reception halls

I've been reading this board for awhile now, I guess preparing for the moment the question was popped. Now that it has been, I still feel like I don't know what I'm doing. Im asking all you readers out there: 1. how did you get started? 2. has anyone booked any of the following? - swan club, crest hollow, fow hollow, villa victor, oheka, thatched cottage, carltun, or john anthony's - can you please comment. 3. any other starter tips would be great. thanks to everyone - i know its a lot to ask for, but it will be appreciated!!!

First off, congrats on your engagement!....

The first thing to do is decide what time of year and when you want to get married. Then, get a magazine on reception halls - you can find them in Barnes and Nobles. There are so many halls to choose from, but this book gives you prices, numbers of affairs, etc. I was just at a wedding at the Fox Hollow this weekend, and it was a great place. The food was amazing, and the rooms are decorated very nicely. I`ve also been to Crest Hollow, but not for a wedding, and from what I saw, it was nice too. Another thing to think about is if you want to be the only party - many have up to 3 at a time. I hear Oheka and Carlton on the Park are amazing, but really expensive. Hope this helps, and good luck!

reception halls

So much I could say... We booked the Crest Hollow and our wedding is July 8. The only other one on your list that we saw was the Thatched Cottage. I personally like the smaller room much more than the larger (we are expecting 300 guests). Also, Crest Hollow promises that there are enough seats and tables for everyone at the cocktail hour. The Thatched would not and tried to tell us that it was not necessary. I don`t know about you, but I hate trying to eat and drink and stand and talk. My advice, however, is to first establish a MAXIMUM number of people invited and a maximum price you are willing to pay. Then go through the LI Weddings magazine and other Location magazines and pick out all of the reception halls that meet your number of people and price criteria. Also look at the calendar and try to find uncommon days to get married (Christmas time, Fourth of July, etc.) If you are having a ceremony in a place of worship, check with them to see if a lot of days are still open for when you are thinking of getting married. Our church told us what days were taken in July 2001 (this was April 2000) and told us to find the catering hall first and then give them a quick call to make sure the date is still open at the church. Shoot for your top catering halls and dates first and work from there. Some odd things to think of: Do you like the chairs, table sizes, rugs, table linen selections? Do you trust the people with whom you are dealing? Do you really need the extra yada yada they may try to sell you. At the Crest Hollow, we dealt with Jeff who is very nice and very honest about what you need. He never tries to convince you to get more, it is up to you. Make appointments at the halls you want to see. Go together if you can! It will make you both appreciate the difficult decision and maybe even give you practice in compromising. Other than that: Good luck and Congratulations!

reception halls - Where To Start

Congratulations on your engagement. Now the planning fun begins! The top three things that you might find helpful when getting started: Headcount, Time (of year, date and day) and I have to say it- the B word BUDGET. After you get a good idea about these three you and your FI might want to start thinking about they type of atmosphere you want for your wedding. Decide what is most important to both of you -the nonnegotiable items. For example, maybe you both decide you Must have a certain house of worship for your ceremony or a Sat eve in Sept. or 250 people or whatever. Prioritize and remember to be flexible on the negotiable items. Pick up a copy of Locations magazine (free at Fortunoffs) and the search begins for reception sites. Coordinate with your ceremony site (if applicable). Happy Planning

reception halls - Where To Start

Make sure that you write a preliminary guest list prior to booking any hall. We originally planned for more people than we are actually inviting. Fortunately we did a quick count and came up with a more realistic number. You don't want to be stuck with a minimum number of guests that you can't meet and then have to pay for.

reception halls Good Point Wendy - also....

