What to ask when?

Ladies, it is time for me to finally start making appointments to visit some of the places I am interested in for my wedding. Before I do this, I was wondering if I could get some advice:

1) In order to limit the number of places visited, is there anything I can ask when I call? will they give me a price range by phone? or minimum guest count, etc? I know I am on a budget, so if a place is going to ask 150 pp I dont even want to visit it and get my hopes up... know what I mean?

2) What info should I have available when I go to them besides the date I am interested in and my expected guest count

3) anything else you might think i will find useful before I do this?

Thanks, I have learned so much already from everybody sharing their experience, I don't know how brides plan a weddign without something like this as a resource!!!

Ask for a minimum, ask for a maximum, esp. if you're interested in specific rooms.

Also, they won't tell you the price over the phone, but they'll give you a range if you tell them what you want, i.e. a sit down dinner on a saturday afternoon in July, unlimited liquor, venetian table, blah, blah...

Try to get as much info over the phone if you can.

Also if you want an outdoor ceremony, make sure there is space inside in case it rains, if you want ****tail hr before ceremony, make sure that they are willing to do it (some halls we visited couldn't do it).

Ask if you can bring your own cake, if you plan too.

Thanks! Very helpful... making my little list tee hee, keep it coming ladies

ALWAYS do a search here to hear what brides have said about the place. Then go to the web sites. You can narrow down some place pretty quick doing those two things.
Call and ask if your date is open before going to the hall. Ask for a price range. If you have a $75 pp quote, ADD 19%, THEN 8.5% to get a REAL per person price. If you can afford it, take a look. If not, stay away. You WILL fall in love with a place you cannot afford. It happens all the time and then you are upset for weeks, nothing else compares etc... Ask if how many events they host at once. I wanted a one-event reception site. That was important to me, but not to everyone.
Consider- how long will it take your guests to travel from the Church (or ceremony site) to the reception location. You don't want an East End wedding on a Friday at 5pm in July. The traffic would be horrific for your guests. If you have out-of-town guests, is there a hotel nearby. Since ALL of Scott's family is from out-of-town that was very important to us.
Do a premiliary guest list then add 40 to it,unless you really include a lot of who you know on the premilary one. You need to make sure the site you like can accomdate your guests. Also, if you have 120 on your guest list, don't look at halls the require 175 min.
When can you have a tasting? What are the payment terms? What do vendor meals cost (I have 13 so it can make a difference). Does the hall require you to use THEIR vendors such as a florist or can you book your own. Many require you to pick from a list of 2 or 3. Those vendors tend to be more expensive since they know you have very little choice but to use them. Make sure you consider this in your overall budgets.
Will there be any major construction between now and your date? If so, what it is and how will your wedding room look afterwards.
How long have they been in business?

Those should help you start to look.

When I started looking at reception sites, I bought Weddings Facilities and Services magazine at Barnes and Noble (there is also a website: www.weddingfacilitiesandservices.com/TEMPLATE/FrontEnd/). The prices listed for each place was generally on the mark. I also did a search for certain reception places on this site to see what other people had to say.

Once I had a list of interested places, I made phone calls and asked:
1) whether they were available on the dates we were looking for
2) price range for Sat. or Sun. daytime wedding
3) minimum and maximum # of guests
4) when can we view the facility

After the phone calls, I made appointments to see a few places that met our criteria. The only thing I brought with me was a steno notebook with a list of questions. I took notes and asked a lot of questions. You will soon realize how easy it is to look at reception sites once you visit a couple.
Good luck!

i also agree with the LIWedding facilities book.
it is very helpful. it tells youhow many people it accomodates, the approx amount pp etc.

wow, i didnt get far with it yet, but that site looks great, thanks so much ladies!

OMG I Have to add... do you see that Atlantis Marine wolrd has weddings?? What a wacky idea? I like it LOL!!!