Reception Locations

lmedina158

hey everyone...i currently living in north jersey and i was doing research on places and they are just coming out to be expensive....does anyone know of a place where they don't charge per person....i little under 200 guests and i really dont want to pay per person...everywhere i check they are charging 85- 100pp...any options or advice??

Rosanna'n'Steve

?? 85-100 pp is actually very good in northern NJ....what price per person are you looking for? 

mrs.spunky1508

How would you expect to pay, if not per person? How, otherwise, would they be able to charge you? A flat fee? Even that would depend on a minimum - and maximum - number. If they don't charge per person, how do they know how much food to prepare, how many seats and tables to provide? Maybe I am understanding the question wrong...

jen629

how else do you want to be charged?

Rosanna'n'Steve

if they don't charge per person, they will charge a flat fee and it will still be a minimum like Kate said.  They do that at the Chart House and it is still a $25k minimum for a saturday night. 

MAndreaC

The only thing I can think of is rent a hall and have it catered. The prices you received are great for North Jersey!!!

mrs.spunky1508

Now, there are other options of finding a hall (Women's Club of Ridgewood I think is one) for a fee, and then a caterer. But the caterer WILL charge per person, if for nothing else than that dictates how much food to prepare. However, when you add in linen rental, table & chair rentals, glass, silverware and china rental, it adds up to be as much if not more than an "all-inclusive" type place.

lmedina158

thank you i'll look into the Chart House...and well i have heard that there are some places where it's just a flat fee...

mrs.spunky1508

$25k divided by 200 guests is still $125pp, which is more than what your previous quotes are. Also, I have heard that $25k buys you very little in terms of food and that the "desirable" items are charged higher prices. Personally, I'd go with a place that charged pp.

I <3 Seabass

Crystal Plaza doesn't charge per person. At least the quote I was given wasn't per person. It was a flat rate if you have between a certain number of guests. But if you divided that price by the number of people attending it worked out to be more than a $100 pp. You'll actually get a better deal if you pay per person anyways. That way you're only paying people that show up. If they charged you a flat fee they would be charging you for maximum capacity, when you may be well under that.  

mrs.spunky1508

That "flat fee" you have heard about is probably the hall rental only, and may include tables and chairs (some places have them, some don't) but not food and all the extras.

lmedina158

Thanks Mrs. Spunky so basically getting a place where it includes everythiing is my best option....

mrs.spunky1508

Absolutely! It is the better bang for your buck. I mean, look at it this way: say you choose the Chart House and you invite your 200 people. Then you send out the invitations and only 125 respond yes. With your $25k flat fee, you are now paying $200pp when you could have had a very nice place for half that.

Rosanna'n'Steve

the chart house is out of your budget.  even though it says $25k minimum, it still ends up coming to $200 bucks a person when you pick all the food because it is all a la carte. 

mrs.spunky1508

I can understand why a venue would not do a flat fee. Every room can hold but so many people, unless you're a venue like the Venetian that has built a room that holds what? a thousand people? 600? Anyway, if a venue charged a flat fee, how would they enforce a maximum? What if you booked a place for $10k, and then invited 400 people when their max capacity was 100? What recourse would they have?

lmedina158

lol...well nevermind about the Chart House...any other locations i can look into...with being $85pp the minimum

melissa82

Some places gave me the price in a "flat fee" because I'm on New Year's Eve and they didn't care so much what minimum I wanted, just that they make whatever revenue they want to make. (That said, typically those prices were on the higher end.) It's not the norm though--and like most people pointed out, you need to divide it by the number of pp to accurately compare it to other places. $25k at Chart House (which prob doesn't buy much) is MORE than what you were already quoted. Multiply the pp price x your minimum + tax/tip to get the total cost if you don't like thinking of it in terms of pp.All that said, $85-100pp isn't expensive by north Jersey standards, unfortunately.

erikag23

ocean place resort and spa does this.

melissa82

Look at the Tides, the Atrium, Bridgewater Manor, Perona Farms...all those have been recced around your budget beforeKate...the places that gave me a "flat" price also gave me a pp price. It was more like--here's the standard $pp price, here's the cost of any additional add ons, here's what you need to guarantee in total revenue. So whatever way you get to that last number is fine (e.g., 100 people with tons of extra food, special linens, etc. vs. 175 people with a standard package). Kinda like what places will sometimes do when someone doesn't meet their minimum.

