So I have finally (almost) accepted that we are not having a destination wedding... We have been LI venue searching (tirelessly).. Even though we are getting married in the fall, we want to be near the water. Out of all of the places we have seen we liked the feel and the price of the Riviera but they don't have our date, or anything even close . Our runners up are the Crescent Beach Club in Bayville and The Bayview House at Captain Bill's in Bay Shore. Does anyone have feedback, experiences, opinions on either of these places?? Apparently there was also a new venue that opened up next to Crescent Beach Club- The Soundview. It looks extremely modern and classy .. curious about it!
Lastly, what has been everyone's experience with negotiating prices? Although we haven't tried too hard with the places we didn't have much interest in , I never found that there was much wiggle room with these sales people. Like everyone, we are on a budget, but paying for this on our own has us really budget conscious! Is it better to just come right out and ask for a lower price? Do we play the game that someplace else offered more for less $? Ask for them to throw some things in? I suck at this... probably because our heart is really in a destination wedding and we are settling a bit
Thanks all!
ChristineNicole
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Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
I checked out the crescent beach club, I thought the outside was pretty. I know quite a few people who have been there and they said the food was not that great. I've been to a wedding at captain bills and it was so nice there! I saw soundview, it does look nice from the outside! Has it opened yet?
rcotter90
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Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
Have you checked out The View in Oakdale? I've heard amazing things.. but they do only do afternoon weddings.. not sure if that's something you're interested in.
Ruste23
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Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
You could always get married at the Aquarium like me! I am getting married on the Peconic on a sand dune - can't get much closer to the water than that! The built a separate building for weddings and events that overlooks the peconic its really stunning. Look at the website: Atlantis Banquets & Events. It's costly for our wedding because we are using every part of the Aquarium - the back, the inside and the reception hall but you can break it up to only use the parts you want.
ericamklein
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Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
I think my fiance and I had similar goals in venue searching. We looked at a whole range of places, from full-on DIY to traditional catering halls.
One place you might check out is Chateau la Mer, which I've been to twice for other people's weddings - they give you a TON for the price per person, the food is incredible, and the venue is literally RIGHT on the water with an outdoor deck and a dock nearby. Only problem is that it is a very traditional catering hall, which turned us off - based on one of your other posts I sort of thing you might have the same reaction, but their off-season pricing is so good it might be worth checking it out anyway.
We are almost definitely going to book with the Mansion at West Sayville - its not right on the water but has a gorgeous waterview (its set back a bit with some marshes in between) and again, the off-season pricing is incredible. Its an historic mansion that's been updated with a new banquet area and glassed-in patio, and it feels very different from other typical LI halls, but you can still more-or-less get the traditional wedding experience.
Just a note that we are not having a formal ceremony on site - we're having a civil ceremony with a tiny guest list the day before, then doing sort of an informal ceremony with friends and family during the reception. Both of these spots though would definitely support an on-site ceremony, with an extra charge.
kimpup
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Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
If you want a bargin check out Chateau La mer in march! I couldn't believe the price! And that was without bargaining! the weather will be like what it is now or maybe better if you get a good day! I didn't get a change to go to the Riviera and wanted to - I'm just so done looking at places. lol.
cela
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Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
Captain Bill's is very nice and on the water. I went to a wedding there a few years ago and the food was great and cocktail hour was outside on a covered deck on the water. Only drawback was when I called to get pricing for 2015 they said they would not negotiate their prices. :/
Jsabbatino
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Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
Chateau La Mer is great! We considered them for our wedding- I see your date says Nov - is that accurate? If so, I have Nov 2015 pricing for them. Also, Lands ENd was willing to come down a lot for a wedding in Nov, all it took was one email from me asking them to - you may have some extra bargaining power for a late fall/winter wedding bc less people want to get married on the water when its cold out
SweetRed7
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Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
Have you looked at Land's End in Sayville? http://www.landsendweddings.com/
NicoleBMC
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Re: Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
I do love the view and the beach feel of Crescent but the inside is typical catering hall , which I was trying to stay away from. That is disappointing to hear about the food as it seemed they had great choices. Captain Bill's has nice feel also, they just don't seem to offer as much for the price, while Crescent seems willing to throw some things in, Captain Bill's is pretty standard Yes, Soundview just opened, they haven't done a wedding yet though00 which is scary!
Chateau La Mer is nice and the price is good, but I do not like the inside ceremony area at all, and they also don't have the main room available for any of the dates we want, only the upstairs.
The aquarium does seem cool, but I think it's a little far for our guests.
