reception halls

so after seeing 40 halls (seriously I'm nuts!) I have it sort of narrowed down lol. so does anyone have anything good/bad that I should know about these places? pretty much any kind of an opinion.

These are all the places I've seen and liked that made my list!
Swan club
Leonards
Douglaston Manor
Fox Hollow
Crest Hollow
The Riviera in Mass
Chateau Briand
The Metropolitan
The Watermill
Villa Lombardis
Crestwood Manor
Thatched Cottage

Then the last 3 I haven't seen yet so anything about any of these 3 would be good too!
Stewart Manor
Bridgeview Yacht club
Inwood Country Club

thanks in advance anyone who responds! I am beyond happy to finally have it a bit narrowed down after all the places lol.

So obviously I haven't had a wedding at all these places, but I've seen a few (we saw about 30 RHs ourselves!) so I'll tell you what our impressions were. I preface this by saying that it's just our opinions and obviously everyone has different opinions. I don't want to offend any girls!

Oh, and we were originally looking at warmer months with the possibility of outdoor ceremony and CH, so we paid close attention to proximity to the road...and we were looking for a very specific type of feel (which we ended up finding at the Woodlands).

Swan club - Beautiful landscaping, beautiful outdoor/indoor ceremony space. But not good for people who can't walk up stairs (one set up has CH in a room with 2 levels, and the reception in a room where the dais, dance floor and some tables were raised above the rest of the tables. Great prices.
Leonards - Good prices but just not our style. Lots of bling and chandeliers and such.
Fox Hollow - Nice reception rooms, but we didn't love the ceremony space (no windows I think) and the outdoor CH area was too close to jericho turnpike for out liking. Good prices.
Crest Hollow - Too many weddings at once for us. And we didnt like that they kept the pool opened during weddings, even if you had outside CH! This is only a problem for weddings b/w memorial day and labor day. Also, they make you use house florists.
Chateau Briand - beautiful reception room, but a little too contemporary for us. Also the outside was right up against Old Country Rd.
The Metropolitan - Pretty but small. The CH room and indoor ceremony room were the same I think.
The Watermill - FH and I were surprised at how small the outside area was - the pictures make it look a lot bigger. There are some nice outdoor photo Ops, and the antipasto was very good but again, too close to the road for us.
Thatched Cottage - Didn't like the indoor ceremony space, but the CH space was great. Also, didn't like the layout of the reception room. We went to a wedding there last year and the food was great.

Then the last 3 I haven't seen yet so anything about any of these 3 would be good too!
Bridgeview Yacht club - The woman we met with was not very pleasant. She sat us down, read the materials and was like, thanks. And she didn't even ask us if we had questions. The place was pretty, but too much marble for us.
Inwood Country Club

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Posted by AmyElizabeth

So obviously I haven't had a wedding at all these places, but I've seen a few (we saw about 30 RHs ourselves!) so I'll tell you what our impressions were. I preface this by saying that it's just our opinions and obviously everyone has different opinions. I don't want to offend any girls!

Oh, and we were originally looking at warmer months with the possibility of outdoor ceremony and CH, so we paid close attention to proximity to the road...and we were looking for a very specific type of feel (which we ended up finding at the Woodlands).

Swan club - Beautiful landscaping, beautiful outdoor/indoor ceremony space. But not good for people who can't walk up stairs (one set up has CH in a room with 2 levels, and the reception in a room where the dais, dance floor and some tables were raised above the rest of the tables. Great prices.
Leonards - Good prices but just not our style. Lots of bling and chandeliers and such.
Fox Hollow - Nice reception rooms, but we didn't love the ceremony space (no windows I think) and the outdoor CH area was too close to jericho turnpike for out liking. Good prices.
Crest Hollow - Too many weddings at once for us. And we didnt like that they kept the pool opened during weddings, even if you had outside CH! This is only a problem for weddings b/w memorial day and labor day. Also, they make you use house florists.
Chateau Briand - beautiful reception room, but a little too contemporary for us. Also the outside was right up against Old Country Rd.
The Metropolitan - Pretty but small. The CH room and indoor ceremony room were the same I think.
The Watermill - FH and I were surprised at how small the outside area was - the pictures make it look a lot bigger. There are some nice outdoor photo Ops, and the antipasto was very good but again, too close to the road for us.
Thatched Cottage - Didn't like the indoor ceremony space, but the CH space was great. Also, didn't like the layout of the reception room. We went to a wedding there last year and the food was great.

