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New York-Hudson Valley

Completely discouraged!

Hello everyone :)

My fiance and I were planning on getting married October of 2012 in the Hudson Valley, where we live. No church, ceremony and reception at the same location. Ideally, we would like to keep the cost of the wedding around $10,000. It seems it is almost impossible to do this. DOes anyone have some insight or helpful information? I am so discouraged right now, and think it would be so much easier to just elope!
~*Michelle*~

Re: Completely discouraged!

  • timelady77timelady77 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    We've got a budget very similar to yours. One of the things we found that hellped was having everything at the same place, which you said you're not interested in. Any particular reason?
  • edited December 2011
    what type of venue? how many people? are you open to a friday or sunday as those would be cheaper than saturday night? also maybe think about moving the wedding to the winter, that will also save you some money. 
  • edited December 2011
    we are wanting to have the ceremony and reception at the same place. we will have about 100 guests, and I am not apposed to a sunday wedding, however a friday wedding I would like to avaoid. as far as the time of year, I really want fall, i want to be able to have the ceremony outside. originally we had looked into having it at one of the wineries in the hudson valley, however, we soon realized that it wasnt possible with our budget. i really would like to aoid a catering hall, but i know that those often offer the best values. Im willing to do as much DIY stuff as possible, and am fine with no floral centerpieces, and im even thinking about having cupcakes instead of a wedding cake, and having my mom make the cupcakes as well as I hope to have her make my dress. I also considered having just h'orderves and wine/beer all night instead of a sit down or buffet.
    ~*Michelle*~
  • timelady77timelady77 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    We're having everything at the Poughkeespie Grand, which is gorgeous and reasonably priced. They're even running a special right now for $34 ($37 with ceremony)/person. It includes a cocktail hour with 5 passed h'orderves, the cake, choice of a bunch of chicken entrees and beer/wine/soda. We upgraded our package to include a buffet, but it's still super reasonable. We're also getting married on a Sunday, although I don't remember if there is a further discount for getting married on Sunday.
  • edited December 2011
    i just checked their website, it doesnt mention that, all i found was the economic stimulus package. do u know if its good for bookings in 2012?
    ~*Michelle*~
  • timelady77timelady77 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    The economic stimulus package is what I'm talking about. Sorry, it is $40 a person. I think it was only $35 when I booked. I don't know if they're running it in 2012, but I would call Michelle Niesen at 845-485-5300 and talk to her. She's the woman I'm working with and she's wonderful. They might continue that package into 2012, because when I booked there, the package was only for 2009-2010, but Michelle told me that they were extending it into 2011.
  • edited December 2011
    I was also going to recommend the Pok Grand.  Michele was my consultant and she was fantastic to work with.  You can also check into their sister property Anthony's Pier Nine.

    www.piernine.com
  • probablykateprobablykate member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    The Pok Grand is definitely a nice option at a reasonable price (depending on what you want included--the stimulus package would not have worked for me).

    You could also consider somewhere sort of different like a botanical garden or zoo or something, where you pay a small fee and catering and everything else is up to you.  Or, do you or someone you know have a nice backyard or farm?
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  • edited December 2011

    October will be hard, especially since it is a popular month.

    Friday, sunday and saturday daytime weddings will be cheaper.

    As will opting for the first weekend in November.

    Also, as you mentioned, beer/wine and soda will cost less than having a full open bar.


    With 100 people, you can hopefully find a place that will be able to make things work.

    As pp said, what type of venue are you looking for?

    That will help us narrow it down. And check and see if the Poughkeepsie Grand is still having their economic stimulus package - that is the best wedding deal I had seen in my searches. (It didn't exist when we were looking, but it is still the best that I came across)

  • kristinanddankristinanddan member
    2500 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    October is peak season, so it is more expensive. We pushed our wedding to the first Friday in November, and the weather was the same as October. It might be too cool for an outdoor ceremony, but then again two years ago it was 85 degrees the first week of November.

    I guess what I'm trying to say is you might need to compromise some things to meet your budget. Even having a Friday wedding in November, our wedding was still over 30k (of course, we could have done it cheaper if we wanted to).

