Anaheim Convention Center

800 West Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92802

(714) 765-8950

 

 

 

www.anaheimconventioncenter.com

Overview

You came to LifetimeImages.com to find new and different ideas for wedding venues.  Here's one you probably haven't thought of.  Oh, sure, the Anaheim convention center is famous for trade shows.  For example, you can find car shows, packaging show, even janitorial trade shows at the convention center.  So, why would you ever, in a million years want to have a wedding here?    Yes, we've done both wedding and reception at the convention center.  For the ceremony it's at best okay..  Actually, we're not even sure if they do ceremonies on site because the ceremony we did at this location was for the daughter of a big wig at the center.  As far as a reception is concerned, hers wasn't the only wedding reception at the center that night, and thus, they do wedding receptions.    Even though they don't list weddings on their website, you can believe that an institution that makes a living doing trade shows and conventions can handle just about any wedding.  Plus their banquet rooms are HUGE and nice.  Got a thousand people on your guest list?  No problem!    Though it may seem a bit strange to even consider this place as a venue, here's the stranger thing. . . it's actually kinda a nice place for a reception!

What Type Of Bridal Couple Would Like This Place?

It's time to think outside the box.   Part of what we are trying to do with these venue reviews is to give a broad perspective of possibilities.  The same places tend to get used over and over again for wedding reception venues because they are popular, advertise well, and set themselves up well for hosting wedding receptions.    In early 2000 I noticed a string of usual suspect wedding venues, everybody knew how to find such as  The Summit House, Coyote Hills Country Club, and the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Beach.  For year after year I would run into the same locations.  Then around 2005 I started noticing unusual venues.  A few at first, but as time went on it became more and more common.  For example, backyard weddings were once a sign of a low class wedding reception.  It basically meant that you didn't have enough money to afford the local VFW hall.    Then, people who could afford nice hotel receptions  started fixing up their homes and having very upscale wedding receptions in their backyards.  This was a huge change!   Today, for the average bridal couple, the usual suspects wedding venues are still very popular.  After all, these places know what they are doing and they can make planning a reception easy.  So, why would you want to have the words "Reception to follow at The Anaheim Convention Center" to be written on your wedding invitation?  If that strikes you as weird and odd and would never consider it, then don't consider it.  If you have a flair for the unusual, and want to send a message that your wedding reception will be different, than this is very different.

Photographic Potential

This place photographs so well, and there are so many unusual locations select from.  The architecture is cool, and there is even some greenery to be found on the grounds.   Daytime or nighttime, this is a fun place for a wedding reception. 

Possible Distractions/ Work Around

About the only thing you would need to worry about is if you are trying to host your wedding when the facility is being used for a large convention.  There would be more people floating around on the grounds and thus some pictures may not be possible.  It would also make parking harder. One other thing that needs to be mentioned is that for some reason you will need to explain this to the staff, that is, during the grand entrance you can find your own seat.  I don't know why, but someone from the staff felt like they needed to escort the bridal couple to their seats during the grand entrance. Maybe this is protocol for large corporate banquets, but for weddings this is not only unusual, it just looks strange.   

Overall Evaluation

It's big, bright, and unusual.  It has a lot of neat areas for photography.  Its an out of the box venue, but close enough to the box that food and hospitality won't suffer. There is a lot of positive things to say about this place as a wedding venue.  As we enter a new a new era of weddings where they are often planned in short notice, brides are often looking for open venues.   The large ones are frequently booked.  When you want to get married on a specific date, and if in particular that date is a Saturday, you have less options.  This is place is an option.  It's  a good option since many conventions occur during the week, some start on Sundays, but Saturday can be a down day if non-consumer conventions like car shows, or boat shows are running on your specific weekend.   Even if they are running, they may be over by 5:00 PM and thus if you have a reception only where people start showing up after six, it just may work for you. 

This place can be stunning, the architecture can work, so, if you are up for it, check it out. 

Reference:  List of events for the Anaheim Convention Center.     Find out what's going on the week of your wedding before you call them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Venue Reviews is portion of the Lifetime Images website is a subjective  review of  great Southern California wedding venues by a guy who's spent the past decade checking  out all the best venues.  The list of reviews will grow over time,  In the meantime, is the information in the article useful?  What else would you like covered?   Are any of the facts wrong? Any broken links?  Are there spelling and grammar errors?  Would you like to share some of your latest poetry?   If you have anything to share, drop us a note or send us an e-mail to Steve@LifetimeImages.com.   Be sure to mention which venue/page you are referring to in your message. 

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