Venue needed...

[sap483]

Hi Ladies-

I haven''t posted on here in a while as I''ve been on a hiatus from my wedding planning. FI and I bought a house and had other things going on, but now I''m ready to do some serious planning. Sadly, although we''ve been engaged for 5 months, we haven''t picked a venue or date yet. We went to look at a place in Bermuda last week, which we loved. We still want to explore some more local options. My dream though is for the wedding to be oceanfront. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with Belle Mer in Newport, RI- even as a guest at an event? From the website, it looks amazing. My mom also suggested a place called St. Clements Castle in Portland, CT. It''s not on the ocean, but it is on the Connecticut river. If anyone could share their experiences or if you have any other suggestions for venues in New England I''d love to hear them! Thanks in advance.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

The Towers in Naragansett, RI
Blythewold Mansion in Bristol, RI
Aldrich Mansion in Warwick, RI (also the mansion in the movie Meet Joe Black)
Look in Little Compton, RI, Tiverton, RI, Jamestown, RI
Mystic, CT
Watch Hill, RI

And there are many other Newport places like Castle Hill, the Belleview mansions, The Hotel Viking, there''s even an old restored schooner that you can use for your wedding/reception.

 

[sap483]

Thanks Hudson! I''ve tried calling the Towers several times. Back when I first got engaged I must have left a message every couple of days. No one has ever responded to me. I went to see Linden Place in Bristol so I was hoping to go see the Towers while I was down there. Any suggestions on how to get a hold of them?

Are you getting married in RI as well? How is your planning going?

 

[basil]

Hey sap,

I''m getting married in RI...at Linden Place, actually. I went to look at Belle Mer when we were looking. It''s a beautiful place, but quite honestly, just not my style. It was probably my least favorite of all the places we visited. It''s newly renovated, right on the water and has a gorgeous view of the Newport Bridge. But it''s also right next to the Hyatt (they pretty much share the same parking lot). I wasn''t super impressed with the ceremony site options (basically just a lawn). And they are $$$$.

For me, it was just too clean, too contrived, or something. It''s hard to explain. Fiance and I were really looking for someplace sort of historical, though, and I sort of had the feeling that aside from the view, Belle Mer could exist anywhere. It''s the difference between old wide-plank oak floors and new shiney marble ones. Both are beautiful, but one will be your taste much more than the other.

Anyway, I also looked at the Hyatt, the Atlantic Beach Club in Middletown, the Hotel Viking, and the Bristol Harbor Inn.

 

[sap483]

Hi Basil-

I just visited Belle Mer. I completely understand how this place may not be for everyone. It does look very new and clean- but it''s actually very me!!! I loved the clean lines and white on white scheme. I liked the view and the set up of the fire pits on the lawn as well. I think we may have found a winner. The only issue is that we don''t think we can meet the 30k minimum plus 10k set-up fee for Saturday night (for the salon)- so we would have to go with Sunday which would save us about 10k. We had originally not wanted a Sunday wedding, but I think we could deal with it if it was in 2009 and we gave guests plenty of advance notice!

 

[basil]

Hey sap, that''s great that you liked it! They are definitely pricey though...and they don''t really give much flexibility with the prices in terms of the menus. Actually, a lot of the places we looked at had similar minimums for a Saturday night, which we wouldn''t have been able to meet with our expected 80 person guest list. Both fiance and I have jobs that are extremely inflexible in terms of vacation time, so a Sunday wedding really wasn''t an option at all for us.

Anyway, I hope it works out for you! Keep us updated with your planning...there are a few other RI brides around, so it''s nice to get local recommendations and such.