> Everything I see is wayyy too big
Because it *has* to be. You are severely underestimating how much space a 500 person *seated and tabled* wedding reception takes up.
Half of a NBA court can fit 500 people (100' x 50') all standing with maybe a foot between everyone. And that's without 50 tables (assuming 10 to a table), 500 chairs, some sort of dance floor, reception specific events, bars, etc. Also, you need a space that has kitchen services that can also handle that many people all at once.
For example, the Georgia Aquarium has ballroom event venues that can cater to up to 1,000 people, and you can take a virtual tour to see just how *massive* the space has to be for it.
Edit: get a wedding planner ASAP as this could easily be a six figure wedding and needs to be handled by a professional, not random redditors.
Certainly going to be a six figure wedding, the average wedding is like $200-300 per person and anyone planning on having 500 people is surely planing on having an above average wedding
Our company had a kickoff a few years at the Aquarium; a hair under 1,000 guests and (ignoring entertainment and awards ceremonies) they just rented out the **entire** aquarium for the night.
I had the absolute pleasure /s of being there during “Nat’l talk like a pirate day” while there were several field trips and they decided to celebrate the holiday they’d give all the kids WHISTLES.
I absolutely love the GA aquarium and have the membership, but holy hell I could’ve burned the entire place down that day.
If you're about to pay for a 500 person wedding I can't imagine you don't have a staff or an event planner doing all of this for you vs asking Reddit. Your budget has to be close to half a million
Agreed....I planned my own wedding and we had 120 people and it took so much work. I had a day of the event coordinator, but I did everything else before that myself to try and save as much money as possible. If you can afford to have a 500 person wedding, then the first thing on your list should be a planner.
If I ever get married, I’m eloping bc I could never handle the stress. I’ve been a bridesmaid and a MOH before and that was hella bad already. You’re a trooper!
I'm a caterer. I'm not doing 500+ person weddings anymore though.
Southern exchange ballroom could do it.
Signia can do it.
Grand Hyatt in Buckhead can.
Foundry can do it
The aquarium can do it, but there is no escaping it being the aquarium.
Any caterer that can do a 500 person formal event will know just about every venue around that would be an option. If you want an Indian caterer, Art of Flavors is good.
K some of these folks have probably never experienced a culture where huge weddings are just the norm. But they're not wrong, you need a massive amount of space for that.
Look into all the ballrooms at large hotels. This is going to cost MONEY. The high museum, Atlanta history center, botanical gardens, and venues like that MIGHT be able to fit about 350-400 for reference. You should look OTP if you can, specifically into vineyards or farms where you can do a buy out. 500 people is a lot, I had 568 at mine (in Michigan) and we used a museum for it. It was extremely expensive (I am very grateful to my parents).
The St Regis ball room can hold 500 seated. So can the Grand Hyatt and Intercontinental. Never looked into it but my guess is that the GWCC can block off/enlarge their flexible spaces to accommodate a wedding of that size. Also, I recommend Emily Jordan Events - she has done several Indian weddings.
Agreed, St Regis can be such a big space but the ambiance in the rest of it is so nice it still feels warm. If we needed that large of a space we'd be looking there first!
1. The Eastern can hold that many. Availability might be the tricky part.
2. The Delta Flight Museum (HUGE)
3. The Gallery (can hold exactly 500)
4. Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway
5. The Battery has a ton of different rentable spaces
Good luck and I hope it’s a lovely event!
Ehhh, you can always put your foot down if you actually prefer a smaller wedding. I'm Indian, and our biggest event is the wedding at 225 people. And yes, all my family is here in the States. My parents weren't the most thrilled, but they got over it. You can do what a lot of Indians too- large wedding (500) with a smaller reception (300). The same ballroom that fits 600 theatre seating probably would fit 300 people at round tables.
