vendor reviews: reception locations

Bingemans still a top local reception choice in the hearts of brides after 50 years of weddings

Reviewing Doris Hauck, Account Manager, Bingemans

Bingemans has got to be one of the most recognized names in K-W's wedding industry. This name easily and repeatedly makes it onto the 'short list' of top reception halls. With your Bingemans wedding reception, you don't have to worry about anything - not the service, the quality of food or the details. Fifty years in the business of catering 'grand events' can show you that.

Brides and wedding experts all over K-W give glowing reviews on Bingemans' Wedding Specialist, Doris Hauck. Corporate policy seems to provide brides with what they want and expect, and didn't even know they needed. If Bingemans doesn't regularly provide a service you need, they've likely got close ties with those who do (through reputation and their Wedding Dreams shows). In a nutshell, you're taken care of, and then some.

It's the Bingemans reception halls that brought us to our third and final interview with wedding veteran, Doris Hauck. We have a ton of questions for her (as always!), but of those, we wanted to find out why brides choose to have their weddings at Bingemans and what makes Bingemans different. Doris gave us the tour, the answers we wanted, and more.

Take your pick

With six banquet rooms on the Bingemans property, you can invite ten or a thousand guests to a Bingemans wedding. Each room has a different capacity and decor, giving you the option of an English pub or grand gala ballroom atmosphere. With all of the available options, details, colours, prices, etc. We've taken a good look around with Doris, and are going to tell you what we thought was cool or important about these rooms. Let's break it down...

Marshall Hall | This room is really a 'hall' because of it's gigantic size. It could hold the biggest of wedding or corporate events. For two days every October, this one room holds an entire bridal show with hundreds of exhibits and brides. Most popularly used for large ethnic weddings, this hall has 13 foot ceilings.

Capacity: 1,800

Colour Scheme: Mix of browns and yellows

Size: 20,000 square feet of open space

Rental fee: $600 to $1500

The Heritage Room | This room is found beside Marshall Hall, and is the newest room to be added to Bingemans list of event options (it has always been considered a part of Marshall Hall). It can hold approximately 100 people and has great pot lights and off-white globe lights. Decor is neutral except for the blue carpet that you wouldn't really notice once tables and chairs are set up.

Capacity: approximately 100

Rental Fee: $250

The Ballroom | We loved this room because The Ballroom has the decor and atmosphere you'd want for an elegant wedding. It is tasteful, elegant, and up-to-date. Guests get to pass through the newly redecorated foyer entrance for their 'grand entrance' or cocktail hour. Doris said that some couples use the foyer as a separate area for a bar. The Ballroom has a nice, big hardwood dance floor. One thing that is cool about this room is that there is no stage to focus on. Brides can organize their space in whichever way they like, putting their head table wherever their hearts desire! The Ballroom is also very large but can be altered in size with moveable walls, to make the large space more intimate, if needed.

Capacity: customizable

Decor: Elegant, tasteful, pale walls with pastel splashes that wouldn't interfere with wedding colours or decorations

Size: 15,000 square feet (if using entire space), 14 foot ceilings

Rental fee: $600 to $1500

Embassy Room | The Ring visited this room when it was empty and then when it was set up for a wedding. This is our very favourite of all the halls on the property! Crystal chandeliers, wall-to-wall windows for lots of light, two marble fireplaces, large dance floor, pot lights (our favourite!), lattice arbor at main entrance, crystal wall sconces, great price, and it's only ten steps from Pavilion ceremony spot for an outdoor wedding... Need we say more?!

Capacity: up to 240 - 280 comfortably

Decor: Pale yellow and cream colours

Size: 7200 square feet

Rental Fee: $900

Berkley Room | This is the smaller, English pub or tavern style banquet room, most often used for weddings of 50 to 100 people (including the wedding party). There is tons of dark wood in this room and in it's built-in bar. Additional accents are either in black wrought iron or bronze, from wall sconces to chandeliers - rich, dark colours. Doris says, "We most often decorate the Berkley with trees and twinkle lights, and it looks quite nice. The room gets a intimate, romantic feel to it."

Capacity: up to 100 people

Rental Fee: $250

The Phillip Room | The Phillip Room is most often used for small weddings (40 people or less), anniversaries or birthday parties. Here, you seat all of your guests around one very large table, together. This is for a casual, small get-together.

Capacity: 40 people

Rental Fee: $150

Ceremony options

Bingemans has the space and supplies required to host wedding ceremonies inside or outside. There are several options to choose from. One idea would be to have your ceremony in your banquet room, and while hosting a cocktail hour in the expansive lobby, the bridal party can wander off to do photos as Bingemans wanders in to tear down the ceremony and set up your reception. Another great idea is to use 'The Pavilion' area, which is a brand new outdoor ceremony area designed specifically to offer an risk-free natural wedding ceremony for brides in Kitchener and area. Either way, there's no need to run.

A taste of your reception menu

Bingemans can do Reception Stations, Reception Trays, Canapés and Hors D'oeuvres, Seated Dinners with several courses, and of course, full Dinner Buffets. Because catering is so in-depth, pricing is all over the board. You'll pay anywhere between $7.95 per person for a Pasta Station and $23.95 for the 'Royal Buffet' and all the fixin's... Menus include a variety of delicious foods that range from Garlic & Butter Sauteed Shrimp and Make your Own Pastas to Poached Asparagus Tips, Classic Bruschetta, and Roast Beef Dinners. It's all here, and the recipes have been put to work for decades. Our point? It's all good, and it's all within most wedding budgets.

Why brides choose Bingemans

Many of Bingemans' brides come to them because of their reputation and name recognition, or because they offer a lot of different options on price, banquet room size and style, all in one place. Brides also come for Doris. Many brides have told The Ring that Doris was an awesome help with their wedding, that she takes extra care to make sure no details goes awry or gets missed.

Included in all banquet room rentals is the set-up and take-down of the entire production, unlimited consultations with Doris Hauck, audio equipment such as a podiums for speeches and microphones. If there's anything you don't have, they can provide it for you. This is your big named reception hall opportunity without the high budget requirement to go with it. Bingemans is a household name for good reason.

To investigate for yourself

Contact Doris Hauck at Bingemans at 519-744-1555 (extension 2229). You can email Doris a dhauck@bingemans.com. If you're web-savvy, check out the Bingemans website at www.bingemans.com. Tell them you're from The Ring!

- Jennifer Goulden, theweddingring.ca

*prices are all approximate and are subject to change and verification by authorized staff and management of the Bingemans™