The final location!

The last place Billy and I looked at was actually a last minute decision. I was tooling around on the 'net after looking at the other three contenders and miraculously found another place that could do ceremonies and receptions (allegedly): the Doubletree Hotel in Holland. So I called them up and, even though it was a little last-minute, they agreed to meet with us the next morning.

We met with Amanda, the event coordinator, and while she wasn't quite as exuberant as our guide through DeVos Place, she was certainly more of a salesperson than some of the other people we'd spoken with. She sat us down with a portfolio of previous weddings they had worked on (only receptions, it looked like), so we could see the different buffet spreads and decoration options. Then we went on a tour to get an idea of spaces. She was really excited when I told her that we were looking to do 100-120 guests; if we could keep our guest list closer to 100 it meant we could use her favorite ballroom space that's usually overlooked for weddings because everyone has huge guest lists.

First we checked out the smaller ballroom(s) that would be used for the actual ceremony. They were simple, meeting-room-esque. Nothing fancy about them, but I thought we could make it work.

Then we went to the ballroom. And here's where I was sold. The ballroom is a funky, asymmetrical space, with a nice little "stage" area where we'll set up the head table (I certainly don't have any stage fright issues, and neither does the rest of the bridal party). There's a decent sized dance floor in one corner, an adjacent room for setting up the buffet tables, and we get to maximize our use of the space because, unlike some of the other ballrooms, we won't have to use a portable bar. Why? Because upstairs from the ballroom is Coaster's Lounge


(Source)

Normally open to everyone at the hotel, it's going to be closed off for the wedding. Here's where everyone can get their drinks AND our smoking friends can go up there for a smoke and still be part of the party atmosphere since it's a balcony style set up where you can stand in the lounge and overlook the party below.

Billy and I left feeling pretty good about the Doubletree. Our ceremony and reception would be held about ten yards apart, which was just the traveling distance we were looking for (there's also an additional bar set up in between the two locations, which we're going to have use of as well so everyone can get their drink on as soon as the ceremony's done). We had a few reservations (chief among Billy's: the entire time we were there, Amanda directed 99% of the conversation at me, and never even asked Billy's name!) initially, but the price and accommodations seemed right, so we decided to stop our search and look into actually booking the hotel.

Oh, if it were only so simple!=