Having a budget in south florida can be a bit of a challenge. Additionally, it can be very frustrating emailing countless hotels and venues, trying to get prices, and schedule view...ings of their properties. Since the majority of our family would be traveling from out of town we knew that a hotel wedding would be the most convenient option for our guests. Although we didnt want a "beach wedding" we did like the idea of having a venue on the water to showcase the fact that we were in south florida, and not just any hotel conference room. The Newport advertised their $60 wedding package and it seemed to good to be true. It was somewhat difficult to find reviews for their weddings, and the hotel's reviews gave us reason to be skeptical. Still, the price fit our budget, the venue had beach or poolside (overlooking the beach) ceremonies, and above average rooms for the reception to be held. Although the public aspect of this space will not be for some people, it was nice to have the opportunity to view other weddings that were being held at the Newport, and this helped with our decision to sign the contract with them. Based on some of the reviews of the hotel we still were mindful of potential hidden fees, and unforeseen additional costs, but in the end their pricing was true to what we agreed to, and they had the flexibility for us to add on to our basic package (e.g. extra hour for the open bar, and upgrade to colored napkins and chiavary chairs). There were a few minor hiccups along the way, but their entire catering staff was quick to help each other out, and on the day of, they helped keep me sane!
We knew that we wanted the convince of hosting all of our events at one location, but we underestimated the value of having a catering team to help with all of the finer details. The best reward was seeing and hearing how impressed our guests were the entire night!