New wedding date.

[Elizabeth79]

We already has to possible change our tentitive wedding date! The place that I would love to have my reception is already booked for the entire month of Sept. next year. I had the FH make appointments at the key places as his contribution to the planning. We see our first place this Friday! I'm ok with changeing the date, but jeez....it's over a year away.

[WhiskeyGirl]

We already has to possible change our tentitive wedding date! The place that I would love to have my reception is already booked for the entire month of Sept. next year. I had the FH make appointments at the key places as his contribution to the planning. We see our first place this Friday! I'm ok with changeing the date, but jeez....it's over a year away.

you'd be surprised at how quickly the sought after places book up!! I believe we booked our reception venue a year and half before. Hope you can get what you want!! :)

[mariaandmanish]

Good luck with finding a venue, Elizabeth. When I was in the beginning stages of mine I called so many places (seriously, about 50) and all but about 5 were completely booked. I was planning mine from 6 months out, so that was the reason for that. I like what I got, but know I could have found something better had I planned longer. Didn't want to wait any longer to get married, though! I'm way to impatient. lol.

[Kacie_bride]

Have you considered having your wedding on a Friday or a Sunday? You can probably get a discount and they may not be booked up yet.

[SoontobeMrsClark07]

I know what you mean about the reception site. We took out our contract and the next day someone wanted to book the site for my date... This is 16 months before the wedding. Its crazy. I would suggest looking into another day of the week if its possible for you. You may also get discounted rates from your vendors if you go with an "off-day."

[october6]

my wedding is a year away and we had to book our reception site a year in vance too. we had to change are dated too b/c the date i wanted was take and we cange it to the 6

[theweddinghelper]

That's unbelieveable how booked they are! I hope your next choice is open and avail. for you! :)

[countrygirl]

We had to change our date after our save the date cards went out. I feel your pain girl!!!

[Elizabeth79]

We saw our first place tonight. It was pretty nice but not really what I am looking for. I cant imagine them squeezing 200 people in the room, but the outdoor courtyards are stunning. We see 2 more this weekend so hopefully one of those will be what I am invisioning!

[Kacie_bride]

We saw our first place tonight. It was pretty nice but not really what I am looking for. I cant imagine them squeezing 200 people in the room, but the outdoor courtyards are stunning. We see 2 more this weekend so hopefully one of those will be what I am invisioning!

I hope one of the other two you are going to look at work out for you. Good luck and have fun!

[mj512]

wow, that seems crazy! where do you live? I guess my living in rural Indiana makes my experience a little different

[Elizabeth79]

Well we just saw our 2nd place and it is the most gorgeous venue I have ever seen. It's an old mansion with a beautiful dance floor attached outdoor garden. Every little girl's dream come true. Only problem....It will be a minimum of $16,600 for our 200 guests. That seems rediculous to me. I started bawling as we walked away from the place. I cant imagaine having any other place. The pictures would be beautiful. I'm so bumbed out.

[Kacie_bride]

That does seem expensive to me. You need to have in mind what you are willing to pay. Ask about the prices before you look to avoid this again. That way you will not be so bumed out. It does sound beautiful! Sorry you had to go through that.

[WhiskeyGirl]

If you break that $16,600 down into food per person, you will be paying $83 bucks a plate for food. $83 for food is not bad at all. Unless you plan on serving your guests a much cheaper meal, it really isn't too bad. Perhaps you could cut back on your guest list.

[Kacie_bride]

If you break that $16,600 down into food per person, you will be paying $83 bucks a plate for food. $83 for food is not bad at all. Unless you plan on serving your guests a much cheaper meal, it really isn't too bad. Perhaps you could cut back on your guest list.

It's bad if $16,600 is over your whole wedding budget. It would be for mine. We are paying $13 per person.

[Elizabeth79]

It just seems like a lot. It is too beautiful to not consider but we are going to see other places. I have an appointment this week to see the Rialto which is where Adrienne Curry and Chris Knight just got married! Did anyone see that show The Brady Wedding show or whatever? Im super excited about that place.

