2018 Bride Here!! Newly Engaged!

So I'm a little early for planning my wedding and didn't know where to post. Technically I'm not a 2017 bride. I'm looking to get married in Spring 2018 lol. I'm trying to plan without rushing or stressing myself out. I've only been to one venue and I personally wasn't sold. It's beautiful there but wasn't what I envisioned for my wedding day.

Anyhow, I am interested on recent quotes (within the last 6 months or less) any has received on the following places.

Crest Hollow
Fox Hollow
Sand Castle
Chateau Briand
Jericho Terrace
Watermill

FM me anything you have. Oh and congratulations to all my fellow brides! So excited!!!!

Also, does anyone know if the percentage for Maitre D is always 20% or we pay them what we want.
I know when they quote you per plate we have to add the tax etc. for the FINAL price per person.

Hey Guys!!

Congrats to all who are recently engaged. I was just looking at venues for either fall 2017/2018 and looked at Friday/Saturday nights. I will give my review on a few of the places and quotes.

1. Windows on the Lake, Lake Ronkonkoma
- Beautiful views of Lake Ronkonkoma from both the Cocktail Room and Ballroom.
- Frank is the gentleman we met with. He is genuine, friendly, and someone I could trust. While talking with Frank about details and offerings he had the chef cook us up lunch. We had their penne alla vodka, it was VERY TASTY.
- The food package looked amazing, TONS of options - something that would impress guests

Pricing:
- November 2017 Saturday $115pp which included a Viennese hour.
- November 2018 Saturday $125pp
- Seemed like there was definitely room to negotiate if you decided this was the place for you.
- Remember this price DOES NOT include 20% service fee and 8.625% in taxes per person

I would suggest this place to anyone looking to get a bang for your buck especially if you are doing Spring/Summer - beautiful places to take pictures!!

2. The Somerley at Fox Hollow
- Modern and chic, completely different feel than most other places we saw.
- Cocktail hour would be in the downstairs, looked like a NYC lounge but my family and I found it to be kind of dark
- Area where you walked in was okay, not great. The styles of the all of rooms/floors did not seem to vibe very well together
- Ballroom: beautiful exposed brick fireplace and skylights. This room is what sells the place for most brides. My family and I, however were just not in love
- Outdoor grounds were not large, but definitely had places to take pictures
- Food: WAY more fancy sounding. I come from a large old school italian family who loves FOOD. When we heard the menus I was afraid that the portions wouldn't be as generous or that the food would be too different and unique. If your family has a pallet for different foods, it may work great!
- Pricing: ~$140pp for a fall Saturday in 2017, $145 for a Saturday in fall 2018, ~$120-125pp for a fall Friday wedding
- Pricing did NOT include a viennese hour
- Need to guarantee 150 people
- Remember this price DOES NOT include 20% service fee and 8.625% in taxes per person


3. Hempstead House - Sands Point
- Beautiful grounds, old mansion that looks almost Harry Potter-ish
- On the water in Sands Point, great views but hard to get to
- Price: $12,000 just to rent the venue and expect catering to cost ~$225pp
- If you are like me and your budget isn't $75,000+, Hempstead House would be nearly impossible.

4. Larkfield Manor - where we chose!!
- Modern twist on Tuscan style
- Completely redone about 3 years ago and it beautiful on the inside
- Great places to take pictures in front of fountains, reflecting pools, flowers, etc...
- Cocktail hour was HUGE with all types of cold stations, hot stations, and passed hors d' oeuvres
- 6 choices for dinner in the gold package, with an appetizer
- Standard cake comes in the gold package, can add a full Viennese hour for $15pp (when you see the pictures you will want to add it - which we did!!)
- Cocktail Hour, 4 Hours in Ballroom, 1 Hour for Viennese = 6 total hours in our package
- We are having our wedding at the end of November and it will be decorated for Christmas, which looks amazing!
- 2018 Prices: Saturday night $160pp (including full Viennese), Friday Night $130pp (including full Viennese)
- Remember this price DOES NOT include 20% service fee and 8.625% in taxes per person

At Fox Hollow, this past weekend to be exact.

Fox Hollow quoted us at $115 pp (Friday) September 1st and $135 pp (Saturday) August 26th + November 4th - 2017... October 2018 (Saturday) $142 pp

Hope this helps.