When you first got engaged...

soontobmrsmike Posted: Jan 29, 2011 12:10 PM

When you first got engaged...

Did you know exactly where you wanted to get married before you looked at halls- like did you have a picture in your mind of what you wanted your wedding day to be like?

Do you feel like you have changed that idea due to lack of funds?

adelz Posted: Jan 29, 2011 12:18 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

We didn't know what hall we'd be getting married in but we knew it'd be in the Tri-State/Long Island area because most of our family is around here. We also knew immediately our guest list would be small and that we wanted a romantic/intimate wedding - and that's what we're having

Before getting engaged, we thought of doing a beach wedding - but weren't impressed by the halls we saw by the beach, and too many risks w/ weather to do that.

If we had unlimited funds, we would have had our wedding in Santorini, Greece and flew in our immediate family only.

KarynK Posted: Jan 29, 2011 12:22 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

We always drove pass Lands End and when we got engaged, we looked at the price and thought we couldn't do it for Sat eve and we really wanted Sat eve. We also wanted an outdoor ceremony. We looked only at West Lake Inn, which is all indoors and Lands End. In the end we settled for Sat afternoon so that we can be married outside, and have it at LE.
We chose LE also for the food. Lovin Oven has a different wedding menu and we had a tasting at West Lake. It was hands down the best wedding food I ever had. We also love Sayville.
So as you can see, we compromised to get what we wanted. If you really want a place, let them know what your budget is, and bargain with them. You don't have to have that ice sculpture they 'throw' in. Adjust how much cocktail hour food to be served. There are many ways to negotiate.

soontobmrsmike Posted: Jan 29, 2011 12:23 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

Yea I always said I would get married at Villa Lombardis everytime i saw the commercial but never really thought much about it. If I listened to everyones opinions I would have not even gone there to look bc many people said it was gawdy and expensive but to me its classy and within our budget! So everyone has an opinion!

I wanted a beachy type of wedding as well but alot of the halls we looked at were out of our price range and either we loved the outside and wasn't crazy about the inside. My FH was in love with Lombardis on the Sound but it just would not accomodate the amt of people we were having so we went to another location!

We went to sooo many halls and I was so fed up with process and was so thankful when we went to Lombardis which was the last hall we looked at!!

My dream wedding would be at Pleasantdale Chateau in Jersey! me and my FH went to his cousins wedding there and I loved it but he looked at me and said sorry we can't afford this...

tac30 Posted: Jan 29, 2011 12:40 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

I didnt know exactly where I wanted to get married.....all I knew was that I wanted it overlooking the water....And I got that.

MrsKon1111 Posted: Jan 29, 2011 12:48 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

i knoew exactly where i wanted to get married and it was booked already and i got engaged in 2009!

i was so crushed but i LOVE where im getting married now its way better

LisaandRyan Posted: Jan 29, 2011 12:48 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

FH and I initially wanted to do a vineyard wedding out east since we love going out to Greenport every summer but we ultimately decided against it because our friends and families are in Queens/eastern Nassau and it would be basically like having a destination wedding since it's 2 hours away.

But once we decided to look at places closer to where we live, we both knew what we wanted and I think we found that in The Woodlands

spdy540 Posted: Jan 29, 2011 01:11 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

Town hall was my ideal location but since fh wasn't going for that so I wanted a small place that I hadn't been to for a wedding with zero chandeliers. I didn't care about the grounds because I hate nature and just wanted to have my pictures at the beach but not get married there. When I found Brentwood cc I was all about it it was cheap we heard the food was good from others and we it left most of our descent budget for whatever we wanted like 2 custom made wedding bands for me and 2 wedding bands for him. I know I could have went else where but my chandelier phobia is a problem. I did want to be married within the year but it turns out I had to wait 13 months from the time I got engaged because the Saturday nights in June were already booked

Finally Im Mrs Sanchez Posted: Jan 29, 2011 01:20 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

