Venues - How did you know you found what you were looking for

[lesco]

Hi,

This is one of my first posts in this forum so let me start by telling you all a little bit about myself. Well, after a long engagement (2+ years), FI and I are finally getting closer to an actual wedding. However, things are not looking too good as I cannot find a venue which does not make me gag. I have discovered I'm very un-bridal in the sense that I just want to throw a great party and if I'm left on my own, I will ditch most of the traditional stuff i.e first dance, throwing bouquet et al.

With that said, I have searched long and wide ( I live in NYC) for a venue and holy smokes, I don't like anything. Most places I've been look dated, crappy or are just impossible to get to. I am losing hope here. Here is my question to you gals, what resources did you utilize in the search of a venue? Did it take long to find an acceptable choice for both of you? Is this supposed to be such a pain in the rear or I'm just being too picky?

Just venting, I'm really frustrated.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

Have you thought about renting a loft? I''ve heard that''s kind of a good thing to do in big cities since it is basically a blank canvas anda lot of them have amazing views of the city

Personally I knew what venue I wanted when I went to a friends wedding at the same venue and it was just so beautiful

 

[lesco]

Hi smurfy,

Thank you for commenting. Yes, I love the loft idea but I would need a hefty budget to make it happen.

I have looked at some "lofts" online but they need so much $$$ to make them wedding ready that it is simply out of budget for us. Most places I priced charge rental fees of $ 4,000 - $8,000 just for the space. Add the caterer (Start up prices in the $100's per person), decor , rentals (Chairs, linens, tables et al) and you got yourself a huge bill.

I am hopeful I will find something soon!

 

[havernell]

Instead of searching out "new" places for your venue, are there any familiar favorite spots you and your FI have in the city that can accommodate a wedding? A favorite restaurant that you could rent out? A small museum that holds receptions in the evenings after closing time? Any office or government buildings with a cool atrium that a friend of yours work in that you could rent for the evening?

I also wonder if any of the colleges or universities in NYC rent out spaces to non-students (or to alumni if you or any of your friends/family who went to school in NYC)? That could be an option as I''m sure NYU, Columbia/Barnard, etc probably have some neat rooms in old buildings (or cool modern buildings in places like the New School).

I understand the wanting an interesting venue sentiment. That was top of the list for my FI and I and our biggest splurge is on the site rental of our venue. We picked a museum that we enjoyed visiting even before we got engaged, so it was a space we already loved. Keep looking, ask everyone you meet for suggestions, and I''m sure you''ll find something eventually! Good luck!

 

[katamari]

NYC would be tough, because space is so limited they can charge an incredible premium (at least I can imagine). Is there any space that you or someone you know could make claim to--like a rooftop garden, a shared communal room in an apartment building, a restaurant that has a private room you could rent out, a public space that could be rented and reformed to accommodate a party? I''d say the best thing you can do is just think as broadly as possible about possible spaces.

We are lucky that FI''s parents have an amazing home on scenic property, so I definitely feel for all of the BIWs that have to search for (and pay for) the perfect venue.

 

[Clairitek]

FI and I haven''t even had a chance to look at venues in person yet so I can''t tell you what it feels like to find "the one."

Though, I am in the same boat as you in terms of what I am looking for in a wedding venue. I don''t want a hotel ballroom, banquet center, or country club because those sorts of traditional places just aren''t "us." The way I went about finding venues was to go to catering websites and look at the list of places they''ve catered. I also checked out theknot.com and weddingwire.com. I actually prefer wedddingwire.com because they have user reviews right there with the listing. Its been very informative and I''ve taken a few venues off of my list because of consistently bad reviews.

 

[dani13]

Hi Lesco,

Geez, I went through the SAME exact thing you are going through right now when we were trying to choose a venue for our own wedding. MH and I looked at about 20+ places (we had a 2 yr engagement too) and just couldnt find something we were happy with. NYC is crazy expensive, but so is this whole area in general (we live in NJ). We ended up having our wedding in Westchester, NY, since we had many family and friends all over the NYC-metro area, and the place we loved just happenned to be there.

Maybe I can help you out. What kind of place are you looking for? How do you envision your wedding? How many guests will you be having? What time of year are you looking at? And would you consider venues outside of NYC (e.g. NJ/ Westchester/etc.). Like I said, we looked at alot of places, so Im sure I could help!!!

 

[neatfreak]

Booking a venue is hard, but I highly suggest that you view it as booking a party rather than a *wedding*. It will open up a number of new ideas for you that might work.

