The Reception

Ok, so your ceremony is over! Now is the time that you and your husband get to enjoy the fruits of your labors, the many planning appointments, the selection of flowers, and color schemes. Its time to party! Thus, the choice that you make for your reception hall is an important one. Especially considering that most “prime time” dates are taken 12 to 18 months prior to the date you have selected. Nowadays, brides either want to be spring bride (April, May, and June) or a fall bride (September, October).

These are the times of the year where mother nature is doing everything in her power to make sure that your special day is going to be the most memorable (in terms of fabulous photographs). However, if you are sparing money for a more lavish honeymoon, starting a family, or whatever, these are also the dates that catering/reception halls are most stringent with pricing, guest count minimums, double-booking, etc. If you are on a tighter budget, consider a July or August wedding, where the reception halls will bend over backwards for you, offer premium discounts, alcohol package upgrades, appetizer and entrée upgrades, and much more. Another option, at any time of the year is a Friday or Sunday wedding, where similar discounts and special offers will apply.

Regardless of what date you select for your wedding, it is important to select it at least one year in advance to assure availability. You will probably want to take a peek at 3 to four reception sites before you choose. At the very least, this provides you with a chance to gather all of the menus and compare the myriad of food and beverage offerings. It may also provide you with an opportunity to get ideas that you may not have otherwise had.

During your initial appointments, you will definitely want to find out what the booking policies are as far as a deposit to hold your date (also how long will the event coordinator hold your date without a deposit), cancellation policy, room capacity, table arrangements, length of event, etc. It is definitely better to ask about everything up front, because many catering contracts can get rather loopy when it comes to final guest counts, what happens if your reception goes longer, deposit arrangements, etc. Please refer to the www.countyweddings.com “reception note sheet” for assistance.

A major factor in choosing a reception hall is of course atmosphere, and it is very easy to see what reception facilities put investment back into their facility to preserve tradition but stay in tune with today’s bride. Please ask your wedding coordinator if it is possible to take a walk through during a wedding so that you can look at the seating arrangements, lighting/ambiance (this is absolutely key to determining the degree of success that your photographer will have), linens/chair covers, floral arrangements, and cake. This is your prime chance to discuss with your event planner the types of cake that are included in each wedding package, floral arrangements that are in the package, and seeing the room fully set is a perfect time to see what can be done with the facility as well as determine if your event planner is treating you as just one of a dozen brides or seriously making an effort at creating an atmosphere for you to cherish forever.

Provided by theweddingplanner@luzernecountyweddings.com, the weddingplanner@lackawannacountyweddings.com