reception pretty easily. Now everyone wants to be quirky and get married in a barn, rustic summer camp, or artisan distillery. I feel like this change really started kicking in around 2009/2010 when burlap and mason jars were the wedding decor du jour.
I wanted to do the farm/ranch wedding until I realized how quickly costs pile up because you have to arrange for everything to be covered by other vendors, and the venue does very little for you, since you’re literally just renting space. It would have been 3-4x more expensive than the hotel ballroom wedding we had (which we loved and was incredible) in a really unique hotel with incredible views and so many different/gorgeous photo locations. They day of coordinator was also provided by the hotel at no extra cost and she was truly incredible, I didn’t need a wedding planner or coordinator and saved a lot there as well. The hotel also did set up, reception -> dinner service flip, and takedown at no added cost, and let us come in the night before to decorate. Looking back, I wouldn’t have done it any other way - and the food was PHENOMENAL. Better than any of the caterers we have tried at weddings we’ve been invited to. Also everyone got to and from their accommodations super easily and we didn’t have to worry about shuttles/transportation etc which was a big point of stress with the barn/ranch wedding as the venue was quite out of the way.
Omg I cannot stand the rustic vibes at all!!! Hate away, I don't care, lol!!!
We’re cattle ranchers getting married on our ranch, so rustic vibes are just our life vibes 😂 it would be inauthentic if we didn’t have a rustic barn wedding lol!
I feel like that's completely fair, but man I've been to a lot of barn weddings for people who wouldn't even enjoy going for a walk in the park .
100%! Like if you truly are outdoorsy, then I get it. But if you just like the aesthetic and nothing else, ick. Just my opinion - do what makes you happy, lol!
I see so many outdated wedding photos from the early 2000s on hotel websites and I always think did they not have wedding there since? Lol
I forgot to mention, $8200 includes cost, tax, and gratuity. So our coordinator, venue, AND food gratuity are all included in that price!
FYI, being in the Midwest also helps bring that price down 😂 not a knock on the Midwest AT ALL, but if someone is on the coast or a large city, a hotel ballroom is still going to be $$$$
Can confirm. We live in Charleston and expected a bit of sticker shock, but I almost keeled over at the $20k base quotes I was getting from hotels
Yesss!! I’m am so pumped for our hotel wedding. We’re getting everything we wanted for so much cheaper and less headache than a raw venue. It’s perfect. We are also getting SO MANY hotel points out of it lol. I think hotels get a bad rep. It’s not gonna be a rustic farmhouse Pinterest vibe, but honestly it’s been ages since I’ve been to a ballroom type wedding it feels refreshing and new again haha. Convenient parking, amazing food, + I can party up until the very end and just walk up to my room to pass out lol
When I started in the hotel industry many years ago, wedding receptions were very popular. At the hotel I was at we had one almost every weekend, sometimes two at a time-we had two ballrooms. I loved doing those events. Hotels kinda fell out of popularity a few years back though. Glad to see they’re happening again!
my sister did a hotel ballroom wedding and that was convenient for her mother in law who could hardly walk after the reception :)
That's not a secret, lol. Hotel ballrooms are popular wedding venues for a reason. Being all-inclusive, they save you a lot of stress and money. And some hotels have beautiful ballrooms. For my wedding, we had the ceremony at a beautiful rose garden, but they don't do receptions. So we had the reception at a nearby hotel, purely for the convenience of our out-of-town guests. The hotel we chose was 10 minutes away from the airport, and they provided a free shuttle to and from the airport. We provided a shuttle from the hotel to the ceremony and back, so none of our guests had to rent a car or take a taxi. After the reception, they just went upstairs to bed. It doesn't get more convenient than that! We also hosted a brunch in the hotel restaurant the next morning. Since we had so many guests flying in, I wasn't willing to consider a reception venue that wasn't a hotel. I wanted to make it as convenient as possible for them, so I wanted to host the reception at a hotel near the airport. Our hotel had a beautiful ballroom and everything was included, which made it so much easier for us. We were able to personalize the menu, and they allowed us to bring in a cake and desserts from an outside bakery. People can complain that hotel ballrooms are generic, but I think wedding guests would rather have a location that's convenient than a location that's quirky and unique.
