Venue Tour Round 1: Martins Hunt Valley

Okay, so as I have mentioned, I am not a fan of the Martin's facilities. But since this one was brand new, we decided to check it out, mostly because it allows outside caterers. We went on 2/19 at night.

Let me point this out: If we go with Russian catering we WILL NOT go with Martin's, because it is WAY too expensive to rent the facility and the caterer together. It will knock out 3/4 of our budget, if not more.

And frankly, if we don't go with Russian catering, I don't want Martin's either, lol. We'll see how all of this pans out...

Anyway...I've posted a slideshow of our Martin's tour below. Here is the PRO/CON list:

Pros:
+Large, open lobby
+Nice crown molding on walls
+Nice floors in the ballrooms
+Nice bridal suite
+Well lit
+GREAT bathrooms: well lit, new, clean, and super big
+Everything is new, clean
+Full kitchen, tables, chairs provided
+All-inclusive service. They will set up, set tables, serve, clean, tear down, and man the bar.

Cons:
-Tacky! Hideous carpet, terrible chandeliers, staircase, and Roman pillar murals on walls in the ballrooms
-Um...it is directly attached to a GYM in a stripmall. Yep. A gym. Random! And kinda tacky.
-We have to share the venue. I really am not into that. We pretty much cannot have our wedding Saturday night. This is because it is crowded with other weddings, and we'd basically have other people around while taking pictures, ceremony, etc. Sundays are supposedly better, slower. I've been to other events where it was a shared venue, and you get loud music through the walls interrupting your first dance, and drunk---really drunk-- guests from other weddings running into you----NO THANK YOU.
-Price. Even though they do everything for you, it may be possible and cheaper to get the caterer to help with serving, etc. and hire a "day-of" wedding planner. This would require research.
-The saleswoman. OH LORD, this woman was so loud and in your face, frankly, I'm pretty sure our tour was the last time I could tolerate her. Ugh. I mean, she was really nice, but not my cup of tea. At least the Scottish Rite people were calm, soft spoken, and pleasant.

Well, here is the slide show, see for yourself!
Click here to go directly to slideshow