The Venue Hunt: Part 1

I was standing on the top floor of a beautiful building in downtown Manhattan gazing over the lights and the buildings as far as the eye could see, and I knew then, I had to be married in New York City. The fact that I had yet to find someone to marry was aside the point, this I knew for certain - whoever, whenever, we would be in good ol' New York City.

Oh New York, you stop my heart! (Source)

One of the first things we discussed after returning from our blissful engagement weekend in Ottawa (more on that later!) was our wedding venue. Several years after that moment gazing out over the Manhattan skyline, and now actually knowing who I would be marrying, I was still convinced that I wanted to be married with a New York City backdrop. Thankfully, Mr. Heb felt a similiar strong connection to the area, and we (alright, alright, I) began to do research.

We knew that we had to find a venue that could fit at the very least 250 people, preferably up to 300 (I know, small wedding!). This fact narrowed our search from the start, as New York City isn't exactly known for spacious real estate. We also knew that our parents would not be willing to go [totally] broke for this wedding, so it had to be somewhat (read: it's all relative) reasonable in terms of price.

Unfortunately, this took our first contender, the Puck Building, off the table. An absolutely gorgeous venue, and definitely the right size, it also happened to be the location where we enjoyed the night together before our first kiss some five years ago, so it held sentimental value. Before we say goodbye to the Puck Building, please enjoy some pictures of what might have been...http://www.thepuckbuilding.com/ (the front page has a slide show that will make you swoon!

I had a few other criteria I may have forgotten to mention earlier. We were looking for a unique location, preferably not a hotel, with outdoor space (gardens or water?) and the possibility of bringing in a kosher caterer. Oh yeah, and preferably historical or maybe a NYC landmark...but we were willing to look in Westchester and the boroughs (how open minded of us!) After hours toiling in front the computer with my short list of reasonable demands (ha!) and on the phone with upwards of 30 different venues (please PM if you're planning a large NYC wedding, I have lots of information!), we (again, I) narrowed our search down to seven locations, and planned a weekend visit to New York to check them out. Here's a sneak peek of what you're about to see:

Tarrytown House (source)


Lyndhurst (source)


Caramoor (source)


New York Botanical Garden (source)


Bridgewaters (source)


Pier Sixty (source)


Tavern on the Green (source)

Did you have a difficult time finding a venue? Did you know right away what you wanted, or did you have to do a lot of research?