Jaytee501

"$85 pp the minimum"- did you mean maximum? Are you willing to do maybe a Sunday brunch (which I've seen done & is lovely) and/or a buffet? Hmmm...I suppose a buffet for almost 200 might be a bit chaotic but you could ask about the most economical options a venue can offer for your # of guests, then negotiate.  

mrs.spunky1508

Hm in North Jersey: The Tides Bridgewater Manor Ravello's in East Hanover might be in that range, depending day/time of year Hanover Manor, I think Possibly the Manor in W. Orange and Perona Farms in Andover (??) ... I'm more Central Jersey, and went with the Bridgewater Manor @ $78pp with 6% (now 8%) gratuity and 7% tax, and am not very familiar with way-North Jersey venues

mrs.spunky1508

Thank you for enlightening me, Melissa. I remember talk of the Chart House flat $25k and it not including much, not much about other venues though

Denise91980

If you are willing to do a friday night, you could probably get The Manor, Ravello's, Empire Club, Graycliff or Berkeley Plaza for around that price.

mrs.spunky1508

Berkeley Plaza, blech! Mbcdefg has a story about that place, not just me! Oh maybe the Primavera Regency is in that range as well.

Denise91980

LOL...never been there but I constantly get emails from them for 69pp

Laurms15

I'm doing my wedding at a venue (Ridgewood Woman's Club) where you pay the flat fee for the space and then bring everything in yourself and I'm still paying much more then $100pp when you factor in catering. The space does offer tables and chairs but the chairs are ugly and need covers so I'm bringing my own chairs.  

mbcdefg

You will get more specific recommendations if you give some more details. Right now, we know that you will max out at 200 people and want a place for less than $85pp, right? Does that $85 include tax and gratuity charge, or is that $85pp BEFORE additional fees (so $85pp just for the plate)? What area of the state are you looking in (do you want to stay within a certain distance of a certain city, or is anywhere O.K.)? Are you open to all kinds of places, or do you want something specific - winery, "typical reception hall," museum, art gallery, country club, waterfront, etc.? Do you need to have your ceremony at the same venue? The time of year and day of the week will also have a big impact on how much you pay. November-early April is usually consider the "wedding off-season," and Saturday night weddings usually have the higher price tag, so a Friday/Sunday night or a Saturday afternoon will probably cost you less (and if you can swing a Monday-Thursday night, you will REALLY save some cash). That being said, holidays can make the prices skyrocket at some venues - New Year's Eve is one where prices often go WAY up. I was also looking for a place that was $85pp or less (before tax and tips). We wound up booking The Tides Estate in North Haledon for Saturday, April 10. We would've gotten it for $65pp if we'd done a Friday night in March, and $70pp for a Saturday night in January or February. Their prices started going up after Easter. Other places that quoted us $85pp or less that we almost went with: Bridgewater Manor, Costa Del Sol (Union), The Empire Club (Little Ferry). I also researched Gran Centurions in Clark and The Arlington in Mt. Arlington but we never met with them. Berkeley Plaza in Berkeley Heights offered us $75 and $72 for Fridays and Sundays in March or April, respectively; and Galloping Hill Inn in Union said they'd do $60pp; but we didn't like the managers at either place and wouldn't really recommend them because people at other places treated us better.

lmedina158

thank you guys soo much for your feedback...and will have to take note on all your locations and go check them out um yes the maximum would be $85 pp...any location in north Jersey would be find...the month that i want is in Aprili just wish i could have a small wedding but i know that will not happen my fiance's family is sooo big...just his family is 100 and that's not including his friends

mbcdefg

April 2010 or 2011? (or 2012, according to your bio) If you want 2010, you might get a good deal by booking now since you're about 7 months away. If a venue doesn't book around 10-12 months out, they often figure that they just won't book that date and so they slash their prices so they can get SOME business for that day. It's not impossible to plan a wedding in under a year. If you want 2011, you might still be able to lock in 2010 rates by booking soon. If that's the case, make sure you sign a contract with that rate, before they go up to their 2011 prices and force you into paying that amount. Another few places I just thought of: The Restaurant in Hackensack, Courtyard on Main in Freehold, The Forge in Woodbridge, Zeris Inn in Mountain Lakes, The Hilton in Hasbrouck Heights, Maggiano's Little Italy (various locations), possibly Mediterranean Manor in Newark (and there are lots of other great restaurants in Newark, too) and I think I remember someone saying that Macaluso's in Hawthorne isn't very expensive.

lmedina158

it will be in 2012....thanks mbcdeg for all your help once again!!!

Kathy8684

What about a hotel ballroom? We are having our reception at the Holiday Inn of Toms River.  For a Saturday night in March (off season) it was $77 a person.  We were able to cut that down to $70 by taking out stations at the cocktail hour.  The Holiday Inn has a beautiful ballroom, the entire hotel has been redone, and they include cake, centerpieces, etc.  It's really a great deal!