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Chesapeake Bay Wedding Venues (With a Water View)

dgiffingdgiffing
First Comment
in Maryland
Hello Maryland Brides! I am researching wedding venues along the bay and am hoping to stay under $15k for the Ceremony/Reception location rentals, setup, and food/drink cost per person. I have a list of places I plan on visiting this fall and could use some feedback on pricing and thoughts of the locations. I'd like to find a place that offers rooms for my guests, not all of them of course, we will have about 150. And I'd like to stick with a water view (a dock would be nice). So here is the list: Harrington on the Bay, The Oaks (love the look but looks like more than I want to spend), Silver Swan, Eastern Yacht Club, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Tilghman Island Inn, and Kurtz Beach. Also any other suggestions are welcome! Thanks Knotties!

Wedding Bells,
Danielle - MD
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Re: Chesapeake Bay Wedding Venues (With a Water View)

  • dgiffingdgiffing
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I just discovered Love Point as well...adding it to the list if anyone has details about the locations as well as price points?
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  • dnice818dnice818
    First Comment First Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    I'm getting married at Silver Swan in April.  We booked back in 2009.  Our wedding was then considered off-season for them.  We are having about 100 people.  With all that in mind, our total will be a little over 14k (+ gratuity).  From what you have said, your's will probably end up being over the 15k mark.

    I love the location.  Fi and I actually signed our contract while they were still renovating-only drywall on the walls, so obviously the view made a big impression on us.  They are actually in the process of opening up the indoor space more to have an expanded bar area-which will be nice with your head count.

    The one thing I must warn you about is that some of the staff is not the best at getting back to you.  Be persistent 'cause it's worth it.  From what I've heard from other brides, they really come together and make it happen on your wedding day.
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  • dgiffingdgiffing
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks so much for your response! I love Kent Island so I would like to go and see Silver Swan. Do you know what the price difference was from off-season to in-season? I know we're shooting for October but if we have to push it to the first weekend in November to save some $ it's a possibility. Thanks for the feedback!
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  • dgiffingdgiffing
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Yes I've requested information from Celebrations, the pictures look really nice but they didn't provide any prices so I'm not real sure what range that would be in. Kurtz is affordable but I just don't know if it's as picturesque as I envision for my wedding day.

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  • Lizzie434Lizzie434
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'm getting married at Love Point next year and looked at Celebrations.  Both used Catering by Uptown as an exclusive caterer.  At their standard rate per person, you might exceed your budget with 150 people, but they might be willing to work with your budget and reduce cost by cutting some food or alcohol or having an an off-peak wedding. 

    Other place to consider might be Kent Manor Inn, Historic Londontowne, or Swan Harbor Farm.  Good luck with your planning!

     
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  • dgiffingdgiffing
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thank you both! I did actually go and look at KMI but their pricing was looking more like $20k but I will definitely take a look at Love Point, Silver Swan Bayside looks like it will be within the range as well. Lizzie if you have more information on Love Point could you send it my way?
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  • Lizzie434Lizzie434
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Just sent you a private message.
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  • LoveKissLoveKiss member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    The Tilgman Island Inn requires you to book all of their rooms for the weekend if you want to use their nice indoor reception space. That may not be an issue with your guest list size, though. It was quite pretty. The price looked to be about $150-$175 per  person, which was more than we wanted to spend.