For us, we ended up booking the private room of a restaurant in San Francisco for our small wedding (the room could hold about 40 people) because we also didn''t have any desire to dance, throw the bouquet, etc. So even though the restaurant was a really nice one (ON SF bay, overlooking the GG bridge), we were able to afford it because it wasn''t a wedding venue per se. Also if you go this route I HIGHLY recommend the lunch reception to save a lot of money.

 

[lesco]

Thank you ladies for your responses and suggestions. I am actually encouraged to keep on looking after seeing your responses.

Havernell- I''m came up with a list of places that are special to us. that is a great idea, thank you. The list is rather short, I guess we are boring people!

Katamari - Yes, you are very lucky indeed. Searching for a venue is been a pain, I''m exhausted. FI is helping as much as possible but since he is charge of finding our new home, I volunteered to take care of researching vendors for our wedding. We split the job so I''m trying to hold my end of the bargain.

Clairitek - I had conctacted a couple of caterers. I will call back to see if they have any venue suggestions. Thanks for the tip.

Dani - You are a godsend, it would be so great if you can help us. Thank you for offering. At this point, we are open to any location nearby NYC, LI and NJ areas. We are having a smaller guest list of about 80 people but we are willing to chop it up even more if needed. The budget is about $120 per person for catering but we might be able to do a little more if there is value. Since we are looking at July 18, 2009, I would like to find a venue with an outdoor area like a terrace with a view or a garden for our cocktail hr, if weather allows. I prefer modern and minimalist decor although I''m not opposed to a more traditional setting as long as it is clean and well kept. I guess I don''t want a big production. I want a relaxed atmosphere with great food and beverages. I just want for people to have a great time.

Do you have a link to your wedding? I would love to see pictures!!! I bet it was beautiful!

Neafreak - Thank you for your suggestions. As usual, you make a heck of a lot of sense. I gotta think outside the box. I came across your wedding pictures. You had such an elegant, beautiful and undestated affair. I would love to achieve something like this.

 

[dani13]

Hi Lesco-

I would love to help! I have to be honest though, $120 per person in NYC- metro area is going to be tough. Would you be open to a Friday night and/or a winter wedding? There are significant discounts per head at most catering places if you get married on a "off" night and/or in the winter. Are any of those an option?

 

[emeraldlover1]

Hi Lesco! I'm in NYC as well. My fiance and I decided to get married outside of the city for a number of reasons but primarily because not only would it have been a huge cost to us but also to our friends and family that would have to stay in the NYC area. We visited in person over 40 places and looked in books for places in pennsylvania, Long Island, New Jersey, conneticut, westchester, and the Hudson Valley. Tell me what places you've looked at and I know I can help you. I didn't want a traditional ballroom either so we decided on a venue in the Catskills. Its about 2 hours from the city and the planning hasn't been that bad at all. Most of all the cost for our guests to stay in the area is really affordable.

I don't know if you have thought about it but the wineries in the Hudson Valley are less expensive for weddings than the LI ones. We looked at every winery on LI as my FI's parents are from out there and we really only thought two were nice for wedding but in the end didn't have everything we were looking for. Also, liweddings.com is a good source for venues in this area. There are a few of us on pricescope that are on LI weddings chat too.

Unfortunatley a loft type place in the city or surrounding area will probably fall outside your budget. My photographer suggested The foundry when we were looking for places but we never went cause we are expecting 180 ppl. Let me see if I can dig up the info that I had on all the venues when I was looking.

There are a lot of places in the hudson valley that you may like but I'd need to know how far you are willing to travel. We are having our rehersal dinner at this place: http://www.emersonplace.com/ If I remember correctly I think their wedding prices start at $120 p/person and they do not have a site fee. I can probably dig up some pics if you like. There are also a ton of places up there that are sort of hard to find. Let me know if you want suggestions.

I've been to a ton of weddings in this area in the past 5/6 years. I can probably help you find what you are looking for as well as some of the other NYC ladies.

ETA: I would check out http://www.thefoundry.info and http://www.hudsonterracenyc.com/ They sound like what you are looking for and are smaller venues. If you tell me what places you have already seen that would give me a better idea of where to start.

ETA again...this may help: http://www.liweddings.com/planning/location-guide.aspx

 

[lesco]

Nooooo... I just typed a long post and my computer ate it!!!
Ok, here we go again... ((deep breath))

First, thank you EM1 and Dani for all your help and suggestions. I just spoke to my other half and we are upping the budget to $150-$160 pp.

