Spinoff to how many reception sites visited /// what sites did you visit??

Coral House---> great price, big room, didn't like the location... lakeside is beautiful though

Sandcastle---> I like it...Family thought it was too 'ornate' for their liking... the reception & CH room seemed nice...

Floral Terrace--->LOVED this place... but didn't like the location...its has a unique style to it...

Chateau Briand---> BM we meet with was SO fake and FH & I just got turned off by that... the room was beautiful... CH room we saw was so nice!!!

Westbury Manor--->now that I think about it, I am not sure why we didn't pick this place...I really liked it... hahaha

Jericho Terrace---> BM was too pushy for our liking... my parents got married there forever ago so my dad was all about that place... I loved the way the rooms looked!

Verdi's---> just didn't get a good feel about this place...

Swanclub--->My Choice! Grounds are beautiful...price is right... I love the CH room...and the manager was so 'down to earth' and made FH and I feel very comfortable...

I think that's all of them...

ETA: Riveria... nice place! room was too small...

checked out san suci for a RD... I really liked it... thought it would be good for a wedding...

We looked at so many places - let me see what I can remember - keep in mind we wanted a small minimum and when we had to change places, many didn't have availability for what we wanted and/or needed - also keep in mind FH wouldn't even consider anyplace that served pigs in a blanket.

John Anthony's - originally booked here, then all those family issues started, so we decided to get a refund and book elsewhere. FH has been there since management changed and he wasn't crazy about the food, but it wasn't a wedding so I don't know if you can compare. Also wasn't one wedding at a time, which we wanted.

Metropolitan - loved the place, was a little run down, didn't have date available. One wedding at a time.

Swan Club - too many weddings at once, outside looked too 70's for our taste, FH said inside smelled musty. Beautiful gardens.

Sans Souci - didn't have a good date available, I liked it, FH didn't.

Roslyn Claremont - I liked it, FH didn't like that it was technically in the basement.

GW Manor - not our style, FH didn't like set-up

Jericho Terrace - they wanted to give us the small room, which I didn't like. FH liked it, even though it was in the basement. Too many weddings at once.

Land's End - didn't like ballroom and it was too big, loved the grounds and cocktail hour area, minimum too high

Louis XVI - loved the rooms and waterview, did not like that they don't give a price until you get an exact menu, FH thought there might not be enough food

Fox Hollow - room we wanted not available for our date

Woodlands - did not like decor or that they use room dividers

Wyndwatch Hotel - wanted to give us their old dance club to use - had a strange set-up

North Ritz Club - we both liked it, but they couldn't start the CH late enough for us (we and our guests never would have gotten there in time)

The Crescent - people very rude, minimum too high

Sail Harbor - didn't like parking lot view, FH didn't like couches in reception room (I did) and he thought people were rude

Crestwood - nice place, didn't like reception room

Meadow Club - too far in Suffolk, I didn't like CH room

Stonebridge - I liked, FH didn't - they would have accomodated our minimum on a Saturday night

Riviera - no dates available, didn't like set-up of room

Timberpoint - didn't like decor but then they renovated and I like it now - FH doesn't like colonial decor

Smithtown Landing - really liked it - didn't like restrooms or CH room - didn't have a good date available

Irish Coffee Pub - food is excellent but we didn't like room set-up

Larkfield Manor - didn't like CH room, BM was very pushy about making a decision

Leonards - FH liked, I didn't. Too many brides at once, too busy, I didn't like the room

Our final choice... Areca - we loved the decor - even the restrooms are elegant - the food is delicious - we wanted waterfront and although it's a man-made lake, it's okay with us. Minimum was good and they had our original date that we booked at JA's. There have been management changes since we booked, but it's been for the better. And now we get to have the CH in the restaurant! They've been very accomodating.


Overall, top three choices were Areca, Louis XVI and Metropolitan.

Crest Hollow CC - didnt understand one word the BM was saying - we were put off by that - plus I had my HS prom there.

Fox Hollow CC - felt as if we were rushed out of there - didnt get to ask as many questions as we wanted.

