New Jersey

Primavera Regency vs. Ravello's

Anyone have any experiences with these two venues?  Right now they are our top two contenders.  Both offer a similarly lavish menu within our budget ($110 pp inclusive, 100 ppl min for Ravello's; $116 pp inclusive, 110 ppl min for Primavera).  We're having a hard time deciding because they each meet our basic requirements (good "bang for your buck", one-event-at-a-time, separate cocktail space with plenty of seating, nice outdoor area for pictures, valet parking, open bar, handicapped accessible.)  Ravello's has nicer grounds, two levels which I like, seafood station included, a ridiculous dessert buffet, and a choice of 2 bakeries for the cake (cake is v. important for FI!).  Primavera is closer to the church (much less Friday-rush-hour impact), has a baby grand piano (we're both musicians so this is nice), 2 bars which open 30 mins early and stay open all night (and have 6 beers on tap! including my fave Blue Moon), and the option of a food tasting before committing. 

We've seen 11 venues so far and I'm so ready to choose and move on!  Any feedback is greatly appreciated.  :-)  Thanks!
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Re: Primavera Regency vs. Ravello's

  • edited December 2011
    Been to both.... though only to a wedding at Primavera Regency. (My grandma's 80th bday was at Ravellos!) =)
    Tough call.... I think both are beautiful and have great food.
    All those things being equal, I think I would go with Primavera. Definitely for the reasons you mentioned, and also maybe because I think it just has more of a wedding feel to it.... that could just be because of my personal experiences with the 2 though.
    BabyFetus Ticker

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  • edited December 2011
    hi there! i'm in the venue seing phase myself! and im ready to just pick && start planning already too! lol altho i have not went to either of the 2 places you are asking, ive heard a numerous amount of good things about Primavera...i dont know if that will actually help your picking but i thought i'd put my opinion in there lol good luck! and happy planning <3
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  • stbryanstbryan member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I haven't been to Ravello's but visited Primavera last weekend and got the feeling we would be treated really well if we went with them - VG customer service!  I loved the baby grand too although I'm not musical myself I thought would be nice to have someone playing : )  I'm probably going with someplace else because I want an outdoor wedding and didn't like that we could hear the traffic from the ceremony site but thought it would have been a lovely place.  Good luck : )  I'm struggling myself...decisions are so tough!
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  • sgdc2011sgdc2011 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am getting married at the Primavera.  I have not been to Ravellos.  Reasons why we chose the Primavera:

    Great food (we went to the tasting which was phenominal!)

    Many of my colleagues have been to weddings there or had theirs there and they all raved about it- you do get phenominal treatment

    I loved the ceremony space, the fact that they have built in speakers in the ceremony site was awesome because we have been to ceremonies where you can't hear anything.

    Anytime I call with questions I get answers right away or they get back to me very shortly after.

    Only one wedding at a time which was ideal for us.

    Beautiful grounds for pictures.

    If you have any questions feel free to ask me.
  • Reilly626Reilly626 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Primavera! It has much better reviews then Ravellos.  I looked at both myself.  What I didnt like about Ravellos was the stairs leading up to the ballroom and how awkward for handicapped guests to go outside to get the elevator! I didnt care for the cocktail room either, nothing special.  At Primavera Steve remembered all my co-workers who married there from years ago, my friends who married there rave about it... It was in our final 3 contenders, but we went with a place on the same road but in Summit because it better suited  us, but Primavera was in our top 3.  If you are looking in that area did you also see Twin Brooks CC?
  • Denise91980Denise91980 member
    First Comment Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    I am getting married at Ravello's in October and my sister got married at the Primavera a few years ago. Both are pretty and have good food so I don't think you could go wrong with either place. Both places generally get good reviews and there are a few bad ones like everywhere else. Ultimately it is up to you and what your taste is. Taste the food at both places. Ravello's will give you a private testing...They even sent us home with som much food and then invited us to a group tasting.
    BFP #1 1/1/11 EDD 9/10/11 dx:no hb DNC on 2/2/11 BFP #2 12/28/11 natural m/c on 2/6/12 BFP#3 2/16/13 dx:ectopic on 2/27 (given methotrexate)
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  • jamtom2011jamtom2011 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am getting married at Ravello's next July.  I have also been to the wedding at the Primavera a few years ago.  Both have great food and are beautiful venues.  We picked Ravello's because the food is amazing and they really give you a lot for a good price.  Also, Dominik is the nicest person in the world and seems like he would bend over backwards for you.  We asked him about getting Guiness for our wedding because we have a lot of people coming from Ireland and it's something my dad enjoys and he told us he would get us 2 kegs so that we could have one at the cocktail hour and 1 upstairs and wouldn't have to worry about shifting them in between.  If you asked, I'm sure he would get Blue Moon for you.  He also said that they would open the bar as soon as people started arriving and if the bridal party is outside taking pictures they will have waiters come out with food and drinks for us.
    The Primavera is of course wonderful too and seemed very accomodating.  You certainly have a tough decision.  Let us know what you decide :)
  • edited December 2011
    I am another fellow Primavera bride as well.  I'm getting married there in August.  I agree with all of sgdc2011's comments.  We just couldn't beat all the things that were included in the Primavera's pricing - massive amounts of food, cake included, linens, centerpieces, chaircovers, etc.  A lot of other places there are additional costs for these things.  We just went to finalize our menu this past Friday and it just reinforced our decision to go with them. We have heard nothing but positive reviews about the service, the venue and the food.  We are having our ceremony there and have been told by other friends who have attended weddings there in the past that traffic was not an issue.  They do also have another gazebo area at the back of the premise farther from the street if that's a conern for you.