[LaceyinPgh]

I don't know exactly the area that you are looking. Your title says Chicago but Rialto is in California. For either place the cost of living is significantly higher than middle America. And, for either place for decent service, a nice venue, and good food, $83 isn't that much money. Of course you will find more cost effective places if you look hard enough. I know that we live in Pittsburgh which isn't as costly as some places but still falls well into that East Coast Megalapolis mentality to some degree. I paid over $100 for each guests just for the reception, dinner, bar, and cake. That didn't count any extras (chocolate fountain, parking, martini bar, music, ect.)

[Kacie_bride]

It's bad if $16,600 is over your whole wedding budget. It would be for mine. We are paying $13 per person.

This price I gave is not counting alcohol or cake.

[MOB Karen]

I don't know exactly the area that you are looking. Your title says Chicago but Rialto is in California. For either place the cost of living is significantly higher than middle America. And, for either place for decent service, a nice venue, and good food, $83 isn't that much money. Of course you will find more cost effective places if you look hard enough. I know that we live in Pittsburgh which isn't as costly as some places but still falls well into that East Coast Megalapolis mentality to some degree. I paid over $100 for each guests just for the reception, dinner, bar, and cake. That didn't count any extras (chocolate fountain, parking, martini bar, music, ect.)

Yeah, I agree. We are paying $67 a plate, but we could have gotten it cheaper if we really would have wanted to. My coworker is paying $15 a plate for her daughter's wedding. But she is getting married somewhere that we scratched off our list really fast. To Amber & I, it looked like a barn. That was not how we wanted Amber's wedding to be. So I guess it just depends on what you want. I think you can really find anything you want out there if you really look for it. :D

[Kacie_bride]

I know in Texas the cost of living is signficantly lower than most places. When I was looking around I looked at country clubs and hotels and I think the most expensive per person meal I saw was $40. I would say the average cost would be in the 20 something dollar range. I'm talking about nice country clubs and hotels.

It would just seem ridiculous for me personally to pay $83 per person when I have never even eaten out and paid $83 for one meal. I know there are places in Houston that you would pay that much, but I've never been there. The most we have ever paid for Justin and I was a little over $100 for the both of us. That was at The Aquarium, which is a restaurant that is surrounded by a huge tropical aquarium. Every table has a magnificant view of all of these colorful tropical fish.

[CindySue]

I know in Texas the cost of living is signficantly lower than most places. When I was looking around I looked at country clubs and hotels and I think the most expensive per person meal I saw was $40. I would say the average cost would be in the 20 something dollar range. I'm talking about nice country clubs and hotels.

It would just seem ridiculous for me personally to pay $83 per person when I have never even eaten out and paid $83 for one meal. I know there are places in Houston that you would pay that much, but I've never been there. The most we have ever paid for Justin and I was a little over $100 for the both of us. That was at The Aquarium, which is a restaurant that is surrounded by a huge tropical aquarium. Every table has a magnificant view of all of these colorful tropical fish.
I agree some what as I too have never ate a meal that cost $83. BUT it also depends on what all is covered in the cost. If it covers a meal, dessert, drinks, the tables and chairs, dancing, etc., it DOES start to look a little better. Thats still WAY more than I could have paid, but breaking it down makes a little more sense.

[Kacie_bride]

I agree some what as I too have never ate a meal that cost $83. BUT it also depends on what all is covered in the cost. If it covers a meal, dessert, drinks, the tables and chairs, dancing, etc., it DOES start to look a little better. Thats still WAY more than I could have paid, but breaking it down makes a little more sense.

If it covers like table linens and all that it would seem a bit better. I guess it just gets me because it is WAY more than I could pay too. The meal would blow over our whole budget. It is also WAY more than anybody I've ever personally known to pay. Like I said here you could get filet mignon and salmon for $40 a plate at one country club I checked in to. That included table lines, dance floor, china to eat on, etc.

