Need some ACTUAL Help!

[crystalz]

Hey, I've posted a couple things on this site and its as if its invisible! I have not gotten ONE comment or reply. Like, ANYTHING will help me. I getting verrryy frustrated with the fact that NO ONE seems to wanna help me. I know my wedding is far away but doesnt mean you cant help me!

Im trying to get some insite on a couple venues before I call them such as, Greenacres Golf Course, Minoru Chapel, Riverside Banquet Hall... has NO ONE been to any of these? ANY HELP WILL DO!! PLEASE! Im looking for a venue that allows music/ dancing til 1am! And a ceremony location either outside by a beach or beautiful garden, OR if anyone has an indoor ceremony site thats beautiful and would like to share with me then PLEASE DO.

I really hope i get SOMETHING back... Been on here for just over a month and not ONE reply..

[kunibob]

These boards are very quiet. Plus, there are so many wedding venues/services in the area that most people won't have seen the majority of stuff out there, so they may not have answers for you. Personally I didn't answer because I had never heard of the places you mentioned, but now I see you mentioning Minoru Chapel...and I just attended a wedding there last week! Perfect timing. So, my take on it:

The chapel was quite lovely inside and sound carried nicely. They are very busy; they had 5 wedding ceremonies to do that day, so everything was on a very strict schedule. The chapel is very easy to get to if your guests are coming from Richmond or Vancouver. There is a large and beautiful park adjacent to the church, which is absolutely gorgeous. The only downside from a guest's perspective is that there was only one bathroom in the church and they wouldn't let us in until right before the ceremony started, so several of us had to make a run to the hospital next door to use the bathroom! But otherwise I had absolutely no qualms with it.

If you're looking for an indoor venue by a garden that allows dancing until 1 am, please check out my post on Occasions by the Pond and Willoughby Manor. Both have indoor and outdoor options available and allow the reception to continue late (Occasions until about 1, Willoughby until whenever you get tired. )

If you're using the master venue list, you can cross off Fraserview Village Community Hall. It's a beautiful venue but everything has to shut down at 11 pm. Same with Aberthau Heritage Mansion.

Hope that helps!

[naynay]

I don't think you're invisible... I wish I could help but honestly I haven't been to any of the locations you mentioned. If I hear anything I'll let you know.

[LateWinterBride]

Riverside Banquet Hall is huge. I mean HUGE. I've attended a wedding there with 1,000 guests. Go to their website, and you can even request an instant email quote based on your number of guests and which style of menu you want.

[Sotiny]

Would love to help, but I've never been to any wedding at the venue that you mentioned...

However, I have something to say regarding Minoru Chapel, according to Kunibob, that venue hosted 5 wedding ceremonies on the same day... unless you really want to be married in this venue, I would suggest you to look at other venues instead.

I planned and worked on the wedding of my friend at the Brock house, where they had 2 events on the same day (my friend's wedding was the later event of that day) We couldn't setup and decorate until 1 hour before the wedding (because some guests from the other event were not leaving...) It was a mess as staffs were setting up the venue (tables + chairs), and we had different vendors (chair cover + flower) decorating at the same time and the photographers were trying to get the "getting-ready-shots"... it was a zoo. Not to mention some last min changes that needed to be made on the spot. So, I would strongly recommand to find a venue where you are THE only bride of the day.

http://www.ubcboathouse.com/details.html
Personally, I really like UBC Boathouse, I mentioned this venue at couple of postings already. This venur is right by the water in Richmond; you can bring your own wine there and have your own catering. I would say this venue looks very nice for summer wedding (might look too cold for fall/winter wedding with all of those windows)

Hope it helps.

[crystalz]

oh my goodnes thank you soo much for replying. ah makes me so happy
k i was looking into brock house buttt i hear its very expensive.
Kunibob: your having yours at Chateau Cargill? is it nice? i was thinking of having my ceremony there as an option cuz i was also looking at the aston pacific inn in white rock as my reception venue possibly. I will also check out the ones you suggested, thank you for that.

I did get an online quote from riverside but im not sure, is it nice? and is the food good?