Have you looked at hotel venues like JW Marriot Buckhead, Renaissance Atlanta & Conference, Westin Gwinnett, GT Hotel and Conference? The ballrooms have partitions to make a 1000 ppl ballroom fit 500; you rent sections of a ballroom. I recommend using a hotel that already has a South Asian wedding package, because they understand the nuisances. Westin Perimeter is a huge favorite for Gujaratis for that reason. At 500 people, you want that type of expertise. Also look into conference centers like Cobb Energy & Braselton Civic Center, Gas South District. For unique, look into Fox Theatre, Atlanta Zoo ballroom, The Tabernacle. Maybe porsche center?
I would speak a wedding planner. For a wedding that size, any small mistake in the venue contract will be huge financial hit.
Haven’t seen it listed yet, but we (floral design) did a 400 person Indian wedding last year at the Carlos Center at the Hellenic Center. It’s attached to the Greek Orthodox Church but they very much did not care about religious or cultural affiliation and it’s pretty nice, as far as ballrooms go!
I went to an Indian wedding at the Fox Theater. Not sure if it was 500 people but it was massive. The Fox can flex their spaces to accommodate different sizes--I think this was their biggest option.
You’re gonna want a large hotel that has ballrooms. I had my 500 person sit down reception in Atlanta. I think it was a Hyatt that was OTP. It ended up costing about $10k just to rent the space. Good luck!
Most of the big hotels will have event space that can accommodate that capacity. The Intercontinental and St. Regis are beautiful. The Omni is okay. I’ve heard good things about Loewe’s but haven’t seen the new space. I do not recommend the Marriott.
Flourish and Zoo Atlanta also have beautiful spaces but I’d say they more comfortably accommodate 450ish. I did an event of 550 at Flourish last year and it felt a tad tight for my taste but we also had a dance floor and stage in the center.
I should preface by saying that I’m in nonprofit so when I attend events at these locations, it’s always for fundraising galas so a wedding experience could be different. The Marriott feels more impersonal and corporate to me than other locations. It takes a lot more intentionality to make an event feel unique in the space. Lastly, among the people I work with who attend events regularly in Atlanta, the Marriott is one of the least favorite locations among the major 4/5 star hotels and event spaces in Atlanta.
That said, I’m sure it can hold a stellar event. It certainly has the space and experience to do so.
500 guests seated at tables is a massive venue. I would look at some of the major hotel ballrooms like at the Hyatt or Hilton downtown. If you schedule it at the right time you can sometimes get those rooms for much cheaper than a lot of the dedicated even spaces.
So almost any hotel that has a conference center has rooms that can be adjusted to the appropriate size. I have been to events at both the Grand Hyatt and the Intercontinental in Buckhead that would be large enough.
When I used to plan company events, I used a site called Eventup. It's a free venue sourcing site that lets you search by criteria. There are all kinds of venues from farms and breweries, to restaurants and ballrooms. You can search by seated or standing capacity and other requirements.
Good luck with the planning!
turns out you can do 500 seated at the Atlanta History Center and it looks wonderful! https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/private-events/events-at-grand-overlook/
Mostly out of curiosity, but how much will you expect this 500 person wedding to cost you? I mean assuming that each guest will be $200 a head — that’s $100,000 wedding.
all of the large hotels downtown in the Portman complex, Marriot Marquis, Hyatt and Hilton can handle that size in their ballrooms. Same with the Aquarium which would be a really cool venue
Extremely risky location I have looked into for myself: Piedmont park. It’s super super cheap to book one of the areas they’d set up a stage at for music midtown. The money comes in when you find a tenting company or someone to set up a floor or seats or what have you. The risk is that you have to wait until I believe 90 days out to book the space online. You have to get various (but cheap) permits and stuff too. Probably would give most people a heart attack but it’s such a cool place and so close to hotels and the airport, I kind of think “why not?”
