Phew so that was a busy and long weekend since found out need to pick a new reception hall due to BCE being stupid and not finishing renovations. i figured this may help some of you looking for a place (note prices are skewwed due to Thursday night wedding and plus the fact less than 4 months away til June!!)
Soooooo on to the reviews. We saw MANY places...some we didnt go in but most we at least stopped by. Here are my opinions.
Stop #1: Old Field Club: The place wasn't open, however, when we pulled up from the outside we could tell it wasn't for us. It reminded me of Windows on the Lake partly only because the outside needed to be renovated (severely). The shutters were old..the siding needed to be powerwashed and painted..and there was no landscaping. We peered inside the windows and from what we saw it seemed nothing special. Hence, we decided to quickly go elsewhere.
Stop#2: East Wind Caterers. Okay soo this place was gorgeous of course. Regal in every aspect. When we first arrived they showed us some room on the second floor of the main building since our party was a smaller one (90-100). I was not impressed with the room. The dance floor was one of those they laid on top and wasnt built into the floor and the room was pretty bland. The next room they showed us was a lot nicer. They called it the Northhampton ballroom. It was clean and slick. The chairs were nice and it was mainly their big ballroom cut in half. The menu was great adn the price was reasonable (70pp) for a Thursday. However, I did not like they didnt give u champagne when you came in and also the cocktail room was the same as the reception room (since they cut the room in half) minus it didnt have a dance floor. So for me it could ruin the surprise of the reception room. In addition, cocktail hour did not have any views (but at least they did have an outdoor patio).
Stop#3 (this is where i might go out of order): Fox Hollow: We stopped by but there was an event goinig on. Because I did not like the location or the outside, I decided to move on elsewhere. Also, I noticed online the Winter Pavillion room that there were giving us was set up weird. I felt like there was not a wide enough walk way in b/w tables. We scratched this one off the list.
Stop #4: North Ritz Club. It was okay..there was something about it that I did not like. It did not have the 'wow' factor I was looking for. The room was nice and it was nice that there was one wedding at a time. The location I did not like at all off a main road and the fact could see the hospital from the outside patio bothered me. Plus felt like wasnt getting money's worth since it was on upper end of price range ($70 pp).
Stop #5 (getting tired yet of reading?) Chataeu La Mer: The place wasn't as impressive as I thought it was going to be. Especially since there are a lot of people getting married here. On top of that because we have a small party, we would not get the main room. We would of gotten the upstairs room which was pretty bland and not enough windows for my liking. Plus I felt as if that place was not big enough to hold two weddings at the sametime. I felt as if the lobby would be way too crowded and you'd run into people every two seconds.
Stop#6: Riviera: The place was cute and cozy, however, the outside of the building itself was not too impressive and the fact that I would of had to change my date just to go there was not too great (especailly since would of had to change it to a weird date in July). It didnt seem like anything special when I peered into the main room (there was an event going on).
Stop #7: Venetian Yacht Club: The rooms were beautiful. again i felt as if having two weddings at a time might have been cramped. Also, they did not have any dates in June, only July and the fact that the one date they had I would not have access to the outdoor cocktail hour was a major turnoff. Also, I felt as if the food might have been a little too fancy for my taste and I felt you didn't get that big of a choice.
Stop#8: Thatched Cottage. The outdoor cocktail hour was amazing. However, if it rained the indoor cocktail hour was in a basement and there was no elevators so my handicapped aunt would of had to walk outside and around to enter (which would not be good in rain). The indoor cocktail hour room was way too big for our party (would of been awkward). The main reception room was okay..nothing special. They had many good personalized options though (which is a plus). I didnt like the fact our head table blended with rest of room. Also they only allowed 12 per table and we wanted to have 8-10 per table. They charged more if u were to change table sizes to add waiters (i didnt like that). Also, they had food stations for cocktail and it seemed like you werent getting too much. I did like the fact they had cute personalized options though like banana foster table and also wine service before dinner included. Overall, it was a top contender because of price. thought french style food might have been too much though since not used to it.
Stop #9 (LAST ONE). Lombardi's on the Sound: The place on the outside was impressive..on the inside even more impressive. It was very beautiful and the view from the cocktail hour was amazing. The fact that we had access to the cocktail room entrie evening was nice since it keeps people flowing if they do not like the loud music. and always have access to patio. The food menu was absolutely amazing (10 chaffing dishes!!) from a choice of like 40..wow. You also got cookies which a lot of people werent offering. The main reception room didnt have a view of the water, however you could open up the sliding doors to the cocktail room and see the patio and water from there (or the curtains). Also there had no restrctions on what we did for tables. The linens were nice as well adn the place settings i loved the silver platters underneath. The price was very reasonable (65 pp). Also, I loved Bob the manager. The place was far enough off the main road and it is a nice drive there past nice houses. I didnt like the fact that the bathrooms were downstairs or the fact that there was a restaurant in the place but at least it is separate adn only one wedding at a time. I also liked access to beach for pictures.