Westbury Manor - just like another poster, I dont know why we didnt book with them because I really liked the place.

Douglaston Manor - a little too cheesy for us. And who knows what it would look like after renovation. Also didnt like how there would be a curtain seperating our party from another room

Chateau Briand (the winner)- In all honesty, FH liked it so I went for it. He really loves it and I was so happy that he was happy.

Also on our list was Jericho Terrace, Verdi's of Westbury, & Stuart Manor Country Club but we never made it!

Flowerfield- We saw this first and it was AMAZING!!!!! It was my dream place, but DH and I were not sure if we could afford it since we were paying for everything. However, we ended up booking it in the end and had an amazing wedding. FM me for details.

Watermill-This place was very nice, but I didnt like where my ceremony would be held inside and wasnt crazy about the location.

Land's End- again, truly beautiful like Flowerfield. This was our second choice. DH loved it! But knowing we were having an April wedding, the indoor ceremony would not have been as breathtaking as FF.

West Sayville County Club- beautiful grounds, did not like the shape of the room.

West Lake Inn- way too big, and no real grounds for pics. However the lady that worked there was so amazing!

John Anthony's- Liked the location, however the rooms were not my style and I did not appreciate the manager telling me that it was so unholy of me to be married on good friday and that my marriage would not be real in the eyes of god!

Fox Hollow- I wanted to see all the rooms there, but I was offered a video of them instead. I was only shown the room they deemed as fit for my wedding. The guy who helped us had a phony accent and really was overcharging us.

Crescent Beach Club- I got an amazing price for our wedding, so good that I actually booked our wedding there. The place was lovely, but again, where my ceremony would have been didnt wow me.
I liked the crescent, but my heart belonged to flowerfield. So we cancelled our wedding and booked at FF.

Sail Harbor- Ok, this place was so disappointing to us. The manager who met with us gave us about 5 minutes of his time. The view was of a parking lot, and there was not much offered in the menu package. With everything added on it would have been way overpriced.

Smithtown Landing CC- The grounds are lovely, and the price was right! However, I felt the place needed updating. The rooms did not wow me.

Meadow Club- I got an excellent price from them, and I did like the room for the cocktail hour (though it was small). The reception room was nice, but not my style.

Danfords- Love the location, did not like the size and shape of the reception room.

Port Jeff CC- The people here couldnt be bothered with us. I showed myself around. I was not thrilled with the indoor cocktail hour room. I found it to smell smokey.

Thatched Cottage- really liked the manager there. We didnt get the best price, and I felt like the room had really low ceilings, also didnt find the grounds to be too impressive.

I know I looked at more, but I am drawing a blank on the rest.

Hope this was helpful ladies!

Watermill - Gorgeous but they don't do ceremonies for evening weddings. Plus my sister's BF almost had his wedding there which I found out after we made the appointment and she asked me to not have it there.

Thatched Cottage - I didn't like how the waiters made so many presentations.

Swan Club - I didn't like the ceremony location we were offered.

Sans Souci - It was beautiful but a little off the beaten path for out of towners and the wheel chair access appeared to be through a closet. The food is outrageous though.

La Grange Inn - they were renovating between when we were booking and our wedding and no pictures to show us. They also tried to pressure us.

Riviera in Massapequa - Loved the location and the view. The ala carte options would be great for customizing your reception. They have a beautiful balcony & stairway. I wasn't crazy about the shape of the room and we didn't meet their minimums.

Meadow Club - we booked this place first but changed b/c it was far for us. Nice menu, a couple of menu/price options, great price. Lots of picture places.

Stewart Manor Country Club - very warm and cozy. Completely different decor then all the other places we had seen and we loved that. One wedding at a time.

