Atlantic Dance vs Ariel's

[DisneyGirl6905]

Hi everyone,
We are getting married at Sea Breeze Point in May 2006 and can't decide on a reception location. We've narrowed it down to Atlantic Dance Hall at the Boardwalk or Ariel's at the Beach Club. We are having a custom wedding with between 35-40 guests. Does anyone have any opinions on which would be better? I was leaning towards Atlantic Dance until I saw pictures of Ariel's. I think that Ariel's might work better for our size group, but I am not too crazy about the little mermaid theme. My fiance is leaning towards Atlantic Dance. So we are confused at the moment. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[twojo21]

hi & welcome to the dis! both locations are just beautiful for a reception & both offer a dance floor.

we choose ariels for our wedding reception for 50-60 guests & although the name is ariels it doesnt have any disney ariel decor. the only mermaid item is a painting in the first seating area. we just feel in love with ariels underwater theme with the large aquarium & glass blown fish & bubble chandleirs. we also thought the room worked great for our group size & didnt feel empty but still gave enough space. its also convinient as our prereception is at marthas vineyard right next store & our ceremony is at the yc gazebo.

one thing about atlantic dance at the bwi (i believe, correct me if im wrong ladies) is you can only have a buffet style meal.

best of luck with your plans.

 

[Fantasia Sam]

I know that there have been weddings of say 40 guests in ADH but I personally found it too big for that many guests hence I wasn't so keen on it, but that was just my personal opinion.

When I first chose Ariel's I didn't even have a theme in place at all - I then decided to make it a real Under the Sea/Little Mermaid theme but looking at the room bare you wouldn't say the place was themed at all - like twojo21 said - there's the fish tank and a very subtle picture of a mermaid in there oh and some mobiles hanging from the ceiling of fish and bubbles but that's it.

But you certainly don't have to do that - I've seen other themes in there that aren't LIttle Mermaid themes at all.

 

[hmgolden]

We had our reception at ADH. Personally, I wouldn't have my reception there with 40 guests. We had 76, and at times I felt that the venue over powered the number of people there, but that's just me (we originally were expecting about 100 guests, but because of family politics, the list shrunk). I know that some brides have had fewer than 40 guests in ADH, and had no problem with it, but for me, it would seem empty. It is a great venue, we loved it. It is true that ADH, you can only have a buffet menu (although they will do plated kids meals). For us this was a plus as we had many picky eaters (me included ) and also some with dietary restrictions and the buffet gave us an easy way to accomodate everyone.

Like Sam said, you don't have to do a Little Mermaid Theme at Ariel's.

Good luck choosing your venue. They are both wonderful!

 

[tinkerbela]

we had our reception at ADH and even though we had close to 30 people attend, everyone had a wonderful time. it is such a wonderful place to hold a reception, especially for groups like your size. kids can run around, adults can go out onto the deck and enjoy the view, and it's a decent price to host your reception there.

 

[wdwbride2005]

Hi DisneyGirl6905,

We're having our reception at the ADH in two weeks! Ariel's was one of our top choices as well, but we chose ADH because the theme suited us better. We love that it is a free standing building with two levels, the wooden dance floor is gorgeous, guests can go out on the balcony and the view across the water is very pretty, and we just love the whole art-deco look. The two things I did not like about Ariels were the fish mobiles and the fact that the windows look out onto the pool area/walkway. Still, it is a beautiful venue. If there is any way you can have a site visit, I think it will be much easier to make your decision.

 

[Fantasia Sam]

Hi DisneyGirl6905,

The two things I did not like about Ariels were the fish mobiles and the fact that the windows look out onto the pool area/walkway. Still, it is a beautiful venue. If there is any way you can have a site visit, I think it will be much easier to make your decision.

Yeah you raise a very good point there - this was one of the reasons why we were glad we had a day time wedding because the curtains do not draw all the way over in Ariels and being a day time we can see out of the windows at Ariel's but not see in - whereas at Night, I believe, you can see in. So if you don't want your guests to be gawped at go for daytime or ask for special curtains. It was funny because we had Mickey, Minnie AND Chip'n'Dale those that were walking past the entrance of Ariels could see and then when they got outside they couldn't so a couple of times kids could be seen for a second squished up against the window trying to see Mickey and Minnie until that is their parents dragged them away LOL

But I'm quite an "open" person hence I don't mind public vouyers, LOL or the attention, after all when I had an outside wedding at the YCG with PA system I'm sure half the hotel could have seen and been a part of it.

 

[Kismetdreams]

We had the evening rection at Ariel's, with a Mickey theme. We had M&M at the reception, and my hubby still laughs that so many people, kids and adults alike, stood outside and watched us dance with M&M and the kids were dancing too. Bri said, "They could have gone to the parks and wanted to watch us instead!". I think it is a great location, since there is a the sidewalk just outside for your smokers to be able to use, the lower area is perfect as a dance floor and there is more then enough space for a group your size, as we had 50 and had plenty of room.

 

[DisneyGirl6905]

Thanks everyone for all of your input. We will definitely be doing a site visit in August to make our decision.