Inexpensive but classy venue between Albany and Lake George?

Soon to be Mrs. P,

I have been having trouble finding a venue that is both inexpensive but still classy. We live in Saratoga but are willing to hold our wedding anywhere between Albany and Lake George. Initially I wanted somewhere unique but without paying $100 per person, it doesn't seem like I am going to get that. We dont have a set date yet but we would like a Saturday evening reception. Basically I am looking for somewhere that will offer a limited open bar for the duration of the event, an hor dourve spread (nothing fancy, veggies and cheese would be fine) preferably a sit down dinner but we would consider a buffet, and if the cake was included that would be great but it doesnt necessarily have to be. Heres the catch, ideally it would be around $50 per person, including tax and gratuity. Does anyone know anywhere that could work within my budget but that is still classy? We will be paying for the wedding ourselves and this is our budget. If we wanted to accept money from my parents, we could afford much more but I really dont want to make them pay for our wedding. Also, we wont even consider a Knights of Columbus or Elks Club type of venue. Thanks for the help! 

alinaandjared

I have no idea where you could do a wedding for $50 with open bar during the peak months, but have you considered doing off-season? you can get a lot for your money in the November-March months.  Also, are you including all tax and gratuity in that $50? If so, you are really looking at spending $35 per person pretax/gratuity and you'd be hardpressed to find open bar for that figure.

I have heard good things about Michael's in Latham for a bit more than your price range but less than average price.

http://www.michaelsbanquethouse.com/menus-Weddings-Anniversary.html

Not sure how much they let you customize each menu but looks like they have great packages

Soon to be Mrs. P,

I looked into Michaels but the interior is VERY dated. Its also more that I want to spend. We would be open to November, February or March. I'm not talking a full open bar, just a limited (beer, wine and soda). 

jennilovesjames

Everyone's definition of "classy" is different. I personally think that a lot of the ballrooms in this area that cost an arm and a leg are cookie cutter and nothing special. We had a very difficult time choosing a venue due to either unreasonable per person costs or minimum dollar amounts. (We have a smallish guest list) One place in Saratoga that we did consider was Longfellow's. An off season wedding reception there is in your price range, and it has what I think of as an Adirondack elegance vibe. (Fireplaces, hardwood floors, a nice balcony that the bride and groom make an appearance on.) They have an indoor koi pond with a bridge, but the fake rock is not to my taste.

We finally settled on the Inn at Silver Bay, which is a historic YMCA conference campus right on the shore of northern Lake George. Its buildings are over one hundred years old, including a little stone chapel and another old building with a bell tower (working, they ring the bell after your ceremony). Even in season it is in your budget, although you supply your own beer wine and champagne. There is no minimum guest count and no minimum dollar amount. Getting a date can be difficult, and the communication process has issues, but the entire campus is lovely in it's own Adirondack style.  www.silverbay.org

Soon to be Mrs. P,

I actually have looked into Silver Bay but never got a reply from them. Would you mind sharing how much the Silver Bay aspect of your wedding is going to cost? I thought I wanted a sit down dinner but after looking at the catering choices, I think we would be okay doing the upgraded bbq. I would like to lean towards something more casual and comfortable. We expect about 60-75 guests. Thanks for the help!

jennilovesjames

As far as I know, all meals are buffet style. The more traditional reception menu is $40 per person, and the upgraded barbecue is $21. (Kids are $8 and $10.50). There is a $1.50 per person PER HOUR charge just for the right to serve alcohol- you have to provide beer, wine and champagne to the staff, who will serve it. No other alcohol is allowed. (Those are the prices I was given when we booked last summer. They may have changed slightly.)

There is a $400 charge for the chapel and a $400 charge for the room. To use their clergy to perform your ceremony costs $300. (Again, last summer's prices) I had originally intended to have an ordained friend perform our ceremony, and just changed plans, so I don't know anything about him, but I will be checking into it.

I had to be fairly aggressive about booking our wedding there. When I first emailed, for example, the woman I was emailing told me that they were booked for October and only had one date in November. She did not volunteer the information that I could have the weekend that I wanted if I did it on Sunday, I had to ask. Then I emailed a few times before my application for permission to serve alcohol was approved. (A very simple form, but they check to see what other groups are there on your date to make sure there is no conflict).  Now I have signed contracts for the spaces, but I am having trouble getting them to meet with me to talk catering, so I have no catering contract as of yet. It's a PITA, but we love the place and the staff is very nice, just not in a hurry. It might be the air up there

My guest list is in the ballpark of yours (although it seems to be growing) and we looked at a lot of venues. As soon as we visited Silver Bay in person, we were sure. Even with the communication issues, I am STILL sure.  If I can give you any other info, feel free to page me on the October 2010 board.

Soon to be Mrs. P,

I'm not a huge fan of having to provide our own alcohol, but my fiance assured me that we would probably be saving quite a bit of money this way. I am just concerned with it looking tacky, but hopefully they have the alcohol set up apart from the guests, so they wont really know that we brought our own. 

I'm okay with spending $400 for the reception room but having to pay another $400 for a ceremony location just seems a bit too much to me (and I absolutely must have separate locations). Do you know if they offer ceremony space outside, perhaps by the lake? For the longest time I was SOOOO against having any aspect of our wedding outside. As you know, mother nature can be a real b*tch no matter what time of year it is up here but I love the idea of getting married on the beach. I would be okay with renting chairs for the ceremony and I would deal with it if the ceremony had to be moved inside due to weather. 

I sent another email to Silver Bay so hopefully they get back to me sometime soon. Thanks again for the insight! 

jennilovesjames

The alcohol is served from behind a bar. It is the "pass-through" style, ie you can't even see behind the bar, and French doors/windows close it off when not in use. I have had a long engagement, so I have been on the boards for a while and know that it isn't unusual  that the couple provide the alcohol in venues all over the country.  I don't think anyone would accuse us of being tacky.

I think there is a gazebo where they do wedding ceremonies, and they are a conference facility, so I am sure they have the chairs to set up. However, I am pretty certain that they charge for the use of any of their spaces. Most of the other facilities that we investigated charged something for their outdoor spaces as well. If you are unwilling to pay for a ceremony space, maybe you can find a local park, someone's backyard or something along those lines where you can have a quick ceremony and then just pay the rental fee for your reception space.

Good luck.

iamjoesgurl

I am late to this post, but we got married at Silver Bay and it was great!  This time of year you might have trouble getting replies because they aren't in season (meaning they are not working full time, not hosting conferences, etc.).  I didn't really have problems getting them to respond to me, but I've heard that from others.  

For the alcohol, I would doubt that our guests knew that we provided it.  It was SO much cheaper than paying a venue to provide it.  We had 100 adult guests and spent about $450 which included the serving fee.  (We only served for 2 hours.)  

For the food, we had them set up the buffet outside Gullen Lounge so there was no visible set-up or take down.  It was fine for our guests.  We did the upgraded bbq and our guests loved it.  Their chef Bobbi is very flexible and great to work with.  You can probably do any combination of food and they would price it out for you.  (We did our RD there and picked our own options.)

Yes, it sucks to pay $400 for the chapel when it is only used for a couple of hours, but it is so beautiful and the other things are more budget friendly so we just did it.  

They do allow outside weddings but I don't know how much they charge for that.

GL!

jennob98

Quick concern about buying your own alcohol.   My concern is that if someone were to leave there intoxicated and either hurt themselves or others who is responsible?  You might be liable if something happens.  Just something to think about.