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?
Re: Mcgoverns or Monponsett
Thanks!
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.