MY CHOICE....LOMBARDIS ON THE SOUND!. And i am happy with it. Was tough choice bw East wind Lombardis and Thatched cottage but I think I made the right choice.
(
AMGBride2008
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Posted by Jenn04
Hmmm I am sorry to hear that some peoples' feeling were hurt on here.
I thought the point of this chatboard was to give opinions etc? What point would it be if we all said we LOVED every place we went? Then everyone would be very confused!
The girl who started this post gave her opinions of everwhere she went. She did not go on your boards and post anything nasty about your hall...did she?
I was on a posting one day where someone complained about the food at Giorgio's and she said the cocktail room was too tiny. I have only heard great things about the food at Giorgio's and also know the cocktail room can set 250 people. I was ok with this girl's post though. It is called critical feedback and maybe I can learn something! Not every guest at my wedding will love the food. Out of 200+ people I invited...I am sure some will complain! I learned that you cannot please everyone but must please yourself.
My point is...not everyone will love your place, you may not love everyone elses' place but I think we can all give our opinions. I am sorry your feelings were hurt but guess what...you are going to have a beautiful day...despite what anyone on here says! No one on here really knows you or intended to hurt you! Just keep that in mind!
I absolutely love this argument... it's gotta be one of my favorites 'this is a public forum... freedom to express opinions... everyone has different taste... blah blah blah'.
However, express those differeing opininos with a little grace and tact. Is that really so difficult to do around here? Guess so....
PS... I wasn't offended... we've all seen halls that we dislike for many reasons. I love CLM and no one elses opinions, good or bad, will make me second guess my choice... however, there will be girls who come on here and start throwing flames because someone openly stated they didn't like a RH and started listing the reasons why.... just and FYI to you all for the future.
flairforfashion
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Congrats on going with what you wanted. Lombardi's is fabulous- both of them!
You weren't so keen on my RH and that is fine. No clue on why people get offended. I always say what is on my mind and my posts get deleted. Don't be surprised if you find this post missing too.
MrsDrinkh20
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
I think it is great to say your opinions but I also think it is wise to watch the way you say things. Some people are more sensitive than others. You thought my hall was bland, and I thought the same about yours...this is why people get married at different places
Jenn04
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Posted by MrsDrinkh20
I think it is great to say your opinions but I also think it is wise to watch the way you say things. Some people are more sensitive than others. You thought my hall was bland, and I thought the same about yours...this is why people get married at different places
Exactly!
WOW! People delete your posts!? Crazy!
I liked your review and would have found it helpful as a newbee.
For instance, I would have found all of these things helpful duiring my search:
The shutters were old..the siding needed to be powerwashed and painted..and there was no landscaping. The room was nice and it was nice that there was one wedding at a time. They charged more if u were to change table sizes to add waiters (i didnt like that). The dance floor was one of those they laid on top and wasnt built into the floor and the room was pretty bland.
I guess maybe instead of saying bland…you could say it lacked chadeliers, etc??? Not sure how else to word it!
Not sure but I may have said things were tacky, etc in my reviews! Guess that wasn’t nice either ?
FuTuRe MrS MaZz
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
No 1 place is perfect.... They will all have their pros and cons... Theres even things about my RH that I dont exactly care for, but it makes up for it in plenty of other areas...
It all about the way you word things on this site... be careful or we'll have world war 3 ... (which we've had numerous times already on here) too much estrogen causes wars
flairforfashion
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Posted by FuTuRe MrS MaZz
No 1 place is perfect.... They will all have their pros and cons... Theres even things about my RH that I dont exactly care for, but it makes up for it in plenty of other areas...
It all about the way you word things on this site... be careful or we'll have world war 3 ... (which we've had numerous times already on here) too much estrogen causes wars
True dat!
Jenn04
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Mrs Mazz...you are funny!
I witnessed WWIII on a chat already....regarding calligraphy vs digital calligraphy vs labels! WOW!
FuTuRe MrS MaZz
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Posted by Jenn04
Mrs Mazz...you are funny!
I witnessed WWIII on a chat already....regarding calligraphy vs digital calligraphy vs labels! WOW!
oh yeah.. i remember seeing that one! usualyl im stuck right int he middle on em but not that one! im proud my myself
jtgarsik
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Posted by Jenn04
Hmmm I am sorry to hear that some peoples' feeling were hurt on here.
I thought the point of this chatboard was to give opinions etc? What point would it be if we all said we LOVED every place we went? Then everyone would be very confused!
