How many places did everyone look at before they chose THE one? We've looked at 11 and called another 20 or so. We're determined to stick to our budget and, quite frankly, only 1 place meets that criteria. I like it, but I don't love it! I also like the idea of buying our house w/ the money we'd save by staying w/in our budget!! ARGGGGGHHHH!!! Comments? Advice? Anyone wanna plan my wedding along with planning your own? Hee Hee. :)
We booked the first hall we went to, since both my fiance and I fell in love with it. We looked at other places, since our hall was a little more than we wanted to spend, but in the end we booked it because nothing compared.
Hey Tara, I had the same problem. My mom came up with a great idea...she cut off the sleeves from one of my dad's old white button up shirts, and I would put them on with the dress. It's not an exact science, but it gave me a good idea of what the dress would look like with long sleeves. Good luck!!!
We looked at 4 but we have been to lots of weddings on Long island and knew what kind of places we wanted and those that we didn't. I knew when we walked into our hall that we booked that it was the one for us!!
We visited 8 places. The one we chose was the third one we saw, and I knew right away that it was perfect for me. We kept going to others to see whether or not we could get the same for less money, or if something else would jump out at us as better, but in the end my heart was set -- and luckily for me my parents and fiance loved it too.
The tricky piece for you will be your budget -- you have not indicated how tight it is. Perhaps your 'dream' place is not within the range initially, but you may find that if you are flexible with date and time that you can afford locations you are eliminating. For example, I know the price difference between Saturday and Sunday at some places was over $60 a person. Fridays are also less expensive. If you are willing to be married Nov - March you can also save a great deal.
We looked at 3 and had appointments at 3 more but when we saw the 3rd one we knew that was it. Our criteria (places that only held one wedding at a time & the size of our wedding) helped narrow down our list but we also found that a lot of places booked up very early. So far, we have heard nothing but wonderful things about it and are happy with our decision.
We went with Flowerfield in St. James. We are having both the ceremony and the reception there and we liked the look for both.
I think we're going to go w/ Coral House (it was the last place we looked) in Baldwin. We liked that and Westbury Manor but the Manor is not willing to negotiate more than $2.00 pp. They also don't have the Garden Room available for the two dates we had in mind.
Yes, I did get the book! I also went to Banqueteer.com, LocationsMagazine.com and some other site which escapes me right now! We've considered Manhattan (where we live), Queens, Brooklyn, Nassau and Suffolk! We even thought about Rockland County. Nassau is the most central for everyone so that's where we concentrated our efforts.
Kathi,
We only checked out one reception place, John Anthony's. I called several others, including Land's End, The Riveria and Chateau Le Mer, just to compare prices.
MichelleW,
That is exactly my opinion! My fiance is a little worried about what people will think, but like you said, no matter how hard you try, you can't please everyone. And I constantly remind him of that.
Congratulations! How exciting. I hope everything goes wonderfully for you and your wife-to-be. Enjoy the honeymoon too.
We also used Target and JCP for our NOV2000 wedding. Although I wrote about this then, I will write it again...
This site is very helpful. It allows you to see what homes in your area of interest sold for. It's important to have comparables when you're buying. Most real estate brokers are not very forthcoming with this information. ALWAYS ask for recent comps!
