New Girl needs help with halls!

I went to the Bridal Expo at Jericho Terrace yesterday, and while I thought it was lovely, the food left me wanting more. It didn't seem to have much flavor to me. Did anyone else have a different opinion?

Beside Verdi's, I am also looking at The Riviera, Steward Manor CC, Coral House, and George Washington House.

Also, does anyone have any opinions or info either way about Ariana Waterfall and Raphael Winery (esp. pricing here).

Thanks for you help. I have been reading your posts for a few weeks- you guys are really helpful to each other. I think it's great.

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

I have no first hand experience, but I have seen posts about Ariana Waterfall, and I think they give the best deal if you are not looking to spend a lot of $.

Stewart Manor CC was my #1 choice, but DH did not like it as much. My brother's wedding was there and it was great. I liked the food, but I loved the space there- it is only one wedding at a time, plenty of room and they leave the CH room open throughout the wedding for people to sit in - we took photos there. I would have chosen it, but DH loved the Swan Club so much more and he wanted the big wedding more than me, so I gave in

My other brother and sister had their weddings at the Coral house. The Coral House gives you a good package for the money, but I think they can be hit or miss with the food. They also have several events going on at once. In one of the magazines I saw, it says they only have 2 affairs at a time, which I do not think is always true. When we went to look at it, I think there were more like 3 or 4 things going on. That said, both my brother and sister had only good things to say about it, and my sister actually booked another party there after her wedding. Her wedding was in the large ballroom, directly across from the main entrance, which I think is the nicest room and her CH was on the roof, which was spectacular!

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

Great. Thanks! And congrats. A friend of mine is getting married at the Swan Club in September. You all know her as Julie75. Now we get to drive each other crazy with wedding plans!

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

I am not sure where you are on LI but if you are looking for a good deal you can try the Brentwood Country Club or the Mediterannean Manor (www.medmanor.com)
They both have pkg. deals that include some of the vendors. Worth taking a look. Don't just book the first place you think you like.

Liz

Also...when you need to buy a gown call Phyllis Limmer at www.gownfind.com 631-368-6462. She is great and her prices are too!

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

I think the Riviera is very pretty and you get a lot for the price (I think it's about $110pp on a Sat night in the summer). It's on the water and one wedding at a time. The main ballroom is very pretty, with a fireplace, and the bridal suite is amazing and has a terrace with a spiral staircase leading to the front entrance (in case you want to make a quick getaway! )

Raphael is GORGEOUS! Bunnymonkey is getting married there and I'm sure she has tons of info regarding pricing. I believe that there is a site fee that can be as high as $5000 during the summer and I think the price is in the $120-125pp range.

I don't have info on the other places unfortunately. If we didn't have so many people traveling from out of town, we would've seriously considered Raphael. We really liked Riviera but felt that we'd seen other places where the menu had more of the options that we were looking for. hope this helps

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

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Posted by JessicaM.

I went to the Bridal Expo at Jericho Terrace yesterday, and while I thought it was lovely, the food left me wanting more. It didn't seem to have much flavor to me. Did anyone else have a different opinion?

Beside Verdi's, I am also looking at The Riviera, Steward Manor CC, Coral House, and George Washington House.

Also, does anyone have any opinions or info either way about Ariana Waterfall and Raphael Winery (esp. pricing here).

Thanks for you help. I have been reading your posts for a few weeks- you guys are really helpful to each other. I think it's great.

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I think the Riviera is beautiful! Would you consider Millridge Inn? They are the same owners as George Washington Manor - I never visited GW Manor but I know it holds no more than 150 or so ppl.

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

Check out Manor East

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

How many people are you having?

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

The thing is, I'm from Brooklyn, so I am trying to not go too far into the Island, or at least have the places fairly accessible, without too many confusing directions.

Another question I have is, how much bargaining can I do? Are the prices fixed for most places, or is there room for a little manuevering on the first price they quote me?

I don't want to say I'm cheap, because I like quality, but I also don't want to be paying for my wedding for the rest of my life! FH and I are doing it ALL ourselves, in the middle of also looking for a place to live!

