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Inexpensive wedding venues LG to Albany?

Soon to be Mrs. P,Soon to be Mrs. P,
First Comment
in New York-Upstate
I'm looking for some reasonably priced wedding venues from Lake George to Albany. Were planning on getting married in May and would ideally like a venue with an outdoor ceremony site and an indoor reception site. We're not interested in any halls. 

We would like to stay around $50-$55 per person (including tax and gratuity). We need to have (atleast) a limited open bar for the entire reception.

We really wanted to find somewhere unique but so far have been very unsuccessful.

Thanks for the help.
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Re: Inexpensive wedding venues LG to Albany?

  • JennahJennah
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    we are getting married at the Fort William Henry in Lake George in Oct. Great location. and Roberta is great
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  • Soon to be Mrs. P,Soon to be Mrs. P,
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I wish we could afford FWH but its out of our budget. You are right though. Roberta is incredible. I have held 3 events with her in the last few years (2 showers and 1 rehearsal dinner) and she was a joy to work with. I have nothing but good things to say about her. Great choice for venue. I wish we could afford it! Good luck. 
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  • EMF9903EMF9903
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Im gettin married at the Pine Haven country club in Guilderland.  I live in Malta and Saratoga was out of my budget so we looked elsewhere and found this place, its a beautiful golf course off the beaten path which I liked. The reception will be inside and the ceremony is on the patio with the golf course behind us, there is an awning which I like because no matter the weather (June 26) we can be out doors.
    Anthony is the owner and my fiance and I are enjoying working with him so far.  The restaurant is called Siver Hills.
    As for prices in this area it was the best we found but we stopped looking when we went here because we both fell in love with it.  Its conveniently near the airport and lots of hotels which was important to us because we have LOTS of out of towners. 
    I hope this helps.  They have their banquet menu online at siverhills.com and will work with you to fit a reasonable budget.
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  • Soon to be Mrs. P,Soon to be Mrs. P,
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thats funny. I live in Malta too. I emailed them for more information because I couldn't find anything on their website. If you dont mind me asking, how much are you paying per person and what's included? Just from your description, the place sounds great and I'm very eager for them to send me the information. 
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  • Soon to be Mrs. P,Soon to be Mrs. P,
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    EMF9903: I just found the banquet information and OMG! Those prices are incredible & the venue looks great. Silver Hill just went to #1 on my list. I plan to ask them some more information when they email me back but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind answering some questions in the mean time?

    - Were they negotiable with the price at all? I only ask because one of their packages is just out of my price range and if we could eliminate a few not needed things from the package, it would bring us down to where we want to be. We want to keep it $60 per person or under. 

    - Do you know anyone who has gotten married there? I only ask because I have been looking for venues for years and these are the best prices around. I cant help but wonder if its a 'too good to be true' scenario. 

    - Are they seriously charging $10.00 per chair cover or is that a typo in their banquet booklet? Because if so, that a little crazy but then again... theres always rentals. 

    Anyways, thanks again for the awesome suggestion. I cant wait to hear back from them! 
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  • EMF9903EMF9903
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We havent talked much about the food... our budget is around 70 per person and we were able to find something that our style and budget with them.  When we first spoke with Anthony he made it quite clear that the packages are negotiable and you can add to it and work with prices.  I went beack to look at the venue a second time with my mother and her being the way she was had to ask him all sorts of questions.  One of the things she asked was if they do alot of weddings, neither of us know anyone that has been married there.  Apparently his restaurant in aprticular has only been in business for a couple years and while they do weddings they havent done tons and he further explained that he is keeping his prices lower than Saratoga or other venues to bring in business and then people will talk about it.  We were there when they were setting up for a wedding and it was going to be gorgeous!  Yeah the chair covers and some of the other little expenses are kind of silly but in my mind I dont need chair covers... I figure its an expense no matter how much I can leave out.  Anthony appears to be very professional and holds his staff to pretty high expectations.  We learned about it when I emailed the Ballston Spa National to get prices and found out our wedding was too large, he owns that restaurant too.  As a heads up its pretty far out there in Guilderland but again not far from Rt.155 where the airport is so its good.  We have rooms blocked at the Holiday Inn Express across from SUNY and are booking a shuttle for our guests.  If you have any other questions let me know.... we will be confirming more things with them in the upcoming weeks so I can always find out more for you.  I love the set up of the place also, it was the one place that my fiance actually was showing some emotion about so we picked it!  Good Luck.  The factory also has good prices if youre having a smaller wedding around 80 people, I love it there and was considering it but we are having a few too many people for it to be comfortable.
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  • Soon to be Mrs. P,Soon to be Mrs. P,
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We both actually work right off 155 in Guilderland. I googled it and the club is 5 minutes from our office. That would be perfect for planning. Out of curiosity, where is "The Factory" that you mentioned? 
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  • EMF9903EMF9903
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    The factory is in the old chocolate factory in Ballston Spa.  Its a restaurant downstairs and banquet area upstairs.  If youve never been there it has a really cool feel to it and designed to feel like a speak easy with a huge old bar sided with pictures of Ballston Spa on it.  I was really hoping to have the wedding there because it had history of the area in it.  The ceiling still have some of the old machinery from the chocolate factory in it and the beams are showing.... its really lovely and unique.  My 10 year HS reunion was there and the food is decent, I believe it is all buffet style however.  You can go and ask for a tour of the upstairs pretty much whenever, I fell in love with it before I was even engaged but as we were looking at the guest list and finding venues it just wasnt going to work :(.  I think it was meant to be because we both fell in love with siver hills.  The factory also has the old brick exposed which has a slight smell of chocolate and a deck and patio available depending on the time of year.  I believe Chad is the person you would want to speak to if you contact them.  The website is thefactoryeatery.com.
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  • EMF9903EMF9903
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    just curious if you had any luck hearing from Siver Hills or if you looked into the Factory at all??
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  • Soon to be Mrs. P,Soon to be Mrs. P,
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Sorry for not replying sooner. Yes, I did hear back from Siver Hills. The place looks great and the prices are fantastic. Its definitely a contender.

