Event Venue VS. Hotel

Looking for the perfect venue for your big day can be very overwhelming, especially in the Dallas area. There are so many amazing places and they all start to run together after awhile. A lot of brides find themselves trying to decide between an event venue and hotel. There are pros and cons to both of these choices. We wanted to help you out a little by pointing out the most common pros and cons we come across with our MK brides when discussing venue options.

Event Venues

Pros

1. Most event venues allow you to bring in outside vendors. (Catering, Cake, Bartenders, Rentals)

This really allows the bride to choose her best “Wedding Day Team” based on her opinions. The bride is not being forced to use someone she isn’t comfortable with.

2. Event venues are normally a blank canvas. This is such an awesome thing for brides who know exactly what they want. Brides can go into the event space and start to imagine, dream, create & envision her day.

3. Most event venues will only have one event per day. This gives you access to your venue the day of your wedding without having to worry about other timing, guests getting lost trying to find the space, other events or other people who are not part of your wedding guests.

4. Some event venues allow you to bring in your own alcohol. This can save a lot of money.

(Alcohol always has to be served by TABC bartender)

5. There are so many event venues in DFW….you pretty much have your pick! You want a castle? Got it. You want a barn? Got it. You want a mansion? Got it.

This can be fun to really bring the entire feel of your wedding from the little details to the venue itself.

Cons

1. Event venues are not always in the best locations. Sometimes they are in downtown and hard to get to and others are so far off the beaten path that they become very difficult to get to. (We all know Apple Maps gets lost all the time)

2. If your event venue is far from downtown or far from where all your vendors are located…you could end up paying more in delivery fees due to how far away the event venue is.

3. Your guests will have to travel from the host hotel and/or the ceremony to arrive at your reception. This takes the risk of guests getting lost, taking longer to get there or drinking and driving at the end of the reception. Transportation services are always a great idea if your venue isn’t easy to get to or will require a lot of driving by your guests.

4. Some event venues do not have necessary items such as linens, napkins, flatware, dinnerware, chairs, tables, etc. If this is the case with your venue then you will have to rent all those items from another vendor. It can be frustrating and confusing to add another vendor into the mix. (Hint: Planners can help with us! They do all the frustrating/confusing work for you!)

5. Event venues have strict capacities and you cannot go over that capacity. This can be hard if you fall in love with the venue but realize your guest list is 75 more than the maximum capacity. Cutting the list down can be hard. You also have to take into consideration staff, for the day of, in that total capacity number.

Hotels

Pros

1. Hotels have wonderful staffs. They have servers, chefs, bartenders, guest services, wedding butlers, etc. This is always good to know that everyone working on the day of your wedding knows the hotels and the standards they need to meet.

2. If your wedding is being held at your host hotel (the hotel all your out of town guests are staying at) this is a huge PLUS! Your guests don’t have to drive anywhere and they can party with you all night and then head up to their rooms. There is no worrying about transportation or driving for your guests.

3. Most hotels will give you the honeymoon suite for FREE when you have your wedding at their hotel. This can definitely save a few dollars. Many hotels also decorate your room or bring up some yummy snacks and champagne for the newlyweds to enjoy after their reception.

4. Most of your bigger items are already at the hotel. They have tables, chairs, linens, napkins, flatware, dinnerware, dance floor, lightning, etc. Some hotels will have more than others and some even have candles and small decorations that the bride can use if she chooses to.

5. If your ceremony is around the corner from the hotel/reception….some hotels have shuttle that is complimentary within a certain radius. This can be great for guests staying at the hotel. They can catch the shuttle to and from the ceremony. A lot of hotels will have a list of guests and rooms so they know all guests are on the bus and ready!

Cons

1. Hotels often have “not so pretty” carpet or wall colors. This can be distracting when looking at a venue and trying to picture your wedding. Sometimes the bright colors or crazy patterns are not a great match with your wedding vision.

2. More often than not…hotels’ food and drinks are more expensive than using a caterer. This can be hard to fit into your budget and you might end up having to cut in other places of your wedding in order to accommodate for the prices. Hotels do not offer outside catering (with a few exceptions: Indian food being one).

3. Hotels always have guests and always have something going on. There might be another party or wedding in the ballroom next to yours. There might be a convention in town and the hotel might be packed. This can be frustrating. If there is more than one event going on in the ballrooms guests tend to have a hard time finding their way to the right one.

4. If your ceremony and reception are both at the hotel it can be very hard to find places for great pictures. The insides of hotels are normally do not have any natural light and there aren’t many great places for pictures. If your altar is pretty that is always an option and if the hotel has a garden area I would utilize that. Since most hotels are in downtown areas it is hard to get good outdoor pictures.

5. Most hotel ballrooms do not have any windows. This limits any natural light for pictures and unless your decorations and up lighting are done perfectly…the room can look dark, business-like and unwelcoming.

We hope this helps you a little bit! There are so many other positive things about both options…you really can’t go wrong, as long as you love your decision.