Venues, Venues, Venues LA

After searching and searching through the wedding websites, I narrowed down the venues based on the following criteria:

1) a venue that can hold 150-200 guests for a sit-down reception
2) a venue that can do both the ceremony and reception on site
3) cheapest and nicest venue for the amount of people we are having

Here's a short list of event spaces in Los Angeles:

Vibiana:

Vibiana is an old converted church in Downtown Los Angeles with high ceilings and hard wood floors (great for dancing!).  It also has a beautiful outdoor patio that would be perfect for an outdoor ceremony and lounge area.

The space rental is about $9,000.  You have to bring in or use their preferred vendors for catering, lighting, rentals (tables, chairs, etc.), linens.  And, provide valet/transportation.  Vibiana also has a event shut-down time, so be sure to check out what time you have to close your party down.

Marvimon and The SmogShoppe: 

SmogShoppe

These are two different venues with outdoor and indoor accommodations.  Both have a sort of industrial, contemporary feel to them. They are contracted on a 12-hour rental period that can go until 2 am.  And both run about $11,000 for the a site fee that includes valet, site management, trash, kitchen rental, and furniture set-up.

Marvimon

Marvimon is located near Chinatown in Los Angeles.  It used to be an auto showroom an has since been converted into a loft-style event space. The space includes a private bridal suite and free valet parking.  You will need to bring in caterers, rentals, liquor, lighting.

The Smogshoppe was once a real smog-check auto shop.  Located in Culver City, this converted car shop is now a premier eco-freindly event space.

The Sky Loft:

SkyLoft

This a two-level penthouse overlooking Downtown L.A.  It features a kitchen for caterers and both indoor and outdoor event space.  The starting price for the space is $10,300.  This does not include catering, lighting, rentals, linens, or liquor.


Oviatt Penthouse:

This Downtown Los Angeles venue has a really nice Spanish style patio and is run by Truly Yours Catering Company.  While catering is not included in the initial site fee, it is offered.  The starting price for the event space is around $5,000.

Ebell

The Ebell, Los Angeles: 
This venue is located at mid-Wilshire.  It has high ceilings and hard wood floors, and a garden in the center of the event space.  You can rent out the entire first floor, which includes two big ballrooms, the garden and patio, and a bridal suite.  The Ebell offers catering, lighting, rentals, liquor, and valet for about $40,000.  They're alcohol license does require them to stop serving at 11:30 p.m., which means that events tend to shut down at around midnight.


The Luxe Hotel:

The Luxe

This is a small boutique hotel located above Sunset Blvd. in Bel Air.  It's idea for a smaller wedding and has a lot of outdoor reception and ceremony accommodations.   Contact the hotel for pricing because they offer different wedding packages that include: event space for reception and ceremony, rentals, liquor, catering, hotel rooms, spa treatments, dance floor, cake, preferred room rates for your guests.

The Beverly Hilton:

This venue is an old BH haunt.  Depending on the size of your party, there are quite a few options at the hotel.  For the 150-200 count, there is a rooftop that includes an open air patio and indoor ballroom with floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides.  These areas are used for the ceremony and cocktail hour (or reception if you're under 130 guests).  There's also a small ballroom located on the lobby level for a banquet reception if you're closer to the 150-200 mark.  The hotel offers a number of different wedding packages, which include: hors d'oeuvres, dinner, open bar, rentals, hotel rooms, bridal suite, and cake.