Newly engaged and new here.

Hey all. I've been browsing around here for a bit, but, I felt weird about joining before I got engaged. I just got engaged on Thursday, so, here I am!

My name is Amanda, originally from the Babylon area, and now living in PA. I'm going to be planning a fall 2008 wedding (probably late October, early November).

This weekend I am going to call some catering halls and hopefully make some appts. to look next weekend. I am thinking of looking at Chateau La Mer, Villa Lombardi's, The Milleridge Cottage and maybe The North Ritz Club.

So, I guess my questions are:

1. Is it even possible to see 3-4 halls in 1 day?
2. Do I need to make a separate appt. to taste the food?
3. Can I leave a small refundable deposit to hold a date and keep looking?
4. Is anyone else here planning a wedding from out of state?

I really appreciate any help with this, and am very excited to be here!

Thanks,

Amanda

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

Yay congrats on your engagement. I am biased towards Villa Lombardis, its gorgeous It is definitely possible to see 3-4 halls in one day. My appointments usually lasted about an hour. I had to make a separate appointment to do food tasting. At Villa Lombardis I didn't even do it because I have heard from EVERYONE how amazing the food is. Personally I have never heard of a refundable deposit. Good luck this weekend and keep us posted

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

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Posted by kimNanthony

Yay congrats on your engagement. I am biased towards Villa Lombardis, its gorgeous It is definitely possible to see 3-4 halls in one day. My appointments usually lasted about an hour. I had to make a separate appointment to do food tasting. At Villa Lombardis I didn't even do it because I have heard from EVERYONE how amazing the food is. Personally I have never heard of a refundable deposit. Good luck this weekend and keep us posted

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Thank you!

Lombardi's food is amazing, I wouldn't need to taste it. My only concern with them is price.

My girlfriend got married in Dec. of 05, and she gave a couple of places a $50 deposit, and they held the date for her.

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

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Posted by AmandaLynn04

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Posted by kimNanthony

Yay congrats on your engagement. I am biased towards Villa Lombardis, its gorgeous It is definitely possible to see 3-4 halls in one day. My appointments usually lasted about an hour. I had to make a separate appointment to do food tasting. At Villa Lombardis I didn't even do it because I have heard from EVERYONE how amazing the food is. Personally I have never heard of a refundable deposit. Good luck this weekend and keep us posted

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Thank you!

Lombardi's food is amazing, I wouldn't need to taste it. My only concern with them is price.

My girlfriend got married in Dec. of 05, and she gave a couple of places a $50 deposit, and they held the date for her.

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I'm not sure about that only because I fell in love with Villa Lombardis and booked it on the spot. LOL. As far as price it should be cheaper since you are looking in October. I am getting married on a Sunday night to try to make it more affordable, even though nothing is really affordable!

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

It is possible to look at that many halls but it'll be an all day event and it'll be tiring, so be prepared! Most places will not let you taste the food until you book with them or at least reserve your date . Reserving the date varies in different halls and we do have a few girls planning weddings out of state. Congrats and welcome!

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

Congrats and welcome! I would answer you're question, but I think the girls answered quite accurately. Congrats again!!!!

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

CONGRATS!!!! and welcome to the addiction!!! you can def see a bunch of places in one day.. it takes like 45 min to an hour to see a place and if they're in a rush.. 30 mins tops!

let me know if you need any help!!

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

Lombardi's is definitely my #1 choice right now. A friend priced them for Sept. 08 and it was $89pp on a Friday night, which isn't bad.

My only concern is that my fiances family is all in Baltimore and will have to travel, so, I am thinking a Sat. would be best.

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

Thanks girls!

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

Does anyone know where the price hall quotes are to bump them?? I can't find it for her.

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

Hey there! Some places will let you hold the date for 5 to 7 days without a deposit and if you don't take the date, they just release it. You can definately do 3 to 4 places in one day, just start early

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

I have a price list from Villa Lombardis and for a Saturday night I think you have to guarantee 200 people. It says here the price is $125 per person but I'm sure thats negotiable.

If you want Saturday have you thought about a Saturday afternoon? It's $100 per person with a minimum guarantee of 100 people.

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

I haven't given a Saturday afternoon any thought. It's definitely a possibility. I am thinking I will have around 175 people.

I am also going to be getting married at the hall itself, so, I don't have to worry about booking a church, and times with that.

I did find that thread about quotes!

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

Maybe you can work with the minimum if the price is still in your range....and if you're having the ceremony there...because then that's even more money to give to the hall

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

Congrats! I love the idea of a fall wedding too! Villa Lombardi's was amazing. It was breathtakingly beautiful and the food was delicious!

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

CLM will be able to accomodate you with that. Also yes you can see a good number of appointments in one day. They usually only last a hour unless you schedule one during a 'showcase' night where you see vendors and eat some food.

CLM will if your interested set you up on Thurs for a tasting whenever you want. I did that after just emailing them about pricing. They invited me down and we were so happy with the place we booked a few months later after we searched around just to make sure that was the one.

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

hi there!! congrats and welcome!!

as other girls have posted i am SURE you will be able to see 4 halls in one day!!

as for your q about out-of-town wedding planners, we have a few of them on this board. i think there is even an official planning-my-wedding-from-out-of-state thread that one of the girls started. i will bump it for you so you can chat with those girls specifically!!

good luck and happy planning!!

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

Thanks girls! You are all great! I quickly read the thread with all the pricing, and it was very helpful! I'm glad to see that there are a ton of places that fall within my budget!

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

congrats and welcome!! Just remember when you hear something like 100pp...thats prob w/o tax and gratuity, which can add an addtl 20-30 a head!!!!!! FYI!

Re: Newly engaged and new here.

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Posted by AmandaLynn04

Thanks girls! You are all great! I quickly read the thread with all the pricing, and it was very helpful! I'm glad to see that there are a ton of places that fall within my budget!

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CONGRATS!!!! and Welcome.....
Fall weddings are great....i am getting married 11/01/08...seems far away but seriously there isn't enough time for everything. You can definately see 3-4 places in a day...the only thing that may happen is that you go in between parties.....but at least u can see how the RH are set up. Some places will let you put a refundable deposit down for like 24 hrs to make a decision.....others just tell you to call back asap with a decision and to sign a contract if they have other people looking for the same day. Dont worry....once you have the RH picked, everything else will fall into place.

Enjoy the planning.....it is fun...no matter the stress levels that can go along with it.