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Venue questions

Gracieb123Gracieb123 member
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in Connecticut
So I am trying to have my wedding in CT where I grew up and from OH its a bit daunting.  I know its a ways off, I'm not getting married for three years until after grad school, but I have been told that to book a venue and get the date that I want It needs to be two years in advance. does anyone know if that's true?  And does anyone have any suggestions for reasonably priced venues for about 100- 150 guests
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Re: Venue questions

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    Karebear852k3Karebear852k3
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    edited December 2011
    I would definitely start to book your venue AT LEAST a year in advance, even earlier you plan to get married in peak season (May-August generally). I am getting married this June and booked my venue in January 2010 and they were already starting to book for my year (besides us). As far as recommendations what are you looking for in a venue and do you know what part of CT you are looking towards? Even though CT is small, the difference between the different areas is there.
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    Amylynn1022Amylynn1022
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    edited December 2011
    I definately agree with Karen... We booked our venue about a year and a half out because we wanted to make sure we got the date we had in mind.. Oct 1st.. so it would all depend on what time of year you are thinking of and if it tends to be one of the more popular wedding venues. Although I would say places tend to be quite busy from April-Oct.. The off season is really Nov-March..

    If you had an area in mind it would help us as well as a venue type.. Beach? Urban? traditional? barn? Garden?

    As well as what you are looking for as far as cost and what would be included?

    These girls are a wealth of knowledge and planning a wedding from another state could be simplified so much by putting your trust into some of the CT knotties! :)

    Good Luck!
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    whitneyf1whitneyf1
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    edited December 2011
    Although you are so far off it wouldn't hurt to start looking now. We  got engaged in Feb 2011 and the next weekend we went to our first venue - the one I really wanted - I never thought they would almost be all booked for the summer of 2012 but they were. They had only two saturdays left for the summer of 2012 and it was just the beginning of 2011! We booked right away!

    As for venues, I can't really help you - we only looked at one, The Barns at Wesleyan, which we ended up picking.

    Good luck!
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    sardough28sardough28
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    edited December 2011
    We booked our venue 2 years out because we wanted to make sure we got a particular date in June at our top choice venue.  I don't think you necessarily HAVE to book that early, but if you really want to make sure you get your pick of venue, photographer, etc, I would recommend booking sooner rather than later.  I think it also depends on the venue: some book sooner that others.

    I am less than two months away from my wedding and I have been planning for two years from CA, so it can be done.  Do you travel to CT at all to visit?  I would visit family in the area two or three times a year and every time that I was there, I would make sure to do some of the "in-person" things, like meet with vendors.  Otherwise, I did most everything else via email or phone.
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    Vanessa630Vanessa630 member
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    edited December 2011
    Agree with PPs...

    We booked our venue 2 years in advance for our June wedding. All of our vendors and that venue were wide open though (so it's not like we were fighting for dates).  I'm not sure how quickly they started to fill up.  That being said, there were places that still had dates open for the next year.  But again, we wouldn't have been able to have our choice of dates.  Also, Saturdays tend to book up more quickly. 

    Good luck!!
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    Mona8Mona8 member
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    edited December 2011
    We booked our venue 1 year and 7 months early. We originally wanted a Saturday evening in June but those were are already booked so we took the last available Saturday evening in May. I say it's never too early to start looking at venues.
    We looked at 5 other venues and one other had the dates we wanted filled also.
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    Melissa603Melissa603 member
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    edited December 2011
    We booked our venue in February of this year for June 2012. So I would definitely look about a year and a half out. 
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    kls114kls114 member
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    edited December 2011
    Ditto to all the girls...

    We booked our venue 2+years in 2009 for our July 2011 wedding. It was one of the best decisions we made--mainly because we got locked in with 2009 pricing and were able to negotiate our contract.

    Same with all of our vendors--book as early as you can and start vendor hunting as well!

    GL!
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    Gracieb123Gracieb123 member
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    edited December 2011
    I'm origionally from the Danbury-New Milford Area so if we could stay towards there it would be good.  I am looking for someplace that has an open bar, a place for a ceremony, and definately someone to help with running the ceremony the day of so that I don't have to worry so much about it.  Something elegant but not elaborate.

