My fiance and i got engaged on 9/11/11. I've been browsing this website and message board for a few months because we've been talking about getting married for a few months now. Just wanted to say hi to everyone...Hi!
We're planning on getting married in September or October of 2012. We plan on inviting 80-100 guests.
Now comes the vent. I guess this routine for all new brides...I started calling around to reception halls this weekend and WOW!! these prices...just WOW! So far, I've called Chateau Briand, Somerley at Fox Hollow and Bridgeview Yatch Club. The guaranteed miniumum seems to be 150 guests and the lowest I've been quoted is $95 for a Friday night.
Neither of us wanted to have a big wedding, but my fiance's mother sure wouldn't mind(she will be contributing). Either way, I really don't want to invite 150 people to my wedding. We started with a total budget of $10,000, went up to $15,000 and are now up to $20,000. I just have a problem spending all that money on just one day, you know, on principle.
We are looking for somewhere that is a bit modern and elegant, but cozy. Any help from you girls would be greatly appreciated.
KrisBren2011
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Aww. Well Congrats on getting engaged and welcome!!! Have you considered doing a Sunday wedding? We are doing a Sunday from 5:30-10:30 at the Thatched Cottage and it's a lot less than what you were quoted. Also, would you be willing to change months? We were quoted a lot less money for November, then we were for October. Try to relax and take your time. You will find the perfect spot!
BellaRegina
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Welcome! I am having a big wedding, so i dont think i'll be able to help out that much...but i KNOW people are having smaller ones. As for your budget, i think you might need to reconsider it a tad, because in addition to the hall you have SO MANY other things to think about. DJ, Photo, video, limo, flowers, dress, makeup, hair, jewlery, favors, invites ETC ETC. It addes up QUICK.
Good luck. As stressful as it is, wedding planning is a ton of fun!!!!!
KL824
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Congrats on your engagement!!
I can definitely understand your vent! The cost of a wedding, especially on Long Island, is unbelievable sometimes!! We are going way beyond our budget, and from what I hear, it's not unusual to have to do that.
As for a place, FH and I went to about a dozen reception halls before choosing, and were quoted anything from $75 pp to $200 pp. If I recall, the Riviera in Massapequa was pretty and not terribly expensive. I can't really think of any others, but if you keep researching and making calls, I'm sure you'll find a place that fits you guys!!
Good luck on your search!
AwaitingAugust
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Congrats on your engagement and welcome to LIW ... you'll be addicted in no time
I totally agree with you about spending so much on a single day ... i didn't want a 'big' wedding either but still ended up with 115 guests. Ultimately, i wish i had done a lot of things differently and kept with my original hope of a small wedding.
one thing for you to remember is that if you invite 100 people, about 80 of them will come (give or take) ... so make sure you have the right minimum with the RH.
To save money, you could take a look at 'off' seasons (winter is cheaper than summer, for example). You could also try a Thursday instead ... or even a Monday when most people have days off (like Labor Day)
Best of luck!
kkbride
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Thanks for the kind words ladies. Would moving to November make a difference? I have no problem with that (although I hate the cold) but my Fiance said that he doesn't want November. I don't think he understands how expensive weddings can get.
barbeik005
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Posted by kkbride
Thanks for the kind words ladies. Would moving to November make a difference? I have no problem with that (although I hate the cold) but my Fiance said that he doesn't want November. I don't think he understands how expensive weddings can get.
November certainly wouldn't be an inexpensive as a January wedding...but I think that you'll likely see a price decrease from Sept/Oct. The problem is that those 2 months are peak time for weddings so they can charge you more!
Something that we did which helped was to have a Sunday afternoon wedding. We choose a holiday weekend so that it wouldn't be such a travel inconvenience for people...as they have the Monday off! Just a suggestion. The prices were definitely better on a Sunday!
AwaitingAugust
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I think Nov will be a bit cheaper ... you can always call the RH's to find out exactly how much cheaper (if at all)
Royalgem21
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Lombardi's on the Bay has GREAT prices. The room is also very elegant and cozy.
Crest Hollow Country Club, modern and cozy, great food.