Russos on the bay- this was my first choice but they didnt have any dates available on a fri or even sat night in early jan 04 i would have Have had to book into 05 and i didnt want to wait that long. i didnt want to do the end of jan because i wouldnt have had the christmas decorations up which is part of why i wanted a winter wedding. i so wanted to book with this place that i wait listed and even after booking i still called inquring about the cancelation for my date. i would have lost my first two deposits with out caring if i could booked there.

the metropolitan-
i liked it but i wanted a lot of extras that they were going to charge me alot for that i could have gotten thrown in other places. we also would have had to use both floors so the guests would have been divided which my husband didnt like. the banquet manager we dealt with was great and the food we sampled was also good.


westbury manor-
liked the decor but didnt like the room they offerd us it was too small. i also didnt like the banquet manager we met with he seemed rushed and distracted.

fox hollow-
i hated the bm he was too nasty and said if we didnt book right that second he could have it booked by the afternoon. we were looking for a fri in jan very unlikely it be booked in early dec 03 . i also didnt like that he rattles off the menu to us and didnt offer to show us a menu i could look at as he was rambling. i also didnt like the room we were offered it seemed to dark


roslyn clairemont hotel-
my dh didnt like it but the banquet manager was nice and the price wasnt that bad for a hotel.


woodbury country club-
again dh didnt like it and didnt like the banquet manager. i liked the decor very much though and loved the lobby. we would have booked there if bm was nicer and more accomodating



leonards of great neck
the banquet manager we met with was night but keet pushing new years day on us which i didnt want. they offered a good price for what we were getting. the bathroom were very clean and the outside of the place is just beautiful.

chateau briand
dh loved the bm robert stevenson and i gave in at this point lol because i was sick of dragging him around lol. im very glad that we went with cb though they were great and gave us an amazing price with a lot of extras. they actually offered us the most for our money and they printed out a custom menu with our names on it and the choices we could have and even offered the franks in the blanket stating its the grooms favorite to all our guests. the bridal attendants were outstanding although the maitre d i didnt really care for because he keep saying my name wrong which could have been a problem if the mc heard him and thought it was the correct way to say it.

Vanderbilt Mansion: Pretty, but too small, did not like the T shape of the Ballroom or the fact that they couldn't book us until a year before the date. Also, I didn't like that we were not the only wedding that day.


Villa Lombardi's: It's very nice there and the food is obviously great, but we had our high school banquets there and so I felt like I was 17 again. I also feel like EVERYONE I know has gotten married there (over exaggeration, yes), and I wanted something unique.

Oheka: Was not impressed with the ballroom at all. I was actually SHOCKED that I did not like it.

Bourne Mansion: My JAW dropped when I walked in and that was that

Great thread idea!!!

John Anthonys - I liked, FH wasnt too crazy about. The woman was nice, they too at the time werent willing to work on price with us although we did get a good price b/c we were looking to get married in 8 months so it was discounted!

Harbor Club - HORRIBLE! The woman was sooo rude to us, she was VERY late for our appt! We never even wound up getting a price!
I am sure its a nice place but we had a very bad experiece and we werent crazy about the grounds or lack there of.

Windows on the lake - can anyone says Used Car salesman? The BM was the absolute definition of that! We just wouldnt trust that man with our wedding! And we didnt like the fact that there was a road between the place and the lake and that the CH would be basically on that road!

Meadow Club- I was against going to see here but fell in love with it! I love the CH room, love the new back small gardens with arbor and fountain. love the cozy feel it has even though its a big place, and our BM was so nice! Had us chatting for an hour and a half each time we came in! And each time I go there I get butterflies in my stomach so I know its right

Swan Club - nice but after MC I knew I wanted a private outdoor area! With the smoking laws I know people will go outside and I wanted them to have a private area. Plus the rooms we saw none of them thrilled us except the Contessa (I think thats it) and that was like 95pp before tax and sc so after seeing MC we didnt think it was worth it!

Rivera - FH hated! He wasnt into the darkness of hte place! Although the bar is soo cool! I didnt like the indoor CH area! and how you have to walk through the main dining area to get to the CH.

Overall with the final two places, I think we were both just really happy with our Meadow Club experience, that the last two for us just couldnt compare!

Because I don't live in NY anynore it was kind of tough so I didn't look at very many. I originally wanted to get married in Manhattan but the cost is so much higher and you get so much more for the $ on LI. I also wanted someplace that didn't have a lot of weddings going on at the same time.