    I would also look at Anthony's Pier 9 as a venue.
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  • tstegertsteger member
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    What about doing a Sunday afternoon....you won't need much for food, and alcohol will be much less.
  • edited December 2011
    Thank you everyone for your help!  I will definately be contacting the pughkeepie grand to see if they are extending it. Where is the ceremony held there?

    I do have a friend who owns a non-working farm in plattekill. We had considered having it there, but the major issue i had with it is that we would need to rent porta-johns. Also, we'd have to rent a tent, tables, chairs, dance floor, etc. still could be costly. I think I will also look into the botanical gardens, and in doing some searching, there is a working farm that hosts weddings in brewster. Ill need to do more research on that and visit it as I would be concerned about the smell...

    what have you guys done centerpiece wise? any reccomendations for florists in the local area?

    Thanks so much!
    ~*Michelle*~
  • jeanna85jeanna85 member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    La Terrazza in New City (Rockland County) has a $36 package for 5 passed appetizers, bruschetta appetizer, pasta, salad, choice of 5 entrees, and wedding cake. The biggest room with the dance floor can accomodate up to 100 people. Beer and wine is $10 on top of that (for 3 hours). The food is wonderful, but I don't think you can do the ceremony there.
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  • kristinanddankristinanddan member
    2500 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    For centerpieces, we went totallly economical. We did dried wheat bundles, (there's pictures in my for sale bio) and they were only $3 a piece. You don't need to spend a fortune on flowers.
    imageimageimage
  • edited December 2011
    You should check out the arboretum at Thomas Bull Park in Montgomery. I think the site rental fee is less than a thousand and they have beautiful gardens. You would still have to rent tents, tables and chairs though.

    Also check out Shandalee Lake Inn. Its up in Livingston Manor (Sullivan County)and is awesome. Its an old hotel from the 50s I think, that some rich fella from the city took on as a weekend project. If I didn't meet so much opposition, I would have booked it. Just be aware that its a work in progress and its old- as in uneven floors and antique lighting. There are also 27 rooms on site for everyone to stay in. The rooms are rented for two nights, so everyone comes up the night before and stays until the morning after. It has that relaxed, weekend of fun vibe to it.

    I was also a thousand percent in LOVE with the Frost Valley YMCA. You would pay a site fee here and bring in a caterer, but they have a beautiful chapel on site and the Forstman Castle, which is where everyone could stay for the night. Like Shandalee, the room rate includes food for the weekend.  

    I know these places are FAR for the most part, but I think they'd be worth a ride for you to check out. There are definitely affordable options out there that are unique and budget friendly.

    Edited to add...my own venue! It pretty much is a catering hall, but hell, it's not even open yet, so it will still be pretty new once your wedding rolls around. I booked Palacios Catering, which is where the old La Masquerade is. They have fantastic pre-opening booking specials.
  • edited December 2011
    I have to say when I was looking at venues, I didn't find any price difference for peak vs non-peak season. More availablity yes, but no price difference.  Sometimes prices varied depending on Friday/Sunday vs Saturday night but that was pretty much it. 

    Keep the faith though, I was able to plan a fall wedding with 125+ people including honeymoon for under $20k. 
  • edited December 2011
    As for having the ceremony at the POK Grand, We were told that it would be on one side of the reception hall.  then move us into the cocktail hour room while they moved everything back into normal place. It was very small. So we decided to have it at a church instead.
  • edited December 2011
    My budget is the same and we are doing it in Congers, NY (Rockland) even though we live in Westchester. The place we are having it is a restaurant called La Triestina. Their food is AMAZING. Check them out www.latriestina.net. They do not charge extra to have the ceremony there and the pkgs are very reasonable. They have a gazebo and a big tent you can have the wedding in. I definitely recommend them.
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  • timelady77timelady77 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Where you have your ceremony at the Grand depends on which Ballroom you get. We're in the Terrace Ballroom. The ceremony will be in there and then we'll move to another room for the cocktail hour, then back into the ballroom for the reception. It's not small at all and is very nice. The ballroom one of the PP is refering to is actually pretty big, but with the wall partition up, it is small. Ask for the Terrace Room. :-)
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