Re: QUESTIONS TO ASK AT HALLS

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Posted by kdrainey

I have just mapped out a plan for tomorrow in hopes of visiting more than 3 halls.

Sandcastle, Floral Terrace, Jericho Terrace, Leonards, Chateau Briand, Verdi's &then Coral House. They are all within about 15 minutes or less of each other.

I am uploading my digital pics now but they are too huge to post. I need to clear my camera for tomorrow.

We were told that our OOT guests could get discounts at the Inn at Fox Hollow if we book. That's a plus.

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Katrina- Let me know how things go tomorrow! I am so excited to hear of the places you are going. I don't know you, but have a feeling you'll like Chateau Briand!

-Jill

Re: QUESTIONS TO ASK AT HALLS

P.s yes the warmer you go date wise the more $$$. And especially if you want a night wedding.. U have FM!

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Posted by ravens_bride

You sound like you are doing well with the hunt. I Wish I had your list when I went looking. I am going to bring it when I go in next though.
Good Luck!

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I have to say that it was very helpful. I had most questions answered during the spiel but then followed up to be sure I wrote it all down.

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Posted by myasmom

Oh my goodness maybe you saw my parents at Swan club, one wedding was asian themed and one was indian and I beleive there wee others. She said that at one point the 3 brides were in the grounds together taking pictures. I honestly wouldnt haved minded that though..those are cute pictures not many have in theri album

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I wish I had known. I would have said hello. LOL

EXACTLY!!!! To many parties and very close together. That is why FI did not like the place. We heard reggae as we walked in, saw an Asian theme wedding to the left and and Indian theme wedding to the right. There were brides everywhere!!!! We were there about 5:30 - 6 p.m. so parties were coming in and people were arriving early for receptions. It was very chaotic. There was a line for the valet and we were told to park on our own.

Swan Club is very pretty (and the Pavillion Room is heated in the winter) but FI thought it was just too busy.

He wanted one wedding at a time but really fell in love with Fox Hollow in the video presentation. I had him call to see if we could see the room since I was kind of annoyed that he did not love Milleridge Cottage. He was so right though. I ignored the Fox Hollow video since I have been stuck on Milleridge Cottage for a while now. But I have to admit the Garden Terrace is really pretty and has windows all around like I want (a la Milleridge).

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This is one pic from Fox Hollow today. I loved this centerpiece - or is it a dais? Either way, I may change my colors so I can use it. Annissa, this reminded me of your bouquet!!! Beautiful.

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aww thank you. I say go for it. feb is a nice month for red and red photographs beautifully.

P.s I dont see a pic.

Re: QUESTIONS TO ASK AT HALLS

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Posted by kdrainey

This is one pic from Fox Hollow today. I loved this centerpiece - or is it a dais? Either way, I may change my colors so I can use it. Annissa, this reminded me of your bouquet!!! Beautiful.

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OK - that did not work. I had my camera set on high res so this pic is a little crappy since I had to reduce the resolution after the fact.

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Re: QUESTIONS TO ASK AT HALLS

OMG that is soooooo pretty. I did all ivory roses with greenery and candles for our centerpieces. Somthing about night and white flowers and candles when you walk into a room But defintiely go for color in the day time. It brightens up the room and looks even prettier in pics.

second day visiting halls Re: QUESTIONS TO ASK AT HALLS

We never made it to Coral House. We loved Jericho Terrace & the BM - Mike.

We just got in. We visited Sand Castle which was okay. FI thought it was cheesy and he did not like the knights armor - said it was corny. The price for 2/19/06 in the afternoon - $80PP++ and they do not have tastings. I think the guarantee was 150. Plus, the BM said we HAD to use their florist. FI was not cool with that at all since he has a friend who owns a flower shop. Not that he is insistent on using her but being told he could not was a strike against Sand Castle.

We saw the ballroom they use in pics but there was a wall up. They are only using half of the room since it was a smaller party of about 120 people. The problem for me is that the BM told me the reasoning for such a small amount of people in that room which is typically for only larger parties. The bride was relocated for her job and Sand Castle could not reach her? They CANCELLED her wedding and when she called (I guess to make payment or check on details) they scrambled to give her a space. There is also a 75% cancellation fee - 75% of the contracted price.

