Am I the only one?

I've been engaged for almost 3 mths- and we haven't set a date yet. We had our engagement party last week and of course everyone asked. We had started looking and at one point booked the cresent club (long story) but then we stopped to focus on the EP. Now we're torn between a backyard tent wedding (what I would like) and going to a hall. My FH keeps telling me to call and make appts to look at halls but I have no ideas on where I what to go. Every place I thought of was out of our price range. We have big families and it going to cost alot no matter where we go. Is it possible to have a wedding for under $25,000 on LI?
Sorry to bore you all- just need to vent a little.

Re: Am I the only one?

It took me about three months before I booked a hall...we had a year and a half plus engagement so we were in no rush. I also know plenty of people who have planned great weddings in a short amount of time. I guess it depends on how picky you are.

I think you can plan a wedding on any budget. You just have to pick and choose which areas are important to you and make cuts here and there.

I know my friend got married at Stewart Manor on a Sunday (memorial Day weekend) and he kept his budget to less than $30,000 with a Hawaiian honeymoon. His weding was great and I did not think anything was missing.

There are plenty of halls on LI that are less expensive and still very nice. Also, a Sunday or Friday evening can also help save lots of $$$. My friend had hers on a Friday night (she really wanted a Saturday) because she saved over $12,000 (she had over 300 people at her wedding).

It is do-able. Don't lose hope...have fun!

Re: Am I the only one?

PS what is yur budget per person..maybe we can help recommend places?

Re: Am I the only one?

We are having our reception at the Coral House in Baldwin. From some of the prices I have seen they seem to be affordable. We only looked at one other place, as soon as we walked into the Coral House FH fell in love with it and we booked that day. If you want to check them out ask for Linda 516-223-6500. She is one of the banquet managers and she is great. Tell her Liz sent you. Good Luck !

Re: Am I the only one?

I got married at the Smithtown Landing CC and it was about $62pp when I booked in 2000, think it's about $70 pp now. This was a Sat. night sit-down dinner. The place is nice - very modest though -- not as fancy as some of these other halls. But we had a wonderful evening with great food and good service. We had invited 200+ guests and wound up with about 150 replying yes and 125 actually making it (four days after 9/11). We were able to keep our costs to $25,000.

Re: Am I the only one?

The Meadow Club in Port Jefferson is also very affordable. We are getting married on a Sunday in August. We took the best package and are paying $85 per person (that's with tax and gratuity). We have about 175 coming to the wedding, so this has made it incredibly affordable for us.

Re: Am I the only one?

check out this website. on the top right you can choose what area, nassau and suffolk are on there. it gives you a big list of places, and gives good info like average price per person, how many it holds, etc. if you want to know the ones we went to see, let me know. we saw some with good prices.
http://www.weddingfacilitiesandservices.com/TEMPLATE/FrontEnd/

Re: Am I the only one?

Thanks for all your input. I have one of those bridal mags with a list of places- we checked off a few. We've been to CC, watermill, john anthony's, sail harbor (not impressed- not so long story), larkfield manor and windows on the lake. They weren't bad at all- but we found little things we didn't like about them. I hope we're not being too picky but I feel like if I'm spending the money I want to be happy with everything the place has to offer.

Re: Am I the only one?

We got married at Bellport Country Club - We had checked out all of the places you listed and felt the same - they all had some aspect we didn't like - when we walked into BCC -we knew it was perfect - we loved the set up and the decor and the staff was very friendly- people are still talking about the food. Since it seems youre looking in suffolk - also check out Sunset harbor - a friend of mine got married there on a limited budget ( I think less than 15,000) and it was very nice - she had a buffet dinner instead of sit down.

Re: Am I the only one?

Jen T- how many can the BCC hold?

Re: Am I the only one?

We got married at the Sans Souci in Sea Cliff on a Saturday afternoon in May. It was an exceptional day for us!!

We paid $85 pp (before tax and 18% service charge) and had a final count of 115 adults and 7 children. The cake and floral table centerpieces were included, so that helped us cut down costs. We had an outdoor cocktail hour that was fantastic.

I highly recommend the Sans Souci if you will have less than 150 people. It hosts one wedding at a time. We paid for the entire wedding ourselves, with the following few exceptions: my dress, our honeymoon, and the bouquets (our parents paid for them).

I believe we spent less than $25,000. It is do-able. Be patient and explore several options. Other places we didn't book but I'd recommend based on price are Milleridge Cottage, George Washinton Manor, and Stewart Manor Country Club.

Good Luck!!

Re: Am I the only one?

You can have a beautiful wedding at that budget. I bet you a tent wedding will cost you MORE than one at a place. If you love the outdoors try vineyard caterers out East. The Port Jeff Country Club is beautiful. My friend's wedding was lovely, elegant and the view is great. Try the Hamlet Windwatch (where I am getting married), one wedding at a time, great food, a beautiful room overlooking a golf course. Meadow Club is great. Giorgio's in Baiting Hollow is really nice.

You need to budget your music, photographer, video and all the extra stuff but you can do it.

Re: Am I the only one?

Don't follow the $$$'s listed in magazines. We found them to be totally off. Timberpoint CC was listed as $$$$ and Milleredge Cottage $$ but it should have been reversed. Don't get discouraged, there are a lot of nice places out there.

Re: Am I the only one?

I'm not sure how high they accomodate - we only had 125 - but that was the minimum on a Saturday night - I think they might go to 250 - 300 - but I could be wrong -

Re: Am I the only one?

we are getting married at The Coral House, in the American room (biggest room in the place) and we are paying $89 a head. I'd say check out the swan club, we looked there at it was like $65 pp but was to small for us (we have over 200 people)

Re: Am I the only one?

We were engaged for almost a year before booking a place and setting a date. It was clearly the most frustrating part of the planning.
We're getting married at a farm in Queens and only paying $900.00 to rent the property for a Saturday night. We're also paying $60.00 pp for a cocktail hour, buffet dinner (10 dishes), full bar, cake, and pastries. You can have your wedding for less than $25,000.00. We will have paid about $15,000.00 by the time it's done. It's totally possible.
Another idea-my sister got married at the LI Martime Museum in Sayville (on the beach) and had a Sunday brunch. She paid $5,000.00 for everything.
Feel free to email if you want some suggestions or info:
[email protected]

Re: Am I the only one?

Bluebaby I know how you feel. The money issue gives me a headache everytime I think of it!! You can also try Swan Club and I agree with hmm can't remember who wrote it, but the price ranges in the mags is not true. Swan Club gave me a really good rate for March 2004 on a Friday night.
FH was adamant about having the wedding on a Saturday as to not inconvenience anyone, but once CB told us its about $10/pp on a Saturday, we we were looking at $2,000 more per person. He quickly said Friday it is!! And I would mention seeing Chateau Briand. We were surprised at the rate we were given. Good Luck

Re: Am I the only one?

Anyone getting married at swan club, sunset harbor or the riverview? Just want to get an opinion. I'm thinking of looking at those.

Re: Am I the only one?

We looked at the Swan Club and I really liked the big room but we didn't have enough people for it. They quoted us $82 or 85 for a Saturday night which includes a lot of food and I think a Vienese hour. I went to a graduation party there and it was one of the best meals I ever had.

Re: Am I the only one?

The Snapper Inn in Oakdale (www.thesnapperinn.com)
they offer a BEAUTIFUL outdoor pavillion for over 75 people or a tent on the lawn for under 50...and they are located right on the Connetquot River.