I called the View when i was checking out The Snapper inn yesterday (because it is close by) but no one answered. I think I also read they only do Saturday afternoons but I will try again,
I am going to check out Lands End, thanks!
vgiardini
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Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
definitely check out lands end! it's beautiful!! captain bills is also a great on the water option! both of them were willing to give us lower prices based on having a fri or sun night or sat afternoon or for garaunteeing 175 people. do not go in there saying you want a fri night. start out saying you want a sat night and then after they tell you prices say you'd be willing to look at fri - how much for that? basically, don't put all your cards on the table. definitely play the 'this place offered me x' game!! it works! i stink at negotiating but FH is good so i let him handle it. you can also bring a buddy if you have any friends that are good.
you say fall - september and october are both super popular right now. are you willing to look at november? there's a friday the 13th this coming november and that's hard to fill so captain bills offered us a discount on that haha
NicoleBMC
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Re: Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
Posted by vgiardini
definitely check out lands end! it's beautiful!! captain bills is also a great on the water option! both of them were willing to give us lower prices based on having a fri or sun night or sat afternoon or for garaunteeing 175 people. do not go in there saying you want a fri night. start out saying you want a sat night and then after they tell you prices say you'd be willing to look at fri - how much for that? basically, don't put all your cards on the table. definitely play the 'this place offered me x' game!! it works! i stink at negotiating but FH is good so i let him handle it. you can also bring a buddy if you have any friends that are good.
you say fall - september and october are both super popular right now. are you willing to look at november? there's a friday the 13th this coming november and that's hard to fill so captain bills offered us a discount on that haha
Great! good to hear! Our date us actually a Sunday in November so I feel like we should be getting decent prices,, especially on the water (what other crazies care about the water in the cold? Once we really narrow it down I am going to take my negotiation to the next level lol. my fiancé and I work different schedules, so i have been doing the initial visit for the most part, and then taking him back to see the ones I like, Where are you getting married?
vgiardini
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Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
yes you should be getting better prices! i think i have quotes for both somewhere if you need them (2015 though). we are getting married at the li maritime museum outside in a tent :)
NicoleBMC
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Re: Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
Posted by vgiardini
yes you should be getting better prices! i think i have quotes for both somewhere if you need them (2015 though). we are getting married at the li maritime museum outside in a tent :)
We are getting married 2015 too,, which is soon ahhhh! but being that it's 8 months away , you would think that would be another reason for them to be giving us a deal on an available date!
Your venue sounds awesome!
vgiardini
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Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
yes you should definitely be able to do better! captain bills was willing to negotiate with us on dates that were 11 months out… 8 months out they gave us an even bigger discount! you'll do well, just don't put all your cards on the table when you first meet. let them discuss pricing and general dates and then say well… if we were willing to speed up our timeline, do you have any dates you'd like to fill in 2015?
kaselyn
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Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
Crescent beach clubs views are really outstanding. I went there for a christmas party, took home the vendor meal, and even after an hour it was good! Mansion at Sayville would be my next recommendation (they're a lessings venue right?). You'll definitely get a great value there, one of my coworkers just got married there and it looked beautiful.
booie135
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Re: Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
I'm booked with Bayview House at Captain Bill's for April 11th (sooo sooon!) and my sister also got married there 3 years ago. I absolutely love the venue, food is amazing and you can't beat the room or the view (I'm slightly biased). FH and I are paying for everything ourselves as well so price was huge for us, but CB's definitely worked with us with pricing and compared to everywhere else we went the price was great for what you receive! If you haven't been there before you should go to the restaurant for dinner to get a taste of the food. You'll definitely be impressed! They have been great through the planning process as well, so if you have any other specific questions about there I'd be happy to try to answer! Good luck with the venue hunt!
cela
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Re: Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
Posted by booie135
I'm booked with Bayview House at Captain Bill's for April 11th (sooo sooon!) and my sister also got married there 3 years ago. I absolutely love the venue, food is amazing and you can't beat the room or the view (I'm slightly biased). FH and I are paying for everything ourselves as well so price was huge for us, but CB's definitely worked with us with pricing and compared to everywhere else we went the price was great for what you receive! If you haven't been there before you should go to the restaurant for dinner to get a taste of the food. You'll definitely be impressed! They have been great through the planning process as well, so if you have any other specific questions about there I'd be happy to try to answer! Good luck with the venue hunt!
Wow really?! When I called the girl was so stern and would not budge with me on the phone. I guess I called on a bad day. lol
booie135
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Re: Venues on the water input.. and negotiating?
I'd make an appt with them and go talk in person and see what they can do for you! Can't hurt!