    After looking into The Factory I completely fell in love with it. I've wanted a more unique wedding my whole life. I've been to like 5 weddings in the last year and each one was almost identical. There was nothing 'different' about any of them. In my experience, its the 'different' that people remember. Not to mention, I would be all about either a 1920's or chocolate themed wedding (maybe both!). I emailed The Factory for more info but they haven't gotten back to me yet. 

    Thanks for all your fantastic suggestions. Got any DJ or photographer suggestions that are budget friendly?
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  • EMF9903EMF9903
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    My photographer is Marty Kerins Jr.  momentcatcherphotography.com prices and pictures are online.  He did my mothers wedding in September and did a nice job for what appears to be a decent price.... 1850 for our package which is a CD with like 1500+ pictures that you own and can distribute how yourd like (lots of photographers own your pictures and then you have to pay when giving them to friends and family... obviously not all but lots) it also includes a DVD with pictures set to music almost like a video but without paying for a videographer.  Hes super nice and fades into the background at the wedding, brings his son to hold the lighting and help out which I like... he makes it feel very personal.  I didnt look any further because I saw how he worked first hand and I loved him so I cant help too much in that dept.

    We are using Greg Frasier for our DJ.... he was recomended by our officiant and seems very nice and professional.  His website isnt corny and he doesnt appear corny or crazy which was big concern.  When looking at DJs the best price we found was around 900... if you can find less than that for a typical length reception you tried way harder than I did lol.  I have been recomended to Vinny at Cool Cat entertainment several times too.

    I would recomend going over to the factory and talking to them.  I think Chad is still the banquet manager and the bar manager... if hes not there someone else might show you around.  Nice people and GREAT location... if you end up going with them Ill be super jealous :)  I love Siver Hills though and Im happy we chose that and will fit our wedding style that we have going wonderfully.

    Let me know if I can help any more.... Do you have an officiant?  We arent doing a church so we have an officiant coming to us.
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  • Soon to be Mrs. P,Soon to be Mrs. P,
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We'll probably just go the JOP route. While were chatting, would you happen to know the The Factory has a separate location where they can hold ceremonies? I read about a courtyard of some sort but since I've never been there, I dont know what it looks like or if they even hold ceremonies in it. We could always go the Yaddo route but I'm a little uneasy of public places for my wedding ceremony. Were not religious so a church wouldn't work either. 

    I cant wait to hear back from The Factory. All I can picture is a chocolate themed wedding which naturally my fiance is thrilled about as well. Ugh, I just wish I didnt have to wait a year. 
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  • EMF9903EMF9903
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I think they will do the ceremonies inside where the fireplace area is.  They have couches there now or the courtyard.  The courtyard isnt anything super special so Im not sure what they would do if you had the ceremony there, its not covered so bringing in a tent or something would probably be an option.  The bathrooms there are kinda neat because they say gangsters and flappers.  I just love it there!

    Our officiant is Robyn Posson... shes wonderful and will do whatever you want, no religion, lots of religion LOL she'll dress in constume if you want her too apparently.  Shes great and real nice and fun, if youd like her info I can get it for you.

    Yaddo is so pretty too though for a ceremony but Im so afraid of it raining and not having a backup, my friend got married there and it rained (poured) all day minus the 30 minutes of their ceremony which was great!
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  • Soon to be Mrs. P,Soon to be Mrs. P,
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    The fireplace sounds lovely. Definitely right up my alley.

    Out of curiosity, how much is your officiant costing? 

    That has always been my biggest fear with outdoor ceremonies. Mother nature can be a real bitch. While I love the idea of outdoor weddings, they're such a gamble. Anyways, thanks again for all your fantastic suggestions. 
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  • EMF9903EMF9903
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    The officiant is 400.... 100 down then 300 due after the wedding.

    Let me know how things work out and if you need anymore suggestions not that Im an expert but we seem to have similar tastes and budget.
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  • klibertikliberti member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi,

    I am planning to get married at Camp Chingachgook it's right on LG and it's so pretty. they have a pavilion outside you can rent. http://www.capitaldistrictymca.com/sn/location/campchingachgook.aspx check out thier website.  they can cater but will also allow outside food if you want- thier number is on the webpage, ask for Aimee, she was pretty attentive.  Good Luck!

    Kate
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