*UPDATED*Venue report, concern and questions...

Ok, so I got a bit of fire under my tush this weekend and visited, CLM, Lombardi's on the Sound and VIlla Lombardi's.

Today I have appointments starting at 2 for Larkfield Manor, North Ritz Club and Leonards.......

Oh and the Harbour CLub on Tuesday night...

Now, I am loving Nick at CLM and his pricing...anyone know about the food? The menu looks incredible! Has anyone negotiated extras here?

Lombardi's on the Sound's menu and pricing was very nice, but we didn't really care for the venue itself. Now, Villa Lombardi's was beautiful and we got the same price per head, but he gave us a COMPLETELY different menu choice than Lombardi's on the Sound....ALOT less bang for our buck. Has anyone come across this issue with the Lombardi locations and is there a way to negotiate this?

As far as the other I'm visiting today and Tuesday....any insight or suggestions on what to ask, look out for or check out would be greatly appreciated!!

TIA!!

UPDATE......
Alright, I did my rounds and this is where I stand (any feed back is greatly appreciated)

Larkfield Manor: I am ABSOLUTELY in love with the place! It's beautiful and Harry was very sweet. Made a 2nd appointment on Tuesday for my mom to see it. Only concern is that Maryann had originally gave me pp prices over the phone when I made my appointment, and Harry gave me higher numbers. This is something I will mention when I return on Tuesday and see what they can do.

North Ritz Club: Met with John, and to be perfectly honest he rubbed me the wrong way. Didn't want to negotiate anything, and gave me the same price that my FSIL got when she was married in the summer. CLose to $130pp Am I missing something here? I really loved it, but this just really bothers me......I'm getting married in the winter gosh darn it!

Leonards by far IMO is the worst I've seen yet. It was like a sweat shop for weddings and events. We ended up leaving (after waiting 45 minutes PAST our appointment) because they were running behind schedule. Sorry, but if I had to wait even 15 minutes for service of any kind on the day of my wedding, I wouldn't be a happy camper!

**Edited to say: My apologies to those I may have offended by saying it felt like a 'sweatshop'. That was simply my experience.

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Posted by CaseyCase

i would do some food tastings to help you make your decision, you'd be surprised how much that can sway your opinion

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Doing the first tasting on the 18th at the CLM....The Lombardi's don't have their showcases until January and I would like to have my RH booked my Christmas. ::Fingers crossed:: Will find out about the other ones today.

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Posted by Soon2BMrsErichsen


Lombardi's on the Sound's menu and pricing was very nice, but we didn't really care for the venue itself. Now, Villa Lombardi's was beautiful and we got the same price per head, but he gave us a COMPLETELY different menu choice than Lombardi's on the Sound....ALOT less bang for our buck. Has anyone come across this issue with the Lombardi locations and is there a way to negotiate this?

TIA!!

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You can totally negotiate the menu at villa. I originally got the smaller menu too at a higher price. I ended with the big menu with the 7 entree's ect... at a lower price by about 4 dollars per head.

I personally love Larkfield Manor but hey thats where Im getting married lol so im biased!
Good luck! FM Me if you want help!

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Posted by Soon2BMrsErichsen

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Posted by CaseyCase

i would do some food tastings to help you make your decision, you'd be surprised how much that can sway your opinion

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Doing the first tasting on the 18th at the CLM....The Lombardi's don't have their showcases until January and I would like to have my RH booked my Christmas. ::Fingers crossed:: Will find out about the other ones today.

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I just did a food tasting at CLM this past Wednesday and it was very nice. We went just me and FH and I would recommend bringing along some extra people bc they give you so much and you can bring up to 6 ppl. The food wasn't exactly what I expected but it was still very nice. They are my top choice nd I would like to book before the holidays as well. What month are you looking at?

CLM did an AMAZING job on our wedding. food, staff, service, decor, ambiance, etc was GREAT!!!!!! everyone was raving about it and people told us it was the best wedding they've ever been too. Nick was a pleasure to work with.

Edit check out mt review for pictures!

I have been to both CLM and Larkfield Manor. The both were nice, however, CLM blows Larkfield Manor out of the water!!!

Larkfield Manor is smaller and more intimate than CLM. The food is just ok. CLM has a great location, great food, great service and its just beautiful.

Good luck with your search.

Ok...

CLM- went to food tasting there and the food was amazing, ive said this so many times on the boards- we didnt book there so i have no bias but fhe food was seriously the best catering hall food fh & i ever had and we have high end taste in food
it was delisshhhhh!!

