Waterfront Venue Reviews: Captain Bill’s, West Sayville & the Pavilion

Hi everyone! Since so many posts on here helped me in choosing my venue I figured I should repay the favor and share some reviews/info of my own J

My fiancé and I only checked out 3 venues before deciding on the Mansion at West Sayville. We wanted something near the water, with outdoor space and a lack of gaudy décor. West Sayville fulfilled all of those needs and more for a reasonable price!

The first venue we checked out was Captain Bill’s in Bay Shore (AKA the Bayview House). It seemed like a good start since we live about 5 minutes away and we’ve enjoyed a number of events there in the past. We met with Donna, who was very nice and personable. There were very few things we didn’t like, but in the end we decided against it. Besides the deck, it doesn’t have much outdoor space. Plus we’ve attended wedding receptions there in the past so we wanted to mix it up a little.

Next we went to West Sayville, which I had a great feeling about before even stepping foot on the property. I read reviews about it being a rustic, waterfront setting perfect for a DIY/Pintrest-loving bride. That’s all I needed to hear! We met with Steve, who was a little fast paced at first but gave us lots of great info. The view is beautiful and the floors were recently redone. We liked that there are a lot of options, such as where to have to ceremony (lawn or dock) and where to have cocktail hour (indoors and/or out). He showed us plans for a large outdoor patio that is supposed to completed by 2014, which would be a nice bonus.

The only thing I was on the fence about at first was the separation between the dining room and dance floor. The dance floor is basically on an enclosed patio, so it is separated from the rest of the space by a wall with French doors and big windows. I was worried that not everyone would be able to see what was going on (first dance, cake cutting, etc) and I didn’t like that we would have our backs to the dance floor. However since the rest of my wedding committee thought it was great, the view was irresistible, and I realized that we are hardly going to be in our seats anyway, I grew to love it. Plus it is nice not having everything crammed into one space and guests can get away from the dancing and music if they want to.

Finally, before a second visit to West Sayville, we went to the Pavilion at Sunken Meadow. I had been envisioning my wedding taking place here as far back as a year ago. A ceremony on the beach, dinner overlooking the bay, and dancing on the boardwalk sounded pretty perfect. However, we quickly eliminated it from our options after our visit. We met with Kathy, who was very nice, and the setting was as beautiful as I had anticipated. We knew that the Pavilion was at the top of our price range, but it was even more than we expected. It is $1,800 for a tent alongside the Pavilion, which in my opinion would be a necessity. The most surprising thing was that we would have to pay for everyone to park (in an overgrown, unmaintained lot) and it would cost $10 per car! We also didn’t like that the party would have to be over by 10pm, since it is a state park.

We are going to a Bridal Showcase at West Sayville on September 21. I definitely recommended checking it out if you are looking for a cozy, waterfront setting. I hope this post helps some fellow future brides!

Waterfront Venue Reviews: Captain Bill’s, West Sayville & the Pavilion - Long Island Weddings

Woohoo!! Another West Sayville bride!! We're winter of 2014!! I'll also be at the showcase on the 21st!!

Re: Waterfront Venue Reviews: Captain Bill’s, West Sayville & the Pavilion

I am also getting married there, June 28th 2014!! Do you know when the patio will be done? I thought he originally told us it would be done by May 2013 but that didn't happen lol. How do the floors look?! :)

Re: Waterfront Venue Reviews: Captain Bill’s, West Sayville & the Pavilion

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Posted by sixstringwife

I am also getting married there, June 28th 2014!! Do you know when the patio will be done? I thought he originally told us it would be done by May 2013 but that didn't happen lol. How do the floors look?! :)

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Congratulations!

I’m not sure what they looked like before but the floors look good! The dance floor is a nice dark wood. I’ve heard different things about the patio too. Steve told us that it would be started before the end of this year and that it would only take a couple of months. He said that it’s been a long process to get started because they are located within a county park. However my cousin was told that it would be finished sometime in 2014. I’m sure it will be mentioned that the bridal showcase next month so I’ll share any info I find out!