Here is a list of the venues we have visited. I will start with the ones that might be a possibility ( Like a worst case scenario sort of deal):

W New York: Althought the place is nothing special, it is clean and newly renovated. we like the person we are working with a whole lot.
Nassau County Art Museum: The grounds are really neat, however, the reception is held inside a small tent, which is a tad dated and has a weird layout.

Other venues we have visited but we did not like:
Tavern on the Green - Place smells like horse poo...
Astra ( By Charlie Palmer) - This one is actually really nice but pricey.
New Leaf Cafe - Bad service
Ravel Hotel LIC - Too small
Metropolitan Building LIC - It has a lot of charm but the building is located in a bad area.
The Park - The place is not in good condition.
Carlyle on the Green - This is a really nice venue, however, we need more people to have it here. Our option is the adjacent restaurant. The place is in a really bad condition.
3 West Club - Too much character for my taste.

Venues I have reached:
91- Pricey
Battery Gardens - Offered a very late start.
Bubby's DUMBO - FI hated it
Le Jardin Charmant - Too big for our number of ppl.
NY Fire Museum - I thought they had views but I was wrong.
632 Hudson - High rental fee
Boathouse - no AC and it is summer
Le Park Meridien Hotel - Awaiting info.
Union Square Ballroom - I did not like the event pictures they sent me.
Loft 11 - I have an appointment to see the space
Twenty Four Fifth - I have an appointment to see the space
The Delegates Room - Need more ppl
Asia Society and Museum - Over the top pricey.
Hudson NYC -It is really nice, but pricey. Over $200 pp ++

I checked the foundry but the rental fee is quite high - $6,000 for a sat pm. Lovely space thought.

Dani : I found your wedding thread, I loved it. You booked Tappan Hill right? How was the food? We have an appointment for sat there.

Regarding how far we are willing to travel, we think it is reasonable to keep in the 30-45 min range. I am open to any suggestions. It can be a museum, winery, mansion, nice restaurant, even a hotel. I would prefer to have with access to an outdoor area for cocktails and ceremony. A good view could do as well.

Thank you all... You are such a supportive community.

ETA: EM1 I just saw your eta's . I am checking Hudson Terrace, looks promising!!! Thank you so much. Yes, I love the foundry but it so out of budget!

 

[Clairitek]

I just thought of these two options for you. My friend is from Westport, CT and she is having her wedding at the Inn at Longshore. I''ve visited it myself and it was really nice. Its on a river (lake maybe? I''m pretty sure its a river, some body of water) and its fairly secluded on this golf course. Its certainly not a typical country club type of place.

She also visited Guilford Yacht Club. I didn''t visit it in person but they were really torn between Longshore and Guildford. I saw some pics of a wedding at Guilford on The Knot and I thought it had a great vibe, but thats just me.

I think Westport might be just inside your 30-45 minute range, though since I''m not from the area I really don''t know. Just thought I''d throw that out there.

About searching via caterers. I didn''t actually call anyone, I just looked at their websites and most of them had a list of venues they''ve served. This might save you some time on the phone.

 

[musey]

Date: 12/8/2008 10:37:14 PM
Author:lesco
Venues - How did you know you found what you were looking for

It fit our budget and was pretty

I did a ton of research (I used Project Wedding and the Gathering Guide), spent a lot of my free time for about two months looking online, but we only visited one venue. I knew it was in-budget and generally what we were thinking of, so basically I just needed to check that it was acceptably "nice." It was, so we booked. We could've visited more places, but didn't feel like it was worth it. Good thing my laziness didn't backfire!

Since you're in NYC, have you thought about looking outside the city? Ditto neatfreak, also, on thinking outside of the box. That will likely help a great deal.

 

[emeraldlover1]

darn it on the foundry! I think you are gonna run into the rental fees at a lot of these places. The long island wineries are about 1:30min - 2+ hours on the weekend away from here and they are expensive. The most afordable one is vineyard caterers but they are more like a wedding factory in my opinion and not really a winery eventhough they have vines on property. Plus out there you will run into having to travel for places for people to sleep. The westchester mansions I like a lot more than the LI ones. Hopefully you will like Tappan Hill this weekend. West park winery is nice but a little too north from here.

I really liked the Garrison in Westchester but liked other places some more. I think they were $150 per person. Maybe $175. There is also F.E.A.S.T at Round Hill. Also a venue called Monteverde. Let me see if I can get some links to some of those.

What about Liberty house in NJ over looking the city? http://www.libertyhouserestaurant.com My friend is getting married their this summer. I can try and find out more info.

I've heard good things about the Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn. But I know nothing of the cost over there.