    Price wise, if we could manage under 100 per plate that would be good, I'm heading out to CT in June but other than that I'm not sure when I'll be able to get out again.
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    Carebear62584Carebear62584 member
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    edited December 2011

    A friend of mine got married at the New Haven Lawn Club in December.  Not sure what time of year you are looking, but it was set up for the holidays and it looked gorgeous.  She also booked 2-3 years in advance (they had a super long engagement to finish school). 

    I booked my venue in December for our June 2012 wedding.  The woman giving us the tour said that she had about 6-8 appointments a week for 2012 so they fill up fast.  Also, the big vendors fill up fast.  Our photographer books up very early as does our DJ so we caught them at the start of that.  I believe they are almost filled for 2012.

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    BeabullMomBeabullMom
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    edited December 2011
    I booked in early January for my July 2012 wedding.  The weekend I went, the dates were pretty open.  By the end of January, the whole summer had only one date left!  I recommend booking a year and a half in advance (at least!) if at all possible!  Then you'll get the place you love!
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    sdk00sdk00
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    edited December 2011
    We just booked The Club at River Oaks in Sherman, CT for August 2012.  They have an open bar, a place for a ceremony and a great manager/coordinator.  Their packages start at $89.  Since you're from the area you might want to check it out! www.clubriveroaks.com
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    sardough28sardough28
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    edited December 2011
    Check out the Candlewood Inn; that's in the area you are interested in.  We are getting married at one of their sister properties, The Waterview (in Monroe).  They have everything you are looking for.  I'm not sure how the prices may have changed since we booked, but if you are interested in a Saturday daytime wedding or any time on Sunday, they do it for under $100/plate (2009 pricing).
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    Abeja1226Abeja1226
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    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_connecticut_venue-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:65Discussion:b9060810-ad58-4493-9af6-b8647bc67ceaPost:ed44b54f-0d7d-4389-a590-8ec67ab0903d">Re: Venue questions</a>:
    [QUOTE]I'm origionally from the Danbury-New Milford Area so if we could stay towards there it would be good.  I am looking for someplace that has an open bar, a place for a ceremony, and definately someone to help with running the ceremony the day of so that I don't have to worry so much about it.  Something elegant but not elaborate. Price wise, if we could manage under 100 per plate that would be good, I'm heading out to CT in June but other than that I'm not sure when I'll be able to get out again.
    Posted by Gracieb123[/QUOTE]

    The Woodwinds in Branford has pretty much everythig you need in their basic package which includes 5 hours open bar, wedding cake, linens, champagne toast, etc for $93 a plate including tax and gratuity...There are also many different areas on the property for a ceremony and it is gorgeous.  I've only head good things about Scott also, the person who runs the wedding.  Definitely check it out!  And book them early because their prices go up every year.
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    Carebear62584Carebear62584 member
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    edited December 2011
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Venue questions : The Woodwinds in Branford has pretty much everythig you need in their basic package which includes 5 hours open bar, wedding cake, linens, champagne toast, etc for $93 a plate including tax and gratuity...There are also many different areas on the property for a ceremony and it is gorgeous.  I've only head good things about Scott also, the person who runs the wedding.  Definitely check it out!  And book them early because their prices go up every year.
    Posted by Abeja1226[/QUOTE]


    Abeja,

    We are getting married at Woodwinds too.  They quoted us at $104/person including tax and gratuity for Sat June 30, 2012.  What day are you getting married there?  Which room and package?  I'm curious as to why our prices are different and those are the reasons I can think of...
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    calindicalindi member
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    edited December 2011
    If you're already engaged, and your guy is totally on board with starting to plan a wedding, then go ahead and start looking at venues 2 years out.  You should probably book if you want first choice of dates and venue about 1.5 years old.  We booked at around 18 months out, and now it's 16 months out and nearly entirely booked for the entire summer 2012.

    We booked Branford House.  It's an absolutely stunning mansion on the ocean (well, Long Island sound, but still!).  It even has a lighthouse on the grounds!  It took my breath away the first time I saw it on StyleMePretty and I had no idea that it was anywhere near my parents' home in RI!  I was very shocked and happy to find out that it was just over the RI/CT border and cost $4000 for the day rental (including tables and chairs, though we'll probably rent different chairs).  Similar venues in Rhode Island started at around $9000!  You do have to hire your own caterer separately, but that's something we wanted, not a disadvantage for us, so I'm super happy with everything!

    By the way, I'm planning from Miami.  I totally understand, but it's totally do-able.  The one thing I wish I was closer for (or could schedule a trip about 15 months out) is for caterer tastings.

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