Ballrooms...

We have a ballroom, but ours is gorgeous! We are doing uplighting as well though, and bringing in the floral arrangements that we are using during the ceremony! Also our DJ has lighting on their DJ booth, and there is built in lighting in the ceiling, so we are pretty pumped

Edited for typo

I absolutely, 100% agree with you. I very rarely see one that I am in awe of.

Ballroom hater over here. BUT I've enjoyed every ballroom wedding I've been to, I get that not everyone has the same taste. It's just not my thing in terms of decor (usually hate the floors and ceilings the most. And I hate chair covers. And bows. Argghhh). I realize not everyone's going to like the exposed-brick-wooden-floors-rustic-minimalist-loft thing we've got going for ours.

Do you mean a hotel ballroom? Is the problem carpet? We are doing a ballroom here that's not attached to a hotel and it's got really nice decor and huge windows and wood floors. There's a lot of venues around here with really nice ballrooms

I agree that most hotel ballrooms don't look great to begin with. I am having my wedding in a hotel ballroom, but with uplighting, rented chairs, and the rest of the decor I don't think it will matter what the place looks like normally!

The very first thing we said after getting engaged was "no ballroom" lol. We are instead doing a partial buyout of a restaurant in downtown Denver and hosting our reception on the second floor. The decor is perfect already and it's right around a 1/4 of the price of a downtown ballroom.

We are having our wedding in a ballroom and while it it definitely not the prettiest, it is the easiest and most functional. I'm having enough trouble getting everything together lol

I'm not a fan of ballrooms either

I don't like ugly ballrooms, but I like my ballroom.

I flat out refused a ballroom...no matter how pretty they are, they're still generic and expected it. I wanted character and windows to see outside.

I work in dozens of ballrooms (at the beginning, all I could think about was having a wedding in that ball room at Ikea, lol) and they range from incredibly gorgeous to well, not really......but for a lot of couples they fit. Whether it's their style or their needs (for having hotel rooms right there), they fit the bill. The guests are usually just happy to be at a nice party; they're not looking at chair covers, exit signs or weird carpeting.

I find these rooms work the best when the couples keep their fundamental decor in mind; mason jars full of baby's breath that might look very cute in a barn look ridiculous and out of place in a ballroom with 20 foot ceilings. While I usually thing uplighting is a waste, it can hide a lot of sins in the decor department.

I also think most ballrooms are ugly and generic, but are usually associate with more affordable catering. We set out to find a different venue and ended up in a historic ballroom that doesn't really look like a ballroom. We would have chosen a restaurant or a tent over a traditional ballroom. If you don't have other options lighting or different chairs can do a lot to change the look of the room.

I'm glad I'm not the only one! Yes, I like the functional aspect. As Marion B. stated regarding the exposed brick and wood floors, that was my first go to but the area we live in, that option is limited. Maybe that's why I'm having such a hard time deciding on a venue? I like the idea of having hotel rooms available and being able to spend time with family and friends the whole weekend, rather than, it being a one day event for everyone. I guess I will have to settle and hope I have the artistic ability to make the room come to life. I agree that many guests don't pay attention to the subtle details of the wedding, as I've been to many, and I do the same.

All of this generic ball room hate has been making me incredibly self conscious about my wedding, lol.

Honestly, most people won't be paying attention to the carpet at your venue. Get somewhere that meets the need for you/your guests (capacity, catering, location, etc) then decorate it to fit your tastes. There are tons of things you can do to take the attention off of the fact you are in a ballroom, and make it look nice. Like Celia said though, be aware of your location when decorating.

I'm totally a member of the I-hate-ballrooms club...so it was a great surprise that I loved one and we're celebrating our reception in one, lol. It's not the typical one with the weird carpets and stuff though. It's got wood floors, in a historic hotel...love it!

Ours is newly renovated and fortunately it's quite nice

I don't really like the floor of ours, but the ceiling is beautiful! The lights are on a dimmer though, so I figure we will just turn them down a bit so the floor isn't glaring at us all night.

Do I not know what a ballroom is? Because I think it's this. And I don't know why some of yous think they're generic.

Personally, I like ballrooms and country clubs. I'm not a fan of barns.