I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

Originally I was planning on visiting 23 halls.
My FI nearly fell over.lol. Well, I've been doing some research online and looking at pictures and taken into account everything that's important and here's the list that I have. FI is so much happier with this.

1)Russo's on the Bay
2)Villa Lombardi's
3)Floral Terrace
4)Marina Del Rey
5)Giorgio
6)Chaetau Briand
7)Leonards
8)Crest Hollow Country Club

They are in no apparent order. Any thoughts as to these halls and your thoughts and why you would pick one over the other. Thanks.

AHH- edited to add 9)The Grand Prospect hall

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

I only saw number 8 and number 1 on your list ( I went to others but those are the ones that I saw that you shortlisted). I decided to go with Crest Hollow because I loved the way that it looks. To me it looks elegant and classy. The only thing I don't like at Crest Hollow is that they can have multiple weddings on one day, but they assured me that I should not even notice the other party (we'll see). When I had my appointment at Russo's there was a wedding going on, so I got to see what happened first hand. I loved the service, but I hated the setting. I wanted somewhere where I can take outdoor pictures and Russo's doesn't have that.

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

I would love to tell you more specific info about those reception halls but my wedding is going to be in RI, I have just a tip:
-figure out if you have any preference on date(Saturday or Sunday) and month( winter, summer, fall or spring) and check those dates with a reception hall. I sent inquires over internet and got info from most of them, we narrowed down to three places in the end!
Good luck!

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

I've seen #'s 2, 6,7 (obviously), ad 8. Our first choice was 8 but we couldn't afford it so we went with 7.

What are you looking for most in a hall?

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

Just my Honest opinion... I do not want nor mean to hurt any feelings.....My favorite weddings have been at Russo's.. great food and service.. can't go wrong there..
I hear amazing things about the food at Villa's... we went and saw them , but FH didn't like the decor and it was too far away for us... CB and CH are just like every other catering hall.. if you can afford Russo's or Villa I'd go there. They are the priciest on your list. Leonards is a factory, the valet gets crazy, and they do a million weddings at once. It will be inconvenient for you, your guests, and vendors.

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

i think all of the choices you picked are good for various reasons. there are actually a few there that i went and checked out. my first choice was russos but they didnt have any dates available in the beggining of january for 2004 and i didnt want to wait untill jan 2005. my second choice was chteau briand because its doesnt look like the other catering halls and i was impressed by the banquet manager. i think you should meet with all of them and go with the place you feel most comfortable with. good luck

edited to say that remember you have to comfortable and happy and you dont want to second guess yourself so take your time and wait all of your options

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

Happy hunting!

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

We saw 2,3(obviously),6 & 8. We loved Villa Lombardi's but my FBIL got married there in 2003 & we didn't want to do the same...#6 to me is just to crazy with the option of up to 3 parties at a time & 8 was where my senior prom was & I was not impressed then...

Now we choose 3 bc of many things but one of the main was the 'one wedding' at a time...I really didn't want to have to deal with staying out of the way of someone else! Plus Floral Terrace is just breathtaking inside & I could not resist it...We did a food tasting prior to bookin & that set us over th edge...The food was amazing & so delicious!

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

Well, I'm from NJ. No kidding- I seriously visited EVERY hall in central and nothern NJ. I just wasn't thrilled with anything.

We looked at a couple in LI. We gave up. On our way home, we passed Leonard's. As soon as I saw that chandelier, I told DH to pull in! We booked them the next morning and they were fantastic!

DH has A LOT of family in Italy. A bunch of them came to the wedding and they still rave about it!!! They were extrememly impressed with the hall, the food, the entertainment, our flowers...

edited to add: There were other weddings at Leonard's on the same day, but we had absolutely no interference with sound, guests, other brides, or anything. My guests were all very impressed with the great service. I have one aunt and uncle who go to MANY weddings. They usually complain about every wedding they go to. But, even they were very impressed with everything at Leonard's. Many of my guests keep asking me if we will have more parties at Leonard's in the future because they really loved it there!