The girl who started this post gave her opinions of everwhere she went. She did not go on your boards and post anything nasty about your hall...did she?
I was on a posting one day where someone complained about the food at Giorgio's and she said the cocktail room was too tiny. I have only heard great things about the food at Giorgio's and also know the cocktail room can set 250 people. I was ok with this girl's post though. It is called critical feedback and maybe I can learn something! Not every guest at my wedding will love the food. Out of 200+ people I invited...I am sure some will complain! I learned that you cannot please everyone but must please yourself.
My point is...not everyone will love your place, you may not love everyone elses' place but I think we can all give our opinions. I am sorry your feelings were hurt but guess what...you are going to have a beautiful day...despite what anyone on here says! No one on here really knows you or intended to hurt you! Just keep that in mind!
well said jen. Ladies - i'm sorry but u're taking WAY to much out of this post! I dont think she meant any harm....she wasn't doing the whole 'I heard this & i heard that'(which drives me crazy)....she actually WENT to each hall & just posted her opinon....'to bland and not enough windows FOR MY LIKING'....she always emphasized on the fact that it was just her opinion. Plenty of people have said things about jericho terrace - some have even said they find it 'too tacky' ...and that's fine! I didn't want a country club because it was too simple for me...our weddings wouldn't be so unique & beautiful if we all had the same taste! i didn't think there was anything wrong with what she posted...and ur bringing this a little out of proportion! Have u ever looked at the review board?? it's FULL of postive & negative experiences. all this girl did was post why she chose the hall she did...simple as that!
jtgarsik
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Posted by flairforfashion
Congrats on going with what you wanted. Lombardi's is fabulous- both of them!
You weren't so keen on my RH and that is fine. No clue on why people get offended. I always say what is on my mind and my posts get deleted. Don't be surprised if you find this post missing too.
Posted by MrsDrinkh20
I think it is great to say your opinions but I also think it is wise to watch the way you say things. Some people are more sensitive than others. You thought my hall was bland, and I thought the same about yours...this is why people get married at different places
EXACTLY!
GT143EA
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Posted by jtgarsik
well said jen. Ladies - i'm sorry but u're taking WAY to much out of this post! I dont think she meant any harm....she wasn't doing the whole 'I heard this & i heard that'(which drives me crazy)....she actually WENT to each hall & just posted her opinon....'to bland and not enough windows FOR MY LIKING'....she always emphasized on the fact that it was just her opinion. Plenty of people have said things about jericho terrace - some have even said they find it 'too tacky' ...and that's fine! I didn't want a country club because it was too simple for me...our weddings wouldn't be so unique & beautiful if we all had the same taste! i didn't think there was anything wrong with what she posted...and ur bringing this a little out of proportion! Have u ever looked at the review board?? it's FULL of postive & negative experiences. all this girl did was post why she chose the hall she did...simple as that!
Nicely put! I don't know about everyone else, but I like to hear the positive and negative things about each vendor. It helps me make my decisions.
kokomo181
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Wow...didnt think my post would start a rant rave...I was just trying to help everyone out since when I was searching I was having a hard time finding opinions. But I think everyone has to remember it is only an opinion. Im sorry if I offended anyone..however, there wasnt a single hall on the list that I would say 'Omg i would never have a wedding there'.
I guess to me, I dont see the difference between me posting my opinons here (positive or negative) or posting them in the review section. Ive seen MANY MANY MANY people putting down their own halls and no one objects to that so its kind of odd that people object to what I was saying.
Im sure some of the stuff could of been worded better...you can always word things better..never going to be perfect.
When I mean bland, I mainly mean color scheme was the same (fyi). I know there are a lot of CLM brides (so probably why im getting attacked) but I was just saying the room they gave me wasnt the obsolutely beautiful room they showed in pictures on their website. I found it slightly odd they didnt even have any pictures of the room i saw on the site. Although they did say they are renovating that room upstairs.
I came from a hall (BCE) which is owned by Windows on the Lake..and trust me..no one had anything but mean things to say to me about it..which is fine. Those are opinions and I didnt take offense to them becuase its their opinions and plus it helps u ultimately. I thought the point of this chat was to be 'brutally honest'. If i wanted to hear all but good things I could go to the sites website :) . But like I said..i didnt see a place I wouldn't have a wedding at.
But sorry to those of you who I hurt their feelings. I guess to me part of it has to do with fact i see people on here all the time saying 'eww that dress is ugly'. I mean what happened if you were that bride who bought that dress. Im not the only person on here who says negative things...when i did a post about favors and the 2 choices everyone attacked them and said they both s*cked..but u gotta remember it is only an opinion. And i am not the mayor so my opinion doesnt matter anyway!!!
