Wedding: Venue Hunting

Venue hunting is, hands down, one of the hardest things to decide on.

I started doing my research in June. A lot of it was browsing online and seeing what appealed most. At this point, the fiancé and I didn't even brainstorm what we want. I know a lot of people would jot down location, venue space, and things they look for in a wedding venue. We did none of that. I literally just clicked around through google, The Knot, Wedding Wire and random websites. If it looked nice and was fairly close, I emailed the venue asking for a general quote. In the email, I would include, general date of wedding and amount of people. Some places got back really quick and gave a very detailed breakdown along with a brochure. But we just weren't feeling it at that moment to continue looking and lock down a place. A lot of it had to do with not setting a date yet.

Finally, after a couple of months of back and forth, we settled on a date and decided it was time to really find a venue and started planning. We knew that if we locked down on a wedding venue, we would have to move forward with everything. No longer can we procrastinate.

Since June's research, we sort of knew what to expect and are more clear of what we are looking for. We broke it down to either the Long Island location - Glen Cove Mansion or New Jersey location - Liberty House Restaurant. For some reason, we weren't exactly satisfy with these locations. So, for one last time, I researched again.

I realized that it was definitely the price that played a big role in venue deciding. We switched from a September wedding to a November wedding because November is an off season month, which should cost less, right? Not by much though. After much browsing and googling, I saw Sunset Terrace at Chelsea Piers. I knew I reached out to them before but at that moment in June, they didn't appeal much. The second time around, after a lot of back and forth email along with endless googling of "weddings at Sunset Terrace," we were sold. Not to mention, the price per head was also very attractive.

We went in for a tour and it was no doubt that we would want our wedding here. It wasn't the grandest place but it was perfect for us. It was unique and has a great view of the Hudson River. You can see the Statue of Liberty and New Jersey (where we do reside now). Plus, it just felt right. Without hesitation, we asked our venue coordinator to draft up the contract right away. We left feeling relieved and accomplished. My fiancé and I were so glad we got this out of the way, we were also extremely happy that it was the first and only place we visited and liked. I definitely didn't want to be like my coworker that searched and toured over 20 places.

Some advice.
There is none that I want to give at all. Go into it blindly, cause honestly, that's the best part. Not knowing anything. Because it makes you look at places that you never thought you would. I told my fiancé that never in my dreams would I have thought to have our wedding in New York City, Manhattan of New York City. Don't give up and just keep looking, never settle for anything less.