North Ritz Club0 130pp in the winter??!!

we booked NRC and ultimately canceled there
but we got 90pp for a friday night in June
and were able to knock price down
free VH with extra hou
extra CH station
extra carving station
free martini bar for entire length of ch anddd reception
and a bunch of other stuff

so 130pp for winter seems crazy to me...we had nadine and she was suppppper nice, we loved her
unfortunately we felt food at tasting was not up to par with price/reputation- it wasnt bad but it wasnt what we were expecting- CH food was reallllly good, entrees- eh, they were ok

now lombardi's- as far as i know they have 2 or 3 different menus, including a winter menu which is cheaper and includes less

did you tell them ur price point prior to them showing you menus? maybe thats what they based it on.

Im booked at Lombardis on the Bay and I highly rec you check it out, its not that well known on here because its brand new...but the place is GORGEOUS! brand spankin new from floor to ceiling
and of course lombardis food is supposed to be amazing
i know every girl says to check out their venue but im telling you, you wont be dissapointed...i have a thread on 11 board with tonsss of pics of the place

i dont know about other lombarids, but ours let us haggle like crazy, we got so much thrown in and price lowered significantly-

im not sure if all are the same but we were able to play around with menus

sorry this is so long, please FM if you have any other questions

Oh boy oh boy....looks like, at this point, it's between Larkfield and CLM! Love them both, so not a bad list so far.

Heading to Harbor Club tomorrow and VYC on Thursday to check those out. Hopefully I'll have a final decision by Saturday.

Lovey.....thanks for the Lombardi's info! Going to see if I can check out on the Bay too then. Who did you deal with? I really wanted to do Villa Lombardi's because I keep hearing the food is impecable, but it's going to take some haggling. I reall hate haggling.......meh Oh, and yeah...stupid me gave them my price point before the talk started, so that's probably why....gggrrrr

I'm biased towards the Harbor Club.. thats where I'm getting married!

I'm meeting with Matthew tomorrow and looking forward to it. Have you been able to do a tasting? How were they with negotiating any extras? I love the fact that's it's only one party at a time! hehe

TIA for any info!!!

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Posted by Soon2BMrsErichsen

Leonards by far IMO is the worst I've seen yet. It was like a sweat shop for weddings and events. We ended up leaving (after waiting 45 minutes PAST our appointment) because they were running behind schedule. Sorry, but if I had to wait even 15 minutes for service of any kind on the day of my wedding, I wouldn't be a happy camper!

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I'm sorry this was your experience but mine was quite the opposite. When we went for the first time and then again when we booked, they couldn't have been more accommodating. And since then, every email I send to my BM is answered within a half hour....

And its far from 'a sweat shop for weddings and events.' I would rarely comment on things like that but I guess your comment lit 'bit of fire under my tush!'

Just because a venue is 'one wedding at a time' doesn't mean its any better than those that have multiple rooms. I understand that you are just writing about your experience but that was kind of insulting...

I looked at Villa Lombardis & Lombardis on the sound also....to be honest with you I thought their prices were too high BUT with the Lombardi's you can guarantee GREAT FOOD!!! I worked for them about 6 years ago & their food is amazing.

CLM pricing was amazing!!! I liked the place alot. My issue was he said the palm trees would be there the 1st week in May (which is our set date) & i wanted to be sure they would be there & he couldnt guarantee that. I thought the outdoors were beautiful & the yacht ride sounded awesome too. BUT what if it rains....i wasnt as crazy about the inside. We did a food tasting there & the food was amazing!


I am booked with North Ritz. We were able to negotitate a decent price. We worked with Nadine & she was great!

Good luck in your search

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Posted by ItalianBella1122

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Posted by Soon2BMrsErichsen

Leonards by far IMO is the worst I've seen yet. It was like a sweat shop for weddings and events. We ended up leaving (after waiting 45 minutes PAST our appointment) because they were running behind schedule. Sorry, but if I had to wait even 15 minutes for service of any kind on the day of my wedding, I wouldn't be a happy camper!

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I'm sorry this was your experience but mine was quite the opposite. When we went for the first time and then again when we booked, they couldn't have been more accommodating. And since then, every email I send to my BM is answered within a half hour....

And its far from 'a sweat shop for weddings and events.' I would rarely comment on things like that but I guess your comment lit 'bit of fire under my tush!'

Just because a venue is 'one wedding at a time' doesn't mean its any better than those that have multiple rooms. I understand that you are just writing about your experience but that was kind of insulting...

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Sorry you feel that way, but as you said...I was commenting on my experience, as we all do here.
There were 2 brides arriving at the same time, and in the 'waiting room' there were people in and out, in and out. At one point there were 4 couples waiting and what looked to be a sweet sixteen. 45 minutes later, I could no longer stand the wait, as I have to pay a babysitter for me to be able to attend these appointments. It was very disapointing.
I'm very happy that you had a better experience. Not instulting you in anyway....the location is BEAUTIFUL, but again, this was MY experience and MY opinion. I'm sure you would think the same way, if you were in the same boat as I was.