Post # 1
Member
15 posts
Newbee
Hi All!
I’m going to check out two venues this weekend, Michael’s at the Grove and The Washington Club (both are in CT). Have any of you had your wedding at either of these locations? Or maybe you know someone that did? I’d love some insight!
One is pretty much all inclusive and you just need the DJ and photographer. The other is more DIY and requires you to bring in a caterer, DJ and photographer but it includes access to the kitchen, tables/chairs, sound equipment and even dishes and silverware.
What are the pros and cons that you’ve experienced in terms of inclusive vs DIY venues?
To give you an idea, we would love to have BBQ and have it be a casual, fun celebration. Having it in a backyard would be great but we need an indoor space that is more than a tent in case of rain (or whatever weather New England throws at us lol). We’re probably going to limit the bar to beer and wine (tacky?) and dessert will most likely be cupcakes. Our guest list will probably be somewhere around 80 people. We’d love to keep the budget capped at $10,000 (for everything but I know this will be a stretch).
I’d love any advice, input or recommendations you have!
Thanks! 
Post # 3
Member
33 posts
Newbee
Hi,
I know you are not looking in the same area but, I am curious to know if after your intial visits if you have reached the same concusion I did. Which is to do it DIY and be more stressed.
Because you have a “small” wedding and if you want a Saturday wedding, you have to pay a “partial room fee” for the lost revenue of having less guest than if the venue went with some other wedding with more people? All the all inclusives near Hartford based the wedding prices on 125+ people weddings.
Post # 4
Member
8 posts
Newbee
Fiance and I looked at both inclusive and DIY spaces. We ultimately went for a more inclusive spot as shopping around it felt like costs could get out of hand trying to achieve an ideal space (for example when renting chairs once we saw and had the option of wooden vs. plastic vs. chiavari I kept trying to justify the 1-2$ markup per chair which adds up when you do this with tables, linen, china, etc.). It was nice that our venue had many of the options we wanted already and was less of a headache than shopping around for vendors!
I did however come across Jonathan Edwards winery in our search and was quoted $8 to 15k for 65 people (might not fit with your 80ish people) in their barrell room which I thought was pretty awesome for the space since it’s beautiful! Could be an option for you 🙂 Also, the Pond House in Hartford was pretty and extremely reasonable pricing for a Friday or Sunday wedding.
Happy planning!
Post # 5
Member
22 posts
Newbee
lu1990 : What is your budget for a venue and what time of year do you want to get married?
I really loved The Lace Factory in Deep River, but we ultimately went with The Hartford Society room with about 16K (all inclusive except for DJ & Photography- even the Bridal Suite). I don’t remember if there was a max amount of people you had to have on the guest list, but it’s worth looking at. They were very accommodating and answered all of our questions.
I also looked into the Pond House, but did not end up visiting it.
We also looked at The Inn at Middletown, which was very reasonable.
Good luck!!!