Friends of ours got married at the Shadowbrook in NJ this October. I think it was $140 per person on a sat but may be too far away.

ETA: http://www.monteverderestaurant.com/special_events.php http://feastcaterers.com/ http://www.thegarrison.com/

 

[dani13]

Hi Lesco!

We loved Tappan Hill-its so special there!!! The food and service is amazing. Everyone we worked with was awesome!!! I highly recommend it!!!! If you decide to book it, let me know beforehand, I have recc's for you re: who to work with!!!!!

And if you dont fall in love with Tappan Hill, I would definitely suggest one of the other Abigail Kirsch locations. They are amazing at what they do

and you guys wont be disappointed!!!

They have several other venues in NYC/Brooklyn/etc. that you may want to check out.

eta: We looked at Loft 11...Nothing special, we thought, and its kind of in a crappy area......Plus, price will get insane once you add in all the costs to decorate the place enough to be "wedding ready"!!!

 

[lesco]

C-tek - Thank you so much for the suggestions. Actually, I just opened two estimates and found recommended venue lists from some caterers!!! Dummy me!!!

Dani- I am so glad you liked Tappan Hill. It is so reassuring to be in contact with someone who had an event there. I have heard great things about Abigail Hirsch so I am glad they did not disappoint. I am hoping the space is not too ballroomy! BTW I spoke with Linda. She seemed really nice and accommodating.

EM1- I liked everything , I mean every single venue you posted. You should start your own venue referral business. You really got what I''m trying to achieve. Liberty House looks spectacular. Thank you. I will contact the venues and keep you all posted. Tobbaco Warehouse lost their lease so they are no longer in business, I heard.

Musey - Your wedding was an amazing event, I remember your wedding thread. Whatever you did worked just fine!!! I will check both sites you suggested.

 

[emeraldlover1]

Date: 12/9/2008 9:29:35 PM
Author: lesco
C-tek - Thank you so much for the suggestions. Actually, I just opened two estimates and found recommended venue lists from some caterers!!! Dummy me!!!

Dani- I am so glad you liked Tappan Hill. It is so reassuring to be in contact with someone who had an event there. I have heard great things about Abigail Hirsch so I am glad they did not disappoint. I am hoping the space is not too ballroomy! BTW I spoke with Linda. She seemed really nice and accommodating.

EM1- I liked everything , I mean every single venue you posted. You should start your own venue referral business. You really got what I''m trying to achieve. Liberty House looks spectacular. Thank you. I will contact the venues and keep you all posted. Tobbaco Warehouse lost their lease so they are no longer in business, I heard.

Musey - Your wedding was an amazing event, I remember your wedding thread. Whatever you did worked just fine!!! I will check both sites you suggested.

I''m glad you like them. I''m trying not to give you the ones I know you wouldn''t like. I didn''t save any of the emailed estimates that I got after we decided on our place so a lot of it is from memory. I know that there are more I just have to rack my brain a little more.

I wanted an very unique venue so it took us a long time to find excatly what we were looking for. We are actually having our reception here: www.onteora.com

I loved monteverde but if I remember correctly we would have had to use the tented portion and it was extra to rent the bathroom trailer. For your size party you can actually use the manor and it is beautiful.

Dani loved Tappan Hill and Abigail Hirsh is always good.

Too bad about Tobacco warehouse the pics I''ve seen always came out amazing.

Liberty house is supposed to be amazing too. My friend that is getting married there this summer said he''s trying to keep the budget to $140 per person. So it can be done. Are you flexible on the date? You are getting so close that it may be difficult to book in the nyc area too.

 

[lesco]

EM1 your venue looks to die for. What a great and unique find. It must be the economy b/c most places I've reached are available but yes, we are pretty flexible in terms of dates as long we get married in the summer. Thanks for all the suggestions.

I forgot to mention that one of your inspiration pics is from the W New York. I have a food tasting there tomorrow maybe I'll warm up to the place. FI really likes it.

 

[lesco]

This is the pic I'm talking about. The room is on the second floor so there is not much of a view.

 

[dani13]

Well, definitely let us know how it goes, lesco. Im excited to see what you learn (especially this Sat

!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!

 

[emeraldlover1]

That is too funny Lesco! I love the brown tablecloths. What about the W Union Square? I''ve seen great pics from there. The W New York is ok. I''ve had some work meetings there before. I''m sure they would have the reception in one of the rooms on the second floor? Anway I hope you like something you see this weekend. I only asked about the date cause my friend that is getting married at Liberty House is getting married on your date! I checked the Save the date after I told you about the venue. I''m sorry. I should have looked first.

