Venue Dilemma – Harrisburg/Lancaster PA

Jason&Samantha

We are trying to find a site that isn’t going to cause us to go broke!  I am struggling with just going to the court house, finding a small park and a full size shebang!  Part of me wants to just find a nice park, like the Italian lake in Harrisburg, PA but then I am afraid I will spend so much more in terms of monetary and effort of set up and tear down that it may not be worth it.  Any help? suggestions? thoughts? would be great we are in the very beginning stages of planning.  30-75 people Jun/Jul 2012 wedding don’t want to do a tux wedding looking more towards suits.

alpresberry

Since you don't really want to go to the court house, a small park will probably be your cheapest option.  I've looked into a couple of parks in Lancaster Co and they are $75 (for the first 3 hours)to rent.  We are having our ceremony at Breezy View in Columbia PA. However you are correct there are other cost to consider.  I.e Chair rental and live muscian (there is no electricity there). However, the benefit of using a park or some ohter outdoor setting is that you really don't need much decoration. 

Are you planning to have your ceremony and reception outdoors? If so The Garden of 5 Senses in Lancster is $75 to rent and they have a pic nic area that holds about 50 people that you could use for your recepton.  About how much are you looking to spend? We could probably help you find something in your budget if you give us that info.  Good luck!

slpankuch

Yes agreed with alpresberry above. We wanted to go the simple route at a park but when we broke down the cost of chair rental, musicians, etc. We were better off going with a place like the Riverdale Manor.
I found that hotels are rather expensive so stay away from that.  I would suggest maybe a small inn/bed & breakfast or a place like Pheasant Run Farms. They let you bring in your own caterer, drinks, but they have electricity, an indoor area, chairs that you don't need to rent, and onsite accommodations for the bride and groom. My cousin who was paying for all of the wedding herself went with Pheasant Run in Lancaster (Willow Street area) and she said it was budget friendly.