Can we bring an Indian caterer to the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley?

Yes. The hotel publishes a list of eleven approved Indian caterers and a formal outside-catering package. You work with your caterer on the menu and pay them directly, and the hotel charges a per-person fee against a food and beverage minimum.

Can we have a baraat there?

Yes, and it is a priced item on the hotel's own outside-catering package: a baraat processional of up to one hour in the front driveway.

Is there a package for the sangeet or mehndi?

Yes. The hotel publishes a separate per-person outside-catering package for sangeet, garba, mehndi and welcome dinners, with four hours of function space.

What is the minimum spend?

Food and beverage minimums are published by room and day. The Glenwood Ballroom and Terrace starts at $20,000 for a Saturday evening or $25,000 for an all-day Saturday; the Crabtree Ballroom at $10,000 and $15,000. Outside catering fees and bar service count toward the minimum. All plus a 25% service charge and tax, and last published a few years ago, so confirm current figures.

Do we have to use a wedding coordinator?

Yes. The hotel requires a licensed professional wedding coordinator for all weddings, hired within 60 days of contract from its preferred list.

Do our vendors need insurance?

Yes. The hotel requires vendors to carry general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 naming the hotel manager and owner as additional insureds, with a certificate provided before the event. We carry ours as a matter of course.

Is there an outdoor space?

Yes, the Glenwood Terrace — 3,944 sq ft with a stone fireplace, firepits, lounge seating and outdoor heating, for up to 200 guests. There is also a pool terrace with a fireplace for welcome parties.

Home › Wedding Venues › Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley

Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley Wedding Photographer — Raleigh, NC

Most hotels say they welcome Indian weddings. This one publishes the paperwork: a list of eleven approved Indian caterers, a separate outside-catering package for the sangeet, garba and mehndi, and a baraat processional in the front driveway with a price next to it. Add an 18-foot ballroom and a 3,944 square foot terrace with a stone fireplace, and it earns its place on this list.

Check your date at Crabtree Marriott

Walk the venue

Footage we shot on the property, including a baraat coming up the hotel drive.

The baraat coming up the drive under the trees. The hotel prices this as a formal part of the day — up to an hour in the front driveway — which means nobody is going to move you along halfway through.

The venue at a glance

Address	4500 Marriott Drive, Raleigh, NC 27612
Phone	(919) 781-7000 · Sales and Catering (919) 571-5345
Glenwood Ballroom	10,500 sq ft, 18-ft ceilings — 1,000 reception, 720 banquet. Capped at 500 for weddings on the outside-catering route
Crabtree Ballroom	6,148 sq ft, 16-ft ceilings — about 350 with a dance floor, 450 without
Glenwood Terrace	3,944 sq ft outdoors, with a stone fireplace, firepits, lounge seating and heating. Up to 200
Smaller rooms	City of Oaks Ballroom, Creedmoor (100 for a ceremony) and the BRAISE Room
Catering	Outside catering package with eleven approved Indian caterers — Azitra, Chutneys, Dharani, NaanStop, Nazara, Persis, Sitar, Taaza, Tandoor, Zayka and Baba Ghannouj
Sangeet, garba, mehndi	Its own outside-catering package, priced per person
Baraat	A priced item: up to one hour in the front driveway
Alcohol	Hotel-supplied. Bar packages per person, plus a bartender fee, one bartender per 75 guests
Food and beverage minimums	Published by room and by day — Glenwood Ballroom and Terrace on a Saturday evening starts at $20,000, Crabtree Ballroom at $10,000
Required	A licensed professional wedding coordinator from the hotel's preferred list, and vendor insurance of $1,000,000 naming the hotel
Rooms	379, renovated. Room block discounts when you book the ceremony or reception
Parking	Marriott publishes a daily self-parking rate; the wedding materials say complimentary self-parking for wedding guests. Confirm which applies to you

The hotel's published per-person and package prices carry a note that they were guaranteed only until the end of 2022, so treat every dollar figure here as last-published rather than current. The structure — the caterer list, the sangeet package, the baraat fee, the room-by-room minimums — is what matters. No open-flame, havan or music-curfew policy is published.

Where the photographs happen

The Glenwood Ballroom

One hundred and twenty-five feet by eighty-four, with 18-foot ceilings and modern light fixtures rather than traditional chandeliers. It divides into four salons, so a sangeet and a reception can run in the same footprint on different days. The height is what matters for a mandap.

