Boston Venue - Four Seasons vs Ritz Carlton

Would you drape at the Ritz to achieve the same look? If so, you should probably just go with the Four Seasons because your decorating cost will probably eat up most of that 10k

I just recently learned how much draping cost still learning about how much decorating actually costs.. lighting and flowers! That is why I was thinking that if the venue "had the look"... I could possibly do the minimum for the others to save.

Another thing is that Four Seasons may come off stuffy for some people. .. but Ritz is more casual. Personally, I like the look of Four Seasons but worried my family will get furious when they see the place, because they expect it to look VERY PLAIN.

Furious? Let them cough up a few bucks and then they can deserve to be 'furious'.

Its your wedding and your budget. Do what works for you.

HAHA. That is the best part. My mother doesn't want to contribute at all but wants to control it. She has no idea how much anything cost and she compares her own wedding in Asia to mine..

From Boston area here. I would do the four seasons

I went to a Ritz Carlton wedding in Indianapolis and thought the decor was nice and the staff was very attentive. Can't speak about the Four Seasons. In my opinion, I couldn't justify spending an extra 10k.

@MrsCoakleyToBe can you elaborate why you pick that one over ritz???

Both are amazing and 10k is a lot of money.

Be careful with draping because it can become very tacky, (in my own opinion)

Have you seen both venues set up for a wedding not just during a dark day during a visit? Because seeing the property in real life and not in photos may help change your mind. If you haven't I would reach out to them and see if there is a wedding coming up that you can pop in and see the actual set up and execution for a bit. That could be the selling point.

I do love the 4 seasons since you walk out the front door and you are at the Boston Gardens/Common.

From the two pictures I would choose the Four Seasons.

My FH & I picked our venue for the food - but the huge bonus was no decorating required. It's totally gorgeous as-is. Personal opinion - make it easy on yourself.

Thank you Amanda for the suggestion.. Yes I have visited both places in person, they mentioned that they are doing a "mini renovation" late March-finish EO April that will update their walls, carpeting and overall color scheme to be "more bright" and less dark. (trying to match like the four seasons). I'm attaching my own two photos for comparison, without the professional photography magic.

Great eye Jessica.. Four seasons hotel has better view in general of the park, and it's brightly lit, where Ritz room is more of a longer rectangle with smaller windows, the light doesn't shine in as much.

Thank you Rachel, exactly what i was thinking :X. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to do too much decor, but the food and beverage min was a clear 10K less. I'm now completely on the fence and I can't decide. I have only about 100 (plus minus 20) guests and I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to negotiate down the min for food with Four Seasons ($30K), Ritz was able to drop theirs down to $20k after initial $35k. If only 80 people show up at the wedding, and pretend price pp is $180, it would only be $18,000. I would be able to meet Ritz easily, as opposed to Four Seasons I would have to invite more people so that I would be at 166 guest count. I'm going crazy thinking about this minimum and how much I need to ask for it to be lowered....

Anyone have any tips on negotiating a venue to bring their minimums down?

Try a non-Saturday night, to get a lower rate. Our venue's rates for a non-Saturday night were about 20% less.

Yes this quote is for a Sun, non-holiday in May