Glen Island Harbour Club: Beautiful! Very new. The view is great. Lots of places to take pictures and a lot of food for the price. I ddin't end up booking there because the ceremony room overlooking the water wasn't available for that date. The banquet manager was wonderful although i can't remember his name. Very easy to get to from Queens.

Roslyn Claremont: Beautiful hotel. In the end, I felthat this place was a little too classy for us. I can see my family being a little loud and rowdy and disturbing the guests at this swanky hotel.

Westbury Manor: I have always loved this place and thought I would want to get married here, but we're getting married in the fall and can't really take advntage of the outdoors so I didn't even consider it. I like the 'house'feel
which is why I decided on...

Carlyle on the Green: I visited in july and it was gorgeous! Sue P. was awesome to deal with. She new exactly how to talk to my mother and make her feel good about everything. I loved that the room had hard wood floors. I'm not a big fan of marble and mirrors and chandeliers. The price for a Friday night was also very good. While it does not have as much food as some of the weddings I've been to, all of the choices sound excellent. I also liked the idea that no one else I know had gotten married there.

giorgios - first place we went to, and ended up booking after seeing the following places:

- lands end
- sans souci
- flowerfields
(i only went to places that had one wedding at a time)

and i would rather not say what i didn't like...it's not nice!!!

Majestic Gardens- our first place we went to and thought it was nice. but we were really looking for a place to also have a ceremony as well and I did not like how it would have been set up.

East Wind was great but between the 2 of us 5 family members have gotten married there. We wanted somewhere of our own

Watermill, we really liked the place when we first walked in. But we kind of were snubbed a little bit. We read that they were having a bridal showcase through this website but when we went it was really a work shop for people who were already booked there.

Then we went to Villa's and that was that

Thatched Cottage: Liked the grounds and gardens and lake in the back. Thought the ceilings were kinda low.

Land's End: Beautiful and on the water. Was going to be my first choice. $pricey$

Windows on the Lake: The guy was sooooo funny. Typical Italian man trying to sell his stuff! The 'used car salesman' like the other gals said!

Miller Place Inn: Good Price, Good choice of food, tall beams in the room that I didn't like.

East Wind: Didn't like the Country Garden at all. (I am only having 125 people) Good Price, not for me.

We had some others to look at: Raphael's, Flowerfield, Bourne Mansion...but when I saw Giorgio's, that was it!

Giorgio's: BEAUTIFUL! Most delicious food ever! I can't say enough about how much I like Giorgio's. I am so excited. The staff is nice to us too! Can't wait!

We looked at:

1. Milleridge Cottage: what we booked, perfect for us.

2. Riviera in Massapequa: pretty place, loved the location. The tiered deck is great but we were getting married in April so it wouldn't have made too much sense for us. That and I didn't love the set up of the room for more than 120 guests - they wanted to put my dj on the balcony.

3. Sail Harbor: to be honest, I was extremely disappointed with it. I was really excited to see it, thought it would definitely be in the running. But, there's a big blacktop parking lot between the place and the water, which is what you see when you look out the window. That and the banquet manager we met with was exceptionally rude.

4. Jericho Terrace: just not our style

5. Chateau La Mer: price was definitley right and the place was very nice. The banquet manager we met with (Eric?) was great. But, again, our wedding is in April and half of the attraction is the outdoor cocktail hour and the water. That and there was more than 1 wedding at a time, which we didn't want.

Flowerfields Or #1 choice, breathtaking cocktail hour room, but the price was just a wee bit out of our budget. Also it would have been very far for our guests to get to.

North Ritz Club Loved the 1 wedding at a time atmosphere. Very modern, clean lines, marble gleaming. We got great service from the rep Christina. Price was right were we wanted it. We booked them!

Swan Club Price was right, but wanted on wedding at a time, also too small for our reception.

Sail Harbor BM was a rude. No view. Price was affordable, place too small.

Fox Hollow Not what we were looking for. Price definitely right, but room was too rectangular and long for my taste. Did not like the garden room at all.

