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…

Where Da Party At? - Part I

It's Bloggin' Tuesday!  I decided that it was time to give my blog a little face lift because it was just becoming too busy for me.

Now, I don't know about you, but I remember being an itty-bitty girl who have had many dreams of what my wedding was going to be like.  Everything from the dress, to my hair, to the bouquet in my hand, the people around me, and of course... the venue.  I know, I know... the seemingly most important aspect of the wedding was missing... my husband.  But at the tender age of 3, the only thoughts in my head were, "What's a 'husband'?  I just want to wear a pretty dress!"  Of course as the 26 year-old, newly engaged woman, I had a few more worries to add to that list.  First things first, exactly where were we going to make those childhood dreams come true?

Thus begins the mini-series which I'd like to call, Where Da Party At? -Tips to Finding the Perfect Venue.

SO.....

After purchasing my 11 bridesmaids dresses, Mr. FJ and I began scouting out for venues which we wanted to have our wedding.  Very early on, we had both agreed that we were not fans of traditional Chinese wedding banquets.  For one, I personally felt that since the interior of most Chinese restaurants were either red or gold (or both), it would definitely clash with the hazel blue that I had already chosen.  Another factor was, as guests, Mr. FJ and I remembered that we were never too thrilled about the idea of having to travel for one location for the wedding ceremony, and then another for the reception.  As a planner, I would HATE for all the festivities to be behind schedule due to unanticipated traffic and travel time.  As hosts, our biggest priority was to make our wedding as convenient as possible for everyone.

Living in the metro NYC area, we knew that there were several important factors to consider when planning a wedding.  I'd like to call these the CAPS of venue selection:

                                  1. Costs/Budget
                                  2. Aesthetics/Presentation
                                  3. Proximity
                                  4. Size of the venue

Of all the criteria, I really believe that Costs/Budget should be held in high regard.  I think it's safe to say (and most people would probably agree) that it's pretty silly and irresponsible for one to run oneself into debt just because one is planning a wedding.  Two, Costs/Budget provides a good framework for how much you can spend and how many people you can realistically spend it on.  (This is the usual pep-talk I give to all my couples upon meeting them the first time.)  Our original guest list of 450 people basically informed us that we were not going to be able to have the wedding INSIDE of New York City.  It would've came at the cost of both our arms and legs.  We had to think outside of the box... literally.

To be continued....