Reception at a Hotel: Good Idea?

We looked at a hotel...and they too were offering us great deals. However with the added taxes and tourist fees etc. it turned into more of a nightmare. We found a great venue on a lake and its a much better option for us. We have a lot of OOT as well, except our guest list is about a 1/3 of that size. If you aren't in love with the hotel then shop elsewhere. You might find one that appeals to you. We looked a t a few that were very popular sites for our area but were disgusting! Dead bugs on the floor...really stained carpets, ugh it was pretty nasty. These were some really big name resorts too ;(

You can transform a room, but it is going to take more out of your budget. I would at least start with a clean slate. I wouldn't want to have to cover up nasty carpet and such. I also found with the ballrooms that there wasn't much natural light. I LOVE big windows. It became a must for me to find a venue that had nice views to the outside. I didn't want to feel like I was stuck in a closet

We're getting married in a church and having our reception at a hotel. My hotel is new and very contemporary though and doesn't have the feel of what you described. Go check out some of the local hotels and see what everyone offers. Our package even came with custom floral centerpieces (along with muuuuch more)!! It's known as a boutique hotel. See if you have any like that in your area. Good Luck!

We are having our DW at an inn. We only have to roll to our rooms the night of the wedding. The only guests staying are our wedding guests.

Re my daughter's August 11, 2012 wedding, she resides in Florida. However, all of their family are here, so they wanted a wedding here. I had the darndest time finding a hotel/venue whose banquet rooms I truly loved, and the hotels I did find were in Center City Philly where parking would have been outrageously expensive. Besides, Philly has a huge liquor and tourist taxes. I finally managed to find a perfect place, the Mendenhall Inn. That has a 70 room inn. Like Nicole B's, it comes with darn near everything and is gorgeous. It is an Ascend brand hotel.

So, I guess the advice I am giving is check out boutique props(like Nicole suggested); Ascend Props or Preferred Hotels.

Re a make-over....the price to get rid of the ugly carpeting will kill your budget.

Good luck!

I just noticed you were in Atlanta. I am sure you can find some amazing places up there! I had wanted to get married in Helen actually but it makes more sense for us to get married here in Florida. I don't know how much you really want to get married in Atlanta but when I was looking I found some really great deals up in the mountains about an hour outside of atlanta.

Thanks Mags and Nicole. Luckily, my hotel is not bad at all; it's a major hotel. It's clean and well kept, but because it's a conference/business hotel the ballroom is just that, a conference ballroom. We did look at some posh hotels, but pound for pound they can't offer us the breaks like the room rates and catering deals. I'll keep my options open I don't want to feel like I had to settle...

We're looking exclusively at hotel banquet rooms. We are so heavy on out of state guests, we wanted it to be easy for folks to get from reception to bed, and give them the opportunity to enjoy the open bar, without having to book extra hours on the bus or have a taxi on call.

Honestly, if the tables are decent looking and the food is tasty and everyone is having a good time, the carpet will be the last thing on their minds =)

I like receptions where I can just take the elevator to our room and not have to drive, or find a ride cause we're drunk. If you are having it at a non-hotel venue, try and get a shuttle for the night, Ialways have more fun when I know I can drink and get a safe ride.

Its actually way more common in my area then to not. I am having a total DIY wedding outdoors. Friend is getting married two weeks prior and doing the reception at the hotel. Sometimes I am REALLY jealous b/c it seems like things have been much easier since it comes with a Coordinator. Grass is always greener I suppose and I picked what was perfect for us.

Carpet - is always hideous in hotels but you will never notice it. Especially with the lights dimmed

We are having ours at a hotel, and I am REALLY excited about it. I think it will be the perfect venue and even though we are also dealing with hideous carpet that does NOT remotely match our color scheme, I'm hoping with the lights dimmed and the focus on the people and the tables, that no one will notice the carpet. You don't have to decorate much to keep their eyes off it, just get linens, centerpieces, maybe some uplighting on the walls to draw their attention upwards. Don't get anything like a GOBO that will make them look at the floor.

We are having our ceremony in a beautiful luxury hotel. I checked out all types of venues from halls to restaurants and I was totally swept off my feet by our choice. Absolutely nothing wrong with a hotel reception!

We're having ours at a Courtyard Marriot in Puerto Rico. It's easiest for us since it's so close to the airport, our guests won't have to try to figure out how to get there and back and since we're planning from so far away, it's nice to have good reviews on Tripadvisor to help us out.

Yep I had my ceremony and reception at a hotel and I never once even thought of the carpet. I loved the lighting and the set up and I knew the food was incredible and best of all, all my guests had to do was press the up button to get to bed - so people were able to drink as much as they wanted to. Also, most hotels offer all inclusive deals which, to me, makes more sense.

We had our ceremony and reception @ a hotel and everyone loved it. No travel time back to the hotel. The service was amazing and I got a free suite for the wedding night

I agree with Mags - if you're in the Atlanta area, definitely try to have your wedding reception OUTSIDE of Atlanta - that will save you tons of money. And they still have some very lovely venues in the surrounding areas.

Ugly carpet would be a no go for me. If I can't deal with the decor they have there, adding to it isn't going to make it better.

We held my daughters wedding and reception at a hotel. It turned out great. We took over all of their meeting and ballrooms so that the ceremony was in one area and the reception in the grand ballroom.

We did not experience any type of upcharge for anything. I will say that the Food and Beverage Manager is a personal friend of mine, so he did throw in a few perks as far as waiving the corkage fee for wine, bartender fee and such.

The did a great job and it was very reasonable. The ceremony and reception (full dinner with apps) just under $4k. I provided the wine as I am in the wine business, so that was not a concern for us, and as mentioned, the hotel waived their customary $12 per bottle corkage fee.

By the way, as far as the image of a hotel reception. It will depend upon the hotel you choose and your style. My daughters wedding was on the elegant side. I had my reception, years before, in a hotel. Same thing, it was on the elegant side and it worked.