I HAD NO IDEA! LOL THIS IS REALLY THE FIRST BIG WEDDING FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE FAMILY SO ITS ALL NEW TO EVERYBODY LOL
SO IM LIKE TOTALLY NEW TO ALL THIS I WENT TO MY BEST FRIENDS WEDDING 6 YEARS AGO IN LONG ISLAND AND THATS WHAT MADE ME GO BACK TO LONG ISLAND TO CHECK THE PLACES OUT :) IM A BRONX CHICK I MUST SAY THEY DO HAVE A LOT OF NICE PLACES DOWN HERE BUT I FELT THAT NOTHING HERE CAN TOP THE L.I PLACE I SELECTED LOL SO I WENT THRU WITH IT EVEN THO I HAVE NO FAMZ IN L.I I GUESS EVERYBODY JUST HAS TO TRAVEL!!! LOL I MEAN I STARTED PLANNING 11 MONTHS AGO SO ENOUGH TIME I BELIEVE FOR EVERYONE TO FIND THEIR WAY THERE!!! LOL

rmiller2255 Posted: Jan 29, 2011 01:33 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

We met 8 years ago at this resort Club Getaway in Connecticut, I always wanted us to have our wedding there because it would be extremely meaningful and it would be a weekend wedding. The day after we got engaged FH called then to get prices. It was so expensive and not worth it because it would be really rustic and a pain for everyone to spend money on staying there. We're happy with our hall now and we love it!

HSsweethearts Posted: Jan 29, 2011 01:41 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

I initially REALLY wanted to do our wedding at Disney World and I did look into it but I think I knew all along it wasn't going to be feasible. It's expensive and at the time we had a lot of elderly relatives who would not be able to make the trip.

It took us 11months to book our hall, but I gradually realized I wanted 1 wedding at a time. My first wedding plan was for winter, so I wanted a fireplace, rustic , wood paneled kind of thing, but then I changed my mind a little. I def had a vision. My sister recommended my new hall to me. I knew it was out of my price range so I resisted. But as soon as I walked in the door I knew we were in trouble!

Chanwich Posted: Jan 29, 2011 01:58 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

I never had any idea of where I wanted to get married. I definitely knew the look I DIDN'T want so that was good, but also ruled out 99% of the halls on long island. We were deciding between OFC and Riviera, and decided on the Riviera since OFC was just too far for our guests. And we heard the food was amazing!

We luckily never had any $$ issues when finding a hall, we were just limited to LI by my parents. If that weren't the case, I would get married in Maine, at this gorgeous place called Inn on Peaks Island

FutureJOC Posted: Jan 29, 2011 04:35 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

well FH and I did want a destination wedding in Jamaica so yes the plan did change (not because of money but because of how many people wouldn't have been able to come). But, we did want something waterfront and one wedding at a time (those were the only 2 things we initially were looking for). Thankfully, we found all that are more at the Riviera!

CantWait2Wed Posted: Jan 29, 2011 05:06 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

I knew what I didn't want in a RH. I'll keep that to myself

soontobmrsmike Posted: Jan 29, 2011 05:11 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

Where are you booked?

Tromsugar2b Posted: Jan 29, 2011 05:12 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

I always wanted to get married in a mansion, originally I wanted a different mansion than the one I am getting married at ( i didn't know about vanderbilt) and the more I considered my original choice the more I didn't like it....it was a minuscule thing just having to do with the decor of the place...when we looked at mansions there was one that my mom *wished she could afford for me* but i honestly like vanderbilt better sooo I am happy with my situation, luckily for me we probably have a typical long island budget without the typical guest list, we don't have tons of family!

eta: I should say have my reception at a mansion, wedding is in a church I always knew that too lol .

Kiki22 Posted: Jan 29, 2011 05:58 PM

Re: When you first got engaged...

We are trying to do everything I envisioned minus the band (we got a dj!). But the hall I alway wanted was the only hall my FH wanted to go look at and he fell in love just as much as I did