Wedding Blog: Wedding Venue Hunt Day 1

Last weekend, Beth and I made our first trip out to see wedding venues. It was an interesting experience to say the least, knowing that a huge chunk of money will go into this place hurts my soul a little and the fact that we will start shopping for other vendors once we pick a place.

However, I’m excited to move everything along for the wedding in either May, September or October 2015. I know it will be great no matter where I go because of who I’m marrying. And the fact that I love the food options and open bar.

But I know that you’re here for some juice on wedding venues, so here it is:

Shackamaxon Country ClubShackamaxon Country Club

This was our first venue on the list and we met with Ellen Sherry. We took a tour of the place and thought it was pretty nice. They had some great spaces, including the bar area right by the entrance and the outdoor porch area (that includes a grill) that is good for outdoor cocktail hours. The land is beautiful, too.

However, I was not a fan of the way their outside wedding ceremony location was set up haphazardly. It’s set up on the golf course by a little bridge that you can drive golf carts over.

Not to mention, Ellen would not give us pricing until we went there and seemed to be a bit snooty when it seemed like Shackamaxon was out of our budget. Gee, you think you should have given us pricing first?

Battleground Country ClubBattleground County Club

We went here and met with Liz Zarko, who was setting up for another wedding that day. The Battleground was of the same kin as Shackamaxon, except they had a designated outdoor space for a wedding ceremony. The space was nice, but you can see people’s houses if you look to one of the sides, so I feel like I’d want to rent a wall setup. The cocktail space outside and inside were both nice, too.

Liz was a little bit rushy since she was setting up for a wedding the same day, but she was informative about everything. They would also have another smaller event there (a Mitzvah, birthday party, etc.) and they wouldn’t start at the same time. I also read that her boss, Jean, is hard to work with.

ShadowbrookShadowbrook

We met with Amy Grandinetti and she was the nicest woman of the day. She was asking so many more questions about our personal life than the others. I know this is a sales tactic, but an effective one (as was the complimentary champagne bottle we got to take home). I would love to have someone like her as my attendant for the day.

The ceremony and reception spaces were nice as well, with two different outdoor ceremony spaces (including the one that doubles as a cocktail hour with built-in stations) that were pretty.

The problem lies inside. From the dual wall of fake flowers in the entrance to the various carpeting on the floor and on the walls out of 1975, it’s very dated. The inside has a very old and stuffy feel to it because of the fabric all over the place.

Wedding Venue Rankings

1. Battleground Country Club

2. Shadowbrook

3. Shackamaxon Country Club