Metropolitan Too small, ceremony room also very small. Loved the bi-level reception room.

We looked at:
Land's End-date not available
Timber Point- not impressed
Carlyle on the Green- too antiquey looking
Carltun on the Park-LOVED, too much $$$$
Russo's on the Bay- didnt like location
Glen Harbour- Liked, too much $$$
Swan Club- didnt like room
Villa Lombardi's- didnt like room
Watermill- didnt like location or room
Fountainhead- didnt like location
Surf Club- it was ok
VIP Country Club- didnt like the room
Leonards- liked it, but not for us
North Ritz Club- ceilings were to low
Westbury Manor- too country
Atlantica- too small
Chateau La Mer- too small
Oheka- too dark
AND THE WINNER WAS CHATEAU BRIAND!!..loved the BM, awesome food, and loved the room. Would like more grounds...but other stuff outweighed that!

Edited to add: I think we looked at more places than anyone ever has!

We definitely wanted a one event only location, so we checked out the following:

Coindre Hall - DH and I thought the location would be perfect b/c it's near our home & church, plus I have a history with that location (I used to row there), but we ended up being disappointed with the mansion's upkeep and it would have taken a lot more decorating (more flowers, etc.). We also felt the layout of the rooms would have made the reception awkward (dinner and dancing in separate rooms.)

Vanderbilt Mansion (Centerport) - Nice location, but the cobblestone courtyard/walkways made me nervous (I didn't want myself or any of my guests to catch their heels and fall.) The fact that it would be outdoors with no option to go inside had me concerned as well, especially since we were getting married during hurricane season.

Bourne Mansion - We walked in and went 'Wow!' It was perfect: history & charm, one event per day, indoors & outdoors, and on the water (again, I used to row by it when it was La Salle).

DeServersky - The awnings turned me off immediately.

We were very limited because of the wedding size and I only wanted one wedding at a time.

We visited:

Land's End
North Ritz
Crescent Beach Club
Carlye
Villa
Flowerfield (WINNER)

Also saw Jericho Terrace

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Posted by Soon2bMsZ

Including the one you picked. Any tasteful coments about what you liked or didnt like about the other halls visited is welcome. Might help some people who havent chosen a hall yet

*ETA - I would start but I booked the first and only hall we saw!!
I knew I DEFINITLY didnt want russo's b/c EVERYONE else in FH's family gets married there.
And I knew I wouldnt look at leanords b/c fh's cousin had her sweet 16 there right after we were engaged and we didnt like the way the handled certain situations that came up that night. Also my sister was previously engaged and booked there... and wound up calling off the wedding lol

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I thought I was the only bride crazy enough to book the one and only hall they visited!!!

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Posted by jenniesunshine

I looked at 30 and I kept a spreadsheet with pricing info and my comments. If anyone who hasn't chosen a place (or anyone who wants to read my sarcastic comments ) is interested in having me email it, just FM me.

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LOL! You sound just like me - I did the exact same thing.

Westbury Manor -- I loved the outdoors & the gardens but the decor wasn't for me and I didn't like the fact that there was a restaurant inside.

Fox Hollow - One of the rooms (can't remember which one) was really beautiful but again for the most part the decor wasn't for me and neither was the price - it was also a little too busy...

Riviera - Love it because of the location and coziness but too many people we know had already gotten married there

Sunset Harbour - Loved the location, the food, and Andy the BM, but it was too small for our wedding

Larkfield -- Loved it but we weren't crazy about the set up of the ballroom for some reason

Huntington Townhouse - the BM I met with was pushy and skeevy and it turned me off

DeSeversky Mansion - the menu wasn't 'full' enough for our taste

Stewart Manor CC - Beautiful but... well, I really don't remember what the but was...

Jericho Terrace - Have always liked it but wasn't crazy about it's location and lack of grounds and alot of people we know got married there

SandCastle -- fell in LOVE with the ballroom!! It's just SOOOO us!! I could just SEE our wedding rececption happening there!


BTW -- I did the same thing as Jenniesunshine -- spreadsheet with pricing, etc. You have to see my color coded pricing chart !