Mcgoverns or Monponsett

shibbs86

I'm trying to plan my wedding from out of state (Florida) and I've narrowed down to 2 reception venues from the ones I've seen so far.
Mcgoverns on the Water in Fall River or Monponsett Inn in Halifax
Both fall within our budget, but mcgoverns offers much lower prices (we'd be looking at minimum $6000) while Monponsett is minimum $7100 but if we choose their complete package, its $10,000. Monponsett isnt a bad deal for all thats included, but I don't think we'd make use of all of it (like the limo service, the venue is far enough from home it just wouldnt make any sense). The other consideration is that Monponsett is more central, but not by much. I have family coming from Pittsfield, Cape Cod, Manchester CT, and all over central Mass. At that point, does a 30 minute difference in drive time really matter? Most people will be staying overnight anyways.

Advice?

shibbs86

Oh, and we're estimating around 100 people (max 125 if EVERYONE RSVPS yes). We'd like to keep it as far under $9000 total after taxes and fees to allow plenty of room in the budget for everything else (DJ, Photographer, Photobooth, Flowers, etc). Just thought I'd put that out there in case anyone has other venue suggestions. I'm just trying to stay away from banquethalls with no windows, I'd love to find one that had a covered patio or deck. And I like places that have package offerings, but I'm staying away from getting a DJ throught he venue as we already have a DJ in mind that I;ve known for over 4 years.

Thanks!

welcomebackcotter1

Halifax is kind of in the middle of nowhere with no nearby hotels for guests. I would think the Fall River location would have more choices for overnight accommodations which it sounds like you may need.

ShaboAE

There's a good selection of hotels in Kingston, next town over. Honestly, I think Halifax is a nicer area than FR. But as you said, you wouldn't be using most of what they offer in their package. That's the reason I ruled out Lake Pearl Lucianos. I say that McGovern's sounds like a better deal for you. People will drive where they need to, stay if they need to, and go home if they want to. I wouldn't worry about it.

shibbs86

I checked out LPL too, they only had the tent available for the dates we need and I wasn't really interested in doing somethign outdoors. I don't know much about either area. I lived in Littleton when I was a lot younger, but even that I barely remember. That said, what do you mean 'nicer'? I'm assuming neither place is a particularly sketchy/unsafe area. But that's just my impression, please correct me if I'm wrong.

welcomebackcotter1

I can only think of one hotel in Kingston (the old Howard Johnson's) at exit 9. Are there others I'm forgetting? And that one is probably a good 20 minutes down back roads from the Monponsett. There are a bunch in Plymouth which is even further away. Fall River tends to get a "bad rep" but I've never personally been to McGovern's to see their facility or the surrounding area.

tcaeiro23

I say McGoverns. I went to a beautiful wedding there and am actually thinking of booking there myself. Fall River has cheaper prices on other things and its not far from places.

Jackie3886

My fiance and I visited both of these places about a year ago when we were looking for our venue.

McGoverns certainly gave the most bang for your buck and has some interesting features (i.e. flaming swans for dessert).  We did not want all of the food courses that they offer in their package, but they pushed all of their food on us at our first meeting, which was rushed anyway because the previous appointment went over into our time slot.  While you are on the water, have you seen any pictures of the view besides pictures on their website or know how close the ceremony area is to the parking lot?  I've heard from extended family in the area that the food is hit or miss and that there can be some awkward moments during your ceremony or reception if there is another wedding going on.  My FMIL was at a wedding there one time and during the ceremony, no one was able to hear the vows because the DJ from the other wedding was announcing the other couple into their reception.  With the price, we were really hoping that this venue would work out for us, however, it was the only one in our search that left us feeling like we wanted to run away.  The location is more convenient than Monponsett, though.

With the Monponsett Inn, previous posts about it being in the middle of nowhere is about right.  They do have a partnership with a hotel in the area (never got the name of which one) that provides shuttle services to the Monponsett Inn.  If you can get your guest list to just under 100, the Sunset Room has a gorgeous view that is much less obstructed than McGoverns. The other room is definitely nice (large w/ a fireplace), but there are no views of the water from the room.  The wedding coordinator there seemed very responsive in the contact that I did have with her.  If the location was a bit closer to most of our family members (we were trying to limit the number of people requiring hotel rooms) and we could get our guest count low enough to use the Sunset Room, this would have been a contender.