Then the last 3 I haven't seen yet so anything about any of these 3 would be good too!
Bridgeview Yacht club - The woman we met with was not very pleasant. She sat us down, read the materials and was like, thanks. And she didn't even ask us if we had questions. The place was pretty, but too much marble for us.
Inwood Country Club

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I didn't know that about Crest Hollow that we have to use their florists. I loved the ch space at thatched cottage too it was huge! and yay that I'm not the only one who saw a lot of places lol. I really liked the woodlands but it was too much $$ for us.

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Posted by AmyElizabeth
Swan club - Beautiful landscaping, beautiful outdoor/indoor ceremony space. But not good for people who can't walk up stairs (one set up has CH in a room with 2 levels, and the reception in a room where the dais, dance floor and some tables were raised above the rest of the tables. Great prices.

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I have to agree with this. We almost booked there but the Bridal Suite is up a tight winding staircase and my ballgown isn't gonna fit up that flight!

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Posted by leesah85

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Posted by AmyElizabeth
Swan club - Beautiful landscaping, beautiful outdoor/indoor ceremony space. But not good for people who can't walk up stairs (one set up has CH in a room with 2 levels, and the reception in a room where the dais, dance floor and some tables were raised above the rest of the tables. Great prices.

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I have to agree with this. We almost booked there but the Bridal Suite is up a tight winding staircase and my ballgown isn't gonna fit up that flight!

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I have to go back there and check that out lol. the only thing we forgot to see was the bridal suite! I loved swan club. I love the ceremony area the most. amazing pictures of it on duet's website.

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Posted by poisonivy918

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Posted by AmyElizabeth
Crest Hollow - Too many weddings at once for us. And we didnt like that they kept the pool opened during weddings, even if you had outside CH! This is only a problem for weddings b/w memorial day and labor day. Also, they make you use house florists.

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I didn't know that about Crest Hollow that we have to use their florists. I loved the ch space at thatched cottage too it was huge! and yay that I'm not the only one who saw a lot of places lol. I really liked the woodlands but it was too much $$ for us.

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At Crest Hollow you have to choose between Flowers by Brian, Pedest@ls, Spitz/Peck and J@ck & Rose.

I have a friend who is getting married there in October and she knew about the florist thing (I didn't know before I booked, so I'm using Flowers by Brian). But she said she told them when she booked that she already put a deposit on the florist (even though she made that up) and they OKed it and put that specifically in her contract.

Apparently they had a problem w/ a florist a few years back with bugs or something so they're wary to use anyone but their preferred vendors.

And to the point about 'too many weddings' - I was told for the time of year I'm getting married (Nov 2011) that there would not be more than 2 events at any time. As long as you're ok with not being the 'one and only wedding' there, then I think CHCC is a good bet. Has great curb appeal, food is good, and they just do an all-around great job. Can't beat their prices either, especially if you book really far in advance. The only RH that I visited that was cheaper was Swan Club.

40 places wow!! I only looked at 5

Swan Club - My sister got married there. The pics are BEAUTIFUL! The food was great.

Fox Hollow - My prom was there lol, it was really nice, I remember the food being good. Then again, I was 17.

Watermill - I didnt even put this place on my list because I read a lot of negatives on this place. I dont know how true it is though.

Leonards - Went to a Sweet 16 here. I thought it was beautiful and the food was fantastic.

Villa Lombardis - Everything about this place is nice. My brother got married there and I'm going to a wedding there next month. The food and service is great.

Thatched Cottage - I didnt go here because by time someone called me back I had already booked. I do know someone who got married here and she raves about it:) She absolutely loved her wedding, said the food was great and the staff was super friendly.

I'm booked at Villa Lombardi's and out of all the places i went to they were the most acomodating.
It is beautiful the minute you pull up its kept immaculate. There are many places to take pics in front of the waterfall, in the garden/ceremony area, theres fountains and beautiful landscape.
Inside there is two reception rooms both gorgeous with marble huge dance floors, fireplace chandeliers and dark cherry wood bars!!! I just loved it ... The lobby is huge too and gorgeous as well!!!

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Posted by poisonivy918

Douglaston Manor

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This one was my fav.....lol

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Posted by meghan13

40 places wow!! I only looked at 5

Swan Club - My sister got married there. The pics are BEAUTIFUL! The food was great.

Fox Hollow - My prom was there lol, it was really nice, I remember the food being good. Then again, I was 17.

Watermill - I didnt even put this place on my list because I read a lot of negatives on this place. I dont know how true it is though.

