Response from the couple:
Hi, Juanita...
Hotel Albuquerque is an awesome hotel and the wedding coordinator, Jenaya Hakeem was extremely professional and easy to work with.
We were married in the chapel and held our reception in the Fireplace Room. Depending on the size of your wedding, will determine if the Fireplace Room will work. Our wedding was small compared to most people's wedding's today. There were 42 people (counting myself and the groom). The room was perfect for this size.
The only thing I caution to you is that Hotel Albuquerque books several weddings and events, so you could run the chance of another wedding being booked in the outdoor pavilion, which is directly outside of the Fireplace Room and between the FP Room and the Chapel. On our wedding day, another event did get booked in the Pavilion, luckily, it was a business event, not another wedding. I do not know about you, but I was not interested in sharing the spot light of my wedding as a backdrop to another wedding, visa-versa.
The catering staff was excellent and the food was delicious. For the price, I highly recommend it.
Please let me know if this helped. If you have other questions, let me know. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding.
~Chaz~
Response:
Thank you so much! sorry it took so long to respond. I really appreciate all the details you offered. We did sign the contract and we are both very excited. We know there is an outdoor event that evening, but what i'm most concerned with are people coming in and out of the swimming pool because the gate is near the fountain. about half of our guests are from out of town, so i'm booking the rooms now, 11 months in advance. Just one more big wedding that same weekend will fill up the hotel, so i want to get them early.
again thanks so much, your words are giving me more confidence.
Juanita
Response from the couple:
Juanita:
Sorry for the delay in responding. When is your wedding date? Ours was in late September, so I never even thought about the pool, and honestly, we never noticed any one around the fountain, because it's enclosed near the chapel. In fact, we felt pretty secluded in that particular area. Where we felt the most exposed to intrusion was the actual outdoor pavilion and the sidewalks on either side. Once the sun completely set, we didn't even notice the event that was taking place in the pavilion area, and maybe it was because of how I did the decor in the Fireplace room, because I made my own centerpieces that utilized those battery-operated LCD lights, and they changed colors randomly throughout the evening. It made the room very relaxing. Plus, the DJ company that we hired, brought lighting in as well, so there was a mirror ball, which also created distractions to anything going on outside.
The two side patios to the Fireplace room was where my guests stepped outside for smoking, so I initially worried about that and the what was taking place in the outdoor pavilion.
Do you know what type of outdoor event is booked on your wedding day and what time it is scheduled to run to? I would check these details with your wedding coordinator.
Also, will you be doing a sit-down or a buffet? The side room to the Fireplace room was where the bar was set up. This is a room where that they usually use for a buffet station, but you should check with your coordinator if you're going to have a sit-down for the bar, and possibly anything else you may want to use it for.
Good luck with your planning, Juanita.
~Chaz~
Response:
Our date is july 9 2011. It seems as though, this is the only entrance to the pool, unless they have an underground tunnel. It would be strange to make people walk through the lobby and across the lawn though. In reading all the reviews, i've never heard a complaint about pool people though.
I'm thinking I would like the sit-down dinner since its pretty much the same price. We rented the Franciscan because we will have 100 guests and the fireplace room isn't big enough. I wasn't too worried about different parties mixing, but the hotel seemed more worried than I was. They stressed several times not to let my guests wander into the pavillion. I said, most likely not if they dont recognize anyone there! I just dont want that party taking over the fountain, because thats our spot. I'm not against putting some signs up to direct our guests into the fountain and note the boundaries.
thank you for this information. Also I noticed you used the best western rio grande for some guests. How did that work out?
Juanita
Response from the couple:
I actually did not end using the Best Western for any of the out-of-town guests because it was too difficult trying to work out a room block with them. The guests that did come in from the east stayed at an Extended Stay hotel in Rio Rancho, which was much closer to where we live, so that worked out better. They rented a car and I took the entire week off from work prior to my wedding to handle all of the last minute details.
You shouldn't have any issue with the fountain. Your photographer should be the "bad guy" to keep people out of that spot, or even Jenaya, the wedding coordinator. I'd simply tell her your concern. Since you'll only be in the chapel for a couple of hours, it shouldn't be a problem. The fountain is really great for photos before and after the ceremony, but once the ceremony starts, that will be the furthest thing from your mind. Plus, the fountain is inside the patio of the chapel, so I'm still trying to figure out why guests would cut through there to get to and from the pool. I never saw any one when we got married, so I'm not sure.
Hope that this helps. Your final count down (since it's less than a year away now) is officially beginning. Good luck!
~Chaz~
Response:
LOL I love that "final countdown" that is so true, this is so crazy!!!
you have been extremely helpful, i really appreciate all the info and your time.
I'm working on the save the date cards now and I have to finish compiling my addresses so i can mail them as soon as they come in. My fiance said, "october? what were we thinking?"
thanks so much and best wishes to you and your husband
Juanita
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