Im waiting for my maid of honor to get married already so she can help me too lol but her wedding isnt til June. so any help is wonderful
Thank you!

[crystalz]

shoot i mean naynay YOUR having it at chateau cargill... i need your insite lol sorry :P

[LateWinterBride]

Was quite a few years ago that I was at a wedding at Riverside. Basically all I remember was a single enormous banquet hall, with something like 4 storey high ceilings and enough space for over 1,000 guests. It was nicely decorated. Because of the size of the wedding, the videographer broadcast what he was filming live, projected on two gigantic screens. So even if you were far away, you could still see the bride and groom

The food was Indian food. Sorry I can't be of more help.

I did get an online quote from riverside but im not sure, is it nice? and is the food good?

[naynay]

Hey Crystalz... I think an indoor ceremony at the Chateau Cargill would be fabulous. I really like the bones of the "Chateau" room. It does require some decorating but I think once everything is pulled together it looks terrific. The overall feel is still classy but the wood panelling on the ceiling adds a modern feel.

We are having a garden ceremony but since you are only looking to have the ceremony at Chateau Cargill I don't think the garden ceremony is as memorable as something you might find elsewhere. For me, I wanted to have both the ceremony and reception at one location and my fiance insisted on a garden ceremony so for me, it works. But I think you would find the indoors more special.

[Sotiny]

Yes... the brock house was very expensive as the min. charge for food for the summer wedding was $15,000. And seriously, the food was not that great; QTY-wise and taste-wise... only 1 carving station and limited amount of seafood was served.

If you are interested, I would highly suggest Diamond Alumi Centre at SFU. You can see my review for my vendor and the link is there. Burnaby Mountain park is in that area and there are so many different view at SFU already. Whenever, people talked about our wedding, I always hear good things about the food that was served at SFU.

And for being a full time purchaser as work, I am all for planning ahead... this is how you would save lots of money.

[QUOTE=crystalz;4894]k i was looking into brock house buttt i hear its very expensive.
QUOTE]

[crystalz]

where is your review on this place? i would love to take a look at it. man its so hard to choose the perfect place... i have so long yet im everywhere and so undecided!

[Sotiny]

Hi Crystalz,

I got so much idea from this web site and enjoy wedding so much that I keep looking out for sample sales and all kinds of wedding related news. If you are interested in my posting, you can click on my user name and select "Find More Post by Sotiny".

Here is couple of the links, hope it helps:

Review:
http://www.bridethings.com/forum/van...rn-fusion.html

Questions that you might want to consider as you are planning:
http://www.bridethings.com/forum/van...questions.html

As of venue, I, personally, think it would be the best to keep it all in 1 venue as "time is money on your wedding day" (you are paying your photo/videographers + make-up artist by the hour; car/transportation by the hour, etc...) You would not want to spend too much time on the road... besides... you really don't want to rush to your different locations

where is your review on this place? i would love to take a look at it. man its so hard to choose the perfect place... i have so long yet im everywhere and so undecided!

[honeybee]

As of venue, I, personally, think it would be the best to keep it all in 1 venue as "time is money on your wedding day"

I cannot agree more with this. Save your guests from traveling!

[crystalz]

Ahh yes thats true but every venue ive looked at on the internet that have the all in one location are either too expensive, or i dont like the look of the ceremony part or it doesnt fit all my guests! :P BTW i have a guest list of 150!! Any other venue ideas?? I LOVE Minter Gardens and they let your reception go until 1am BUT you have to set up and take down your decorations and I DONT WANT TO DO ANY OF THAT on my wedding day. The day before is awesome but most venues dont allow that. grrrr. and i feel bad asking any of my guests to take down decorations, their there to have fun and drink and dance!

Because i'll be 23 when i get married and my fiance will only be 20, we have alot of younger guests attending who love to party.

I would LOVE a beach wedding but i just dont see that happening haha

[crazedandconfused]

hi guys,

i'm pretty sure that the Diamond Alumni Centre is not available for weekends. It is, however, available for Friday nights. As for venues that are available until 1am, I have always heard rave reviews about the UBC boathouse but know that you have to be really careful in negotiating your closing hours. My friend told me about a wedding that they attended where the bride and groom had to run around at the end of the wedding, all panicked, because they had to get all the chairs and tables out (they thought that they could do it the next morning). not something that you want to do at the end of your wedding.

