Where Da Party At? - Part II

Aaaaaaand…. we’re back!  Where Da Party At? -Tips to Finding the Perfect Venue Part Deux!

We last left off on Mr. FJ and I coming to the realization that a Manhattan-based wedding will be out of the question.  Thinking outside of the box meant having to look into areas such as the outer boroughs, Long Island, Upstate New York, and even New Jersey.  Yep, you read correctly… NEW JERSEY!

Mr. FJ and I then began to research into various locations and venues located in the outer boroughs, mainly Brooklyn.  We found that there quite a few selections.  To just name a few, Stage 6 at Steiner Studios, Dyker Beach Golf Course, Bubby’s Brooklyn, and the Dumbo Loft were all considered.  Stylistically, the 4 venues are very different.  The décor at Stage 6 is very modern, but also very elegant.  It is the epitome of New York.  Dyker Beach Golf Course is more traditional, yet newly renovated.  Bubby’s Brooklyn and Dumbo Loft were more on the urban-chic side.  All of them had a lot of potential but they were all TOO DIFFERENT!  We had to make up our minds on what style we were going for.

Though I personally love urban-chic and I’m a city girl through and through, the notion of being a princess for a day and having a totally glam’d up wedding was just too appealing to resist.  Mr. FJ is also a semi-yes-man, and really had no particular convictions towards the style of our wedding.  Therefore, Bubby’s and Dumbo Loft were then eliminated.

Two of our good friends from college, Stan & Robbo actually got married at Stage 6.  We remembered thinking that it was probably one of the most aesthetically beautiful weddings we have ever attended.  However, we also noted that since the big name, Abigail Kirsch was involved; the cost probably won’t fit us.  We decided to visit Dyker Beach Golf Course in person.  While, it DBGC is indeed beautiful and newly renovated, I really didn’t have the “WOW” moment upon walking in.  In addition, their limited seating of holding up to 250 just wasn’t going to cut it for our party.  The search continued...

New Jersey?

I remember attending various weddings in Long Island in years past, and it would usually take us over 45 minutes to get there WITHOUT traffic.  In addition, there are only a handful of venues able to hold up 300 guests that are not deep into the island.  The Aesthetics of these venues also wasn’t what we had in mind.  For us, Long Island didn’t make sense.

For most non-New Yorkers, one might ask the questions, “What’s the big deal with Jersey?” or “Why Jersey?”  For a few more reasons other than the ridiculous amount of toll one needs to pay in order to travel to and fro Jersey, Jersey would not be a common choice for New York folks like Mr. FJ and yours truly.  HOWEVER, noting that we were still living in Lower Manhattan at the time, we discovered that the distances traveling to many Jersey venues were still much closer to traveling areas like Long Island and/or Upstate New York.  Most of them were only about 30 minutes of driving without traffic!  This fulfills the criteria for the point of, Proximity.

To be continued…