Weddingbee

and people usually react with shock and horror!

Finding the right venue was another super difficult task in our planning. I can’t believe I had started looking at venues while living in Washington state a year ago. When I would tell my coworkers there about the average cost per person of a NYC wedding, most of them suggested that I fly all my guests out to Seattle and get married there! But frankly, I can’t imagine getting married anywhere else. Boston would be an obvious option since Mr. Canary’s family is from there and it’s where we met… but I think New York represents our future and the start of our life as a married couple. So New York is where we decided to have the wedding and with that came the arduous task of finding the perfect venue!

Back in May 2007, I flew to New York for two days just to check out spaces. Massive paranoia had set in because some of the places I’d called were already booked for three Saturdays in July 2008. After much discussion, Mr. Canary and I agreed on some basic criteria before we selected the venues we would visit in person.

1. Must accommodate at least 300 guests. My family is huge and with a steady growing guest list, our venue had to fit everyone comfortably.2. Centrally located, easy-to-find, with plenty of parking. With a multitude of overseas and out-of-town guests, having a wedding in a remote spot in Long Island or upstate New York would have been more economical, but logistically difficult.3. Great food! And secondly, allow us to showcase/use the food my business sells. This was a huge criteria because I work in the food industry which means a majority of our guests and family members are true foodies. Also at traditional Chinese wedding banquets, it’s really a feast. There are at least EIGHT courses! The complaints I hear most from my relatives who attend non-Chinese banquet style weddings are either (a) the food sucks or (b) there wasn’t enough to eat. Talk about pressure. Not only am I marrying outside of my culture, I have to make sure to whet everyone’s appetite! How can I not go AWOL?Anyway, with these lofty mandatories, we weeded out our top venues on my crazy venue lists and worksheet* and made a few appointments (after calling over a dozen places for rates and quotes first).* For additional insight into my OCD tendencies, before any of the actual appointments, I drafted a master Excel worksheet to compare prices and packages. I feel that when vendors quote they always give you the base of $X/person but that’s often without tax, service, or gratuity for that matter! Plus I could bake in any additional fees like parking or ceremony space. I wanted to compare apples to apples– I would add up all the costs, then divide them by total number of guests to get the actual cost per person, then compare across the board.We only had one day so I chose the top four based on price and location. Mama Canary accompanied me and Mr. Canary on our grand venue tour. If there is anything, ever, in the world that’s wrong, Mama Canary is always the first to spot it and she is always quite vocal. Plus, it was a great time for Mama Canary and Mr. Canary to interact. I was quite pleased with how well they got on and how they agreed on most things.Onward to the visits. We visited the places in the following order: Bridgewaters, Pier Sixty, and Capitale. (The Park was originally on our list but we canceled after choosing Pier Sixty).Bridgewaters

Image from here

Pros:

• Great views and locations for photos (Brooklyn Bridge, cobblestone streets at South Street Seaport)
• Historic location
• Outdoor and wrap-around terrace
• Willing to negotiate on price based on menu selections
• Within our budget
• Friendly and responsive events manager

Cons:

• The space seemed cramped for our large party and it had a weird layout. At one point, Mr. Canary noticed that some tables would be directly in front of the bathroom doors. How odor-riffic! (Though I heard recently that they are completing renovations and may have changed the layout.)
• No parking
• Would not allow us to bring in our own food for cocktail hour

Pier Sixty
I initially did not consider Pier Sixty because of the price I was quoted, but decided Mama Canary needed a basis for comparison. I didn’t even think she’d be remotely interested when I told her the price, but I underestimate my Momma. She seriously considers value above anything else.

Pros:

• Amazing outdoor space. Right on the Hudson river. Though the view is lacking (yay, Jersey!)
• Could accommodate up to 700 people (wow!)
• Catered exclusively by Abigail Kirsch, which means top quality, well-presented food
• Wide menu selection that included duplicates for every 100th person
• Two bridal suites
• Parking lot that would accommodate 150 cars
• Ceremony space available on-site (for an additional, but reasonable fee)
• Amazing service. We spoke to the same manager on the phone and he met us in person to take us through every inch of the space. He was totally prepared with folders and information. Allowed us to take photos and ask about 100 questions.
• Would allow us to bring in and feature our own food for the cocktail hour
• Dedicated maitre-d’ introduced two months before the wedding to help plan and finalize all the details
• Driving range and other recreational areas nearby
• Great bars and lounges nearby (perfect for an afterparty!)
• Cake AND an additional dessert item included in price
• Books upon books of images of all their menu items

Cons:

• Must select a florist from their list of six
• Pricier than other venues and no negotiation
• A little out of the way for public transportation and hotels
• Did not have our date available

The pros, greatly outweighed the cons. Mama Canary was blown away by the “catalog” of food and presentation. Plus, she was also voting on behalf of my Papa Canary who would much prefer a wide open space and more flexibility with the guest list. In the end, we went with Pier Sixty for peace of mind, space size, and food.

Capitale

Images from here

I had been in contact with the catering director for weeks. After our first discussion, I was sure we had found our venue. We had a great conversation and the price was pretty low for New York standards. After a few more calls with additional questions, the catering director seemed annoyed and then eventually just referred me to the maitre’d or stopped taking my calls. I had my reservations, but decided we had to see it anyway because their prices were lower than the other locations.Pros:

• Original space. Beautiful interior architecture and design. It used to be the Bowery Savings Bank and it still had the teller boxes and rails. Very old New York.
• Amazing price. They quoted us at least $50pp below everyone else because apparently July would be considered “off-season.” Though the maitre’d had no idea what we were quoted when he met with us.
• Allowed us to feature our own food, free of charge
• Ceremony space available on site (though it was awkwardly laid out)

Cons:

• No parking
• Additional charge for general lighting
• Poor service. The catering director was there the day we visited but decided not to see us and instead sent the maitre’d to work with us. The maitre’d was not prepared and we felt rushed through seeing the space.
• In a strange area of the city. It’s right smack in the middle of Chinatown on a busy street next to a bunch of grocery stores.
• Felt cramped for 300+ guests. Would have an awkward dance floor.

The Park

Images from here

We decided not to visit since we already had our hearts set on Pier Sixty. One of the primary reasons we were interested in the Park was because we had been to an amazing New Year’s party there and the space is really well decorated. It already had an Asian fusion feel to it and would require very little to make it festive. The biggest con was that their pricing was in tiers and none of the packages provided what we needed for the right price. There seemed to be a lot of add-ons. The price for the level of service we wanted would have been the same as Pier Sixty.

Here are some photos of Pier Sixty and Abigail Kirsch’s work. I can’t wait!

The super all-season terrace. How you may ask? There are glass “garage-like” doors that are rolled down if the weather is bad.

Great interiors. There is a long wide hallway into the site (left). The view at sunset is just beautiful (right).
Dinner and ceremony setups

Our ceremony setup would be similar to this. In the corner of the room to get the best views.

The important stuff: food! We get a selection for entrees and in addition to the cake (it’s included) we get another dessert. Their desserts look fabulous!

{All photos from abigailkirsch.com or piersixty.com}

Have any of you started the venue hunt? What’s on your list of priorities for your perfect venue?

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