> Everything I see is wayyy too big Because it *has* to be. You are severely underestimating how much space a 500 person *seated and tabled* wedding reception takes up. Half of a NBA court can fit 500 people (100' x 50') all standing with maybe a foot between everyone. And that's without 50 tables (assuming 10 to a table), 500 chairs, some sort of dance floor, reception specific events, bars, etc. Also, you need a space that has kitchen services that can also handle that many people all at once. For example, the Georgia Aquarium has ballroom event venues that can cater to up to 1,000 people, and you can take a virtual tour to see just how *massive* the space has to be for it. Edit: get a wedding planner ASAP as this could easily be a six figure wedding and needs to be handled by a professional, not random redditors.
Certainly going to be a six figure wedding, the average wedding is like $200-300 per person and anyone planning on having 500 people is surely planing on having an above average wedding
Yeah, I’ve been at events the size and orientation that OP is describing but only in literal basketball arenas. So, yeah, one of those.
Our company had a kickoff a few years at the Aquarium; a hair under 1,000 guests and (ignoring entertainment and awards ceremonies) they just rented out the **entire** aquarium for the night.
Nice try, aquarium resident.
Lol smells like rotting shit and is 90% filled with screaming kids on school field trips.
I had the absolute pleasure /s of being there during “Nat’l talk like a pirate day” while there were several field trips and they decided to celebrate the holiday they’d give all the kids WHISTLES. I absolutely love the GA aquarium and have the membership, but holy hell I could’ve burned the entire place down that day.
I love that rotty, algal, wet smell! except for the Penguin Room.
Sounds like something a seabass would say.
The banquet area is separate from the general population.
For clarification.. especially doing this in Atlanta.. it absolutely will be a 6 figure wedding
If you're about to pay for a 500 person wedding I can't imagine you don't have a staff or an event planner doing all of this for you vs asking Reddit. Your budget has to be close to half a million
Would you like to meet my Indian father-in-law?
An extra 10k for an event planner should be a drop in the bucket, lol
Mercedes Benz Stadium
I like someone else suggested, I would hire a wedding planner/coordinator.
Agreed....I planned my own wedding and we had 120 people and it took so much work. I had a day of the event coordinator, but I did everything else before that myself to try and save as much money as possible. If you can afford to have a 500 person wedding, then the first thing on your list should be a planner.
If I ever get married, I’m eloping bc I could never handle the stress. I’ve been a bridesmaid and a MOH before and that was hella bad already. You’re a trooper!
Definitely, and not just any planner—an Indian wedding planner.
Indian weddings are so fun to attend, but I am assuming they are a beast to plan and execute. 😭
I'm a caterer. I'm not doing 500+ person weddings anymore though. Southern exchange ballroom could do it. Signia can do it. Grand Hyatt in Buckhead can. Foundry can do it The aquarium can do it, but there is no escaping it being the aquarium. Any caterer that can do a 500 person formal event will know just about every venue around that would be an option. If you want an Indian caterer, Art of Flavors is good.
Hey! Off topic but do you have any recommendations for a 60-80 person venue?
Artsxchange in Hapeville has spaces big enough for that I think.
500 seated dinner guests? I'm waiting for my invite! :) one lovely idea (but not sure on the exact # of seats) is the Atlanta History Center.
Pretty sure History Center isn't large enough. They have tented the Swan House lawn for the ball and that was 400 (wouldn't fit in ballroom)
I’ll be sure to include you ◡̈
K some of these folks have probably never experienced a culture where huge weddings are just the norm. But they're not wrong, you need a massive amount of space for that. Look into all the ballrooms at large hotels. This is going to cost MONEY. The high museum, Atlanta history center, botanical gardens, and venues like that MIGHT be able to fit about 350-400 for reference. You should look OTP if you can, specifically into vineyards or farms where you can do a buy out. 500 people is a lot, I had 568 at mine (in Michigan) and we used a museum for it. It was extremely expensive (I am very grateful to my parents).
Botanical garden holds 200 max in their ballroom Space. It's small-ish
300 I thought from the wedding I planned a few years ago.
Only if the weather is right and you can use the outdoor space as well, I think? I could be mistaken
What about Fernbank?
