Comments on: Has anyone started out their wedding by renting an empty hall?

By: sniffydogs

sniffydogs — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:02:53 +0000

Hopefully you got the wedding venue First.

September isn’t that far away. Better see if you can get a caterer. They book up fast!

By: maigen_obx

maigen_obx — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:12:59 +0000

I did the same thing, it’s not a big deal. Get a couple of wedding magazines, they have checklists of things you need for a reception. You’ll need a caterer, maybe a decorator (if you want to spend the money), you might need a rental company for tables and chairs and stuff. You’ll be fine, it’s fun.

By: Kasandra

Kasandra — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:05:37 +0000

Ummmmm hrmmmm how can you say it’s the “PERFECT” place, if you’ve never seen it before? And maybe, just MAYBE you should have been thinking about all this when you booked the place.

By: octoberbride

octoberbride — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:36:53 +0000

Well, first talk to the owner of the hall to see any restrictions. Then, plan your guest list now and send out the invitations, w RSVPs, for those RSVPs you don’t get answers back on, call them. This way you can know how much seating you will need. Then you can deal w chair and table rentals. Afterwards, you can also find a caterer to provide the dinner for your guests. And you can actually start planning the decorations for your hall now. You’ll also want to book a live band of dj at this time too. But try going on brides.com, it’s a free site and they give you a time line of exactly what you need to get done and they send out emails weekly as a reminder for you.

By: Angeline

Angeline — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:53:29 +0000

First of all when talking with the administrator of the hall make sure you ask about any restrictions they may have. A lot of halls don’t allow food, drinks, live bands; things of that nature. Secondly about where to start. Ask the person showing you the hall if you could have a few moments alone. When you are alone, take a good look while you stand by the entrance, then close your eyes and imagine what your wedding would look like from that position. If you have even a little bit of a creative mind, you should be able to picture it. That would be a good starting place.

I am a consultant so if there is anything that you have questions about you can email me and I will give you some information.

Just remember, relax, have a good time preparing for your wedding, fullfill your fantasies, and most of all don’t get so caught up in the preparations that you forget why you are doing it in the first place.

Good luck.

By: jorge e

jorge e — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 05:28:20 +0000

Hire a cater to take care of the food and drinks part. Talk to the owner of the hall and ask for suggestions. It is not the first time the owner has been asked about this,, if he or she has been renting an empty hall. Otherwise find what you need with regards to tables and chairs,,etc.. and rent them and have them delivered and picked up or even set up and all that which goes with the set up. Congratulations for your wedding day, wishing you all the best with a long life of happiness and joy with wonderful children and grandchildren. Yo have time before the wedding day so you will do just fine.

By: Luv2Answer

Luv2Answer — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:08:23 +0000

People usually believe that a hall with a caterer is cheaper than going to a hotel ballroom but in reality a hotel is all inclusive while a hall like that you have to pay for everything separate and still find a way to add decor to make it presentable.

By: Jbuns

Jbuns — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 10:39:06 +0000

Find out if the kitchen has any dishes, silver, cookware etc. Find out if you are responsible for cleaning up the kitchen before you leave the hall. Ask if they have tables and chairs, if not you will have to rent them so make sure you get the dimensions of the hall. Ask what kind of lighting they have – can the lights be dimmed, do they have mood lighting for dinner, dancing, etc. are there any spotlights if needed? Is there enough electrical outlets to accomodate a dj and his equipment, microphones etc. Ask if you can see the hall set up for another wedding or big event. Is there a bar area? A dance floor?
Keep in mind that when renting a bare hall, you will incur a lot of expense in acquiring the tables, chairs, dishes, etc. If you go with this hall, make sure your caterer knows exactly what the hall has before booking the date with them. Some caterers will clean up the kitchen, some will not. Good luck to you.

By: bubbles

bubbles — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 07:35:25 +0000

We rented the Hall and then got the cater- the cater is doing EVERYTHING for us so it wasn’t that bad at all.

We are paying the cater $10,000 for 150 people though.