Pittsburgh Wedding Venue Reviews | The Westin Hotel

Have you ever noticed that hindsight is 20/20? Did you ever wish you could do something over again? Unfortunately, with your wedding day, you don’t get that option. Wouldn’t you love to know ahead of time what the best venues are and who are the great vendors?

I’ve been to a lot of weddings. I’ve photographed even more (over 50). All that wedding experience means I’ve seen it all. Well, maybe not all, but I’ve certainly seen the good, the bad, and well of course, the beautiful of weddings in Pittsburgh. Without trying to, I realize I’ve become a bit of a wedding “expert”–in so far as I’ve tasted, tried, and touched a great number of Pittsburgh wedding venues, caterers, florists, bakeries, make-up artists, DJ’s, bands, and you-name-it wedding vendors. I’ve seen things done well..and unfortunately, I’ve seen things done not-so-well.

I want my brides and grooms to experience the former rather than the latter. I want them to have an incredible Pittsburgh wedding venue and the best wedding vendors for their day. I know first hand that a wonderful location, great people, and excellent service translates into a beautiful and enjoyable wedding for couples and guests alike.

So, with that in mind, I’m going to start a series of Pittsburgh wedding venue and vendor reviews to get the word out on some great stuff in Pittsburgh. I must start with a little disclaimer, though. First off, I will only be doing reviews of places I recommend. In other words, only positive reviews. I don’t think it’s fair to current and past brides to do negative reviews on venues and vendors. It’s also very possible that a negative experience was a one-time fluke (hopefully!) and not representative of the whole. Besides, if you focus on the positives, you’ll avoid the negatives. Secondly, my recommendations and reviews are given solely as my opinion. I don’t expect to gain anything from these Pittsburgh wedding venues and vendors except perhaps a chance to work at or with them again. Thirdly, I can’t make any guarantee that if you book these venues and/or vendors that you’ll have a perfect-no-issues-wedding. I wish that I could! Unfortunately, I can only ensure my level of service is superb every time. That being said, I do think it’s helpful to point out excellent service when you see it. It’s generally a pattern and a sign of what you’ll also probably receive. Lastly, Brides–if I don’t review one of your venues or vendors, that doesn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t good and I didn’t love it! I may just have not gotten to them yet, or I just don’t have enough information to write a review. Again, my purpose is to be positive and helpful. OK, end of disclaimer!

My first Pittsburgh wedding venue review is of the Westin Hotel and Convention Center, mainly because it’s fresh on my mind from Erin and Zack’s wedding. The Westin Hotel is clearly beautiful, with a great downtown location and access to the Convention Center. Their facilities and rooms are clean, fresh, and modern–nothing stuffy or out-dated looking. These two facts alone make it a great place. But what I really want to rave about is their customer service. Erin and Zack’s wedding coordinator, Megan Colf was professional, friendly, and extremely good at what she does. When our plans to take photos around downtown Pittsburgh got scratched because of the huge downpour of rain, Megan was there to greet us back at the Westin and kindly opened up rooms we could use to photograph inside. This was big to me. It was going above and beyond the normal, and it showed me that she cared that Erin and Zack had a great wedding, no matter what. As a photographer, having great light and space to use is so important in creating beautiful photos. Despite the rain, we were able to get some gorgeous photos by using the Westin’s lovely interior.

The other big rave I have about the Westin is their overall service, including catering. I know that coordinating food for hundreds of people at once is a huge job, and unfortunately I’ve seen it done poorly. Half a room eating their entree while the other is still waiting for salads, cold food, overbaked food, etc. Some things, I’m sure are nigh on impossible to control, but having seen it done so well at different locations, I know good service and organization have something to do with it. The Westin definitely gets 5 stars in my book: the food was incredible, the service excellent, and the timing perfect. It was obvious the guests were enjoying the experience.

And of course, the decor and atmosphere of the ballroom was suburb. Definitely an important aspect to the overall experience.

Lastly, another thing that really made my day was their concern for the other vendors, including Jay and me. When you’re working 8-12 hours, you get hungry, so it’s wonderful to have a venue be concerned that you eat. But even more than that, the Westin staff took the time to show us a great place to take photos from and made sure we had everything we needed to do a great job. Having that kind of support is a big plus in my book.

So, if you’re looking for a great, classy location in downtown Pittsburgh for your wedding, definitely check out the Westin Hotel and Convention Center.

westin hotel and convention center wedding photo in pittsburgh

ballroom set up at the westin hotel in pittsburgh for a wedding

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