I'm becoming addicted to LIW!! Everyone seems sooo nice and helpfu,
Curious... How long did it take everyone to find and book there venue? Was it difficult getting the month/date you wanted? Did any of the venue's offer packages?
SoonToBeMrsONeill
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Re: Venues / Timeframe
Aww you're so cute. I felt the same exact way when I found this site :)
It took my FH and I exactly 30 days to find our venue, and it was the 30th place that we finally booked at.
They do not offer inclusive packages so we are getting the other major vendors on our own but that's okay because we like the control and ability to chose who we want - yes, we are a little ocd at times
Because we were pretty open about the day (either Friday or Saturday evening) most of our dates were in fact available... That and our venue is brand spanking new - just opened up in November so even though Saturday nights were booked, the two fridays in May that we wanted were available :)
FM me if you want more info about it, and good luck with your search!!!
AwaitingAugust
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each person is completely different ... i found my venue in about a week, but some people have a very hard time finding one that they love. My venue didn't have my first two date choices (but i went about 9 months before the date i wanted so that probably added to it)
kedra5
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I was going to say...every couple is different!! We went and looked at one RH and it was the one for us....we didn't look anywhere else!! But my FSIL & FBIL are getting married and have looked at TONS of places!!!! It all depends on what you are looking for. Be patient and open minded.
BTW - this site IS addicting...it will only get worse hahahah
LindyBride22
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Haha, I know what you mean, it is pretty addicting.
Since we're long distance I searched online for a venue for about a month. We narrowed it down to 8 choices, we visited them all in a weekend, and picked one right then. If I lived closer I probably would have spent a little longer and visited more, but it worked for us!
And no, we didnt get a package either. I think they will all recommend other vendors for you, but we wanted to be able to choose our oen and will not be using any of the recommended vendors.
HTHs.
LindyBride22
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Oh, I forgot about the date part...we searched just over a year in advance. We had the date narrowed down to a weekend but were generally flexible about fri, sat, or sun, so there were at least a few options left everywhere we were looking
Chanwich
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Posted by LindyBride22
Haha, I know what you mean, it is pretty addicting.
Since we're long distance I searched online for a venue for about a month. We narrowed it down to 8 choices, we visited them all in a weekend, and picked one right then. If I lived closer I probably would have spent a little longer and visited more, but it worked for us!
HTHs.
We did the same, narrowed it down online and spent one weekend on LI looking at halls. We booked the 2nd hall we visited. I didn't get an all inclusive package, but ours does include centerpieces, place cards and direction cards which was helpful. Good luck!
ItalianBella1122
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Re: Venues / Timeframe
Yes, its different for everyone! Its like how some girls buy the first dress they try on and others have to go through the entire inventory of 5 stores.
It took FH and I a month - we were engaged on 11/22 and booked on 12/23. We wanted November 2011, so in December 2009, we pretty much had everything open to us. I used to work at my parish's rectory when I was in high school so before going to the halls, I checked to make sure a few options that I wanted were open in my church first.
On the other hand, I had done a tremendous amount of research before even setting foot in a hall. (Especially thanks to the girls on LIW...everyone is so helpful with sharing information). The biggest factor for me was cost, so I had a good idea going in of the prices they would give me. In the end, the hall I wanted and thought I would go with, I did!
If you haven't started looking, I recommend starting out with a hall nearby your home just to get your feet wet. The first place we went to ended up being horribly overpriced, but it gave us good practice for knowing what questions to ask. In the end, we visited 5 halls in total. For a number of reasons, the one we chose just fit our needs perfectly.
Again, its kind of like the dress...when you see it (and the price, color, size, etc. is right) you just know
FutureJOC
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Re: Venues / Timeframe
we booked our venue about 5 months after we got engaged. Although I used to work for a wedding photog studio so I have seen almost every venue on Long Island. The only I had never been to/heard of before wound up being the one we fell in love with!
asg450
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We got engaged in December and we booked our RH in Feb. It wasn't difficult at all to get our date but there was some pressure to leave a deposit to book it because April 24th is a very popular day for weddings.
