Overwhelmed

Fh and I went to check out two venues today and it was an overwhelming experience.
The first place was way beyond our budget.
The second place was definitely a contender. But actually going and looking at places was just a lot. Anyone else feel that way?

Overwhelmed

FH & I went in knowing that our month was an off season month so we were expecting a certain range per person. Luckily, we got a phenomenal deal. We only went to two venues. The first just didn't call out to us, it was beautiful but I was expecting us to feel some feeling. As soon as we pulled up to the second venue, we felt that feeling and knew!! Don't stress. You will know it is the right place when you walk into it.

Overwhelmed

I was expecting things to be way cheaper than they are. We went to a few venues that were just a definite no. The ones we loved were the ones we could not afford. Once you get the right price and the right feeling, you'll probably feel way better. I just read MrsPy's last sentence and realized she said the same thing, haha. Maybe try to do one visit every few days. We allowed ourselves two venues per week.

Overwhelmed

I went to 35 venues from October to January. I felt that I needed to see everything that looked like I might want to get married there. It was very exhausting, both mentally and physically. Especially when we went places that were way out of our budget, or places that were nothing like what I had envisioned. It got very discouraging at times. I totally understand where you're coming from. But you've only seen 2 venues, so don't get too discouraged yet! There are plenty of places that I found extremely reasonably priced that were beautiful and offered a lot. If you FM me what you're looking for, I can send you some quotes to places I saw.

Hope this helps!

Overwhelmed

The venue search is very overwhelming! FH and I had looked at so many and couldn't agree on one...like others said when you find the place you will know and hopefully the price will meet your budget. If it helps narrow down to ones in your budget first (based on websites phone calls and the fab girls on here!) this helped so I didn't look at anywhere I knew was way over budget. Once we found our place we knew we went back the next night to book HTH!!

Overwhelmed

Agreed! It was overwhelming but once you know what you like and don't like it makes everything so much easier! Good luck =)

Overwhelmed

Thank you girls. I just wasn't expecting this feeling. But I'm glad it's not just me.

Re: Overwhelmed

you have FM :)

Overwhelmed

Just take your time and don't settle!! I thought I would go to like 50 venues and I think I went to 8 before my eyes started crossing. I was picking apart each place! When i got to my room I just knew it had everything I wanted and I could afford it!! Good luck :)

Overwhelmed

I know I'm pretty new here but I'm glad I joined this forum. It's nice to be able to talk to people who are having the same feelings.

Overwhelmed

We all had the same feeling of overwhelmingness for one reason or another, I think. One good thing about these boards is that you realize you're not the only one. My advice is to call and insist on finding out the pricing before you meet with anyone. That helped us knock out a lot of places (I think FH would have killed me if I dragged him to one more RH). Also, make a list of the things you definitely want, and ask places on the phone if they have them. For instance, I want to get married outdoors, so if we called a place and they said they didn't have an outdoor ceremony area, I crossed them off the list and moved on to the next one.

Overwhelmed

I know exactly what you mean!! Originally, FH and I were planning for a November 2014 wedding... we figured this way we can get a nice venue for a decent price because November is a 'shoulder month'. We fell in LOVE with Thatched Cottage but, since we're paying for most of the wedding ourselves, couldn't afford it. We continued looking at other venues, and there were a lot of nice ones that we really liked and could afford. I kept thinking about TC, though, and I didn't love anything as much or more.... I was definitely stressed out and overwhelmed.

We decided instead of 'settling' for a venue that we knew wasn't the one for us, we moved our wedding back to January of 2014. At first, I was hesitant about a winter wedding because, to be honest, I really hate the winter. It didn't take too long for me to get on board, though! Now I have something to look forward to every winter (our anniversary) and I can play around with different winter themes. The season eventually grew on me and, in the end, I couldn't be happier with our decision!!

