Finding a Venue

In September, we started looking for a venue. Being that we had no budget, our first choice was the Botanical Gardens a few blocks away.The place is beautiful and can host around 50 people. We figured we can bring in our own food and save a ton of money that way! I was so certain that we would chose this venue, that my maternal grandmother gave me a $1000 to cover it.

Then we started to really crunch the numbers. It was $800 and tax for the Gardens. Then we got a menu from Wegman's about all the platters that they offered. By the time we figured out enough of each variety we'd need for everyone, factored in we would have to do our own setup & cleanup and all the other running around needed, we realised we were very close to what it costs to rent a facility with a staff.

After some discussion, we decided to nix the Botanical Gardens and to try to find a venue that wasn't going to kill our savings.

At first, FH suggested a renting firehall. But I reminded him we would have the same issues as the Botanical Gardens.

We did a search online and went through the fliers from the bridal shows to come up with four places to start with.

The first place I called was down the street. Their price list was horrible! They nickled and dimed everything! They wanted $500 extra to have your ceremony there. They ONLY do your event outdoors, and it was $400 for the tent. We didn't even get to the food. Needless to say, I didn't take a tour.

The second place I called was a recommendation from one of the delivery guys for my job at the time. The owner was very happy to see us right away. Their prices were just a little over what I wanted and their facility was undergoing renovations that were scheduled to end the week before our date. We were a little leery of this, as construction projects rarely run on time. Also, there was a chance we wouldn't be the only event on our day. I wasn't too keen on that, so we put this on the "Maybe List" and continued on. A friend of mine would eventually book them for her wedding.

The third place the FH found online. It was a very lovely facility, very ornate. I liked the decor a lot. However, my room options were either very tiny or way too large. Also I had to consider our families in that this place may be too fancy for them. It may have been our ceremony and reception, but I wanted everyone to be relaxed and to have a good time. The prices were decent and the owner was nice, but FH did some digging and found that there some issues with their family members who had a similar business. Also there was the point of sharing facilities again. This, too, went on the "Maybe List."

Try number four lead us to the place where we would book, Gregor's Garden Grove. We liked many things about this place. The location was rustic, but still near major streets so that it was easy to find. The owner, Keith, took obvious pride in facility when giving us the tour. It was a spacious room, but the decor made it feel warm and inviting. They had the best prices and you got SO much with it. We would also be the only party for out day, so we would have the staff's full attention. They also did not charge to have our ceremony there.

The food there is FANTASTIC! Keith does all the cooking himself and you can taste the care that goes into the dishes. My father made sure he was the first to get seconds!

While there were some snafu's with the musical cues during the ceremony, everything else was perfect. I loved that we had the bridal suite to ourselves.

We had planned from the get-go to have an indoor ceremony because its in Buffalo, where it can still snow in May. But because it turned out to be SO nice when rain was predicted, we go to have it outdoors.

They set up everything we had brought to decorate and they did SUCH a great job. Diane paid attention to every detail and every vague idea we had and put together a wonderful set up.

Everything was great - I cannot recommend this place enough. I really felt that I had gotten a real value for what I had paid for.

The compliments I received from guests about the facility and its staff were non-stop.

When looking for a venue, consider a few things:

*The price and what does comes with that. If you don't need alcohol, you can save a few bucks on the price. There was a $5/PP difference between the two for us. At one place we had looked at, it was a $15/PP difference.

*The venue is what ended up costing the most. As with most things wedding related, try to pay it in cash so that you don't accidently get into debt.

*Get tour as soon as possible. This will give you a feel for the facilities.

*Food tasting. We did not do one, but it wasn't needed in this case. Anytime I mentioned to someone where my reception would be, the first thing they would say is "The food is SO good there!" I knew we were in good hands. However, you may not know that many people familiar with where you have booked. Get a tasting as soon as possible.

*Research online for any problems the venue may have. I remember hearing about a place in New Jersey that always had staff going into the bride's room and stealing things or taking from the card box.

*I did not like the idea of sharing facilities with other parties. How easy would it be to mix things up in the bride's room? What if one of the other parties is having a problem and now you can't get the staff's attention? Think about potential problems a facility may have prior to booking. If you can live with them, now you have time to devise ways to work around them.

*It was definitely worth the extra couple of hundred dollars to have someone else set up, cook, and break it down. The day is stressful enough, why make it worse?