So, of course you know by now (because you faithfully read every post), that we had our wedding reception at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History.

What you may not have known is that there was another wedding within arms reach that night at the Detroit Science Center.

I kind of knew from the start that I didn’t want our wedding to be at a banquet hall. But in the interest of leaving no stone unturned, I did place inquiry calls to a few halls. I found after talking to several banquet halls that they could’ve easily been called “wedding factories”.

Brides and grooms were ushered in one end of the machine. A little “we always do it this way” and a lot of “we have standard procedures for that” later and Voila!, you’ve got yourself a complete wedding and reception in a box.

No thanks. I’m all set – and you should be too.

I mean, if you really put effort into finding an alternative venue, and you don’t find a place that suits you, then go with the banquet hall, because in the end, yes, you will be married. And that is what matters above all else.

But trust me on this one, it’ll be well worth your time and effort if you find a different locale.

Hosting your wedding reception at location other than a banquet hall creates a unique environment for your guests. It could be a place that reflects your personality as a couple, honors your culture, or is a nod to your alma mater.

Los Angeles Country Arboretum and Botanic Garden

Cobblestone Farm in Ann Arbor, MI

Either way, finding a venue outside of a banquet hall will make your wedding unique and often give you more flexibility. It can be as casual or as formal as you’d like.

Consider one of these perhaps:

1. Library
2. Museum
3. Cultural Center
4. Barn
5. Art Gallery
6. Theatre
7. Botanical Garden
8. Loft
9. Yacht Club
10. Backyard
11. Historic Home
12. Historic Building
13. Rooftops
14. Building Atriums
15. Zoo
16. Neighborhood Block
17. Ski Lodge
18. Beach
19. Sports Venue
20. Boat
21. Bed and Breakfast
22. Bowling Alley
23. Arcade
24. Private Club
25. Park

All I’m suggesting is that you not box yourself in when deciding where to hold your reception.

The Quixotic World Theatre House

New York Public Library

If I missed anything, feel free to add it in the comments.

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Technorati Tags: Ceremony, Reception, Venue, Wedding

1. Hold your wedding on any day other than Saturday. Saturday’s are priced at premium rates so try a Friday or Sunday instead
2. Negotiate with your vendors. They might be willing to cut the rate if you’re willing to go without some of their services that aren’t essential
3. Share décor/supplies with another bride
4. Provide liquor yourself from a wholesale store, like BevMo, Sam’s Club or Costco
5. Purchase a used dress from a site like OnceWed.com, PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com or the WeddingBee.com Classifieds
6. Purchase a bridesmaid dress as a bridal gown
7. Create your own bouquet with store bought flowers. Check out DIY Instructional videos like this one here
8. Get ready at home and don’t pay for a hotel room
9. Drive your own car and don’t rent a limo
10. Get married at a public place with little or no rental fee like a local community center
11. Shop for décor at the dollar store. Just be aware that they might have a better in-store selection than online
12. Wear borrowed jewelry from a friend or family member to add a free personal touch
13. Wear shoes you already own
14. Don’t use flowers on the reception tables. Use other items that are less expensive but that have just as much character, like feathers, moss and books
15. Don’t give out favors. Guests usually throw them away anyway, making them a general waste of moneyDon’t rent chair covers. Use the chairs that come with your venue. In most pictures the guests will be sitting in the chairs anyway
16. Don’t rent chair covers. Use the chairs that come with your venue. In most pictures the guests will be sitting in the chairs anyway
17. Skip the aisle runner
18. Buy Christmas lights on clearance after the holiday and use them to set the mood at your wedding
19. Use weekly coupons mailed from craft stores like Michael’s and Jo-Ann Fabrics. Each one is usually good for about 20% off
20. If you’re purchasing the flower girl dresses, look for them during or right after the Easter holiday for deep discounts
21. Instead of expensive gifts, give your attendants handwritten notes of thanks
22. Put the money you don’t need right away in a CD to allow the money to grow for you with little effort. Check rates on a site like bankrate.com
23. Purchase décor from an auction site like ebay.com
24. Visit sample sales at local dress boutiques to find your bridal gown
25. Instead of buying bridal magazines, check them out from the library for free

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Technorati Tags: Bridal Gown, Bridesmaids, Budget, Caterer, Decor, Favors, Food, Venue

As I may have mentioned before, our venue has 4 approved caterers and we have to choose one of them. One of them is out on price alone. So we are left with caterers #1, #2, and #3. This post is about caterer #3. And don’t be fooled kiddies, there’s definitely a reason they are numbered in that particular order. Right.