We visited Floral Terrace. They have a nice ceremony room and a fabulous ballroom!!! It is very different and the dance floor is elevated. And FI's big issue was solved - Floral Terrace is a one wedding at a time place. I was concerned that it's on a main road and right at the highway. There was no wedding today so no valets were outside. However, they have valet parking (underground) and the price was $60pp ++ on 2/19/2006 in the afternoon with a 125 guarantee. Marilyn was really nice. They also do not have tastings - owned by same people as Sandcastle. The bridal suite is HUGE and very nice. There is even a groom's suite which FI liked. They too have a 75% cancellation fee.

We next went to Jericho Terrace at 249 Jericho Turnpike since I thought it was down the block from Floral Terrace - 250 Jericho Turnpike. It is actually a few miles away.

We pulled up and both loved it immediatley. It is 'gated' by some stone work. Once we went inside we were more impressed. The place is gorgeous. The service was excellent too. We met with Mike and he gave us a tour and we had lunch in his office. John, the waiter for lunch, was also very nice. FI took note that John waited until I finished talking about whatever it was to FI and then John asked if I needed anything before he walked away. FI said most waiters drop the food and run off. LOL (I never did that when I was a waitress but it was not at a catering hall).

For the smaller room we would need to guarantee 125 but once I saw the larger ballroom in pictures -- I wanted it. That will be a guarantee of 150. There are 4 fireplaces, an indoor fish pond, nice gardens and plenty of places for pictures. Plus, if it is not too cold or raining, we would take pics outside.

The price we got is $55 pp ++ including a grilled shirmp station at the cocktail hour and whatever else we can create. We get to totally create the entire menu or pick items from the menu that Mike showed us. We also get 2 bridal attendants, valet parking, a 4 tier cake, cocktail centerpieces and some other things I can't recall right now.

Jericho Terrace has a showcase on Wednesday and we plan to go. I want to see the ballroom and bridal suite that we want in person since Mike could not show it to us today - there was a wedding going on.

We even toured the kitchen and met the staff. It was very clean. I saw the tomato sauce being made for tonight's party as well as filet mignon uncut and some of the fruit carvings. I also went into one of the refrigerator's and saw fresh mozzarella - made on site. It was really good too. I had the pasta, creme brulee, super fresh raspberries and some other cocktail items for lunch. I took photos too. Although it's 2 weddings at once, it was so separated and the timing is staggered do we would not run into anyone else from the other party. We would pick 11:30 - 5 or 12:30 - 6.

Mike Closs is great. FI really liked him alot. The funny thing is when we did not find Jericho Terrace a few blocks from Floral Terrace, we started to just skip it. I'm so glad we didn't.

Then off to Chateau Briand. We liked it but Jericho Terrace won us over with the windows and skylights. Chateau Briand also had a lot of parties going on at once. There were two weddings across the hall from each other tonight and we were able to peek into BOTH of them. That is the second time I was allowed to go into someone else's wedding and I would be pissed if a stranger was allowed to peek into my wedding. We were also given a video to take home. Oh yeah, we saw the kitchen through the windowed area by all of the plaques/awards.

It's cool that the bride and groom enter the ballroom through the floor. I thought that was at Floral Terrace or Russo's.

I was being a bit finicky after Jericho Terrace and got annoyed that I was not offered a drink for nearly 20 minutes while we waited for the BM to finish with a prior tour at Chateau Briand. I was offered a drink seconds after I complained to FI about the service not being as good as Jericho. We took the tour and thought it was a little too dark. They are renovating (carpets and bathrooms) and will be done of 9/15/04. But the renovations will not brighten up the place. Windows are important to me since I want an afternoon wedding.

I think we are picking Jericho Terrace but that decision will made later this week. FI liked the Garden Terrace at Fox Hollow and today he said he really like Jericho Terrace. More than one wedding was his BIG issue but he said he did not care that Jericho had 2 weddings at a time since it was such an elegant place. Oh yeah, for Jericho Terrace brides, Mike said he is putting in a gazebo where the valet booth currently stands. It will be done after high season ends and will take up about 4 parking spaces that are now beside the valet booth. FI also liked the payment schedule at Jericho - $500 deposit and then a minimum of $500 a month (if we have that many months to go) until 50% is paid with the balance due 10 days before the wedding date. Floral Terrace payment plans is $500 deposit, $1500, $1500, $2500, $2500 in lump sums. Sand Castle wanted $500 deposit, $1500, $1500, $2500, $3500 in lump sums.

So we are down to two halls. YAY

FI is not even interested in seeing an other halls. He liked Jericho just that much.