    Good luck!
  • edited December 2011
    I just had my wedding at the Primavera and it was fantastic. They were simply amazing there! I have also been to several wedding at Ravello's, but personally I think the food is better at Primavera. Steve was my MD at the primavera, he was great. During cocktail hour, he came by often was like what do you need, what haven't you had that you want. It was great. The food was spectacular. I could have lived on the cocktail hour alone, and dinner was bar none one of the best wedding dishes I have had in a long time. I simply can't say enough. If you want to PM me any questions or concerns you might have I can answer for you!


    Cheers and congrats!
    Julia
  • Sapphire92181Sapphire92181 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Ravellos has delicious food
  • lmy922lmy922 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We have heard RAVES about both places but ultimately decided on Primavera.  We loved the atmosphere and the staff is so friendly and accomodating.  The tasting was amazing, and as PP mentioned, they really do meet all of your needs!  We cannot wait for our wedding there!
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  • jcg98jcg98 member
    5 Love Its First Anniversary Name Dropper First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks everyone!  I really appreciate your feedback.  I never expected that I would agonize so much over this decision!  It certainly feels like once I make it, everything else will be easy from here.  Wishful thinking. :) 
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  • Denise91980Denise91980 member
    First Comment Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Good Luck! Like I said before, I think both are great choices. Try the food at both and see which you like better. Like Jamtom stated, Dominick is very accomodating and told us to let him know if there is anything we wanted that is not listed, and he would gladly do what he can to get it :)
    BFP #1 1/1/11 EDD 9/10/11 dx:no hb DNC on 2/2/11 BFP #2 12/28/11 natural m/c on 2/6/12 BFP#3 2/16/13 dx:ectopic on 2/27 (given methotrexate)
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  • edited December 2011
    I picked the Primavera too! in fact, it was the FIRST and ONLY place I looked at! Yes, call me crazy but I'm having a short engagement (5 months) due to the fact that my fiance is a US Marine and could be deployed early next year. Anyways, I picked it because Steve (who is amazing!) was so incredibly helpful and gave us a wonderful deal for booking on the spot. They had the venue set up for a wedding happening the next night and when they opened the doors to the recption room I just knew it was the place for me. Plus, I had about 10 friends tell me their personal experiences were nothing short of amazing at the Primavera so I decided to book without wasting my time going to other places. The primavera offered so much more for the money than other places (I know because I spoke to about 5 other venues over the phone prior to going to the Primavera). One thing to consider if you're on the fence, the Primavera offers premium liquor during open bar, never house or lower brands, for no added cost! hope this helped!
  • edited December 2011
     im going to primavera this weekend:) im so glad that everyone seems to like it! just a few questions...what is there minimum on a Friday night wedding? i have 125 guests. also does anyone know if i do an off month of January can i get a good deal?! thanks for all the help:)
  • jcg98jcg98 member
    5 Love Its First Anniversary Name Dropper First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_primavera-regency-vs-ravellos?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:d7ef50fb-c1e7-4bd4-83d3-8ff363779b74Post:349c9e46-fdb1-4347-853a-8a559a388f24">Re: Primavera Regency vs. Ravello's</a>:
    [QUOTE] im going to primavera this weekend:) im so glad that everyone seems to like it! just a few questions...what is there minimum on a Friday night wedding? i have 125 guests. also does anyone know if i do an off month of January can i get a good deal?! thanks for all the help:)
    Posted by jtoscano31[/QUOTE]

    <div>I'm afraid you won't get many responses in a thread that is a year and a half old!  Your best bet is to start a new thread asking for feedback about Primavera.  Keep an eye on thread dates when you search and comment, if it's more than a few days old it's best to just start a new one.</div>
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