Good Point Wendy - another thing you may want to check regarding head count. We found a big difference in the minimum guarantee on the same space depending on the date/day/time of day. This is not something places came out and told us. When we started looking we were looking for a Sat night in Sept. We moved to a Friday night because our top choices were booked for Sat. through mid Oct. When we decided on Friday we were then told about the difference in guarantee. So if you see a place you absolutely love and are flexible on your timing be sure to discuss the differences in guarantee and price per person.

reception halls

My wedding is July 6th at Fox Hollow. My fi and I fell in love when we walked in the first time. We toured the ENTIRE building and my fi was impressed with even the 'behind the scene' areas that most people won't see. They also guarantee that there will be a seat for everyone at the cocktail hour(a big thing for us--we hate to juggle plates) and during dinner they will come around with second helpings of the entrees for anyone that wants it. Villa Victor was just remodeled-looks nice from the outside. Oheka-went to a wedding there last summer. It's beautiful and the food is great, but it's pricey. Get the Locations magazine. It helped us out a lot.

reception halls

Thanks to everyone. Before I wrote this yesterday - I was in a little panic, but after I wrote it I told my FI that I was glad that this site was here. I am almost completely calm again!!

Pick A few Dates

If you are getting married in a church or temple, pick a few dates when you look at halls. Don't tell the church or temple you booked a place before booking with them. some get insulted. I looked @ John Anthony's. It was very nice - the only thing was it's a little small for 2 weddings.

To Yabbobay (This is long)

All the above advice should really help you. For us, I knew I definitely had to have a place on the water. After making a few phone calls first, and based on recommendations from this site, John Anthony`s seemed like the place at the head of the list. It was the only place we looked at. Three times we stopped by for a walk through, once for us, once for our parents and once (after contract signing) with my sister-in-law (matron of honor), and none was with an appointment. But, each time they treated us promptly and wonderfully. I think that says alot about their service. We were able to have them hold the date so we could clear it with our church, then we went back to sign on the contracts. Daisy took us through the whole thing and was wonderful. Definitely consider you budget and how many people you would expect to be on your list. We originally thought we`d have about 125, but our list has swelled to over 200. But our room is big enough to accomodate even if everyone did happen to show up. Make sure you think about exactly what you want. We originally went to JAs thinking November, but when I remembered sitting there checking dates with Daisy and my fiance that the sun would be long down by the time our cocktail hour would start, we pushed up to September. I really want sunset photos taken from their deck, and I want the guests to enjoy the beautiful water view before and as the sun goes down. As for the food, it`s amazing. We were there for a tasting recently, and everything we had was so good! Keep in mind though, they only have tastings twice a year. The next one is coming in September. I would suggest though, if you do look at JAs, don`t let this hold you back from booking if you like what you see and hear. You wouldn`t want to lose a date over this. The food is great! They can do two weddings at a time, but they do stagger them by a half hour, and I`ve never heard a complaint. My concern was over the bathroom, since they only have one set, located on the first floor. However, that hasn`t seemed to be a problem either. And there is an elevator for guests to use. Swan Club, Land`s End, The Riveria and Chateau Le Mere were places on the water that I called. For us, JAs was the best deal, and when we walked into the place, their upstairs room was THE room, so we never bothered to look anywhere else. Good Luck!!

Be as flexible as possible...

Keep in mind that there are many factors when making your choice. Personally, I never thought there was such a BIG difference between time of year and day(Friday night vs. Saturday night). You will know it's the right place when you walk in! People told me this and I didn't believe them. I loooked at over 16 places, so I was starting to get discouraged-DON'T...you will find the perfect place for you and your fiance. When you find 'the place', see what kind of discounts they offer. You never know if you don't ask. We got a discount because we were the first to book in August 2002. At one place we asked for the price list for the entire year,and it was interesting to see the discounted rates from December to March. If they are a good place they will have nothing to hide. All of the advice given was excellent. I used the guide from Fortunoffs and found it very helpful. I actually bought it at Waldenbooks, but you can buy it anywhere. Good luck and please ask if you have any further questions.

reception halls

Congrats on your engagement. I just read your posting and all of your choices were in our short list. We just booked at the Villa Victor. John Anthony's and Thatched Cottage were our second and third choices. The people at Villa were very nice to us and I like the fact that they only have one affair at a time (if we guarantee 150 which we have no problem with). They have done lots of renovations and it looks like it is shaping up nicely. I have a food tasting scheduled this week!! All three places offered great deals. John Anthony's offers two affairs. I hear they do a good job. Thatched seemed perfect if I was having under 150 guests. Unfortunately I am not and I didn't like their larger room. I went to their food tasting and everything was great. Feel free to e-mail me and I can share with you my experiences with them and you can compare notes.