Choosing Reception Venue

subola87

My fiance and I have narrowed down our venue search.  We are considering The Desmond, Franklin Plaza, Mohawk River Country Club and The Georgian (in Lake George).  We are looking to spend no more than $100 per person, which each of these venues offers.  Does anyone have any input on the venus or have any other suggestions.  The help would be greatly appreciated. Also, we are considering having the ceremony at the same site as the reception, so that we don't have to worry about transportation between sites.

Thanks in advance for your help! 

pockysquirrel

The Century House in Latham is my venue, and I am in love with it. Their package options are very flexible, and you can very easily stay under $100 per person. I think we're spending about $70-75 right now. They have two places to do the ceremony, one indoors and one outside. And the food is awesome.

http://thecenturyhouse.com/

subola87

Thanks Pocky! I believe that I had looked at the century house online but it never made it to our final list. Now I will definitely check it out. I didn't mention it in my post, but my fianc and I currently live in Michigan and are planning the wedding from here. If you have any other recommendations for vendors feel free to get in touch. We are aiming at September 2013 for the wedding!

pockysquirrel

Ooh, better yet. CH can be as comprehensive as you need them to be with your package, you can even do centerpieces as an add-on so you don't have to find someone else to do them for you.

I also recommend the heck out of my photographer:

www.camerafamosa.com

StrongCat

I've been to wedding at The Desmond and The Franklin Plaza and hands down The Franklin plaza was the best.  I would say that was probably the best food I've ever had at a wedding. 

I did not enjoy the last few weddings/events at The Desmond.  The food was not so good which is a big no-no for me and had a few run-ins with other guests in the common areas.   (ie: nude women in the windows of their hotel rooms which face the inside of the indoor courtyard.)

Maybe look at the Franklin Terrace Ballroom as well.  They are operated by The Franklin Plaza, but it's not in the middle of the city (if that's a plus for you) and you may get more for your money.  

subola87

Pocky - just to keep you updated, the Century House has made our final list.  We are going out next week to look out the venues and hopefully make a decision.  Our venues  on the list are

• the desmond
• franklin plaza
• Century house
• Longfellows Inn
• The Georgian
• Mohawk River Country Club

Strong Cat - thanks for the advice.  Unforntunately, I don't think we are going to be able to go with the Franklin when it comes down to it.  We are planing a saturday wedding of only 120 peole max.  Their minimum is 180 guests on saturdays and 140 on fridays at best.  We still made an appintment to visit just in case, so we will see what they offer.

dramaqueen91087

I got married 3 weeks ago at Franklin Plaza. I love them! We did our ceremony there as well. I didn't have to worry about anything. We had zero problems the day of. I was able to just relax. Also, with the hotel, which they own, across the street everything is that much easier. I got ready at the hotel and they came and got me when it was time to start. The staff is great, they brought me food and drinks outside to where we were taking pictures. Also, make sure you negotiate. We got a lot for a lot less than I thought it would cost because we asked. In fact every time I would call with a question the answer was "Oh we'll take care of that" and there was never any extra charge! Feel free to ask if you have other questions.

saratogamelanie

I've been to weddings at most of them. Franklin Plaza is beautiful and the food is amazing. I agree that the desmond food was not that great. Mohawk was a really good meal and it's pretty, but the main ballroom was a little smaller. Longfellows is cool but very dark, but their food was amazing. The centruy house could use a little updating. 

subola87

Hey everyone. Thanks for all of the responses. It turns out we were able to work something out with the Franklin plaza with a Sunday wedding and lower minimums. We are officially getting married there next September!