How long did it take..

NJgurl19 · July 2010

Well Fi and I have been to like about 10 venues so far, and are extremely tired! I still haven't found something that we believe is right for us! How long did it take you guys until you found your venue?

goaliegirl · July 2010

We looked at 5 venues so it only took us a few weeks. Honestly, it was much easier than I thought it was going to be. Maybe we can help you if you tell us what you are looking for and where you have looked.

jchristel · July 2010

I'm trying to think of how many I looked at before I made a decision and I can't remember- 7 maybe?

Ravello's

Mayfair Farms

Nanina's

The Manor

Il Tulipano

Perona Farms

I know I'm forgetting something...

(edit to add: Knoll CC and tried to look at Crystal Springs but they were impossible to deal with)

I think you need to narrow down what is a must have and what you didn't like about what you already saw. Ten is a lot and it's going to get tiring and frustrating if you don't narrow it down to a select few more.

peaches85 · July 2010

One weekend we checked out about 4 or 5 places. Plus, we had been to several others over the past few years for other weddings and events so we already knew what we did and didn't like about them. Like pp - It was much easier and faster than we expected it to be. As soon as we drove up to our venue we knew it was THE ONE.

Edit: The venues we looked at that weekend were...
Seasons
The Brownstone
The Manor
Grand Marquis

Venues we had already seen at other events were...
Madison Hotel
Pantagis Renaissance
The Westwood

NJgurl19 · July 2010

Aww peaches can't wait till I have my eagle rock rd day, I will kill them all with one stone and maybe fall in love with the manor to. At Alie, i think maybe Fi and I are to picking champagne drinkers on a beer budget type of thing! I wish I could wake up rich run, and book the Venetian(my dream venue).

teacup0618 · July 2010

We looked at 11!! Out of that 11 We loved 3 of them, and we narrowed it down from there. We looked at all of them in 1 weekend because we live in Pittsburgh and werent sure when we were going to make it back to the NJ area.

uppereastgirl · July 2010

We only went to one, but we had something pretty specific in mind and did not want to have our reception at a reception hall, which made it harder to come up with a short list (as there were few options) but easier to hone in on exactly what we wanted.

Do you have a clear picture of what you want as far as ambience (reception hall versus hotel versus restaurant versus another type of place), level of formality, style (vintage, traditional, modern, cozy, airy, clean, urban, gardeny, etc.), capacity, price range, etc.? If not, you may want to do a bit more soul searching so you can eliminate more places on paper before going out to visit them. It is really tough, because there are a ton of options out there.

Rosanna'n'Steve · July 2010

What places have you looked at NJGurl?

NJgurl19 · July 2010

Peaches what was your take on Pantagis Renaissance?

Lola Minnie · July 2010

i had intended on viewing a number of venues but we decided on our 3rd visit

NJgurl19 · July 2010

Venues i have looked at
The Empire club
Knoll CC(like)
Graycliff (like)
Woodcliff lake Manor
The Landmark
The brownstone
Crystal falls in Fairfield NJ
Patriot Hill (Rockland County)
The Bethwood
Seasons(it was nice over my budget0
Venetian( I LOVED, but $$$)
The Tides(need to go back we went there 2 years ago to plan a sweet sixteen.

peaches85 · July 2010

I haven't been there for a wedding, just for other events. I like the food, but the overall decor is definitely not for me. Plus, I've been there when there were a bunch of events going on at once and it just seemed really chaotic to me with random guests from one event stopping in other people's rooms to see what was going on.

Granted, The Manor can have up to 3 weddings going on at once, but they stagger the start times and the rooms are spread out from one another. It just seemed a lot calmer and more organized to me.

peaches85 · July 2010

NJGurl - Where do you live? Are you looking for a place near you?

Rosanna'n'Steve · July 2010

what's your budget? I got married at IL Villaggio and loved it. you can get a good deal depending on time of year.

