Post # 1
Member
108 posts
Blushing bee
Hey everyone: This is my first post and I’m loving the helpful advice you’re all sharing witn another. What a great community.
I recently got engaged at Lake Minnewaska. My fiance and I would love to host a wedding ceremony and reception of 175 guests in the backyard of a home (in New Paltz or another town nearby). We would like to have our parents stay in the house with us, so a minimum of 3 bedrooms or more would be ideal. We hope to do our wedding summer 2010. Our wedding will be low budget and less formal, so we don’t want to pay too much for a house. Any ideas?
Thanks a bunch.
-Loretta
Post # 3
Member
50 posts
Worker bee
I thought about doing this in a different area early on in the planning process. I would suggest starting with http://www.VRBO.com for really nice houses and then contacting them to see if they would let you rent it for a wedding.
The difficulty with houses is they tend to be in residential areas with noise and parking restrictions, but it’s worth a try. Good luck!
Post # 4
Member
13 posts
Newbee
I have been looking for something really similar – in and around New Paltz, but also looking around Ithaca, Hudson River / Catskills, and the skylands area of New Jersey.
I agree that VRBO.com is a great place to look for vacation rental homes. I would also suggest http://www.homeaway.com www.how2vacation.com and even craigslist under vacation rentals.
I have found a couple of potential places this way. Here are the hurdles I am encountering:
If they have had weddings there before, they know to charge more and will definitely do so! Most places I’ve talked to has a “per guest charge” on the day of the event – ranging from $10-$20, for having that many people on their property.
Many places worry about their septic systems and don’t want a large number of people in the house or using the toilets, so they have a “no wedding guests in house” rule, and they require you to rent a tent AND rent port-a-potties for the guests.
Other places just aren’t interested in having that many people at their home. So I guess it will depend on how many people you plan to have attend.
We also wanted to do as much of the food ourselves as possible – no money to hire a caterer, unless we can find one cheap cheap cheap! Some homes require a professional caterer because they are insured, and also because the homeowner feels better knowing that the clean-up will be taken care of properly (one woman got screwed before when the wedding party got trashed and nobody cleaned anything up.)
Have you had any luck so far? Let’s keep each other posted, okay? 🙂
Post # 5
Member
108 posts
Blushing bee
Hey guys:
Will keep you posted. Just starting the REAL search this week. I guess I’ve been putting off b/c I’m sure lots of people will say “NO” (I know I would!)
We’re hoping to do a BBQ in the backyard by a caterer…slightly less expensive than a formal affair.
Thanks!!
Post # 6
Member
13 posts
Newbee
Let us know what you end up finding! Good luck!
Post # 7
Member
108 posts
Blushing bee
So we to our first wedding-venue searching trip up the Hudson Valley this weekend, and here’s what we discovered.
House for rent in New Paltz
Pros: the owner actually had her own wedding there a few years ago which was good news for us. The house is very close to town of New Paltz.
Cons: The owner and her family (including at least one child) live in the house so it’s totally filled with their own stuff — not so comfortable for us and our family to stay in for an entire weekend while preparing for a wedding. The grounds: although beautiful and include a private pond, require a LOT of maintenance and cleaning up, and there was some old playground-looking furniture that we would have to store elsewhere. Also, the only flat part of their backyard is not big enough to hold all of our guests. This might actually be a perfect venue for about 50 guests though.No parking on the premises, so would need to arrange a shuttle.
Audrey’s Farmhouse:
Pros: Very quaint and charming B&B in an old farmhouse. They’ve done weddings before, and have good relationships with caterer and tent place in area.
Cons: The price (a little higher than what we’d want to pay, esp since we have to rent a tent and portable toilets). Pet-friendly: this is a pro for some people, but since some of our family members are allergic to animal hair, this is a drawback. A little cramped for our style, since each set of parents have not hung out much before the wedding!
So…back to the drawing board.
Post # 7
Member
62 posts
Worker bee
Did you ever find a solution? I know this is an old post, but I am looking for the same thing now.