I got engaged in January and have been slowly contacting and visiting venues. Some places we have looked at are: Olde Mill Inn in Basking Ridge, the Mill in Spring Lake, and the English Manor. I would like to rant if you are willing to hear me out. First, I noticed that in many of the venues we have looked at, there are multiple rooms which get booked based upon the number of guests they can accomodate. I have noticed that usually, the spaces meant to accomodate the lesser number of guests are not even close to being as nice as the larger ballrooms. I would also like to say that I am disappointed by how high the minimums are for these nicer, larger ballrooms. At The Mill their minimum for a Friday Night is 120 people, the OMI has an in-season minimum of 150 people.
I did not realize that my guest list of 110 people would be considered "small" and "intimate" and would therefore make me less worthy of a beautiful wedding. I am just a dollar sign to these places, and I realize that. Why book my 110 person wedding when there are people out there with 250 person guest lists? I also realize that if I were open and flexible with my day of week/time of day/time of year, I could get any venue I wanted regardless of my guest list. I get it, I really do. But that does not change the fact that I find it extremely unfair that I will have to compromise on my dreams just beacuse I will not bring these places enough money. That is very sad to me.
Thanks for hearing me out. . . I was hoping that at least one other person would understand my frustration and disappointment
And let me also add, you girls work fast! the woman at the mill was telling me that she already has dates booked for feb and oct of 2014! I had no idea wedding planning was this intense!