A lot of ppl like the Mayfair golf course. They have a very nice outdoor location and I think that you can stay until 1am.

I personally haven't looked at any beach locations but did consider the London Heritage Farm in Richmond. They have a nice garden and gazebo area and you can rent the house for your reception.

I have mixed reviews about Minoru. It's a very nice little chapel with a beautiful outdoor garden for your pictures. However, almost all of my friends have been married there, hence, I am doing my best to avoid this. It is also very popular and so you will find yourselves being shooed off the steps to make way for the next bridal party. However, it's the cheapest of all the chapels as the company runs Stanley Park and the celebration pavilion at the Queen Elizabeth Park. If I had my way, I would get married at the Celebration Pavilion but my groom to be choked at the price ($2000).

Hope this helps!

[crazedandconfused]

oh yeah, ubc golf course had a nice outdoor gazebo area that was only available if you booked the reception there.

ditto for the nekkei heritage centre.

[crystalz]

oh yeah, ubc golf course had a nice outdoor gazebo area that was only available if you booked the reception there.

ditto for the nekkei heritage centre.

Did you go there and look? how is the reception area? or is it really expensive?

[LateWinterBride]

I've attended a wedding there on a Saturday -- it was beautiful.

I can confirm that as of Sept 2009, they do hold weddings and events there on weekends. I received info from them when I was looking for a venue for my wedding.

They state that "a minimum of $5,000 on food revenue for Fridays and Saturdays and a minimum of $4,000 on Sundays is required..." in their info sheet.

[Sotiny]

You might want to consider http://www.shadboltcentre.com/atrium_and_studios.php it is in the Deer Lake area. (I am not sure how late you can have the facility for)

*** on a serious note!***
Just a friendly reminder (since you are so young), according to regulation, when you provide alcohol it is required by law that you announce it TWICE to remind your guests not to drink and drive (or even provide taxi vouchers). For more information : http://www.go2hr.ca/ServingItRight/R...9/Default.aspx


I went to a wedding at Mayfair, the outdoor ceremony was beautiful, but I am not sure if the facility will hold 150 guests (you will have to check with them). Seriously, the one thing that I would never forget was how "HOT" that wedding was... it was an August wedding at 4:30pm... it was super hot... and the make-up of the bride was melting (I am not kidding) And because of the direction of the reception area, the screen (for the projector) was so bright that the slideshow had to be delay (the "program" of the evening was changed around on the spot)

As of decorating, if you are not hiring a decorator, I don't mind helping you out at all. I've been taking on that role for couple of my friends' weddings and cannot say how much I enjoyed it. (just PM me if you want)

Ahh yes thats true but every venue ive looked at on the internet that have the all in one location are either too expensive, or i dont like the look of the ceremony part or it doesnt fit all my guests! :P BTW i have a guest list of 150!! Any other venue ideas?? I LOVE Minter Gardens and they let your reception go until 1am BUT you have to set up and take down your decorations and I DONT WANT TO DO ANY OF THAT on my wedding day. The day before is awesome but most venues dont allow that. grrrr. and i feel bad asking any of my guests to take down decorations, their there to have fun and drink and dance!

Because i'll be 23 when i get married and my fiance will only be 20, we have alot of younger guests attending who love to party.

I would LOVE a beach wedding but i just dont see that happening haha

[LateWinterBride]

I'm also doing the all-in-one-location thing, and I decided on Law Courts Inn. They have great buffet menus ($25 pp for lunch and $29.50 pp for dinner) and I've heard it's gorgeous. (I haven't been there in person yet, as I'm currently in Edmonton, but I'll see it next month.) There's a big rental fee on top of that, though, if you're looking at a weekend event. However, if you're going to get married in October, you may be able to negotiate a lower rate considering it's off-season--that is what I was able to do for my March wedding. If you're getting married in the usual summery months, you are stuck with a $2000 rental fee.