New York-Western

Buffalo Ceremony Site

I am having my reception at Pearl at the Webb in April 2013. I am unsure if I should have the ceremony at the same place. Anyone have any suggestions for any non-church venues for a ceremony in Buffalo, NY?

Re: Buffalo Ceremony Site

  • Asbury Hall was a church on a delaware and is now used for events, including weddings and receptions.  There is also the Butler Mansion, Saturn Club and Twentieth Century Club on Delaware. I think the science museum is also another option. You can have either in an indoor or outdoor ceremony at the Botanical Gardens (the inside is just as beautiful as the outdoor site!). The avanti mansion is also a venue that can host a ceremony either inside or outside. I'm having my reception at Pearl at Lafayette and have been looking for ceremony sites as well, so I feel your pain! Good Luck!

  • I am having my reception at the Pearl at Lafayette this July.  I had similar difficulty because I really didn't like the informal type of ceremony set-up they described to me--I didn't want the guests just sitting at their tables and my fiance and I being married on the dance floor. Even though I'm not religious, I stlil wanted the ceremony to be a little more traditional.  We had a terrible time finding non-religious places downtown to do it.  Asbury Hall (Babeville) will only let you have a ceremony there if you also have your reception there--I called them when I was looking.  The Botanical Gardens were extremely expensive to rent for the ceremony.  The Butler Mansion is gorgeous, but we decided too small to accomodate all our guests. I am not sure if they let you book it for the ceremony only or not, but it is a beautiful place.  My fiance didn't want to get married outside, so that option was out for us. :(

    We ended up deciding on having the ceremony in Willamsville at a place called the Meeting House.  While it would have been easier to do everything downtown, Williamsville is really cute (and close to my parents' houses where I grew up, so it made sense for me).  The rental fee was about $125 or something like that and it's a super cute (small!) old church that is now used for non-denominational  events.  It's also on the national register of historic places, so I thought that was  fun connection, as the Lafayette is a historic building also.  

    Anyway, if you want more info about that place, let me know.  Good luck finding a good spot! :)

    Alison
  • We are having our ceremony at the Botanical Gardens, it's lovely and Mary the event coordinator is awesome to work with!
  • i've heard of the Meeting House before. I was also told about the Karapeles Manuscript Museum on North and Elmwood. it's not a church, but a library with pews that makes it have a "church venue' feel. i'm still undecided. I am going to ask Pearl Street if they can set up the chairs in rows instead of having the guests sit at their tables; i agree that that feels way too informal. 

    thanks for all the advice!
  • I had similar problems (Pearl St 4th floor next May). My church is pretty unattractive and wanted to find some place a little nicer. I had the same doubts about the Botanical Gardens because of the price. Diane at Pearl St recommended the manuscript museum and Trinity Church. The only problem with the manuscript museum is that there really isn't any parking around there. I had also looked in to the Tonawanda Castle. They let you have the ceremony there without a reception as long as the reception they have that day isn't also having a ceremony. I think it was about $500 and it has some gorgeous rooms to get ready in. It was just a little tight for us in terms of space since it holds 120 and our guest list was slightly higher.  I was going to look in to the Meeting House, but ended up settling on another space.
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  • We looked at the Karpeles Manuscript Museum based on Natalie and Diane's recommendations at Pearl Street,  and it was very pretty inside.  The downside is that it's not air-conditioned (though the Meeting House isn't either--it was really hard to find churches/buildings in Buffalo that were).  I think this influenced us more than it usually would have because the day we went to check it out was incredibly muggy and it felt pretty stuffy in there.  The rental fee was around $600 when I inquired last summer--I can't find my notebook with the exact figure, but that was the ballpark.  We really didn't want to pay that much for the ceremony site since our ceremony will be only about 20-25 minutes max.  

    Anyway, I would definitely check and see if they would be willing to set up the room for your differently than just the tables.  It definitely streamlines things and saves a lot of money to be able to do the ceremony and the reception in the same place!  Good luck. :)

    Alison
  • I'm looking into the Meeting House for June 2013 as well- but hesitant because of the small parking lot and lack of a/c.  Does anyone know how much the Butler Mansion charges for ceremony-only?  Or of any other locations that are around $300-500 to rent?
  • Does anyone know of a unique location that could be pretty for a dusk/evening wedding. A little gotic/romantic feeling to it?
  • How far from pearl street do you want to travel? If you go with the science museum, etc. you do need to pay (1200 at the time I last looked) right off the top to the city, and then whatever fees they require. I believe Hoyt Lake Casino is doing ceremonies again in the rose garden at Delaware Park. The Montant Center at Canisius College used to be a church, but is used for all kinds of functions now and is STUNNING.
    I dont know if it could be done, but I always loved the idea of a little ceremony in the garden of hope at Roswell Park,
  • We are also most likely usiing the Webb in April and would like a separate ceremony site too! Has anyone found anything ?
  • Alison, who did you use as a officiant at the meeting house? would you recommend?
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