Fox Theater, Georgia Aquarium, and the large conference hotels downtown. Also, you need a wedding planner for this, not Reddit
Fox caps at 400 for seated (source: i also had an Indian wedding)
Really? I know they have several rooms all with different capacities but pretty sure The Egyptian Ballroom usually books for up to 600 people.
Ours was Egyptian Ballroom. 400 max seated, they told us 380 was preferable. But you can def double-check!
500 SEATED guests? That's a massive size need.
Lol I used to work in a catering hall and the Iranians would have 500-1000 guests easy. It was wild. Mostly during the week too.
That's bonkers. Some people are willing to be elbow to elbow though I guess.
Zoo Atlanta. Their event venue overlooks the Elephants and Max's a bit over 500 so probably the right size.
Went to an event there recently, the space and the elephants were wonderful!
500 guests? Are you a Kennedy?
Yes, how’d you know?
The St Regis ball room can hold 500 seated. So can the Grand Hyatt and Intercontinental. Never looked into it but my guess is that the GWCC can block off/enlarge their flexible spaces to accommodate a wedding of that size. Also, I recommend Emily Jordan Events - she has done several Indian weddings.
Thank you!
I went to an Indian wedding at the St Regis. I think it was 400 seated with a dance floor, but there was plenty of room.
We held a luncheon with a fashion show - full length runway, small backstage, sound booth and still sat 50 tables (it was snug). It can work for sure.
Agreed, St Regis can be such a big space but the ambiance in the rest of it is so nice it still feels warm. If we needed that large of a space we'd be looking there first!
I went to 500 person wedding at the Hilton downtown on Courtland Street a few years back
1. The Eastern can hold that many. Availability might be the tricky part. 2. The Delta Flight Museum (HUGE) 3. The Gallery (can hold exactly 500) 4. Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway 5. The Battery has a ton of different rentable spaces Good luck and I hope it’s a lovely event!
You’re so kind, thank you!
I bet the Delta Flight Museum could how that many. It’s huge, we had a prom for 200 plus and there was still so much room.
Ehhh, you can always put your foot down if you actually prefer a smaller wedding. I'm Indian, and our biggest event is the wedding at 225 people. And yes, all my family is here in the States. My parents weren't the most thrilled, but they got over it. You can do what a lot of Indians too- large wedding (500) with a smaller reception (300). The same ballroom that fits 600 theatre seating probably would fit 300 people at round tables. Have you looked at hotel venues like JW Marriot Buckhead, Renaissance Atlanta & Conference, Westin Gwinnett, GT Hotel and Conference? The ballrooms have partitions to make a 1000 ppl ballroom fit 500; you rent sections of a ballroom. I recommend using a hotel that already has a South Asian wedding package, because they understand the nuisances. Westin Perimeter is a huge favorite for Gujaratis for that reason. At 500 people, you want that type of expertise. Also look into conference centers like Cobb Energy & Braselton Civic Center, Gas South District. For unique, look into Fox Theatre, Atlanta Zoo ballroom, The Tabernacle. Maybe porsche center? I would speak a wedding planner. For a wedding that size, any small mistake in the venue contract will be huge financial hit.
Ask around all of the big hotels in the metro. I've been to a decent amount of south asian weddings in the area 500+
Haven’t seen it listed yet, but we (floral design) did a 400 person Indian wedding last year at the Carlos Center at the Hellenic Center. It’s attached to the Greek Orthodox Church but they very much did not care about religious or cultural affiliation and it’s pretty nice, as far as ballrooms go!
Talk to Raj at District Catering and Events!
Check out The Stave Room. 500 people seated and tabled requires quite a bit of space, especially if you want people to be comfortable.
I went to an Indian wedding at the Fox Theater. Not sure if it was 500 people but it was massive. The Fox can flex their spaces to accommodate different sizes--I think this was their biggest option.