NJgurl19 · July 2010

I live in Northern NJ, and prefer staying in that are. Rosanna, I'm looking at IL Villagios tomorrow! The place looks awesome I'm scared it might be over my budget. I'm willing to get married on a Sunday though (evening). My budget is about 105 after tax and tip!

jchristel · July 2010

Ravello's?

peaches85 · July 2010

Have you thought about Galloping Hill in Union? I believe their prices are pretty good.
http://www.gallopinghillcaterers.com/

Also, Bridgewater Manor gets really good reviews all the time - http://www.bridgewatermanor.com/

Rosanna'n'Steve · July 2010

what date are you looking at? I know a girl who booked for about that much on a friday in April....if you are meeting with John, he will work with you. I paid more because I had my wedding on a saturday night in September which is high season. It's gorgeous and the food is awesome there

mrs.spunky1508 · July 2010

We looked for 4 or 5 months for a venue. My mom and I saw, gosh, maybe 25 venues and talked to a ton of others on the phone to get pricing info. DH only saw 3 venues - Bridgewater Manor, which we picked for our reception, the Westwood which was initially my first choice b/c of price alone then we had a tasting... and the Cranbury Inn which was right by where we were living at the time and the owner was such a SNOB I wouldn't ever give them a cent of my business. Oh and then my shower was at the Lobster Shanty which was a choice in the beginning, so he eventually saw that too.

NJgurl19 · July 2010

I like a Sunday in Oct, possibly Nov

[Deleted User] · July 2010

I looked at 4 before I found the one. We were also pressed for time since I am currently living in Buffalo and was only home in NJ for 2 weeks. I am getting married Sunday Nov 6,2011 which is the date we were looking for!

ffbride_0813 · July 2010

I no joke probably requested info from 100 venues. I was looking from Saratoga, NY to South Jersey. My mom probably vistited 30 or so. She narrowed it down for me. We visited 4 in the Hudson Valley together and 5 in South Jersey plus I did 2 more by myself. It felt like it was never ending.

Shand18 · July 2010

We looked at 9 (10 if you count the one we drove by, didn't like the outside of at all, and immediately called up and cancelled our appointment). I requested info from a bunch more than that, well over 25.

I found the whole process really frustrating. It doesn't help that I'm really indecisive. and FI and I had some specific things in mind we were looking for.

You'll find someplace eventually....don't give up hope!

diamondx423 · July 2010

We looked at 7, but we live out of state so we had to squeeze everything in to two weekends. I probably requested quotes from 30+ places and narrowed it down from there.

clarereedy · July 2010

We looked at nine before deciding on Florentine Gardens.

AllieCat16 · July 2010

we looked at 2...madison hotel and grand summit hotel...ended up going with grand summit. i had been engaged previously and had looked at the manor, maplewood country club, olde mill in, governer westin morris, a few country clubs in the berkley heights area and im sure a few others but way too long ago to remember.

hollyberry88 · July 2010

I looked at about 24 places myself, and culled out the ones we could not afford and that I did not like before I presented the info to Fi. Together, we checked out 4 places and brought our parents to 2. The 5 of us finally settled on the Bridgewater Manor (my #1 choice)...but I started this process in April and we did not sign our contract until August.

Denise91980 · July 2010

Did you try Ravello's, The Manor or The Atrium......I went with Ravello's and am paying 100 for Friday 10/1... I think The Manor and Atrium are comparable as well

Julephenia · July 2010

I called a bunch of places to figure out price ranges, and then we only looked at ones we could afford and liked the websites of... in total, I think I actually visited 3... But we know what we like and what we can afford, so we didn't stress over it too much.

sgdc2011 · July 2010

Try the Primavera in Stirling for a Sunday in Oct/Nov they might be in your budget. Plus you get the whole place to yourselves.

kmf81 · July 2010

We looked at the Greycliff & the Stony Hill Inn and both were really nice with a great price but the only problem is that we are getting married during football season and didn't want that to interfere with our wedding. We're getting married at the Berkeley Plaza in Berkeley Heights. We are paying about $115 per person but it's totally worth it!

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