Our RH only offered a diverse menu package with the cake but that's about it.
soontobmrsmike
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I got engaged 7/5/09 we found our hall in October of 2009. So it took us some time bc we are paying for most of it ourselves so we didn't have a specific date in mind. Originally the date we wanted was May 7, 2011 but that is still high priced season especially a sat night so we had to reconsider. It was going to have to be from oct- march that we could afford to do it so i did not want the dead of Winter so I decided on Fall. It is good bc my FH does not like the heat - and i do not want to be sweating on my wedding day.
We went to so many halls it got out of hand. I found something I didn't like in alot of them but i had to come to a decision sooner than later- and reality... lol
We went to : Westbury Manor Thatched Cottage Swan Club Jericho Terrace The Beach Club Estate/Windows on the Lake Lombardis on the Sound Lombardis on the Bay Giorgios- only peeked in the windows Lands End Majestic Gardens Woodbury Country Club Venetian Yacht Club Villa Lombardi's
I prob could have looked at more if the FH didn't put a stop to it!!!
soontobmrsmike
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If you need any help I have alot of info so just let me know and I will be glad to help!!
I have also been to the following for weddings:
North Ritz Club Crest Hollow Bayview House -Captain Bills Leonards of Great Neck Flowerfields
HoosierCouple
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For me I knew we had time (2 years of an engagement bc I am in school and busy with life). Anyway--- we took our time looking (i would say 1-2 a week) and then took a little break in between. All in all we looked at about 25-30 RH and actually booked the last one we saw which was about 5 months after we started our search.
If you need any help with RH information and prices let us know... we know how it is, we have all been there!
Goodluck with your search (and i promise--- after the RH is booked it gets soooo much easier!)
soontobmrsmike
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OHEKA!!! Lucky girl!!!
HoosierCouple
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I am sooo lucky! i really am blessed, and i know that!
On a side note it was my dad who actually was the one to decide oheka (they are paying for the RH). We did not push it, but he had alot of problems with the RH we were originally going to pick and knew oheka would not nickle and dime you for everything. We went there to look around as a joke!
In addition- we gave up my dream of a sat night wedding and are having it fri night (which saves us on almost every vendor!)
evita2781
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FH and I found our venue in about a month after getting engaged but to be honest, I think it would've been longer but we couldn't hold off b/c we're both auditors and we wanted to book before busy season started and there was no way that we could've done it during that time. I'm totally glad we did it soon though b/c these places get booked up!
sandybeaches115
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FH and I found the venue about 2 months after getting engaged. We weren't on LI when we got engaged so as soon as we got to LI we booked apts and made a decision in about a week since we had to leave LI again. Some people take months however to decide so it really depends on the person. Most RHs aren't completely inclusive but they usually include a maitre d, bridal attendant, basic alcohol, cocktail hr, lunch/dinner reception, and wedding cake.
good luck! if you need help here were the RH's we looked at: Venetian Yacht Club Fox Hollow Jericho Terrace Crest Hollow CC The Woodlands Thatched Cottage Milleridge Inn Cottage
Soon2BRomeo
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FH and I got engagaed in October and We booked in February. We went to a bunch of different places. Found one and than could get my dad (who is paying for the wedding) to agree and search more abnd finally got one. I think the biggest thing is to set your budget and don't waste your time going to halls that are out of your range if you do you will never find anything you like.
leesah85
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I did a bunch of research beforehand and made a list of the 10 places I really wanted to see. We actually went to see only 7 of the 10. We booked CHCC which was the first one we saw!
Figure out things that you want - if you care if it is one wedding at a time, about how many people you have, if you want waterview, on the beach, or not at all. Also, find out if you're gonna have your ceremony there or not b/c that seemed to be a dealbreaker for many brides.