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  • LauraT25LauraT25
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I have no clue about places with rooms available, but both Herrington and Celebrations are going to be over your budget.  However, both are fairly inclusive venues so you might wind up saving money on other aspects (DOC, linens, chairs, tableware, wedding cake), or you could fall in love with the venue and choose to expand your reception budget and cut back elsewhere.  Basically, I wouldn't completely rule them out, but know that you probably won't be able to swing 150 people for $15k.  Celebrations offered a little flexibility on the alcohol package, but not food, and even with that and an off-peak wedding you'd be over budget.  I think some of the other venues fall into this category, too, but I know less about those.
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  • FranklynneFranklynne
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Have you checked Chesapeake Beach Resort?  We chose that place over some of the ones your looking at.  It was more affordable than Eastern Yacht Club.  After trying to contact Silver Swan multiple times, we never received a response and have heard nothing good about them.  My photographer said they won't even allow you to set up a photo booth.  
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  • dgiffingdgiffing
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I haven't looked into pricing on Chesapeake Beach Reort. I have looked at their website. I will check them out as well. I have found a few places that will come in around my budget such as Harbortowne in St. Michaels, Kurtz Beach, and Broomes Island (A venue owned by Stoney Seafood House). I've heard that Silver Swan is very bad at responding from a few different people now so I may stay away from them. Would you be able to forward any pricing information you have from CBR or private message me?
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  • FranklynneFranklynne
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Sent you a private message:)
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  • LoveKissLoveKiss member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    You may also want to consider the Hyatt Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge.  http://www.chesapeakebay.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp When we were hunting for a venue I found that their coordinator was really great to work with. Unfortunately mr. LK decided that cambridge was "too far" away and nixed the idea. their price was coming in at around $160 per person with an open bar, food, linens, wait staff, and onsite coordinator. It felt like a good value to me for all that I would be getting.
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  • dgiffingdgiffing
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    <font color="#800000">In Response to </font><a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_maryland_chesapeake-bay-wedding-venues-water?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:627Discussion:da71793b-ee76-4ffa-91e8-c12b902acc12Post:9c4e321c-06ef-419a-9d0b-c56f6e6cc78c"><font color="#800000">Re: Chesapeake Bay Wedding Venues (With a Water View)</font></a><font color="#800000">:
    [QUOTE]. their price was coming in at around $160 per person Posted by LoveKiss[/QUOTE]

    Do you know if the price per person also included the price for the locations such as the ceremony/reception as well as the setup or were those separate costs. If they are separate costs the Hyatt may be more than we were looking to spend with our budget.
    </font>
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  • MeredithCharles11MeredithCharles11
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We are getting married at Love Point on Kent Island in March 2012. The venue was $6800 for a Saturday night in the "winter". It is beautiful! We knew from the first moment stepping on the property that it was where we wanted to get married.

    I believe it was $7800 for the summer but Joan talked about the prices going up this July.

    Hope this helps!
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  • CollegeSweetheartsCollegeSweethearts member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    What about Chesapeake Bay Beach Club.  We are getting married next May and chose that venue perfect view of the bay from either of the locations they have on-site for the ceremony and receptions.  Very spacious, great customer service, and lovely property all around.  I'm excited for our tasting in January.  It is the first exit over the Bay Bridge they have open houses every Saturday from 9-11 no appt required.
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  • dgiffingdgiffing
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I do think Chesapeake Bay Beach Club looks beautiful but I was hoping to find a venue where my guests would not have to worry about transportation. We are visiting Herrington on the Bay in September. They seem to be more in line with our budget and have numerous rooms for guests to stay.
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  • bridetobe62913bridetobe62913
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    When I started looking for venues for my wedding, the first place I visited was Celebrations at the Bay. Our wedding is in June 2013, the wedding planner I worked with at Celebrations couldn't give my FH and I any prices for anything except the room rental fee. Just to rent the room on a Saturday evening in June for 4 hours was $6,000. She ended up trying to convince me (since our wedding in on the 29th, very close to 4th of July) to do it on July 4th which was a Thursday.. (??) and said the people that love you would be there for you. She was more of sales person than anything. 

    Kurtz's Beach - had an appointment with owner (John) on a Wednesday at like 5:30 pm. (before the appointment it was very hard to reach somebody through phone/email, all me and my mom kept getting was voicemail) So finally we got an appointment set up, drove all the way from Columbia to Pasadena (30-45 mins drive, left work an hour early) got there, and not a soul in sight. Call the office, no answer. Knocked on the 2/3 doors they had, no answer. My mom emailed the person who set up the appointment the next day, got a reply back 2 weeks later saying the owner was there doing a wedding rehearsal. My mom walked all the way around the venue, not a soul nor car in sight. 