Leonards - Went to a Sweet 16 here. I thought it was beautiful and the food was fantastic.

Villa Lombardis - Everything about this place is nice. My brother got married there and I'm going to a wedding there next month. The food and service is great.

Thatched Cottage - I didnt go here because by time someone called me back I had already booked. I do know someone who got married here and she raves about it:) She absolutely loved her wedding, said the food was great and the staff was super friendly.

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it might have been even more then 40 lol. I had to see every hall within an hr of me on long island I'm a bit nuts. I didn't want to miss anything. my friends all joke how when they get engaged I have to go everywhere with them because I dragged my girls all over long island!

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Posted by soontobmrshammer

I'm booked at Villa Lombardi's and out of all the places i went to they were the most acomodating.
It is beautiful the minute you pull up its kept immaculate. There are many places to take pics in front of the waterfall, in the garden/ceremony area, theres fountains and beautiful landscape.
Inside there is two reception rooms both gorgeous with marble huge dance floors, fireplace chandeliers and dark cherry wood bars!!! I just loved it ... The lobby is huge too and gorgeous as well!!!



We went to the following halls:

Swan Club- I almost booked there but there were more than 2 weddings at a time and if it rained the whole ambience of the place would be ruined. But the ceremony site and the grounds are beautiful!!

Woodbury Country Club- Thie was my number one for awhile but the pricing was very high everything was extra. The grounds there were phenomenal but i could not convince my FH to splurge on it. I went to the bridal showcase with my mom and i fell in love but still had more places to look at.

Jericho Terrace- I loved the inside of this place the rooms are amazing!! I wanted more of an outside so that it why it was not in the running for us.


Lombardis on the Sound- Loved the view but was not happy with the reception room IMO.

Thatched cottage- did not even go in bc it was not or us

Beach Club estate- No comment


Lombardis on the bay- was nice but i liked villa better.

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Villa is very high on my list. I'm not gonna lie they are the reason I thought of changing my date to Oct 7th lol plus I love Anna there. she even met me and my girl at Lombardi's on the bay but I didn't like it. I like Villa better too. Swan club is high up there too. I have to bring fh and see what he thinks of everything. he's all for swan club because he's been there and fox hollow. I'm more into the I want to be somewhere not everyone we know got married you know?

Jericho terrace is amazing! it's literally 2 mins from my house. I almost got married there back in 2008. my parents were married there and divorced. I always said it was a bad omen for me but my ex didn't listen.... lol. gorgeous ceremony room though. you could have went to OWG then jericho terrace! that's what I was gonna do years ago.

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Posted by soontobmrshammer

I'm booked at Villa Lombardi's and out of all the places i went to they were the most acomodating.
It is beautiful the minute you pull up its kept immaculate. There are many places to take pics in front of the waterfall, in the garden/ceremony area, theres fountains and beautiful landscape.
Inside there is two reception rooms both gorgeous with marble huge dance floors, fireplace chandeliers and dark cherry wood bars!!! I just loved it ... The lobby is huge too and gorgeous as well!!!



We went to the following halls:

Swan Club- I almost booked there but there were more than 2 weddings at a time and if it rained the whole ambience of the place would be ruined. But the ceremony site and the grounds are beautiful!!

Woodbury Country Club- Thie was my number one for awhile but the pricing was very high everything was extra. The grounds there were phenomenal but i could not convince my FH to splurge on it. I went to the bridal showcase with my mom and i fell in love but still had more places to look at.

Jericho Terrace- I loved the inside of this place the rooms are amazing!! I wanted more of an outside so that it why it was not in the running for us.


Lombardis on the Sound- Loved the view but was not happy with the reception room IMO.

Thatched cottage- did not even go in bc it was not or us

Beach Club estate- No comment


Lombardis on the bay- was nice but i liked villa better.

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villa lombardis has the most gorgeous cocktail hour room too! I always smile when I see the pic I took of it in my phone lol. first picture I took with my new iphone.

We are booked at the Riviera. So far they have been nothing but wonderful to us and threw in a bunch of extras. The outdoor ceremony and CH spot is beautiful there, but you probably already knew that. The bridal suite isn't huge, so if you have a big BP that is going to hang there, that might be a concern. But it would probably fit 4-5 people comfortably in there with big dresses on

The Metropolitan is really nice, but the only thing that turned us off is that you might have to split up your guests between the upstairs and the downstairs depending on how many you have. My mom's friend went to a wedding there a few weeks ago, and they were seated upstairs and she said they felt really detached up there. Also, there is no elevator there which was a concern for us.