So caterer #3. We’ve heard great things about their food, so I was really excited about them being a good prospect. I called them up and told them we might be interested and asked about the next steps. We were told we could come pick up a carryout plate from their kitchen. The day we were supposed to pick it up, I was busy with a dance performance and it was my fiance’s responsibility. Well, he forgot and I forgot to remind him. When I called the caterer to apologize, I was told there was no way we could get another plate. They were going to give us the plate on the house the first time so we even offered to pay for the plate the second time around. No haps. They basically said, “F you lady, you get no more chances!” The guy even made it sound like we’d ruined it for every couple that came after us. We figured, if they didn’t care enough to give us another plate, they must not want our business. So for a long time, they were out of the picture.

Then, He says, well maybe we shouldn’t disclude them. They’re prices are really good and we haven’t even tasted their food yet. Sigh. Okay, so this time He went through the trouble of calling the caterer and they let him set up the plate pick-up, I guess cause they didn’t realize we’re the same people. We were to pick the plate up today at 5:30 and I was actually pretty excited.

Silly rabbit. We get a call around 3:30 stating that the caterers are out and no one would be there when we came to pick up the plate. At this point, I’m through spinning my wheels with them.

And then there were two.

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So my pretties,

We’ve decided to change our ceremony venue.

Initially, we’d planned to hold the ceremony in the theatre at the Museum. It would mean we’d having everything under the same roof and the price was right too.

The problems with the theatre: It has stadium style seating which means lots of steps for our parents, grandparents  and  great grandparents whose knees have begun to give out on them. They’d be forced to sit in the back to avoid the steps and that’s the last thing we want. Also, the theater is split into three sets of seats, which means two stairways. Picture seats-aisle-seats-aisle-seats. Two stairways make for an awkward entrance if not coming down in twos. So the bridesmaids and groomsmen would probably look okay, but when my dad walks me down the aisle, more than half our guests will need binoculars to see me.

The new venue is the First Congregational Church of Detroit. It’s about 2 blocks away and has a beautiful sanctuary. It’s a beautiful historical building and guess what – only 1 aisle. There are also separate rooms for guys and girls to get ready. The downside is that it costs about $400 more than the theatre so we’ll have to make up for that cost somewhere else.

Logistics aside there’s something very spiritual and uplifting about being married in a church that I think we would’ve missed out on in the theatre. Because we don’t belong to a church and don’t attend regularly, this was definitely a big part of the reason we chose the theatre initially. It felt sort of hypocritical to be married in a church even though we don’t attend regularly. In the end though, this was the right decision for us as we are Christians and feel that the church is right for us. Their website sums it up just right: You may not belong to this church, but this church belongs to you.

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Technorati Tags: Ceremony, Church, Venue

I thought I was done with progress reports in school, but I guess not.

Here’s where we stand after and including the last progress report:

We have

• booked the location
• booked the DJ
• booked the photographer
• sent most of the save the dates
• got a friend to commit design the invitations (more on this later)
• gotten 2 caterer quotes (more on this below)
• stored my dress for the last 6 months
• ordered the bridesmaid dresses

We’ll just go with this list for now. No need to bring attention to the mile-long list of un-done things.

The caterer situation is really in limbo right now. The tasting I thought we were going to have fell through because the event was cancelled. They have another big event coming in March. We can either wait to taste the food then (if the event is not cancelled again) or we can pay to have a private tasting before that. This happens to be the most expensive of the two quotes.

The other caterer sent us a very generic one meat-one starch-one vegetable-plasticware-coffee and lemonade quote. I really dont want run of the mill. Of everything at the wedding, I’m pretty dead set on this because I like food way too much to compromise. So I replied to them with this message and I’m still waiting for their answer. This, of course, is the less expensive of the two quotes.

I’m thinking all the other stuff not mentioned above in the back of my head. Right now though – it’s one thing at a time.

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Technorati Tags: Bridal Gown, Bridesmaid Dresses, Caterer, Checklist, progress, Reception, Save the Dates, Venue

So, our venue has a list of approved wedding caterers for us to choose from. I met with one of said caterers and had a long discussion about logistics, menus and the inauguration.

Although I thought she shouldn’t be concerned with some of the logistics items, like the dance floor, especially since we’re having a buffet, I did appreciate all the insight she gave me since she works at our venue often.

By the time our meeting had ended I had managed to draw an entire layout of our space complete with tables, dance floor, dj area, and buffet tables. I was even able to decide traffic patterns for our guest before, during and after the reception.

As for the menu, given our budget, she told me that the two things I should stay away from are filet mignon and lamb chops. Pretty much anything else is fair game. We talked about orzo with lamb (chunks, not chops) and asparagus, boneless chicken with the skin on (to keep the moisture in), string beans with red pepper butter sauce, and romaine salad with strawberries and mandarin oranges. These are all just ideas thrown around at this point, but I like the direction she’s headed so far.

We actually lucked out because we’ll get to taste this particualar caterer’s food at an event we were already planning on attending on Valentine’s Day.

