Jack and I checked out two banquet halls with my mom on Saturday. The first one was well organized, had super friendly staff, had only one hall (some have multiple or one large one that can be sectioned off into smaller halls), gave us a great quote, and made amazing food. They were setting up for a wedding reception for the evening so they let us try three dishes that they were making. It was SO delicious. I really thought I would wet my pants out of glee. We also talked to the manager about having Chinese food and they were more than willing to accomodate us by either letting us bring in our own catered chinese food or for them to make the dishes for us. Their food is also trans fat-free, halal, and they use an environmentally safe method to dispose of waste. I was really impressed with them.
The second banquet hall was the one that offers a variety of menus including South Asian (mostly North Indian food), Sri Lankan (a lot of South Indian dishes we're used to) and Chinese. That was one of the main reasons we decided to check out that place. It was also recommended to us by someone else so we had high hopes. Well, our appointment with them was at 4pm and we didn't get to sit down with the manager/ co-ordinator until just past 5pm. While we were waiting we got to look at pictures and got a tour of the facility, but the wait was still unneccessary. The style of their venue was extremely extravogant - something that typical Indians would like to show off their wealth and status. Not our cup of tea at all. The co-ordinator was also the only one that took care of everything, including co-ordinating, decorating, quoting, etc. So basically he was the only person in charge. We didn't get to taste any of their food and their quote wasn't as good as the first banquet we saw. Overall their style didn't really appeal to me. It was too traditionally Indian, too hierarchal, too extravogant, too large (their halls were HUGE), and their time management wasn't the best.
So we have (obviously) decided to go with the first banquet. I know others would advise us to check out more places but 1) the sooner we book a place the sooner we can get moving on other things and those who are flying in can set up their plans as well, and 2) the price he gave us was really good. Basically the second place quoted us at what most other banquets advertise on their sites, which only included the food, some drinks, and decorations. The first banquet matched this and included an open bar and a DJ, and the price was $30 cheaper per person. That is significant! And since we already tried their food (and we'll get an official taste testing later) we know their food will be delicious. I'm going to drop off the deposit and sign the contract this week so it isn't official until that happens, but it pretty much already is. So...WE HAVE A RECEPTION HALL!!! Hooray. =D
Btw, we couldn't get the saturday so we will be having our wedding on Saturday July 18, 2009 (as soon as we book a church) and have our reception on Sunday July 19, 2009. I know it may be a hassle for some of you but hopefully you can make it to both. I actually like having this spread over two days because it is less stressful and gives us more quality time with our guests. More details about co-ordinating these two days to come.