The Glenwood pre-function foyer

Floor-to-ceiling glass looking out onto the terrace. This is the natural-light room in the building and it is where we take you for portraits during cocktail hour, because everything else here is lit rather than daylit.

The Glenwood Terrace

Nearly four thousand square feet outdoors with a standalone stone fireplace, firepits and lounge seating, and it is heated. That heating extends your outdoor options well into the cool months, which in North Carolina means most of the year.

The Crabtree Ballroom

First floor, 16-foot ceilings, modern chandeliers, its own foyer and a private covered event entry. The covered entry is worth knowing about: it means the arrivals are weather-proof, which a baraat in August will appreciate.

The setting

The hotel sits up a hill behind wooded surroundings, which is not what you expect from a property next to a shopping mall. It gives you a green backdrop for the drive shots and the procession.

Timing your day here

Book the baraat as a line item. The hotel allows up to an hour in the front driveway and prices it. Booked properly, nobody hurries you.
Cocktail hour on the terrace if the weather allows — the fireplace and firepits give us something to shoot by once the light goes.
Portraits in the Glenwood foyer while there is still daylight through the glass. That window closes earlier than people think.
The bar has a bartender fee per hour and one bartender is required per 75 guests, which shapes the reception budget more than couples expect.
A licensed coordinator is required. That is a good thing on a day this size, and it means we have someone to work the timeline with.

Why this hotel is a serious option for an Indian wedding

Crabtree does not have a flashy Indian weddings landing page. What it has is better — published documents that answer the questions that actually decide a South Asian wedding:

Eleven approved Indian caterers, named in writing. Azitra, Baba Ghannouj, Chutneys, Dharani South Indian Cuisine, NaanStop, Nazara, Persis, Sitar, Taaza, Tandoor and Zayka. You pay the caterer directly and the hotel charges per person against a food and beverage minimum.
A dedicated sangeet, garba, mehndi and welcome-dinner package, priced per person and separate from the reception package.
A baraat processional, priced, for up to an hour in the front driveway.
Read the outside-catering rules before you choose a caterer. The hotel kitchen and its staff are not available to your caterer; prep happens in a designated area opened two hours before service; the caterer must send an item list a week ahead and supply insurance, a business license and a health inspection certificate 30 days out. A good Triangle Indian caterer will have done this before — a family friend cooking at home cannot.
Open flame and havan are not addressed. As with any hotel ballroom, get a sacred fire confirmed in writing before you book.
The food and beverage minimums are real money. The Glenwood Ballroom and Terrace on a Saturday evening starts at $20,000 and an all-day Saturday at $25,000, before the 25% service charge. Know that number before you fall in love with the room.

Our photographer speaks Tamil, Telugu and English. More on how we cover South Asian ceremonies is on our Indian, Tamil & Telugu weddings page.

Frequently asked questions

Can we bring an Indian caterer to the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley?: Yes. The hotel publishes a list of eleven approved Indian caterers and a formal outside-catering package. You work with your caterer on the menu and pay them directly, and the hotel charges a per-person fee against a food and beverage minimum.
Can we have a baraat there?: Yes, and it is a priced item on the hotel's own outside-catering package: a baraat processional of up to one hour in the front driveway.
Is there a package for the sangeet or mehndi?: Yes. The hotel publishes a separate per-person outside-catering package for sangeet, garba, mehndi and welcome dinners, with four hours of function space.
What is the minimum spend?: Food and beverage minimums are published by room and day. The Glenwood Ballroom and Terrace starts at $20,000 for a Saturday evening or $25,000 for an all-day Saturday; the Crabtree Ballroom at $10,000 and $15,000. Outside catering fees and bar service count toward the minimum. All plus a 25% service charge and tax, and last published a few years ago, so confirm current figures.
Do we have to use a wedding coordinator?: Yes. The hotel requires a licensed professional wedding coordinator for all weddings, hired within 60 days of contract from its preferred list.
Do our vendors need insurance?: Yes. The hotel requires vendors to carry general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 naming the hotel manager and owner as additional insureds, with a certificate provided before the event. We carry ours as a matter of course.
Is there an outdoor space?: Yes, the Glenwood Terrace — 3,944 sq ft with a stone fireplace, firepits, lounge seating and outdoor heating, for up to 200 guests. There is also a pool terrace with a fireplace for welcome parties.

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