    Hope this helps for these 2 venues. Emailed someone also for silver swan, (gorgeous place, with a very pretty penny to add to that) I think it was 5-6 grand just to rent the pier to get married on. 

    Good Luck with searching!! Hope everything works out!! :)
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  • gelly bellygelly belly member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I just got married at Herrington on the Bay in June with 90 guests for about $13k for everything (food, cake, dress, dj, photographer, etc). The site and catering fee was around $8500 with no alcohol at the bridal garden and pavillion. It's definitely doable with your budget if you use the bridal garden and pavillion. Celebrations for about 125 people on their basic package was about 122.50pp and that was two years ago when we booked Herrington. Private Message me for pics, vendor info, and more site info.
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  • 4n6chick4n6chick member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I just wanted to reiterate bridetobe62913 's post - Celebrations was beautiful, but it was very expensive.  We were looking at next April and were quoted $128/pp (for wine/beer service, not an open bar) and a $6k rental fee for the room for a Saturday evening.  It was gorgeous, but the quotes we got back were way out of our price range, it came out more than our entire budget.  They do have another property, the Anchor Inn, which wasn't too far from Celebrations but I don't remember what body of water it's on (it was some creek I believe).  The salesperson I worked with was VERY nice, and really tried to get something to work for us, but because we had so many out of town guests a Friday or Sunday wouldn't work - they had another property off of I-95 we considered but while we were thinking it over we went to another location in Baltimore County, nowhere near the water, and fell in love with it.  Less than half the cost of Celebrations and for 40 people more.

    Oh and we did look at Kurtz's Beach - it was ok, I think we may have liked it more if we had gone there before going to Celebrations.  But we went after (they were having an open house) and there was just no comparison.  Yes, they have the banquet area for weddings, etc. but it's also a community hall with a bingo board set up in the other room and the outside area seemed very cramped.  It looks a lot better in pictures!  Plus they absolutely refuse to move the ceremony indoors unless it's raining - so if you end up with a 100+ degree day and decide you only want to take pictures outside, too bad.  (that was a big concern for my FI regarding outdoor weddings - he doesn't handle heat well).

    Good luck with your search!
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  • mcgriffin85mcgriffin85
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I was looking for the same thing and visted many of the places you mentioned.

    The Oaks was beautiful and they have incredible customer service.  However, I think we were given an estimate of more than $32k for a 125 person wedding, so it was outside of our budget.

    As some other people mentioned, SIlver Swan does have a reputation for being hard to get in touch with, so we decided not to go with them.

    We ended up booking with Herrington on the Bay, which is beautiful and fitted what I wanted perfectly.  It's not the cheapest place out there, but the venue worked with us to stay within our budget and gave us some suggestions for lowering costs, which was great!  However, there are only 30 rooms on site, and most are pretty expensive (suites and cottages and such).  You are also competing with guests who stay there regularly and other wedding parties, so you would like only be able to get a room block of 10 to work with.

    Good luck on your search!
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  • dgiffingdgiffing
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Mcgriffin and Gelly Belly, thank you for the feedback. It sounds like Herrington is going to be an ideal choice for my budget and just from the information I've been seeing it looks like a great venue. I suppose we can live with the fact that they do not have as many overnight rooms, as long as there are alternaive accomidations in the area. Chesapeake Beach Resort & Spa is very close to Herrington and I have also been pricing them out as well. They look fairly equivalent in price and comparison. Did anyone look at them and what did you think?
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  • MLHiesterMLHiester
    First Anniversary First Comment
    Hi everyone! I was excited to find this thread because I am looking for almost the exact same thing for next summer (2013). The only other consideration I have is I want a place within an hour of BWI... Fiance's family and college friends etc. will be travelling from out of town and we want to be able to easily access an airport for our honeymoon. If anyone still has price quotes and pictures, please send them my way!

    I contact Silver Swan this morning and they got back to me ASAP... maybe they just start blowing you off after you sign the contract? Either way I agree, I've seen terrible reviews on several different sites and it makes me nervous.