Re: QUESTIONS TO ASK AT HALLS

YAY I am so happy for you. I say its a toss up between Fox hollow and Jericho. Jericho I think is more both you and FH taste from talking to you. And you cant beat the price for Feb when its off season and way cheaper than most halls will give you. Since the inside is nice that is great since it will be cold out and not many halls will have grounds to offer picture taking opportunities unless the plants will be fake.

I say forget Coral house. Its my hall but honestly its either for winter wonderland weddings or summer becasue of the terrace and since the ceremony is indoors in the winter I wouldnt recommend any of the halls who's selling points are an outdoor ceremony..Ok I am rambling lol.

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Posted by myasmom

YAY I am so happy for you. I say its a toss up between Fox hollow and Jericho. Jericho I think is more both you and FH taste from talking to you. And you cant beat the price for Feb when its off season and way cheaper than most halls will give you. Since the inside is nice that is great since it will be cold out and not many halls will have grounds to offer picture taking opportunities unless the plants will be fake.

I say forget Coral house. Its my hall but honestly its either for winter wonderland weddings or summer becasue of the terrace and since the ceremony is indoors in the winter I wouldnt recommend any of the halls who's selling points are an outdoor ceremony..Ok I am rambling lol.

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I'm pretty sure we are booking it. We pulled up to the place and it was like WOW!!! This looks nice. We were looking for a WOW too. Kind of like ring shopping, we had the jeweler bring diamonds down to my office for several days in a row until FI finally said WOW. For him to be pleased is very important to me although he said he would go with Milleridge Cottage if I said I wanted it.

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YA..doing the happy dance for you

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Thanks. Can't wait to see the place on Wednesday.

Re: QUESTIONS TO ASK AT HALLS

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Posted by kdrainey

Hi ladies. I know it's like 2 a.m. but I am need some help with questions to ask at reception halls. I think I have come up with a comprehensive list but want your opinions.

We leave at 12:30 p.m to head to our first appointment and then at least one other hall (no appointment needed). I plan to check LIW by 12:15 p.m. in case I missed anything in my list.

My fact sheet for each hall includes:

NAME OF HALL:
Dates Available:
Capacity:
Minimum for room:
How much are vendor meals?
Are kids half price?
What ages?
Any limit on number of ½ price kids?
Vendors included in minimum?
Are kids included in minimum?
How early can bridal party arrive:
Can we have ceremony on site?
What time will ceremony begin?
Ceremony fee?
Ceremony location:
Can we have a rehearsal the night before?
If not, when?
When can vendors arrive to set up?
Bridal Suite size & location:
Number of Concurrent Events:
If more than one event: separate bathroom facilities?
Is Champagne included throughout the reception?
Liquor – top shelf? (Names?)
Are candles allowed?
In-house Wedding Planner?
Photography/Florist – recommendations?
Can we use others vendors?
Any fee for outside vendors?
Insurance requirements for vendors?
Does hall need proof of insurance?
Wedding Cake included?
Any limitations on flavors/fillings?
Cake cutting charge?
Number of Entrée Options
Can we have a tasting
When is final menu picked?
Any decorations included
Centerpieces/Cocktail hour tables?
Do we get a credit if not using centerpieces?
Linen colors:
Ratio of Guests/Servers:
What will waiters wear?
Bridal attendant included?
Number of Bars and Bartenders
Coat Room and Rest Room Attendants?
Is cost included?
Table Size (number):
Table shape:
Maximum Number of Tables for room:
Valet – included or additional?
Dimensions of Dance Floor:
Dimensions of Room:
Separate Cocktail Room:
Overtime charges:
Gratuity – is it a set fee? Is it distributed amongst all staff?
Service charge % (number):
Is service charge taxed:
Hotel recommendations:
Direction cards provided? (get a copy for file)
Deposit amount
Method of payment:
Payment schedule and is a courtesy reminder sent?
Any tasting events or showcases before we book?
Can we see photos of hall in different seasons (get copies for file)
Timing for final head count
Can we upgrade if under minimum (no wasted dinners) i.e., cordials or upgrade entrees?
Cancellation and refund policy:
Smoking area?
Any renovations planned?
What/When?
Expected completion date?
Do not forget to check out the bathrooms:
***Take digital pics of the rooms and grounds for file

Add any Notes about this hall?


This is my list. Feel free to post or FM.

Thank you.

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Be sure to ask about renovations. Millerdige Cottage, Jericho Terrace and Chateau Briand are all being renovated soon. I have also heard that Russo's is under construction. Not sure if I would have found this out at all the halls we visited w/o asking that question.