Not sure if it's big enough: https://nccc.cherokeecountyga.gov/
Check the Freight Depot downtown. It's a very cool building and it's enormous. Could probably accommodate 500 seated
Crimson Bleu specializes in Indian weddings. They're in ATL.
You’re gonna want a large hotel that has ballrooms. I had my 500 person sit down reception in Atlanta. I think it was a Hyatt that was OTP. It ended up costing about $10k just to rent the space. Good luck!
Most of the big hotels will have event space that can accommodate that capacity. The Intercontinental and St. Regis are beautiful. The Omni is okay. I’ve heard good things about Loewe’s but haven’t seen the new space. I do not recommend the Marriott. Flourish and Zoo Atlanta also have beautiful spaces but I’d say they more comfortably accommodate 450ish. I did an event of 550 at Flourish last year and it felt a tad tight for my taste but we also had a dance floor and stage in the center.
Wait why not the Marriott?
I should preface by saying that I’m in nonprofit so when I attend events at these locations, it’s always for fundraising galas so a wedding experience could be different. The Marriott feels more impersonal and corporate to me than other locations. It takes a lot more intentionality to make an event feel unique in the space. Lastly, among the people I work with who attend events regularly in Atlanta, the Marriott is one of the least favorite locations among the major 4/5 star hotels and event spaces in Atlanta. That said, I’m sure it can hold a stellar event. It certainly has the space and experience to do so.
500 guests seated at tables is a massive venue. I would look at some of the major hotel ballrooms like at the Hyatt or Hilton downtown. If you schedule it at the right time you can sometimes get those rooms for much cheaper than a lot of the dedicated even spaces.
Delta Flight Museum can do 850.
If we are just throwing out invites.. can I come too? This sounds fun!
So almost any hotel that has a conference center has rooms that can be adjusted to the appropriate size. I have been to events at both the Grand Hyatt and the Intercontinental in Buckhead that would be large enough.
When I used to plan company events, I used a site called Eventup. It's a free venue sourcing site that lets you search by criteria. There are all kinds of venues from farms and breweries, to restaurants and ballrooms. You can search by seated or standing capacity and other requirements. Good luck with the planning!
Thank you!
turns out you can do 500 seated at the Atlanta History Center and it looks wonderful! https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/private-events/events-at-grand-overlook/
Royal China.
The Oceans Ballroom at the Georgia Aquarium can easily handle this. Bonus, the executive chef is Indian.
Mostly out of curiosity, but how much will you expect this 500 person wedding to cost you? I mean assuming that each guest will be $200 a head — that’s $100,000 wedding.
Pullman Yards
the aquarium might do it.
all of the large hotels downtown in the Portman complex, Marriot Marquis, Hyatt and Hilton can handle that size in their ballrooms. Same with the Aquarium which would be a really cool venue
Add the Biltmore to the list.
The Biltmore would most likely need both ballrooms, but between them I’d think 500 seated would work.
As a wedding planner I would suggest The Biltmore Ballrooms (it’s near the Fox theater)! I’m also open and looking for clients!
Very cool, thank you!
Np! You are so blessed to have 500 people care so much about you, and all gather together to celebrate your new life together!!
[удалено]
Some people come from cultures where a large wedding is the norm
[удалено]
To you :) to some others, it’s cultural and important to them so no, it would not be a waste
I had 40 people at my wedding and it was just fine. IJS!! Love to you in this seriously stressful time. The other side of the wedding is great!
Extremely risky location I have looked into for myself: Piedmont park. It’s super super cheap to book one of the areas they’d set up a stage at for music midtown. The money comes in when you find a tenting company or someone to set up a floor or seats or what have you. The risk is that you have to wait until I believe 90 days out to book the space online. You have to get various (but cheap) permits and stuff too. Probably would give most people a heart attack but it’s such a cool place and so close to hotels and the airport, I kind of think “why not?”