Wedding Reception Locations - Need Help/Inspiration

Hi,

I would love to get married in Albuquerque (where I live) or surrounding area (Santa Fe, Madrid, etc.), but I cannot find a unique/affordable place to have the reception. I do not want to get have the reception at a hotel ballroom, event center, or other pre-planned place. I would love to have it located at someone's home or other unique place (downtown unfinished loft or other downtown 'older' looking locale, rustic ranch/cabin). The guest list is ~100 people. I want it to feel like an intimate dinner part. Also, I would like to get married in December so an inside location is a must.

If anyone has any ideas whatsoever, I would appreciate it BEYOND words. I have searched for nearly three months and am not inspired by any of the 'regular' wedding reception locatins.

Tags: Reception, Wedding

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Permalink Reply by Amy on August 27, 2010 at 9:39am

Perhaps Casa Rondena Winery?

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Permalink Reply by hettie on August 27, 2010 at 10:18am

you should join this group and post this question there too.

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Permalink Reply by Karen McCallum on August 27, 2010 at 10:55am

Hi there. My daughter just got engaged so we're going through a similar process. Budget limits the choices and the winter date eliminates a lot of possibilities.

The Anderson-Abruzzo Balloon Museum does weddings. If you've never been to an event there, you should check it out. Their meeting facilities are really nice and they have a spectacular view. It isn't intimate, but it is unique. More like an unfinished loft.

This one is way out there but you never know. I used to work at Esparza Advertising, which is downtown at the NE corner of 5th and Copper. It's an old building which was a bank, and is now an advertising agency. It has private adjacent gated parking, and is definitely a modern loft type feel. I'm not sure how they would feel about renting it out for an event such as yours, but it's worth a phone call. 765-1505, and Del Esparza is the owner. If you're interested let me know and I'll send him a text to let him know you'll be in touch.

My future son-in-law's family is from Santa Fe. They wanted a venue which was easy to access from I-25. My daughter and fiance wanted a place which was welcoming and spiritual. We found both in El Zocalo, which is Sandoval County's tourism office. http://www.elzocaloplaza.com/ Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by hettie on September 22, 2010 at 11:16pm

we're getting married at the zocalo in a few weeks! the staff there are really great, gilbert in particular. one issue we've had, however, is that in order to serve alcohol, you're limited to one particular vendor, who we've had difficulty working with. another is that the max. number of guests is fairly small unless the weather is such that you're using the outdoor courtyard. that said, it's a really beautiful place (we're hardly decorating since the venue pretty much takes care of the "stunning" part) and we're kind of thrilled to get hitched there.

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Permalink Reply by hettie on September 22, 2010 at 11:17pm

also, slate street cafe are amazing caterers!

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Permalink Reply by Benny the Icepick on August 27, 2010 at 5:35pm

Frontier.

You'll be a youtube sensation at the very least.

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Permalink Reply by Juan of Los Primos on August 27, 2010 at 6:00pm

Congratulations! I've got a list of wedding venues in both Santa Fe and Albuquerque on my website. There are links to the venues websites as well. Small and intimate can be the very best. Good Luck! Here's the link, just scroll down to the bottom of the page:
http://www.theserenata.com/weddings.htm

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Permalink Reply by Bianca on August 27, 2010 at 6:01pm

To find a private home, have you tried vacation rental sites, like vrbo.com or homeaway.com? The latter has much better interface, but the former has much more inventory. For example, how about http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p281434 ? Does that even come close to what you're looking for? Lots of these places will likely agree to rent for an event, even though they list weekly rates.

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Permalink Reply by Bianca on August 27, 2010 at 8:25pm

There was a recent question (well, spring, I guess) very similar to yours -- looking for an "unusual" sweet sixteen party location. You can read the suggestions here:
http://www.dukecityfix.com/forum/topics/sweet-sixteen-party-location

The winner ended up being:
http://www.fillingstationabq.com/About_the_Space.html

This might work for you -- holds 99 people.

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Permalink Reply by Daena Kei on August 27, 2010 at 11:43pm

This is my first time using this website and I am beyond appreciative and so thankful for everyone' suggestion. Thank you a million time over. All these are wonderful ideas and now have a place to start as I was just going around in circles before!!

Thank you so incredibly much!!!

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Permalink Reply by AriesSweet on August 28, 2010 at 10:32am

My boyfriend's niece just got married at the Hispanic Cultural Center. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception and well put together and catered. They too were on a small budget and found it to be one of the most reasonably priced venues for a small guest list like yours. It was a beautiful wedding and a great experience.

Also if you decide destination north of Madrid in Cerillos there is Hacienda de Andrea bed and breakfast the specializes in weddings too. It's beautiful up there. Check out the bride blogs on their website.
http://www.hdasantafe.com/

Congratulations and good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Kyle Zimmerman on August 28, 2010 at 5:07pm

I'm a photographer and have shot beautiful weddings at Hyde Park Lodge in Santa Fe.
It is beautiful, and weather permitting you have a gorgeous outdoor are too.
Very very reasonable I'm sure!
Also try Zinc Restaurant in Albuquerque.

http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/PRD/HydeParkLodgeimages.htm