Overwhelmed

I can totally understand what you are going through. I HATED the venue process. We saw 12 places and nothing was like I had envisioned for our wedding day. I had to weigh many options. Though westbury manor was not in my original vision we both loved the place most of everywhere we had seen and could afford. I was able to keep the time of year and get a price we could afford but I had to change my vision. I am no longer having the nautical wedding I dreamed of but I know our wedding will be amazing. I have not regretted my decision once......yet

Good luck. Try to enjoy the experience. I really stressed myself out over it. When you find the place right for you and your FH you'll know.

Re: Overwhelmed

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Posted by sgf2

We all had the same feeling of overwhelmingness for one reason or another, I think. One good thing about these boards is that you realize you're not the only one. My advice is to call and insist on finding out the pricing before you meet with anyone. That helped us knock out a lot of places (I think FH would have killed me if I dragged him to one more RH). Also, make a list of the things you definitely want, and ask places on the phone if they have them. For instance, I want to get married outdoors, so if we called a place and they said they didn't have an outdoor ceremony area, I crossed them off the list and moved on to the next one.

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Definitely call!! I was really in love with one venue's one specific room... so I called and the man on the phone was SO incredibly rude to me... I couldn't even stand it. I was appalled by the way he spoke to me. That took it off the list for me right away.

The reception guide on here definitely helped me narrow down my choices!

FH and I only ended up seeing a total of 3 venues... but thats because The Mansion was our 2nd venue we saw and we loved it so much I ended up cancelling about 9 appointments!

When it is YOUR space... you're gonna know :)

Overwhelmed

FH and I went to like every venue on the island. It is a lot and gets confusing. We narrowed it down to 3 after saying ok no more we seem to really like these lets narrow it down from there. We were like what do people always remember if the food was good so we based it on food and price and our venue that we book was the best for both. Just take your time really thing about what you want and call around get some quotes first cause if its not in your price range there really is no point to looking when you know its out of budget. We made that mistake.

Overwhelmed

I was hoping to find 'the one' right away but it's not happening. I am starting to feel the pressure since we want to have the wedding this summer. I agree, it seems to take a lot of time and energy. I also have a thing about the 'feel' of a place. Everything has to be right, including how the staff treat you, etc.

Overwhelmed

I went with my sister when she was getting married, and remember how stressful it was... Now that it's my turn, I decided to do tons of internet research and narrow down to two places. One was a place that was in my budget and had great reviews online and from friends/family (The Milleridge Cottage). The other place we checked out we knew would be out of our price range, but we decided to go to the more expensive place in the morning, and then the Milleridge in the afternoon. By doing that, we were able to see that 1. the menus were EXACTLY the same and 2. the price per plate was DOUBLED at the first placed compared to the Milleridge and 3. the dancefloor and ballroom were way bigger than the first place... this was so helpful because we were able to take note of what was important to us and see how a price per plate does not determine which place is better than another... We definitely got the most for our money by booking the Milleridge, and were able to make a decision after only seeing 2 places :)

Overwhelmed

P.S Keep in mind that there are trade-offs with every place you choose... Our trade-off was that the bridal suite isn't as nice as other places... but you have to make a list of what is the MOST important first. My ceremony is at a church by my house, so I wouldn't even be using the bridal suite to get ready so it wasn't a deal breaker... just make a list and realize that there is probably no place that will have everything you want (unless you can afford Oheka Castle lol)

Overwhelmed

Thank you everyone. It's not about seeing a lot of places or finding a place quickly. Just the feeling that I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing lol. But thank you for all the advice. We have two more places to see next weekend before we move the search to Staten island. I did call places and maybe Brooklyn is different but they don't give prices over the phone. Thats ok Fh prefers to go to the places anyway.

Overwhelmed

I went to see over 12 venues and when I went to see my venue, I really 'got that feeling' as someone mention above. But even with that feeling I was a bit hesitant afterwards...Asking myself if I rushed, could I have found a better place, but every time I go there (once a month), it makes me realized that I got the best place for us. Not to mention that I have never heard or read a bad review for Westbury Manor