I am blessed with some creative friends, so I am saving on invitations and all paper needs and photo/video (a friend does this for commercials and music videos).

I know I'm full of q's, but has anyone ordered their flowers from a farm and had the bouquets and arrangements made?

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

I'm looking at about 100-110, with about 10 kids.

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

The Riviera has a minimum of 140 on Saturdays I think (that's what it is for me) not sure what it is for that time of year.

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

I am from Brooklyn too and we had our reception at the Manor East. It is in Massapequa but about 5 minutes right off the highway. If you want good food and service at a very reasonably price, I would definately check out the Manor East.

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

i went to Jt also last night !!!!!

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

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Posted by JessicaM.

The thing is, I'm from Brooklyn, so I am trying to not go too far into the Island, or at least have the places fairly accessible, without too many confusing directions.

Another question I have is, how much bargaining can I do? Are the prices fixed for most places, or is there room for a little manuevering on the first price they quote me?

I don't want to say I'm cheap, because I like quality, but I also don't want to be paying for my wedding for the rest of my life! FH and I are doing it ALL ourselves, in the middle of also looking for a place to live!

I am blessed with some creative friends, so I am saving on invitations and all paper needs and photo/video (a friend does this for commercials and music videos).

I know I'm full of q's, but has anyone ordered their flowers from a farm and had the bouquets and arrangements made?

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where in bk?

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

I'm from Park Slope, born and raised.

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

The places you are looking at seem to be the ones we were looking at too - similar price ranges. We looked at the Milleridge also - right off the parkway or the LIE, are the same owners as GW Manor, as someone else mentioned, and it's a nice place. So that might not be a bad trip for your guests, either.

I am not sure how much bargaining you can do, only because I think they know what their price is, and they might make it seem like they are throwing things in, but I think that is all part of the sales pitch. The best way to save $ is to consider having the reception during a less popular month - November through March - or a less popular day - Friday night or Sunday. We had ours on a Sunday and though that wasn't our first choice (it was when the church was available) we are so glad now, because it saved us a ton of $. After writing this, I realized you already have a date picked, so you may not be able to change that, but shop around to see what you can get if you want a Saturday wedding.

I did my wedding for 100 guests for about $17k - if you want some ideas on how to save $, send me a Forum mail (FM) and I will be happy to tell you some of the things I did.

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

What are you looking for in a hall? Someplace that has a catering hall feel, or someplace more cozy? I don't really know anything about the places you mentioned but I do know that Raphael is gorgeous, extremely expensive and all the way out there!! You mentioned you didn't want to travel to far, Rafael is another 45min or so after the end of the LIE.

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

I'm getting married at the Ariana Waterfall. When I chose the Ariana, it was a tossup between them and theGeorge Washington Manor. I loved the charm and atmosphere of the GWM. The ARiana is beautiful in a different way, but we chose it because of it's wedding packages. They have quality services at great prices. The owner, Tony is just great and works with you on what you want. They're having a showcase this Tuesday, 3/8 at 7:00 PM if you can go. FM me or go to their website for more details.

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

Really, I'm looking for a nice place- more cozy I guess. Like I have said, I am really all about the food- I love to cook myself and am a huge fan of Food TV. (sad, I know, but true and I am PROUD) LOL

Like I said, I did like the decor of JT, but I am trying to shy away from a more 'showy' type of decor. Put it this way, I personally am not really into lots of brass and gold and glitter.

I guess it really does just come down to checking a lot of places out until all of the needs are met. Boy, this is going to be something!

Re: New Girl needs help with halls!

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Posted by JessicaM.

Really, I'm looking for a nice place- more cozy I guess. Like I have said, I am really all about the food- I love to cook myself and am a huge fan of Food TV. (sad, I know, but true and I am PROUD) LOL

Like I said, I did like the decor of JT, but I am trying to shy away from a more 'showy' type of decor. Put it this way, I personally am not really into lots of brass and gold and glitter.

I guess it really does just come down to checking a lot of places out until all of the needs are met. Boy, this is going to be something!

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I would definately put the Manor East as one of your places on your list. They are not a showly place and have great food.