Chateau La Mer also is a good choice.
Douglaston Manor is an old Villa, not modern but seems cozy with the big fireplace.
Riviera is nice but not modern at all, very rustic. The prices are great though and the view of the bay is beautiful.
halfbaked
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Congrats and welcome! I think it would be cheaper if you bumped it to November, but there's other options, too. I see you're already looking at a Friday night which is a great money saver. There are definitely RH's that are cheaper than $95 on a Friday night in October though and that will not require 150 person guarantee. I'm sure some past brides can suggest places with smaller rooms. I've heard The Metropolitan and Swan Club have two smaller rooms. Possibly also Douglaston Manor. There are options out there, but it takes a lot of hard work! Good luck!
ETA: Don't get disheartened, you're not the first to suffer from sticker shock!
Royalgem21
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Posted by kkbride
Thanks for the kind words ladies. Would moving to November make a difference? I have no problem with that (although I hate the cold) but my Fiance said that he doesn't want November. I don't think he understands how expensive weddings can get.
November is definitely less expensive but if he doesn't want it, you can get around the prices by looking elsewhere.
Mid October is so nice with the foliage!
Besides the places I mentioned, I know that Chateau Briand will go lower for November as well as Villa Lombardi's in Holbrook. For Lombardis, it's definitely lower than $95.
LMEL1223
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I would suggest Crestwood Manor. Their min is 100 people. I think their pricing starts around 85 but i was able to neg with them. I trimmed down the cocktail hour and get a way better price.
PhD2012-Mrs2013
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It's easy to get discouraged. We had looked at a dozen places, and only 2/12 had a minimum requirement of 100 people for a friday night. All others said 150-175 for a friday night. I found that most places charged about the same price for April as they did for Nov. (e.g. North ritz charged the same for April or Nov.) So maybe your FH wouldn't mind April. I also found that the cheaper months were Nov-->April. I originally started looking for Nov or April. We ended up getting what we thought was a reasonable price for the last weekend in May so we went with that. But still had to guarantee 150.. . I found that instead of going back and forth with the same RH to get the lower price, I bottom lined them up front. I said, that we had looked into ___ places, and we were looking to make a decision by the end of that week, what's the bottom line/best you can do... That seemed to work for the best prices and negotiation of other things. It also beat the hassle of continuing to talk to the same places to get the lower price. Good Luck!
FNDRiese
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Congrats and welcome to LIW!! I definitely suggest considering a November wedding. You will see a significant drop off in prices, and Sunday weddings will be the cheapest out of Friday, Saturday and, Sunday.
I just went through the whole RH search, so I can tell you that Woodbury Country Club and Riviera definitely have lower rates. I would suggest that you take a look at Riviera. I loved it, but we are having about 150-200 and it's too small for us, but the place was beautiful!!
Good luck!!
sjr385
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alliemarie520
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Congratulations!!! Check out the Riviera and Westbury Manor. Both were very reasonable when we checked them out. Prices are also definitely cheaper in November which is why we booked the first weekend in November instead of October! Good luck!!!
meghan13
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My minimum was 125 fro the veranda at East Wind, but they also have the country gardens that I think holds 80-100 people.
net267
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Posted by alliemarie520
Congratulations!!! Check out the Riviera and Westbury Manor. Both were very reasonable when we checked them out. Prices are also definitely cheaper in November which is why we booked the first weekend in November instead of October! Good luck!!!
THIS. We originally wanted a Sept/Oct wedding but by picking the first weekend in Nov we saved a significant amount per head. Keep looking, you'll find what your looking for. Also, consider saturday day wedding. Prices were much more reasonable than friday or sat night. Good luck and welcome to LIW
Im getting Married
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Congrats and welcome.
We had a final count of 90 something (not counting vendors)
Call Westbury Manor they have a smaller room upstairs. DH & I and our guests loved it. It was like being by yourself. The CH room has a balcony seating area and so does the reception room (a smaller one)
We had an amazing wedding there
jassy119
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Im getting married on a Sunday evening in Oct at The Swan Club. 2 of their rooms are a 100 person min and we are paying $70pp + 20% service fee and tax.