My best advice for you would be to talk to brides who have ALREADY gotten married at the halls you are considering. They know what they were expecting and they will be able to be the best judges of the quality and atmosphere of those halls.

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

I've been to one wedding at Russos on the Bay, and I was floored with their impeccable service. They really live up to their reputation, and I think they do a wonderful job.

I've also heard great things about Marina del Ray, and although they're not a popular as most of the LI halls, I was told about the great food and awesome views.

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

the only two i know on that list are russo's and crest hollow . . .
I'd go with russo's personally - only because I just went to a wedding there and it was one of the most fun I've ever been to - of course, that could have been b/c the band was awesome too!

My brother got married at Crest Hollow and had a gorgeous wedding - the food was great too.

It's a tough choice.

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

I've been to a wedding at Russo's and Chateau Briand. The service and food are wonderful. The only plus side to CB, I don't think they have as many parties at one time as Russo's.

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

u have fm

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

Russo's has alot of parties the same day ..
CB also but they have differnt times
my cocktail starts at 6:00 and the next one starts at 7:30 thats the only good thing


and all the halls that had one wedding at a time were either to far from where we live or i just did not like them !!!!

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

Villa Lombardi's . Although i didnt pick this one b/c of the price the place is gorgeous and there is lots of food and its good

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

I would just say that Leonard's and Floral Terrace do not fit with the rest of the places you are looking at. No offense to those of you having your weddings there, they are beautiful places, but as far as price range goes, those don't fit with the rest.

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

1)Russo's on the Bay- I've never been there but i've heard the food and service are excellent. They are very expensive though. My sister was quoted something like $190 for a sat eve in may

4)Marina Del Rey- I went to a wedding here in march 03. it was really beautiful. The dance floor is HUGE. the food was good and the view was AMAZING. They have a really nice outdoor area that we could go out on. SO pretty. And I remever the cocktail hour was great b/c there was a lot of seating and the food was very good!
5)Giorgio- My cousin's wedding was here, I've heard nothing but good things about it/
6)Chaetau Briand- Another cousinw as married here Fortunately I missed the wedding though because the lights went out. AHH. but this was 10 years ago, so I don't think you can go by that
7)Leonards- I've heard it's a beautiful place, but they have a lot of weddings at once and paper thin walls.
8)Crest Hollow Country Club- My sister had her wedding here, and I went to a cousin's wedding there also. It's really beautiful and the food was very very good. My sister's cocktail hour was great, at the other one there wasn't enough seating, and a lot of people had to stand. the food, expecially the cocktail hour and viennese were great, and they really worked with my sister to get her what she wanted. My sister had the starlite room, which was great and very large and pretty, the other wedding was in the emerald room which has a smaller dance floor and levels. Sittong in the 2nd level I felt like I was at another party! so i didn't like thaty

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

I think it is wonderful that everyone is sharing their opinions. However, I also would like to say that if you have not had your wedding at a certain hall it could be hurtful to other brides to say negative comments about a hall you may not know so much about.

My brother had his wedding at Russo's and it was beautiful. As at Leonards there are more than one wedding at a time. Also, I know that depending on the time of year, amount of food ETC. all of those halls can come to the same price.

My siser in law got married on a Saturday night in August at Crest Hollow and paid the same amount that I am for a Saturday afternoon at Leonards.

Good Luck!!!!

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

I just bumped the 'have you been toa wedding at' thread, so you can look through that for opinions of these halls.

Yeah we've been down that raod with posting something negative and hurting people's feelings. My take is that it's better to be honest so people cna tkae up any concerns they have with their BM at thier hall. it doens't help ANYONE if we're always sunshine and rianbows and this hall was great, that vendor was great and don't give honest opinions. Just try not to trash a vndor unneccesarilt

Re: I've narrowed my halls down from 23 to 8. What are your thoughts?

I totally agree with you. If someone has had a bad experience somewhere they should share. As long as it is an experience and not an opinion.