Wedding Venue Tours!

So, we went to what feels like a million places, but really it was only seven. And we still don't have a venue picked. But, when people tell me in a few years "I went to a wedding at xxxx, why didn't you get married there?" I want to remember why. Plus, I have two friends currently planning a wedding in Houston, so many my experiences will help them and anyone else who googles various venues and ends up with my two cents. We started the day with Lindsay Lakes in Cypress. I had heard that it wasn't all that spectacular upon driving up to it, and that is accurate. But, there is a room to have your wedding in (or a small reception of 100 people or less), a larger ballroom that can hold 300, and an outdoor gazebo with a lake behind it. One thing they had that I really liked was called the Lake House; it had a room for the bride, a room for the groom, and then general living space where close family could hang out before the wedding. I thought that was a nice amenity. The customer service there was great. I can't emphasize that enough. They gave us a quote that sounded good, but when we got home and did the math and added in tax and tip, it wasn't so great anymore. Plus, you can't bring in your own catering and after Andrew talked with the owner, he is pretty sure that guy does it himself, which definitely put this place on the "No" list. It is a nice place and they really take care of you, but it's not for us. The Lindsay Lakes Gazebo, ballroom, and wedding room. After that we went to the Majestic Metro. This place was quite high on our list. It looked cool and vintage and different in the ad and on the website. Let's just say that a good photographer in good light can be a miracle worker. We drove past it and were not impressed. It is downtown and they do not own or contract with any parking facility, so all of our guests would have to pay to park downtown. Strike 1. We went into the place and it smelled like stale cigarettes. Strike 2 (although I could kind of get over it... burn some candles or something and it would go away). Inside, it was kind of small and not as grand as the pictures online made it look. 3rd and final strike. We were both pretty bummed. This place is a little pricey and not ideal for a wedding ceremony. I would, however, consider it for a party of some sort if I ever had enough cash for that kind of thing. The Majestic Metro Outside, the lobby (you can put your own pictures in), and the "cocktail" (in the theatre seats)/ reception area. Third on our tour was the Courtyard at St. James. Currently, it is our second favorite venue, although we have yet to see our first favorite in person. We are just assuming we will love it. Basically, I like Courtyard because of the location (Galleria), the price (not bad for a Friday night wedding), and because it just feel classy. That is probably a dumb reason, but it is true! The food sounds good, it has good reviews online, and I think we would be happy there. The only thing is is that neither of us love it. I didn't take many pics there because it is a restaurant during the day and I didn't want people eating there to feel weird. The first is a shot of a courtyard area. The second pic is where weddings are performed (between the two planters). There is also a balcony above that that I think would make for some great pictures! Le Jardin was next. A friend of mine got married there a year and a half ago and had a pretty good experience. I thought it was pretty, but the rental fees (even for Friday Night) are insane! (1500 for ceremony, 4000 for reception, and that doesn't include a whole lot of extras!). PS- If you haven't figured it out, we are getting married on a Friday night. It is significantly cheaper and I don't think the day of the week matters much. People still don't have to go to work the next day, so they can drink and have a good time, and we will save thousands! Anyways, Le Jardin had both an indoor and outdoor gazebo, which I thought was great, and they would let us bring in our own catering. The ceiling in the ballroom had this draping thing going on that made the whole room feel very dressed up. But, there was a palm tree attached to the appetizer table that could not be removed that I hated, as well as a mural on the wall that I didn't love. Neither of those were the dealbreakers: we thought it would be a top choice until we came home and did the math and realized that Courtyard is a better value. However, they do have a lot of picturesque settings that would make for great photos, so I would recommend it for that. The mural (and you're supposed to put the cake in front of it! I didn't love it at all), the ceiling, and the indoor gazebo. The outdoor gazebo and a covered outdoor area with a cute little bridge. Ashton Gardens came next. Carlee, my former office-mate (who I miss so much!) LOVED this place, but when she went it smelled, so we almost didn't even bother with it. We went and smelled nothing and I even asked the woman there about it and she said she never noticed anything. She was probably lying, but at least I asked. I fell in love with the chapel. It is so pretty and would need minimal decoration. To me, the ballroom was just a ballroom. If we had a Friday wedding, we would run the risk of another party being there at the same time and the ballroom and dance floor being split in half with a partition. Andrew hated that idea. When we looked at the pricing, it was more than we wanted to spend (they had a $3000 food minimum. Only food, no alcohol, and that is pretty high for 120 guests). Although I loved it, Andrew talked me out of it. But I do still dream of that chapel... The Chapel (looks better in person), the staircase in the ballroom, and the patio outside the ballroom. Our last stop yesterday was Fontenot Grand Mansion. It was beautiful and it was Andrew's favorite. But, they were really secretive on their pricing; most places gave us some sort of print-out of what we could expect to pay, but this place came back with a price seemingly from nowhere after we told them what we wanted. Andrew compared it to buying a car. They wouldn't let us bring our own food, which is obvisouly a negative for any venue, and they wanted to charge $23ooo for the venue, basic linens, food, limited open bar, and a DJ. That is more than we wanted to spend on the entire wedding, so unfortunately, we must pass. But it was very, very pretty! The outdoor heart-shaped fountain, the gazebo in the courtyard, and the fireplace in the house- any of which you can have your ceremony in front of. Today we checked out a place in Katy, the Tuscany Villa. It is really nice. I especially like that they have a game room with Golden Tee, a pool table, and an air hockey table for the groom and groomsmen to use before the ceremony and kids to play in during the reception. There was a really pretty balcony overlooking the courtyard and a huge wooden double staircase in the entryway. It was very new and nicely done. It also had a really pretty ceremony area. They only allow catering through Hasta la Pasta (a restaurant we went to once and Andrew hated) and again, it just seemed priced higher than it should have been. We don't want money to be the end all- be all of our wedding, but we don't want to be in debt because of it forever, either. So, unless we really love a place, we are going with what's cheap. But, this place was really nice. If we don't end up loving the place we are visiting on Monday as much as we think we will, I may try to call these guys and negotiate something. The chapel (not as good as Ashton but still pretty), the inside, and an outside area where they do ceremonies. This is really long, but I hope it was good virtual tour. I have more pics that I didn't post. I am really, really hoping that we like the venue we are checking out Monday. OH- something cool that happened- I called another place here in Katy today to see about scheduling a tour and the guy let it slip that he was short staffed. So, I pounced on it and told him that I have always been interested in wedding planning. We have an interview (to talk about me, not the venue) on Monday morning! I am excited! I think planning weddings for a living would be fun! Stressful, but fun.