    Thanks in advance for the help!
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  • dlynn12dlynn12
    First Comment

    Any recent reviews or info?

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  • gennahugennahu
    First Comment
    I am also so happy to have found this thread on here because I'm looking for a water venue within a 1/2 hr to 1 hr radius of Annapolis!  I have been looking at Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa and after reading some of the threads on here, Herrington on the Bay as well.  Does anyone have any more info on either of those places?  Greatly appreciated! :-)
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  • lauradursolauradurso
    First Comment
    we just visited the Chesapeake resort and spa i was very disappointed because it was so dirty and unattractive for your guests.



    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_maryland_chesapeake-bay-wedding-venues-water?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:627Discussion:da71793b-ee76-4ffa-91e8-c12b902acc12Post:bb53ed79-a018-4200-b3f1-d593770b74cf">Re: Chesapeake Bay Wedding Venues (With a Water View)</a>:
    [QUOTE]I am also so happy to have found this thread on here because I'm looking for a water venue within a 1/2 hr to 1 hr radius of Annapolis!  I have been looking at Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa and after reading some of the threads on here, Herrington on the Bay as well.  Does anyone have any more info on either of those places?  Greatly appreciated! :-)
    Posted by gennahu[/QUOTE]
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  • lauradursolauradurso
    First Comment

    The Chesapeake resort and spa was a very big disappointment the walls and floors are dirty and very unattractive. I loved the Chesapeake beach club and we are going to look at the Herrington on the bay in two weeks.

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  • gennahugennahu
    First Comment
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_maryland_chesapeake-bay-wedding-venues-water?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:627Discussion:da71793b-ee76-4ffa-91e8-c12b902acc12Post:5edb2b2b-6005-4ac6-b131-bc142b5ce98e">Re: Chesapeake Bay Wedding Venues (With a Water View)</a>:
    [QUOTE]The Chesapeake resort and spa was a very big disappointment the walls and floors are dirty and very unattractive. I loved the Chesapeake beach club and we are going to look at the Herrington on the bay in two weeks.
    Posted by lauradurso[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>Thank you for letting me know! I was just at the Chesapeake Beach Club this past weekend for a bridal show there and while it was hard to see the venue through all of the things for the bridal show, from what I saw it was beautiful and well cared for.  I am making an appointment to go back and look at it again and be able to talk to someone about it more soon!  Let me know your thoughts! 

    </div>
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  • karmichaelweddingkarmichaelwedding member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    We looked at Silver Swan and Chesapeake Bay Beach Club.  Both are very expensive, but the people at Silver Swan were very nice.  Just can't afford either place!  We are going to look at Celebrations, Herrington, and Cheapeake Beach Resort next weekend.  Any other suggestions??
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  • MegstopherMegstopher member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    CBBC is gorgeous but very pricey.  We would love to keep our ceremony/reception cost around $15-18K for 130, and that doesn't seem possible there even when selecting the cheapest alcohol and food options.  You are probably looking at closer to $20-25K depending on which room you select. Be mindful of the guaranteed headcounts for each room...even if you don't meet the minimum, you will have to spend as though you had!  That really diminishes any cost saving possibilities.

    Chesapeake Beach Resort was a huge disappointment for us as well.  The pricing was great but it doesn't look like they've put any money into their facilities since the '80s.  Their "rain" ceremony alternative was also a joke.  Basically in their driveway!  The photos on their website are very misleading. 

    Harbourtowne Golf and KMI were also disappointments.  Harbourtowne looked straight out of the '80s as well and required all guests to book a minimum of 2 nights at about a $250/night rate.  I couldn't justify asking my guests to do that.  KMI has a beautiful exterior but we thought the glass-encased round room was weird and not aligned with our vision whatsoever.

    We got engaged in August and are still struggling to find something on par with CBBC's beauty that stays within our budget! We're on the verge of throwing in the towl for a Chesapeake Bay wedding and restarting our search in an entirely different geographic area in hopes we can get more for our money elsewhere. If anyone finds anything, please let me know! Best of luck!
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