My $13 a plate covers just the meal, tea, and coffee. We have to pay for the alcohol separately and the cake separately too. I'm not sure how much that will be. I know the beer will be about $300-which adds approx another $1.50 per person. I'm not sure about the margaritas yet. The cake I think will be around $200 from the lady I'm looking at.

[MOB Karen]

I know in Texas the cost of living is signficantly lower than most places. When I was looking around I looked at country clubs and hotels and I think the most expensive per person meal I saw was $40. I would say the average cost would be in the 20 something dollar range. I'm talking about nice country clubs and hotels.

It would just seem ridiculous for me personally to pay $83 per person when I have never even eaten out and paid $83 for one meal. I know there are places in Houston that you would pay that much, but I've never been there. The most we have ever paid for Justin and I was a little over $100 for the both of us. That was at The Aquarium, which is a restaurant that is surrounded by a huge tropical aquarium. Every table has a magnificant view of all of these colorful tropical fish.


Our meals cover everything and free flowing booze too. And we don't have 200 people either. If we did, we would have gone a much cheaper route!

[Kacie_bride]

Our meals cover everything and free flowing booze too. And we don't have 200 people either. If we did, we would have gone a much cheaper route!

Yeah, if we only had 50 or 60 people we could afford to splurge a lot more. In a lot of respects I wish our guest list was smaller, but 50 or 60 to us was not even in the realm of possibility. My mom has 4 siblings and my dad has 5 siblings. All of those are married and have kids and some of those kids have kids. We have very close families, so it would be down right awful to imagine not inviting them. The family alone on my side counts for about 100 of the guests.

[LaceyinPgh]

I have to move to the midwest apparently. Around here the cheapest venue for a formal wedding that I found was in the $80 range. I don't think Sean and I have ever had a meal for less than $100. Those ones were mediocre at best. I guess cost of living is one of the downsides to living in this third of the country. But on an upnote, there is never a lock of entertainment, I am 90 minutes by plane away from DC, New York, and Chicago, and the weather is isn't totally insane.

[Kacie_bride]

I have to move to the midwest apparently. Around here the cheapest venue for a formal wedding that I found was in the $80 range. I don't think Sean and I have ever had a meal for less than $100. Those ones were mediocre at best. I guess cost of living is one of the downsides to living in this third of the country. But on an upnote, there is never a lock of entertainment, I am 90 minutes by plane away from DC, New York, and Chicago, and the weather is isn't totally insane.

I think Texas is one of the cheapest places to live in the country. I know the Houston (4th largest city in the U.S.) metropolis area is the cheapest metropolis to live in the state. Austin is probably the most expensive. There's plenty of entertainment in Houston. It has an awesome theater district-ranked 2nd in the country. It also has an internationally known medical center. It contains the world's largest concentration of research and healthcare institutions.

But, it's hot and humid here and we get hurricanes. The beaches also are not very pretty.

[LaceyinPgh]

I think Texas is one of the cheapest places to live in the country. I know the Houston (4th largest city in the U.S.) metropolis area is the cheapest metropolis to live in the state. Austin is probably the most expensive. There's plenty of entertainment in Houston. It has an awesome theater district-ranked 2nd in the country. It also has an internationally known medical center. It contains the world's largest concentration of research and healthcare institutions.

But, it's hot and humid here and we get hurricanes. The beaches also are not very pretty.

It sounds great and all. But I like my East Coast mentality. I don't think Sean and I would ever quite fit into Texas. He has been to Houston several times on business though.

[Kacie_bride]

I don't think I would reccommend anyone to move here.

[Kacie_bride]

It sounds great and all. But I like my East Coast mentality. I don't think Sean and I would ever quite fit into Texas. He has been to Houston several times on business though.

I like the East Coast. I've been there. I don't think I would ever fit in there either. The culture there is much different-not in a bad way-just not the way I grew up.