Help! Where should I have my Reception??

[princesslisa]

Hi everyone,

I am having trouble on selecting a Reception location. Since Disney will be a Destination Wedding for me, I want to get as much advice as possible, since I will not be able to visit to check out all of the venues.
Here is what I am thinking . . .if anyone can share their advice/experience/or just a great description(pics?) of these places I would love you forever!

Bistro de Paris (we were engaged at the Chefs de France)
Whitehall Room (would like verandah dancing!?!)
Ariels
Atlantic Dance Hall
St. James Patio (can I just do outside?)

My wedding is probably going to be 65-70 people

Thanks for all of your help!!

2004 (Pop Century) 1st Trip with my hunny
2005 (Pop Century) engaged in epcot!!
2007 (Boardwalk) fairy tales do come true!!

 

[hmgolden]

With 65 - 70 people, I think the St. James Patio and the Whitehall room would both be too small for your group. I would vote for Bistro de Paris - I think theme park weddings/receptions are really cool, and very uniuque to Disney. My second choice would be Atlantic Dance Hall, but I'm biased since that's where our reception was and then I would vote for Ariel's. Good luck deciding. Hopefully someone else will be able to tell you how many people for sure St. James and the Whitehall room hold.

 

[flaccog]

Whitehall is definitely too small for your group. We had 59 people at our wedding and were told we could not use Whitehall for our reception b/c our group was too big. We had our pre-reception at Whitehall and then moved to the St. Augustine Ballroom for our reception. It was very nice! Atlantic Dance Hall is beautiful! My friend had her wedding there and her pictures are stunning! Good luck with your choice!

 

[WonderWomanDC]

I vote Bistro de Paris.

 

[Janet2k]

Here is what I am thinking . . .

Bistro de Paris (we were engaged at the Chefs de France)
Whitehall Room (would like verandah dancing!?!)
Ariels
Atlantic Dance Hall
St. James Patio (can I just do outside?)

My wedding is probably going to be 65-70 people

Based on the size of your party, I would vote for the Atlantic Dance Hall. I have seen lots of photos/videos of wedding receptions that have been held there. The venue is very nice and perfect for dancing.

As to the St. James patio, I'm not sure of its size. Find out from your Wedding Planner if the patio can accommodate your party. If it can, then you might be able to plan an outdoor event there (and in the event of inclement weather, your event would be held inside the banquet room). Again, please check with your Wedding Planner regarding what is and is not possible. They are the experts and are there to help you make your dreams come true.

Have fun planning. The time will fly by.

 

[Janet2k]

Princesslisa, I forgot to say, "Welcome to the Dis!"

 

[pixie08]

Welcome! We had origanlly wanted whitehall but were told w/ 50 people it would be too tight w/ dancing. St james will just make the 50 and dancing. Bistro is an AMAZING space and I wish I could have it there but there are some mins to comply with. for an event ending before for food and bev has to be min$4000 after 4 it is $8000 so if you think you will spend that much than go for it (we want something late afternoon/evening as in June it is hot and we do not think we will make the 8000 w/ 50 people) Atlantic Dance hall is beautiful and will fit your size party perfectly.

There are other options (I am guessing you want to avoid ballrooms as none were listed) Is there a theme you are going with? Or are you picking the location first? There is also Ariel's, ballrooms in all the convention centers (GF,boardwalk,yacht) california grill etc...

 

[princesslisa]

Thanks for the replys and welcomes!!
Pixie, I have the same issue with Bistro too, there seems to be a lot of extra costs, like the minimum, rental fees, park hosts, etc.

PLus, does anyone know if the ceilings are high in the Bistro? I am 6' and my fiance is 6'6" and we are the "runts" of our siblings/cousins. I know the giants are coming to Disney!, but when the fam is 6'9", 7' ceilings aren't really feasible, LOL

Anyways, the problem that I have with Atlantic DH is that the min on Friday is $9500 which means I would probably have to move my date to a Thursday. Although I think that the $100 per person is a bare minimum that may be even "harder" to meet, if you know what I mean, and the cost will probably exceed that # anyway.

You are so right about the ballroom issue though. I have worked part time at a Hotel in banquets for the past 6 years as a baquet attendant. Although we have a beautiful ballroom, I do not want any resemblence of that atmosphere (another reason why I chose Disney).

Pixie, I also wanted to ask you something . . .I read a post somewhere (think it was "save the date") and you mentioned how you were going to send your own save the dates in March for your June 2007 wedding. When I called Disney about my Sept 2007 wedding, they basically told me to watch the video and call them back in Sept 2006. Did they give you any extra info? Or did they send you any extra pics of venues?

Let me know!!

Thanks!!
Lisa

 

[Codie]

Given your choices I would say Bistro de Paris...given my experience I would vote vehemently for Atlantic Dance Hall. It was INCREDIBLY wonderful!!!