il Villaggio v. Primavera Regency

TMweddingbelle

Hello everyone! Over the past few weeks I have done extensive research to narrow down a list possible reception sites, as my fiance doesn't have a lot of time to visit different venues. I narrowed the list down to three places, il Villaggio in Carlstadt, Primavera Regency in Stirling, and il Tulipano in Cedar Grove. While we thought il Tulipano was beautiful, we were not too impressed with the wedding coordinator we met with, and the price was higher than the other two places.

We are having a very difficult time choosing between il Villaggio and Primavera... I wish I could take all the things I loved about each venue and put them together!

At il Villaggio, we LOVED the inside (it's stunning), the package (fabulous Viennese hour), and most of all the coordinator. At Primavera, we loved the grounds, the location, proximity to our church, and most of all- the price.

Each place has negative aspects as well... I though that the package at i Villaggio was more impressive than at Primavera, and I definitely liked the interior better. However, I really dislike the location of il Villaggio, there are virtually no grounds to take pictures, and they keep the restaurant open during events (restaurant goers will use the same entrance as our guests).

I would greatly appreciate any advice-- in order to lock in the great price we got at the Primavera, we need to book within the next 48 hours! (Talk about pressure). Please help!

ddiner

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_il-villaggio-v-primavera-regency?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:5d97a2c1-8c91-4862-ad02-897d3cc740c6Post:972b62ef-7e5f-4759-a012-ee1d99a13958">il Villaggio v. Primavera Regency</a>:
[QUOTE]Hello everyone! Over the past few weeks I have done extensive research to narrow down a list possible reception sites, as my fiance doesn't have a lot of time to visit different venues. I narrowed the list down to three places, il Villaggio in Carlstadt, Primavera Regency in Stirling, and il Tulipano in Cedar Grove. While we thought il Tulipano was beautiful, we were not too impressed with the wedding coordinator we met with, and the price was higher than the other two places. We are having a very difficult time choosing between il Villaggio and Primavera... I wish I could take all the things I loved about each venue and put them together! At il Villaggio, we LOVED the inside (it's stunning), the package (fabulous Viennese hour), and most of all the coordinator. At Primavera, we loved the grounds, the location, proximity to our church, and most of all- the price. Each place has negative aspects as well... I though that the package at i Villaggio was more impressive than at Primavera, and I definitely liked the interior better. However, I really dislike the location of il Villaggio, there are virtually no grounds to take pictures, and they keep the restaurant open during events (restaurant goers will use the same entrance as our guests). I would greatly appreciate any advice-- in order to lock in the great price we got at the Primavera, we need to book within the next 48 hours! (Talk about pressure). Please help!
Posted by TMweddingbelle[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>We are getting married at Il Villaggio, and we too had the same negatives.  However, you should take into account when you are getting married.  Our wedding is on a sunday, and the restaurant is closed on sundays, so that means no random guests. In terms of random people using the restaurant - the only time you would really notice them is during cocktail hour, as they will not be going anywhere near the reception room.  As the bride, you will be running too much to notice them, but i completely understand why this woudl bother you.</div><div>
</div><div>Also, while we are sad there is no outdoors to take photos, we are researching places in the area to go and take photos. (see my post a few down from yours).  </div><div>yes, driving to a place to take photos is annoying, but in the grand scheme of things, we loved il villaggio far too much for that negative to outweigh all of the positives you listed (which we totally agree with all of them).</div><div>
</div><div>i think you should make a list of your absolute "must haves" for your wedding, and go with the place that fits your criteria.  

</div>

Faith2730

I had my reception at Il'Villaggio last July and can't say enough good things about the place!!  The hall is gorgeous, the food was delicious and the staff was amazing!  I too had some of the same concerns as you girls prior to booking.  However, whenever I walked in the doors of Il'Villaggio I couldn't get over how beautiful the place was.  Well I am so glad I ended up booking there because the concerns that I had prior to booking ended up not even being a concern at ALL.  First off my reception was held on a Saturday evening and I didn't even notice guests entering for the resturant.  Many of my guests didn't even know there was a resturant attached.  The staff does an excellent job of attending to resturant guests right away. Therefore, I wouldn't even be concerned with this.  Second, Il'Villaggio doesn't have much of an outside space, but if you have a good photographer they can make up for it.  My photographer got really nice night time pictures in the courtyard.  My photographer also took amazing street photos prior to the reception.  I never once looked at my pictures and wished there were more grounds to Il'Villaggio.  I also attended a wedding at Il'Villaggio and got to see the place as a guests perspective after my own wedding.  Again, as a guest I didn't notice people coming in for the resturant.  Many guests that dine at the resturant are dressed up so they don't even stick out.  The service and food was also amazing.  Again, I can't say enough good things about Il'Villaggio.  Another perk about having your reception there is going back to the resturant on your anniversay, which my husband and I are doing this week!  Good luck with your decision and let me know if you have any other questions. 
 

 

 

 

LGaff1

I am also an Il Villaggio bride. We originally booked with Bob but when we called last week about going in to select our menu we were told he retired ( a little nervous since he was one of the reasons we booked. Our new coordinator is Patrick). We had the same concerns about no outside grounds but then thought if it rains outside pictures would not be possible. The inside is so beautiful and picturesque. I have heard great reviews about the food and service there too.  Good luck in you decision.

TMweddingbelle

Patrick was the gentleman we met with. Personally, I thought he was fabulous. Out of all the coordinators we've met with so far, we definitely liked him the most.

sgdc2011

We got married at the Primavera and have absolutly only positive things to day.  The menu was pretty expansive, so if your saying the other place is more expansive then they really have a lot of food.  Honestly, the primavera gives you a lot of bang for your buck.  Before we booked, I asked several people who had been there before about the food and not one person had a bad thing to say about it.  Everyone keeps raving about the food still, esp the lamb chops, and we got married a year ago.  We had the ceremony on site in the beautiful gardens which in the summer at 6:30 is in the shade and perfect.  If your not having the ceremony there that is a great place to take pictures.  We also took pictures in the back near the greenery which came out beautifully.  THe matre D's were amazing.  They also have their own uplighting because they surprised us with it at the wedding and asked what color I wanted.  If you have any other questions feel free to ask, but you can't go wrong at the Primavera!

TMweddingbelle

I wanted to give you an update- my fiance and I decided to book our wedding at Il Villaggio! We will be getting married in November next year.

If anyone has any advice or tips, please share!

rot

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_il-villaggio-v-primavera-regency?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:5d97a2c1-8c91-4862-ad02-897d3cc740c6Post:7a66623a-29c9-4711-9002-5175eaaddebf">Re: il Villaggio v. Primavera Regency</a>:
[QUOTE]I wanted to give you an update- my fiance and I decided to book our wedding at Il Villaggio! We will be getting married in November next year. :) If anyone has any advice or tips, please share!
Posted by TMweddingbelle[/QUOTE]

Hi everyone, I will be getting married at il Villaggio this October.  I as well had the same concerns at first about no grounds for pictures and the restaurant being opended.  After, seeing the inside and tasting the food I loved it!  My only concern is we are expecting about 250 people, does anyone have any thoughts on if it will feel tight in the ballroom with this many?  Did anyone use the oval tables that fit 12 people?  Should I be in contacted with John about any next steps for the wedding as ours is approaching or does he contact you?

joanna0122

We're getting married at il villaggio next October and I can not wait! Wasn't even in my top 5 venues to look at because of location but when I wasn't 100% pleased with any other spot my cousin convinced me to go look there! The second we walked in, saw the venue and met with Patrick my fiance and I looked at each other and said this is it!