Gershon Fox Ballroom

meglenke

I am looking at the Gershon Fox Ballroom....I think the room looks great (i have only seen pictures online!) and like the idea of the cocktail hour in a different place but am wondering about the ceremony.  The pictures of the Atirum makes it seem like you are getting married in a mall afterhours with closed down stores all around you.....does anyone know if that is how it feels?

Thanks!

anathan5

I am getting married at the Gershon Fox Room on Aug 18th, I couldnt be more excited with this venue!!! I am in love with the whole space and have been there to visit many times since we decided on this venue.  It is absolutely magnificiant and has such a warm feeling!!!! There is no sense of "a mall after hours" what so ever, the space itself is so fantastic there are only like 2 visible store fronts in the actual space, and they get lost by everything else.  We have even choosen to have our ceremony in the atrium!  I would highly recommend seeing it in person! If you have any questions let me know!

meglenke

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_connecticut_gershon-fox-ballroom?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:65Discussion:ffa3fce1-314c-4570-a4bf-a788837156e9Post:517367df-7a63-4bd9-aece-0e50d6f5e08f">Re: Gershon Fox Ballroom</a>:
[QUOTE]I am getting married at the Gershon Fox Room on Aug 18th, I couldnt be more excited with this venue!!! I am in love with the whole space and have been there to visit many times since we decided on this venue.  It is absolutely magnificiant and has such a warm feeling!!!! There is no sense of "a mall after hours" what so ever, the space itself is so fantastic there are only like 2 visible store fronts in the actual space, and they get lost by everything else.  We have even choosen to have our ceremony in the atrium!  I would highly recommend seeing it in person! If you have any questions let me know!
Posted by anathan5[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>Thanks!  That helps alot...I will definitely make a point to get there!</div><div>
</div><div>One more question!  Where does the dance floor end up being?  In the Gershon Fox Room or in the Atrium?

</div>

amymaysa

We looked there and I loved it...FI wasn't as big of a fan, so we went elsewhere.

I don't think the atrium looks like a closed mall, but I also love that it's the olf G Fox, so maybe that's why.

As far as I remember, the dance floor is in the room itself.

coconut shrimp

Hi - i'm new to the boards but thought I would give my thoughts on this venue. Since I work in the office building directly across the street and park in the garage attached to the venue I often find myself passing through the building when events are going on in the Gershon Fox Room.  

So, about 3-4 times a year I do find myself passing through when there is an onsite wedding ceremony going on.  There are a few things to note about having your ceremony in the atrium.  

First, the bride, groom and officiant always stand on that solid planter/raised platform in the middle.  It is up pretty high (about 3 feet) so to me it looks like they are up on a stage instead of being down lower with their guests. I don't think it's bad it just gives the ceremony a little different feel than you might have otherwise and being that "on display" might not be for every bride and groom.

Second, I have not seen anyone that works at the venue prevent people from walking through a wedding ceremony or other event.  At least not the times I have passed through, I have definitely rounded the corner and found myself surprised to be standing in the middle of a ceremony on several occassions.  Also, on the Community College side of the atrium there are doors and people coming from that direction wouldn't even see the wedding until they were already standing in the middle of it. It is a common area in a building that is open to the public so I'm not even sure that they could prevent people from passing through.  

If I was to have a wedding ceremony onsite there I would have sign or someone (like an usher) standing at each of the three entryways to the atrium to nicely tell people passing through that there is a wedding ceremony going on and to ask them to pass through quietly if they dont want to walk around the outside of the building.  I think most people would be happy to walk around for you.  Also, anyone that I have seen accidently walk into a ceremony always stopped talking and passed through respectfully. I think strangers walking through your wedding would be less of a problem on a weekend than it is on a Friday night but I still think you need to be ok with this possibly happening if you choose this venue. 

Finally, the building it is in - the GFox Building - just went into foreclosure.  I think brides having their events there in the near future have nothing to worry about but I would at least discuss this with the venue and have something in my contract that states what would happen if they cannot honor the contract due to the foreclosure just to be safe. See the Hartford Courant article from June 4.  http://courantblogs.com/ct-real-estate/g-fox-building-in-downtown-hartford-tumbles-into-foreclosure/

Overall, it is a beautiful venue and has a very cool, vintage feel that you can't get anywhere else.  Also, the events there seem to run very smoothly as far as I can tell. However, if you want more privacy or are worried about the foreclosure issue then I would consider looking at The Society Room in Hartford if you like that vintage feel.  

juliehetherington

Hi Everyone
I read in the Hartford Courant today that the G Fox building is in foreclosure now.

http://courantblogs.com/ct-real-estate/g-fox-building-in-downtown-hartford-tumbles-into-foreclosure/

Hope it doesnt effect anyone's wedding, but wanted to pass along the news.

SonoBella13

I'd heard that too not sure what that means for the venue! :

pokey730

My FI and I are planning from 2000 miles away, so before we went to look at venues, we narrowed it down to 2 venues: The Gershon Fox, and the Society Room. I liked both, FI wasn't very keen on the G Fox. As far as the G Fox goes, I loved the ballroom, but the layout with the mezzanine and atrium is kind of choppy, nothing really flows together. My biggest issue is just like you said, the Atrium feels like a mall afterhours. It was pretty, but I couldn't shake the feeling that this is where Santa Claus would sit in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

I could have been happy at either venue, and the G Fox was cheaper, but we were more impressed with the well oiled machine that is the Society Room. Best advice I can give you is to go look for yourself. Many brides adore the G Fox, and it's all about your own personal preferences. Good Luck!

s_hazeleyes

I am getting married at G.Fox in March 2013! I couldn't be happier with the service thus far!

I just read the forclosure article so I will be calling them tomorrow for details!