I wish I had some pictures of her food to share. Maybe I’ll try to be incognito and take some with my camera phone at the event.

So far, she’s at the top of the list, but I have a feeling she’s not going to be the least expensive, so for now the jury’s still out.

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Flat 151 is a relatively new event loft in Downtown Detroit. If not a historical Detroit building, I was really considering a similar type of loft space. They’re all over metropolitan cities like New York, Chicago, Atlanta and LA but they are few and far between here in the motor city. With all the empty buildings we have downtown, you’d think those would be perfect for converting into event lofts for people to rent. Could be for parties, wedding receptions, meetings, or any other gathering.

So, Flat 151 was recommended to me through a friend of a friend. It’s located on the corner of Congress and Shelby, right near a couple of the popular downtown clubs. We went to visit on a Saturday morning during the summer and were ushered through security and escorted around the building.

Here’s the rundown:

• About 8000 square feet
• Locked, private restrooms
• Some form of front desk security
• No parking, so valet would probably be necessary
• There are big square columns about every 10 feet, blocking the view from several different angles
• Built in kitchen area
• Use caterers at the International Ballroom at the International Banquet and Conference Center
• Very modern feel with lots of windows and views of the city
• Rental fee – $3000+ (if I’m not mistaken… I’m a little fuzzy on this)

It ended up not being the right place for us because of the columns and the catering costs, but it could very easily work for someone else. This is all I can remember right now but if there’s something else you’d like to know, I’ll do my best to jog my memory.

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Technorati Tags: Caterer, Detroit, Flat 151, loft, parking, valet, Venue

I may have mentioned this before, but we have known for a while who our DJ would be. Like Elton, our photographer, he’s a good friend of ours who we know from high school.

Introducing DJ MealDue! Not the most striking DJ name – I know -  but he’s a really good guy and a really good DJ. We’d mentioned it to him before but the deal wasn’t closed until the other day when he was at our house during a party. The next day we went to our venue (in case you forgot, I know it’s been a while, it’s the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History) and he checked out the system they’re already working with. According to MealDue the soundboard and speakers they have are pretty good so he should just be able to plugin to what they have there and get the party started!

DJ MealDue is in New York now, so he’ll just have to make the trip for our wedding in August. So what I’m saying is, if you find yourself in need of a DJ and/or a DJ recommendation, just let me know and I’ll pass you his info.

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Technorati Tags: dj, DJ MealDue, Entertainment, friend, friendor, MealDue, Reception, vendor, Venue

This just in!

The Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle has been canceled for next summer. This means that the Belle Isle Casino may now be available on dates it was previously booked. When I called in July, apparently it was all booked up for every weekend next year, with a lot of those summer dates reserved for private events related to the Grand Prix. Well now that that little detail is out of the way, some of those summer dates might be available.

The reasons I liked the Casino building:

• Cheapest venue of them all. It’s run by the city so the rental fee was very reasonable. Less than $1500 if I remember correctly.
• 2 floors, with both accommodating around 200 people each
• Plenty of free and convenient parking
• Bring your own alcohol
• Bring your own caterer
• Beautiful building full of character
• What’s says Detroit more than Belle Isle?

If you’re interested in renting the building and need help getting info on the rental, let me know and I’d be glad to help.

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Hey guys,
I know I told you about my venue, but one of my readers, Suzanne, brought it to my attention that I was still keeping secrets. I completely forgot that I never revealed the venue from this sneak peek post.

Well, it is….. The Detroit Public Library. Obviously, we didn’t end up choosing it as our venue, but it definitely could work for someone else. I’ll give you the run down:

• The room in the picture is Adam Strohm Hall. It’s a pretty big room and I would venture to say it could comfortably seat 250-300 with a dance floor.
• There is also another room on the same floor that is available, Old Fine Arts. It’s smaller, and long rather than square like Adam Strohm, but still has lots of character.
• Both Adam Strohm Hall and Old Fine Arts rent for $5000 each + fees for security staff.
• The library is a bureaucracy and even though our contact there was very nice and helpful, she had to get approval from higher ups on everything we asked about.
• Both rooms are on the third floor and there is no running water on the third floor. This means guests will have to go downstairs to use the restroom and the caterer can’t prepare any food on site.
• No ceremonies can be held on site, whether religious or civil. They just don’t allow it.
• Your event must start after the library closes to patrons, which is after 6pm on Saturday.
• The library is not available for events on Sundays.
• There is a parking lot available for guests which is normally only for staff during operating hours.

To see lots more pictures, photographer Anne Ruthmann, shot this wedding reception at the Detroit Public Library, held in the Old Fine Arts room. This is one of my favorites, because of the book backdrop.

That’s all I can think of for now. If I missed something let me know, or if you’d like my contact’s info, let me know.

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Technorati Tags: Detroit, library, Venue