Im sure everyones wedding will be pretty no matter where you are at. Theres always negatives to every hall (even mine which i included to put in there).
oh and if anyone wants additional details or anything about any place can ask..maybe i can help.
Ill try to be more careful next time (or just keep my opiniosn to myself :)
jtgarsik
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Posted by GT143EA
Posted by jtgarsik
well said jen. Ladies - i'm sorry but u're taking WAY to much out of this post! I dont think she meant any harm....she wasn't doing the whole 'I heard this & i heard that'(which drives me crazy)....she actually WENT to each hall & just posted her opinon....'to bland and not enough windows FOR MY LIKING'....she always emphasized on the fact that it was just her opinion. Plenty of people have said things about jericho terrace - some have even said they find it 'too tacky' ...and that's fine! I didn't want a country club because it was too simple for me...our weddings wouldn't be so unique & beautiful if we all had the same taste! i didn't think there was anything wrong with what she posted...and ur bringing this a little out of proportion! Have u ever looked at the review board?? it's FULL of postive & negative experiences. all this girl did was post why she chose the hall she did...simple as that!
Nicely put! I don't know about everyone else, but I like to hear the positive and negative things about each vendor. It helps me make my decisions.
yep - all it does is give you stuff to keep in mind. I took all the pros & cons i saw on the RH's i wanted to look at, & made a list of questions along with things to look out for and/or bring to the RH's attention...and if it was as simple as 'not enough windows for me' i'd ignore it & go see for myself....and after i booked i really could care less what other people thought because obviously we all have different taste...and if it was something of importance, i'd call my RH to clarify. i just dont get why some peope have to get their panties all up in a bunch! u love ur hall SO THEN WHO CARES?!?!!! vent over
Jenn04
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
LOL! You guys are cracking me up now!
Also what were your favor ideas?????
kokomo181
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Btw definetely agree with the its WWIII in here! I thought i was going to come on and find maybe 2 people replying (because usually everyone ignores my posts and doesnt respond when I need them to).
Although today everyone and their mother responded and I feels like i stirred a pot of boiling anger in people. Maybe just one of those bad days.
besides im slightly crazy today...ive been working 13 hour days and tried to type this up at work to distract myself...so It was kinda 'rushed'.
kokomo181
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Posted by Jenn04
LOL! You guys are cracking me up now!
Also what were your favor ideas?????
Well obviously I cried myself to sleep and trashed those favor ideas :)
No honestly, I did trash those ideas because if everyone hated them I wasn't going to give them to guests. I guess people were right on that end.
I decided though for favors (after seeing someone post theirs) that I was going to buy wine from trader joes (since they are only 3 dollars a bottle or so) and put custom labels on it since my FH works at FedEx Kinko's and can get awesome discounts and make them look all pretty :)
jtgarsik
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Posted by kokomo181
Posted by Jenn04
LOL! You guys are cracking me up now!
Also what were your favor ideas?????
Well obviously I cried myself to sleep and trashed those favor ideas :)
No honestly, I did trash those ideas because if everyone hated them I wasn't going to give them to guests. I guess people were right on that end.
I decided though for favors (after seeing someone post theirs) that I was going to buy wine from trader joes (since they are only 3 dollars a bottle or so) and put custom labels on it since my FH works at FedEx Kinko's and can get awesome discounts and make them look all pretty :)
what a nice idea!
i would like to know the other ideas though!
Jenn04
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me too, I must know what was bashed so bad!
kokomo181
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Posted by Jenn04
me too, I must know what was bashed so bad!
Haha they were pretty bad...They were like two peas in a pod salt shaker. And the other one was like 'the perfect pear'. It was a magnet with two cartoony pears on it.
My mom used them for my shower instead the pears because she thought they were adorable. i guess it was more of a shower gift instead of wedding.
jtgarsik
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Re: Reception Hall Hunting..Reviews on Each
Posted by kokomo181
Posted by Jenn04
me too, I must know what was bashed so bad!
Haha they were pretty bad...They were like two peas in a pod salt shaker. And the other one was like 'the perfect pear'. It was a magnet with two cartoony pears on it.
My mom used them for my shower instead the pears because she thought they were adorable. i guess it was more of a shower gift instead of wedding.
i remember that post & i so voted for the pears!!! i didn't trash - i thought they were adorable they weren't cheapy magnets at all...infact i didn't even think they WERE magnets...and the s&p shakers were cute - and something people would use....well i'm glad u atleast used them for ur shower because they WERE practical & they WERE adorable! but i like the wine idea very nice! ....i remember people being not so nice about the favors...funny people can trash that but not accept a simple opinion on a reception hall
