Crystal Plaza

brad1431

oh, that is nice, ruin everyone father's day. I wouldnt show, I would be spending the day with my father and father in law

FutureMrsF111

I absolutely loved stone house. It was the first place we saw and I fell in love with it immediately. We would have booked there but for two problems.  The ceremony spot is outside and they did not have any dates available that worked for us. I was willing to drastically change our date but the outdoor ceremony anytime is too risky for us. I have terrible allergies and my mom is deathly allergic to bees.  The woman who showed us around Stone house was really great too. They were setting up for a party the next day so we had a tour, had dinner in the restaurant and then went and saw the room all set up. I dont know if they do Glatt Kosher though. we are doing "kosher style" so we had some more options than you. HTH. GL.

RainLaurel

What do they do at Stone House for ceremonies when it rains? 

FutureMrsF111

The ceremony area at Stone House is covered with a real roof (it is a covered deck area with a stage) but open on one side so you can either use draping to fully enclose it or use the ballroom and they will flip it during the cocktail hour. This was not an option for us because I didnt want it but also because FI spent 12 years in the audio visual and event production world and wants to do elaborate lighting that will take a few hours to set up so we need the seperate spaces. I dont remember the prices of alot of the places we looked at but you may want to check out the Grand Summit Hotel. They were very flexible on pricing and I believe they do kosher weddings. You can also check Park Ave Club. The building is beautiful and the ceremony and reception are in separate attached permanent tents. I dont remember what they do in terms of Kosher but they were also very flexible with pricing. Same for Meadow Wood Manor which I think some people have discussed on here recently. Our budget is a little higher than yours so I am not sure how low all these places will go but if you and FI are not happy with places you have seen they may be worth checking out.

RainLaurel

Thank you for the suggestions!  Stone House is booked on Father's Day.  Park Avenue Club does not do Kosher weddings.  I'm going to look into the Grand Summit Hotel and Meadow Wood Manor.  Does anyone else have thoughts on these venues?  Otherwise, FI shared with me today that he loves the Vanderbilt (the one on the beach).  We got engaged on the beach.  So, he thinks that it would be appropriate to have the wedding here and loves the view.  If you were a guest on a Sunday, would you prefer a morning or evening wedding?  I don't really want a morning wedding on Father's Day, but FI has concerns about guests leaving early if it is an evening wedding because they'll have to get to work the next day.  A wedding during the day would be from 11:30 am to 5 pm and an evening wedding would be from 5 pm to 10:30 pm. 

LarissaAnn

My wedding was 11:30 - 5 on a Saturday and everyone seemed to like it. Afterwards, we hung out at the hotel bar 'til after midnight, so even on a Sunday people who wanted to hang out longer could "afterparty" with you.

RainLaurel

I am worried about not having enough time to get ready in the morning because we will start taking photos at 9:30 am in the morning.  How did this work for you?

LarissaAnn

We started photos at 10:15, but it did work out. You can totally do it earlier; my hairdresser just wouldn't come before 8 a.m., and came to my house rather than the venue. So I first had to get there and get dressed (I did my makeup before my hair, at least). You'll have to get up early, obviously, but it wasn't a problem for me. I got up at 7, showered, did my makeup, had my hair done, got driven to the venue by my sis & bro-in-law, got dressed, and started photos. And I was able to stay up (and in my huge dress) until almost 1 a.m. Then again, I don't tend to leave a party early, never have.

RainLaurel

Thank you so much for sharing your schedule.  Maybe, an afternoon wedding is not that bad.  I was just imagining that it would be very difficult to get ready for it.  It sounds like you got to spend even more time with your guests by having an afternoon wedding!  Did you feel tired at all during the day or were you just so excited?

LarissaAnn

I was really more excited than anything. I really didn't feel anything until after midnight when it suddenly hit how late it was and how long I'd been up and moving. Even at 7 a.m. I was wide awake and ready to go, and I'm SO not a morning person.

RainLaurel

Good to hear!  I'm definitely not a morning person either!  Right now, I'm trying to force myself to get up in fact as I surf the internet instead.

LarissaAnn

LOL, you & me both! I trudge through most mornings like a hellbeast 'til the first coffee kicks in. The morning of my wedding, I was up and cheery (DH made me coffee, now that I think of it, but I was even ok before I got it), and was ready to go. And I was the least stressed person involved, I think. My hairdresser was more stressed than I was!

RainLaurel

Wow!  I'm impressed!  Now, if I could only decide where to get married..... My FI loves the Crystal Plaza.  If I can get past all the gold, I will love it too.  I hear that the food and service are supposed to be very good.  My FI didn't really like the knoll country club when I showed him pictures.  We are limited in price.  So, we are having a hard time finding places in our budget where the food needs to be brought in by an outside caterer.  The food part alone is usually at least 60 dollars.  The halls are generally 60 dollars too before bringing in food.