Best of Utah Wedding Vendors: White Willow
[intro]Utah has so many amazing wedding vendors! Each Wednesday we feature one. This week we interviewed Chris, owner of White Willow Reception Center. We’re so excited for you read all about their services and the tips White Willow has to offer:[/intro]1. Tell us a little about your business.
White Willow Reception Center is located in the Historic T.N.T. Mansion House in Provo. We have been in business for over 15 years and offer a venue that is unique within the entire state of Utah. We offer elegance and charm at affordable prices. We also don’t like to nickel and dime our clients by charging extra for tables, chairs and table clothes. We also include any of the decorations that the mansion house has for your use. You should be able to leave our venue feeling like you got the deal of the century and were treated like royalty.
2. How far in advance should a bride start looking for a venue?
A bride should start looking for a venue as soon as the engagement is official and sometimes before. Things can book up fast and certain dates are filled up months in advance, sometimes years.
A bride should start looking for a venue as soon as the engagement is official and sometimes before. Things can book up fast and certain dates are filled up months in advance, sometimes years.
3. When should she book her wedding/reception venue by?
If you can book a venue out by six months then you should have the date you want. After that you might need to be flexible. But, there have been brides that have booked their weddings a few weeks ahead of time but they had to be flexible with times and dates.
If you can book a venue out by six months then you should have the date you want. After that you might need to be flexible. But, there have been brides that have booked their weddings a few weeks ahead of time but they had to be flexible with times and dates.
4. What price does booking your venue start at for an event or wedding?
Daytime hourly rate for luncheons is $100 an hour, for a dinner $150 an hour. Ceremonies are $300. If you want a reception it can vary between $750 and $2000 depending on time of day and time of year.
Daytime hourly rate for luncheons is $100 an hour, for a dinner $150 an hour. Ceremonies are $300. If you want a reception it can vary between $750 and $2000 depending on time of day and time of year.
5. What’s the most important thing to consider when selecting a wedding/reception location?
The most important thing to consider when selecting a venue is probably the people you’re hiring to take care of you. Most venues are beautiful, but you need to look at the level of service offered by the venue you hire. On the day of your wedding you will remember everything that went wrong or wasn’t what you expected and you’ll remember it for a long time. But because things can happen, you need to make sure the people you’ve surrounded yourself with will go out of their way to smooth things out and happily serve you and your guests.
The most important thing to consider when selecting a venue is probably the people you’re hiring to take care of you. Most venues are beautiful, but you need to look at the level of service offered by the venue you hire. On the day of your wedding you will remember everything that went wrong or wasn’t what you expected and you’ll remember it for a long time. But because things can happen, you need to make sure the people you’ve surrounded yourself with will go out of their way to smooth things out and happily serve you and your guests.
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6. Do clients need to be members of the venue (country club or private clubs) to have a wedding or event at your location?
Clients don’t need a membership to book with us.
7. How many weddings do you booked on the bride’s day?
We have daytime and evening events. There can be one more event booked on the brides day, unless they want to pay an additional $375 to reserve the entire day.
We have daytime and evening events. There can be one more event booked on the brides day, unless they want to pay an additional $375 to reserve the entire day.
8. Who’s in charge of venue services like valet parking, setup and taking down decor?
Our staff is in charge of set up and take down. We do not offer valet parking because our parking lot is right on site. The only time a client would be responsible for take down or set up is if they brought some of their own décor to add to ours.
Our staff is in charge of set up and take down. We do not offer valet parking because our parking lot is right on site. The only time a client would be responsible for take down or set up is if they brought some of their own décor to add to ours.
9. What are the latest trends you’ve seen for decorating your venue?
The latest trends include fresh flowers. Brides really like to have luxurious florals. The other trend has been an increase in food that has a little more flavor. That’s one of the reasons that we are adding more choices to our menu.
The latest trends include fresh flowers. Brides really like to have luxurious florals. The other trend has been an increase in food that has a little more flavor. That’s one of the reasons that we are adding more choices to our menu.
10. Do you allow alcohol and open flames?
We don’t allow alcohol. We don’t have a license for it. We do allow open flames, but go over where they will be with the bride.
We don’t allow alcohol. We don’t have a license for it. We do allow open flames, but go over where they will be with the bride.
11. Any other tips you’d like to share with our brides?
Be smart when you look at venues and use your calculator. Adding linens and decorations to your venue budget adds up quickly. You need to figure in your total cost at a venue not just the facility fee. I know that brides have walked out of White Willow paying less than $3000 for a reception that served over 300 people. That included flowers and food, set up and clean up.
photo credit: Moxie Photography
taken: White Willow Reception Center, 342 N 500 W, Provo Utah 84601
