Weddingbee boards

Hello! I'm from Ohio and my fiancee is from Illinios, and we're planning to get married in New York. I'm really struggling to find venues and caterers from home, and I don't know where to start looking, but I'd like to have a few picked out to see when I visit to finalize the plans. We're also looking for an officiant who will do our same-sex wedding with a limited religious influence (she's Catholic, and I'm agnostic).

I'm looking for an outdoor space for a guest list of 100-200 people. Ideally, I would love to get married on the steps of a gazebo in a park, and then have the reception indoors somewhere. I'd rather the location be outside of the city, but within a reasonable distance in case my guests want to explore. As far as the reception goes, I'm not really as picky, though of course I'd like it to be pretty and I do want a bar. I'm planning to do the wedding at 4 or so and have an evening reception, so I'll want the hall at night.

If anybody has any ideas or suggestions, it would be so greatly appreciated!

@princess6i: We're doing everything we can to keep it under $5,000. In my town, that would be a major excess of money, but I'm feeling like the NYC area might just laugh... maybe that's just me stereotyping, but I know things run pricier in cities. I can go as far away from the major city areas as I need to in order to make my budget work; I would like my guests to be close enough that they can spend a day in the city if they want to explore (I know many of them have never seen New York), but that can be stretched. Do you know how a park permit works? I don't mean to sound dumb, I just haven't ever tried to plan an event in a city before! I'm from the cornfield regions!

@sarahbabs: Thank you!! I'll definitely look into that. Reception venues will be easier to book once I have my RSVPs back, of course--though my mother is extremely optimistic on the subject, I'm just not sure how many people will really have the money to make the trip with us.

P.S., I would also love a recommendation on a reasonably priced hotel in the general area of my event, because my fiancee's family will definitely have to stay over at least two nights, and my family will have to stay one night.

Also, when I said $5,000 I forgot to mention the part where that's completely excluding clothing for myself and my future wife. Our parents are buying my dress and her suit, thankfully!

@princess6i: Thank you so much! That's an excellent tip about the parks--my fiancee has a cousin who lives in Brooklyn and works in Manhattan, and his wife has said she'll do a little preliminary scouting for me, so I'll ask her if she can check into the parks. I will most definitely bring you my questions when things start rolling, since you offered. I knew it was going to be hard to plan from Ohio, but I am just starting to realize how hard it really is!