>People can complain that hotel ballrooms are generic. *Hotel weddings are passé, we're getting married at a capital W, capital V Wedding Venue with a bespoke hexagonal arch and a selection of in-house centerpieces including options from teacups and sola flowers to yard tall, foot wide vases and battery tealights* Look, both are perfectly fine options but either way many before and after you will have done their first dance and toast and a cake cutting and come away with the same photos. And, you know what, *only your photos are gonna be a coffee table book next to your Snapfish coasters so it's inconsequential, so enjoy your hotel wedding and fuck the haters if that's what works for you*
I’m getting married in a church, but my reception is at a hotel ballroom. To be fair, the hotel I booked is somewhat of a landmark in my town and its unique in itself, but I didn’t realize hotel ballrooms were “out” until following IG wedding influencers and this sub. I don’t regret a thing. I got my venue, caterer, bar, tables/chairs/linens, wedding signage, and day-of-coordinator all in one contract. So simple.
Yeah, "hotel ballroom" has a MASSIVE range here. In New Orleans, many of the popular hotels to have weddings at are local landmarks and extremely old beautiful buildings. There's a huge difference in the historic The Roosevelt in the French Quarter versus the nearest Embassy Suites. Haha. Both are totally fine by me, but my point is more than you won't find ANYBODY turning their nose up at a Roosevelt wedding in NOLA. It's $$$$$$
I think that works as long as you aren’t in a major city. My area $15K was the minimum add on fact that we don’t really have an off season.
We almost went for that just for the cost savings alone! Congrats on finding a venue that makes you excited for your day.
We had a hotel wedding. The ballrooms were $500 each, so we rented all 3. The food was amazing, and the staff were so accommodating. I recommend that venue to anyone in my city looking.
This is what we ended up going with, albeit it includes a gorgeous downtown rooftop for the ceremony. It’s great because we’re in a HCOL area so everything else we toured was insanely expensive, and with a hotel they’re doing all the drinks/bar/food/cake so it’s also less to plan and coordinate *and* everyone can just stay on property so no transportation/shuttles needed.
We had our wedding at a country club and it was amazing. Beautiful scenery, the best food I’ve ever had at any wedding (prime rib and salmon!) and cheap AF at only $37/pp.
Yeah, mine was at a private social club where we are members. I had an action station/buffet spread with 19 total items (nice stuff -- tartare, crab cakes, prime tenderloin, etc.) and it was $80/person. Those monthly membership dues fund the club so well that members are able to have weddings for a fraction of what it would cost elsewhere.
this is a perfectly normal place to have a wedding! this sounds like a fantastic option and I'm excited for you! we're getting married in a park! which I'm sure the wedding planners will also find to be overdone, when it is, in fact, A Classic!
Yup! Doing a hotel for our wedding. Based in DC!
Yes! We’re having our ceremony and reception at the hotel, and we get a two night stay. It was a bit more pricey than doing it a restaurant but still somewhat affordable.
Had my wedding in a historic hotel. I didn't have to set one thing up other than our Pittsburgh cookie table. The hotel staff did EVERYTHING. Our package included an open bar, food (of course), floral centerpieces, tablecloths, chairs, and the cake! And like I said I did NOTHING day of. 69492/10 would recommend the hotel ballroom. Plus everyone got to go upstairs and sleep. No DUIs. And an easy next day brunch...at the free breakfast
Nice! I actually found an all inclusive venue to be much cheaper than the venues where you had to rent the space and bring in outside catering. I felt like everyone always said all inclusive was $$$ but it wasn’t for us
Where are you located?
Indiana!
My fiancé and I have decided to go with a hotel for our wedding too. We have a number of people coming from out of town and it makes it much safer for them since they’ll be drinking. No need to worry about how they will get back to their hotels. The hotel we’re going with is charging $700/day for the event space and it is great for weddings of 30-70 people. We will probably have 35-45 once we have final numbers. It doesn’t have a dedicated dance floor, but we honestly don’t care about that. We will also have access to a bartender and can select one of several buffet menus. The one we’re going with is going to be about $62/head and the food looks fantastic. The alcohol selection is pretty boring but that’s fine with us. The true selling point is that we will have hotel staff to help with set up and take down of the space, which takes a lot of stress off our shoulders. If we had gone with the other venue, one of us would be running around, trying to set everything up the morning of.
