Sun Valley Banquet Center was one of the first places that we visited. It was kind of in the middle of no where in Chagrin Falls. We really liked the owner a lot at the venue. He was very nice and allowed a lot of nice options that we liked. We got a really good feel from him, and we loved the location. The grounds were stunning with a beautiful lake and gazebo. We were actually considering having our ceremony and reception there. However, in the end the drive was over an hour away and it just didn't make sense to bring our families all the way out there. So we decided to look for other options.
Galaxy Banquet Center was the place that I was almost convinced we were going to go with. I really liked that they had a hotel almost on property and I really liked from the pictures what the place looked like. When we got there we went on a tour, and the one thing that I remember us not liking was that the patio was completely removed and away from everyone. We had just gone to Bridget's wedding and we knew that a lot of Cody's family likes to smoke so we didn't like that option. Also they are a big prom place and I feel like they didn't really have our date available. We were really thinking about using this place though, and in the end I'm not 100% sure why we didn't. Probably the fact that I really loved Carrie Cerino's... but more on that in a second.
We also looked at numerous hotel venues. We knew that a lot of people were going to be coming from out of state and we thought it would be really convenient to have our wedding at a hotel. Cody and I were both really into this idea at first. The problem was that most hotels didn't look that great, and their menu and alcohol options were not that good. They were also extremely pricey for what they gave you. In the end, Cody and I decided that it wasn't a good value for us and decided against a hotel. The alcohol package was really important to Cody. He wanted to have a good open bar with a lot of selections on it, and having our wedding at a hotel just didn't align with that.
I have to say when we first started looking into venues I went on theknot.com and I saw that Carrie Cerino's was a wedding venue, and it just had an instant attraction for me. Carrie Cerino's is not even 5 minutes away from our house, and it is a restaurant with really good food. I really liked the idea of having "our place: that we could go back to in the future and celebrate anniversaries or eat the same food at our wedding. All of the other venues that we went to were only venues. The only time that we would have really got to go there would have been on our wedding day. I loved the idea that we could go right down the road to Carrie Cerino's whenever we wanted to. So even before we looked at their menu or saw the hall I already had a feeling of longing to have our reception there.
Once we started looking into it more, I really liked their menu options and the amount of food that they gave you. They also have an alcohol policy where you can pick whatever alcohol you would like to be served at the wedding. They also charge you based on what you consume or at a maximum amount whichever comes first. This was unique because not a lot of places offered this option.
When we went into their ballroom, I was stunned by their beautiful crystal chandeliers. It looked so beautiful and I knew that Carrie Cerino's was probably going to be the place that we would select. They also had really pretty centerpieces that they allowed you to use, and I instantly loved the vases when I saw them. I wasn't so sure about their flowers that came with the centerpieces at first, but they grew on me.
The only reason why we didn't immediately pick Carrie Cerino's was because there are not any hotels near by. Everyone has to drive at least 20 minutes to get to the closest hotels. That wasn't ideal for us, but in the end we felt that Carrie Cerino's was the right place for us. When we went to the bridal showers all the other vendors said how nice Carrie Cerino's was and how good of food that they have. So we are pretty excited about having our reception there. We bought an uplighting package from our DJ and I'm really excited to see how everything comes together.
