marshacarlin

My son and his fiancee are having trouble finding an inexpensive outdoor space for next summer(with possibly a lake, terrace,and/or covered space in case it rains--would do a tent if necessary but are trying to keep costs down, farm, barn???). Her family is Portugese and would like to bring in some traditional food, so don't want to HAVE to use onsite caterer but would do a mix of food types. My son doesn't want a very formal wedding with tables for 10, but a place where they can be more casual. NJ, Long Island, Bronx, Westchester all OK within 1 1/2 of NYC. Again cost is a consideration since they already have a list of 200! HELP!
I've checked theknot.com and wedding channel.com, so I guess we're looking for less obvious, less traditonal places. Thanks for any thoughts.

vcl

Try The Hermitage in Ho Ho Kus, NJ. Beautiful grounds, no on-site caterer, you will need a tent for inclement weather. From what I have seen when we've passed the property, you get grounds and indoor plumbing and the rest is up to you.

seetheworld

A barn for 200 people? Sorry I can't help, just wanted to bring your post back to the top.

That is a lot of cooking for the family to do -- glad it's not me

Good luck and congratulations!

marshacarlin

I know, I've been trying to get them to work on the guest list (!) but who said planning weddings was fun? My husband and I got married next to a lake at Arrow Park near Tuxedo NY, which was an old summer camp type place and the kids think they can find something like that now...I don't know if inexpensive places like that still exist. (They'd also like to get married at the Cloisters but I don't think they do weddings unless y9ou're a celebrity.
The food will be catered (I can't imagine cooking for 200!) but they just don't want to have to use the caterer that is usually connected with some of these places..........I on the other hand am open to any suggestions , with or without onsite catering....it's the unique factor that I think we're looking for.
Thanks again for any thoughts.

seetheworld

I recently attended a wedding at Le Chateau -- a beautiful site in South Salem, NY. I think they are only a full-service though.

Here's the link

http://www.lechateauny.com/

But another suggestion, that may be more reasonable and leave you to your own catering, is a location in Purchase, NY. A small castle which would provide a lovely setting for pictures. Here's the link...just click on "here" for information and rates.

http://www.mville.edu/ABOUT/catering.html

Good luck and glad to hear your're not cooking, lol!

marshacarlin

The suggestions have all been lovely, but still a bit pricey. I'm topping this to see if any one else has ideas. Thanks.

TarheelsInNj

Hello! I've been racking my brain to think of ideas for you, and here are a few...I hope they might be somewhat helpful. As you know, it can be VERY difficult to find "off the beaten path" wedding suggestions, particularly in this area (take it from a recent bride!). You have to dig pretty deep, but I'm sure you'll find something wonderful.

There is a beautiful park in Verona, New Jersey, which has a boathouse on the property. I don't know if it is available for wedding receptions, but it's worth a shot. The Essex County Parks Department should be able to help: (973) 268-3500.

Because you of course know your situation better than anyone, you might try searching a website such as ReceptionHalls.com. This allows you to put in your number of guests, desired qualities, etc. I tried it based on what you've said, and several options came up.

You are dealing with a wide geographic area, but if you can narrow down to a few counties, often the local Visitor's Bureaus and Parks Departments are great resources.
Here's an example in Morris County, NJ:
http://www.morristourism.org/rentals/rentals.html

If they are not absolutely set on an outdoor wedding, you might try Woman's Clubs and other similar venues. I was married at a Woman's Club in May, and loved the flexibility of bringing in my own caterer and having basically a blank slate to work with. Many have beautiful outdoor areas as well. A google search would help you find them. Here is one you might look at (not where I was married- that is a bit small for your guest list):
http://www.homesnnj.com/wc/ridgewood/hall.htm


Good luck!

mclaurie

Here is another website with listings that might yield some new ideas.

http://www.mynewyorkwedding.com/cate...lls/index.html

I think in order to be really economical THEY have to do mucho research. I do think there may be places out there but it may require guests stay overnight. Possibility? I think upstate New York probably has some options.

I also think there are country clubs in New Jersey that accept wedding catering for non-members that can be much more economical than you'd think. In doing a search for some NJ country clubs, I came across this place, the Old Mill Inn in Basking River, NJ that looks nice and advertises weddings for $59-69/person.

Have they looked into one of the yachts?

http://oldemillinn.com/?/bridal/index.shtml

mclaurie

Sorry, I also did a search for barn wedding near nyc and found a website

http://www.thebarnjournal.org/resource/event_barns.html

that lists barns for weddings. That led me to a place in NJ

http://www.peronafarms.com/

It may not be what they're looking for, but websearches do work.

sunny16

Have they looked into doing it at a state park? I looked into having my reception at Orient State Park, way out at the tip of the North Fork of Long Island. This is probably too far out for them, but we could have gotten a permit to have a party and then paid $5 for each car that was coming (I believe this is the parking fee for all state parks in NY State). Anyway, hope that helps.

marshacarlin

Thanks so much for your thoughtful replies. I have passed them on to my son and his fiancee, and hope they will comment: Yea or Nay to the various ides, so that I know where to go from there. Any other ideas when this gets topped are obviously welcome since, as so hs been mentioned, this takes mucho research.
thanks again for all of your thoughts.