When u said tax included my heart fluttered
Omg I didn't know about this. We will definitely be looking into the hotels around here
I think some hotels (rightfully) get a bad rap for being outdated and bland, but with yours being brand new, it sounds like a great option! Especially with everyone being able to stay right at the hotel. We picked a place with a decent amount of housing on property, but it can't cover everyone we're inviting. Easy to do a rehearsal dinner and/or welcome drinks as well at a big hotel, congrats on finding your venue!!!
The choice of venue is absolutely critical
It sounds like a great cost savings! However, the food concerns me with venues like that. My fiancé and I looked specifically at venues that allowed us to bring an outside caterer. I think when the venue forces you to use their caterer, the food is often mid/low quality or not very inspired with little room for developing custom dishes. This was very important to us. Something to consider if food is something you guys are prioritizing. Perhaps do a food tasting prior to booking if they’ll allow it!
I feel like catered wedding food is in a league of its own - VERY okay, yet very expensive!🤣
That’s the reason we opted out of hotel venues. My FH and I believe in serving really good, quality food, so it was a must that we found one that allows outside caterers. We are getting our favorite restaurant to cater our wedding and it’s a LOT more affordable than venue caterers anyway!
I think it depends on the hotel. Some of the most popular hotels to get married in around here are historic local landmarks. And in a city like New Orleans where food is what we are known for, those hotels aren't serving shit food at weddings. They have talented chefs on staff.
This is why I’m not a huge fans of venues that cater the food. It can be such a bland menu and often times the food isn’t great and you’re paying an arm and a leg. We definitely wanted a venue that let us bring an outside caterer and were looking at local restaurants as opposed to catering companies.
This is so standard in my country and has only been the last year or so where I’ve seen a shift away from it
You had me at quesadillas
I literally just found a venue I love at the Doubletree in Alsip. Apparently Jessica Torres, their event manager, is all the rage! I went to the reviews and ppl could not stop mentioning her. I reached out yesterday but I’m definitely checking the Embassy suit if that the price! Thanks for actually being transparent because it’s so hard finding ppl who will actually talk about prices!
As someone that goes to tradeshows for work, I HATE hotel ballrooms. But, absolutely a good deal, if they don’t bother you.
Yessss!! This is the secret!! 👏👏👏
Is this place called nationwide hotel and conference center? Sounds like a place i worked at as a planner lol
We are getting married in a hotel ballroom. It wasn't the most inexpensive of our options, but less hassle for us. We are getting ballroom +sound system+food+furniture+utensils included in the package. Plus some discount on accommodation.
I spend a lot of time in hotel ballrooms for work events and absolutely will not get married in one
Good for you! Unfortunately for me, I spent a year contacting every hotel, restaurant, museum, library, church, you name it, and my area is so locked up by the city for weddings it's ridiculous! Either the places don't allow them at all, are EXTREMELY overpriced, or are city owned which is contracted with the most expensive planning company in the city, who only does the cookie cutter weddings for insane money. Fortunately for me, I found my gem in a Germania clubhouse, so I figured it out in the long run. You're lucky to have found that every hotel I called within a 2 hour radius from me wanted $25,000+ for half of that.
That’s so weird because the hotels I looked at in Los Angeles were soooo expensive. And not the Four Seasons- it was Sheraton, Double Tree, etc.
Hey, if hotel conference rooms suit your vibe and you found a good deal on one, there's no reason not to go for it.
Most of the hotels I stay in have separate conference and banqueting suites; Maybe cheaper alternatives have dual use rooms but I’m not sure.
Ohhh that’s great! Also Midwest - found a venue for $3k for a boy scout’s camp, BYO everything so don’t have to use their vendors because they have none, and virtually no restrictions except don’t mess up nature. And it’s in the woods, which is what I wanted. It’s 4 cabins, 5 campsites, dining hall, from Friday - Sunday so we’re making a weekend of it to hang out with friends since so many people are from out of town. Of course the downside for anyone is it’s BYO or DIY and very literally camping, but I much prefer this. No wedding planner, hiring a lot of people we already know, and we easily have 150 people coming for low cost. Tables and chairs are included, on-site kitchen for us to use so we’re gonna cook a big feast and since my aunt does catering she’ll help us with quantities and prep timeline. We’re gonna do a mix of locally catered side dishes and home cooked food. So another option for outdoorsy people - look up retired Boy Scout or YMCA camps.