The (Fairly Epic) Search for a Venue

Although we've corresponded with quite a few venues so far via email or phone, we've only visited a handful so far.  We took a lot of pictures at each one, so rather than post all of them on this blog, I uploaded them to Picasa albums with captions so that I could remember some of the details about each venue.  Let's just say that we are going to keep looking....

Roy's

Roys

One of the reasons that it's taken so very long for us to find a venue is that we thought we had found it in Roy's.  Eddie and I have eaten at the Downtown LA location on a couple of special occasions, most recently our 5 year dating anniversary, and while we were there, I thought to myself, "Hmm. Roy's seems like a good place to have a wedding."  On somewhat of a whim, I called the Pasadena location (since it, unlike the downtown location, has parking), to ask if they did weddings and what their rates were.  We were feeling pretty hopeful because we had negotiated the rates down, we knew the food was good, it was pretty low-key, etc. But Naomi, the Special Events manager, suggested that we come in to check out the layout of the place, and sadly, our hopes of ending the venue search died that day.  It was sectioned off in a way that wasn't really conducive to a wedding party.  The private dining room, main dining room, and bar area were pretty separate, so guests in those areas wouldn't be able to hear any speeches or toasts that were happening throughout the restaurant.  And since there were so many booths, we wouldn't be able to fit in a very large dance floor.  I was really sad to see that dream die, but maybe we can use them for some event in the future!

Brandview Collection

Brandview Collection

Pros: inexpensive, no corkage fee, great view of the Americana (outdoor mall in Glendale), really nice and friendly staff, promised that ours would be the only event that day, does tastings before booking (a rarity in the wedding world)

Cons: noticeable holes, rips, and stains in the linens, really ugly light fixtures/chandeliers, valet parking, lots of stairs (and only a small elevator)

Anoush Restaurant-Glendale (Colorado St. Ballroom)

Anoush Restaurant

Pros: inexpensive, willing to customize menu options, LOTS of food, comes with the highly coveted chiavari chairs

Cons: only Armenian food (which isn't bad in and of itself, but we want our guests to have something familiar to them)--other menu items cost significantly more, there was a really weird funky smell while we were there, really ugly from the outside, SUPER gaudy and tacky looking on the inside (although if you like gold, it's perfect)

Calamigos Equestrian (Burbank)

Calamigos Equestrian

 Pros: was closer to the light and airy look that I'm going for in a venue, can have the ceremony and reception at the same place, ample and free parking, fairly spacious changing rooms for the brides/bridesmaids, comes with chiavari chairs and pinspot lighting (kind of like a spotlight on each table)

Cons: the manager was kind of a jerk, a lot more expensive that we budgeted for, horse stalls are pretty close to some of the ballrooms and ceremony sites (and the manager was kind of offended/insulted when I asked if there was a horsey smell--I'd think that was a legitimate question!), doesn't allow us to bring in any outside food or alcohol, has multiple events on the same day (can cause confusion with guests going to the wrong wedding, plus some brides don't like seeing other brides on the same day)

I have a Google spreadsheet with all of the venues we've checked out so far, so let me know if you want it!

And the search continues...