Total breakdown...help :(

pitbullmommy315

Ok, I am officially on the verge of a breakdown. If you saw my post a couple days ago, I said that my fiance and I had booked our venue - the Skyline Lodge at Highland Forest. A day after we put in the request to book it, it was mentioned to us that it may be too far away for people who may be drinking, ect. At first I figured, hey if people decided to drink enough that they can't drive - that's their problem, it's my wedding! But after thinking about it too much, it really got to us and we decided to back out.

Now comes the drama and problems...our backup choice AND our second backup choice are booked throughout August and September, and we are determined to have our date be 9/1/12. Now I'm starting to panic. This is barely over a year away...and places are booked. And we're on a strict budget.

What. Do. I. Do. Should we say forget it and try to get our date back at Skyline? The only possible place that I have found to fit our budget is Wysocki's Lake Park Manor in Cicero. I have yet to call and see if any dates are available, but it is the first thing I will be doing tomorrow. I'm really starting to freak out now.

Advice? Suggestions? UGHHHHH

acmj11

How far away are you talking?

pitbullmommy315

It's 45 minutes from where we live, maybe closer to an hour for other people.

acmj11

That is kind of far.  We were considering having ours about 25-30 min from where we live.  It didn't work out because the venue was too small.  What we were considering doing though (if we did have it there) was blocking rooms at a nearby hotel and having a shuttle.  I don't know if you've thought about that or not. 

sbolger17

Our venue is about 25 minutes from all the hotels and where we live (it's pretty much in the middle of nowhere).  We got a couple of shuttles (school buses) so people don't have to drive unless they want to.  It's pricey, but maybe that's worth it for your peace of mind?

rsfan23

I think Monica had her venues far away from each other, and it worked out with her. She had the party buses that had like a moving cocktail hour. You should talk to her about this.

kevinandmonica2011

Agree w/ Sarah... if you are set on the venue, consider blocking roomsat a nearby hotel and offering a shuttle.  We did this for our guests (sort of a different scenario, everyone was from waaay OOT... like 6 hours OOT... but same concept... no driving)... and they really appreciated it.

Are there any hotels nearby?  I'm not too familiar w/ the area.  Or... would you be willing to move the date up at all?  I know it sounds scary, but you can do it in 6-8 months no problem... you've got a board full of girls willing to help.  TBH- there were many times I wished I had LESS time to plan... it's true.  When we started looking at venues (April 2010), I was hell bent on an Oct wedding.  Glenora was full Oct 2010 AND Oct 2011... I was not going to wait another year.... so we just picked a random date in May and went with it.... if the venue(s) of choice are booked... maybe consider a different date?

kevinandmonica2011

Lol!  Just saw Alyssa's post... yeah... oops... I'm a little slow today... sorry!

So yeah... My ceremony and reception venues were 90 min apart... yikes!!!  What we did was rent 2 party buses and stocked them w/ food and drinks (juice, bagels, etc for before, beer, wine, cheese for after)... 

Buses picked up at Reception site (Glenora)... this way it was closer to where they would end the night (most guests spent the night at Glenora, so driving after was not an issue... if they decided to stay elsewhere, it was on them)...
The buses took everyone to ceremony in Syracuse.
After ceremony, buses took everyone back to Glenora.

The buses were a riot (from what I heard)... on the way there, everyone was getting to know each other and sharing stories about the bride and groom...
on the way back, people were drinking, dancing in the aisles and having a ball... by the time they got to the reception, the party was already in full gear.

If your issue is after the reception (drunk driving)... it's a bit different from mine... but I can tell you that providing transportation for our guests was one of our #1 priorities... we wanted them to have a rocking good time.

I have heard of brides renting out shuttles, school buses or arranging shuttle transport through the hotel itself (some do this, but not all)....
I have also heard of guests arranging service through a taxi company (call ahead and give them your credit card # or whatever).... then they hand out tickets to their guests... the guests give the tickets to the taxi driver and the taxi driver knows to charge xxx account for the trip.  If it fits into your budget, this might be a good option.

HTH- if you need recs for transportation service, I used S&S and they were great!

MelissaC315

Also, there's a Best Western (I believe that's what it is?) like 10 minutes away from there in Tully. It's not super close but it's not too bad?

DondadaTimes2

My wedding and reception was at Wysockis. I was so happy with them. We had a few misunderstandings, but I also shifted our times a tad fom what they offered (not using it as an excuse just saying it probably doesnt always happen) but the food was great, Jim and Ann (managers) were incredible.

ski2play

I think the shuttles/busses are totally doable.   Stick with original location that you chose and think of creative ways to accomadate the guests.  Either hotels options, shuttles, etc.  Happy planning.

pitbullmommy315

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_central-new-york_total-breakdownhelp?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:621Discussion:b4cc65c2-55f0-4663-9b65-ea5be96ae4dfPost:dbee953a-d48e-47c8-a905-f2dc88444885">Re: Total breakdown...help :(</a>:
[QUOTE]My wedding and reception was at Wysockis. I was so happy with them. We had a few misunderstandings, but I also shifted our times a tad fom what they offered (not using it as an excuse just saying it probably doesnt always happen) but the food was great, Jim and Ann (managers) were incredible.
Posted by DondadaTimes2[/QUOTE]

I just called Wysocki's today and I'm waiting to hear back from them about our date being available. The pictures look beautiful and I've only heard good things about them, and they are very reasonable priced which is great because I am on a tight budget. Fingers crossed!

XoLuceyoX

I say go for it, and try not to worry too much. It's YOUR day, and people will understand, rent motels, or just not drink. The important people will still be there no matter what. Our wedding is in my home town. My extended family is driving 4 hours, and his family is coming up from TX, OK, and CA.

kevinandmonica2011

zombie

mnp13

Where are you located exactly???

How far from Rome?

And honestly, your concern about drinking and driving is very valid, and one of the reasons we did not provide any alcohol except wine with dinner.