There are a lot more options so make it through this weekend and if you don''t find something you love, Dani and I will help again.

Are you currently living in the city?

 

[lesco]

EM1- I''m yet to check the W Union Square - I was supposed to go last week but had to cancel due to a last minute work trip. This pesky job is getting on the way!!!
I can''t believe your friend took my date!!! LOL. Well, I really like the 18th but I would settle for any other sat in July ( other than 7/4). I will call Liberty Place anyway. I love the space. I live in the NYC area.

Dani - I mapquested Tappan Hill and it is just 40 minutes from my home, you can''t beat that! I am really hopeful about it.

Yes, I will come back with updates. I am also preparing a summary of all the places I''ve visited and estimates I''ve got. I will be sharing the info. for all of the future NYC brides to be.

I have a handful of places to check, thank you so much, I feel in better spirits now. This wedding planning thing is a PITA.

 

[emeraldlover1]

Date: 12/10/2008 10:27:33 AM
Author: lesco
EM1- I''m yet to check the W Union Square - I was supposed to go last week but had to cancel due to a last minute work trip. This pesky job is getting on the way!!!
I can''t believe your friend took my date!!! LOL. Well, I really like the 18th but I would settle for any other sat in July ( other than 7/4). I will call Liberty Place anyway. I love the space. I live in the NYC area.

Dani - I mapquested Tappan Hill and it is just 40 minutes from my home, you can''t beat that! I am really hopeful about it.

Yes, I will come back with updates. I am also preparing a summary of all the places I''ve visited and estimates I''ve got. I will be sharing the info. for all of the future NYC brides to be.

I have a handful of places to check, thank you so much, I feel in better spirits now. This wedding planning thing is a PITA.

Once you find a venue I think you will feel better. I hope that the info helps. I wish I had saved all the cost sheets that I got. I know what you mean about the job. At least Decemeber is a slower month for me.

I live in midtown so I asked where you live cause the W New York is only a couple blocks away from our place. The area is ok but I like the Union Square W better. There is just nothing special to me about the W New York. Union Square has better outdoor areas for pics too. Just my two cents.

 

[lesco]

I can agree with you more on the W New York, it is so plain but FI likes it, go figure! I need to reschedule with W Union Square.

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 12/9/2008 8:37:22 PM
Author: emeraldlover1
darn it on the foundry! I think you are gonna run into the rental fees at a lot of these places. The long island wineries are about 1:30min - 2+ hours on the weekend away from here and they are expensive. The most afordable one is vineyard caterers but they are more like a wedding factory in my opinion and not really a winery eventhough they have vines on property. Plus out there you will run into having to travel for places for people to sleep. The westchester mansions I like a lot more than the LI ones. Hopefully you will like Tappan Hill this weekend. West park winery is nice but a little too north from here.

I really liked the Garrison in Westchester but liked other places some more. I think they were $150 per person. Maybe $175. There is also F.E.A.S.T at Round Hill. Also a venue called Monteverde. Let me see if I can get some links to some of those.

What about Liberty house in NJ over looking the city? http://www.libertyhouserestaurant.com My friend is getting married their this summer. I can try and find out more info.

I''ve heard good things about the Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn. But I know nothing of the cost over there.

Friends of ours got married at the Shadowbrook in NJ this October. I think it was $140 per person on a sat but may be too far away.

ETA: http://www.monteverderestaurant.com/special_events.php http://feastcaterers.com/ http://www.thegarrison.com/

I visited FEAST at Round Hill and it was very pretty. Pretty cheap too! I seem to remember it being under $120 per person. The gardens were beautiful and the space was a little funky, which I liked. The only reason we didn''t go with them is that we really wanted particular wines/beers/foods and they weren''t very open to negotiating.

A big problem I''ve had with the area is that many place require at least 100 people, which was way too big of a number for us.

 

[Rhea]

DH wasn''t happy with much and I could see the potential in anything. That''s the total opposite of our usual personalities!

We looked first at budget and size. Have you considered renting a resturant? A club? Some of the more unique ideas might for you. We tried to quit thinking of the wedding as a wedding and start thinking of it as a party. Where would you like to have a party? Any type of party, birthday, anniversary, graduation.

 

[lesco]

1- Inside the reception tent and facing the museum's library, which is used for dancing.

 

[lesco]

2- Inside the reception tent. Our wedding would take place at night so I am considering having ambience lighting to wash off the tent. They set up some lounge chairs - Very happening right now in NYC.

 

[lesco]

3- Cocktail Hr tent - Optional if you want your cocktail hr al fresco!