ETA we also did a drive by of stewart manor. They have pools that are open during the wedding, which might be a concern for the summer time. My dad went to take a closer look and he said there were people around in bathing suits that you might be able to see while the wedding was happening. We never actually met with a BM to discuss though since we booked Riviera first, so I could be wrong.

Those are the only ones on your list that I've dealt with, but if you have any other questions about them, feel free to FM! Good luck!

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Posted by Chanwich

We are booked at the Riviera. So far they have been nothing but wonderful to us and threw in a bunch of extras. The outdoor ceremony and CH spot is beautiful there, but you probably already knew that. The bridal suite isn't huge, so if you have a big BP that is going to hang there, that might be a concern. But it would probably fit 4-5 people comfortably in there with big dresses on

The Metropolitan is really nice, but the only thing that turned us off is that you might have to split up your guests between the upstairs and the downstairs depending on how many you have. My mom's friend went to a wedding there a few weeks ago, and they were seated upstairs and she said they felt really detached up there. Also, there is no elevator there which was a concern for us.

ETA we also did a drive by of stewart manor. They have pools that are open during the wedding, which might be a concern for the summer time. My dad went to take a closer look and he said there were people around in bathing suits that you might be able to see while the wedding was happening. We never actually met with a BM to discuss though since we booked Riviera first, so I could be wrong.

Those are the only ones on your list that I've dealt with, but if you have any other questions about them, feel free to FM! Good luck!

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I loved the outside there I just have to drag fh to all these places and see what he likes.

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Posted by poisonivy918

so after seeing 40 halls (seriously I'm nuts!) I have it sort of narrowed down lol. so does anyone have anything good/bad that I should know about these places? pretty much any kind of an opinion.

These are all the places I've seen and liked that made my list!
Swan club
Leonards
Douglaston Manor
Fox Hollow
Crest Hollow
The Riviera in Mass
Chateau Briand
The Metropolitan
The Watermill
Villa Lombardis
Crestwood Manor
Thatched Cottage

Then the last 3 I haven't seen yet so anything about any of these 3 would be good too!
Stewart Manor
Bridgeview Yacht club
Inwood Country Club

thanks in advance anyone who responds! I am beyond happy to finally have it a bit narrowed down after all the places lol.

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You have a lot of awesome choices... here is my opinion of the ones we looked at... (we went to about 30 halls before deciding)...

The Swan Club- FH and i loved it here.... its beautiful and the grounds are awesome! especially if you plan on getting married in the spring/summer... FH wasnt thrilled with the way the room was designed so we decided against it...

Jericho Terrace- Its GEORGOUS and the food is amazing.. i just wasnt to happy that there can be more than 2 parties at once... and it was a little out of our price range

Fox Hollow- Fh and i werent happy with the banquet manager we met with and they couldnt give us a tour of any room ( one was being set up and they didnt want to show it to us)

Crest Hollow- FH knew A LOT of people who got married there and wanted to be different. Ive heard great things about it though..

Chateau Briand- we had been to a couple of weddings there and each time had a different experiance. One was great and one Not so much

Watermill- I absolutly LOVED LOVED LOVED everything about it but it was just Way to far out east for us

Bridgeview- BEAUTIFUL location with the Bridge right outside but FH and I didnt feel like having our wedding where we used to go clubbing back in HS

Inwood Country Club- Our best friends are getting married there in a month... the place is amazing! the grounds are unbeatable and the hall is phenominal! They just redid the room about a year ago. According to them they did not have to give a minimum and they have the whole club to themselves. People will be golfing but that just makes for awesome pics. Its easy to get to ( all main roads until right before the club) and they seem to be very accomidating!.

Good luck in your search !

It's incredible that you went to 40 places!!

Leonards- had my prom there and my cousin got married there like 10 years ago... don't really remember much but i know we had a good time

Fox Hollow- we looked here and the room i liked was too small for the amount of ppl we were having, also, while its a beautiful place it just wasnt my style, i like something a little more contemporary

Crest Hollow- we liked it here too but my cousin got married there so i wanted to be a little different

Chateau Briand- this is where we had our wedding and it was fabulous... from our very first meeting we loved it there, it was definitely more our style, everyone was very nice and helpful, and the food was great, everyone is still talking about what a great time it was... and the fact that its right off old country road wasn't even an issue- the second you turn into the parking lot you don't even notice