Venue Search Part ONE: Strike one, strike two, strike three

Hi folks,
   As difficult as it was to compromise, I breathed a sigh of relief that the church was taken care of.    Our next challenge was the reception venue.   Traffic on Long Island can be obnoxious, so we didn't want  our guests to have to suffer through beach traffic, so we limited our search to be within 45 minutes of Garden City.   With towns like Montauk out of the question, I saw my beach wedding slowly fading away.  I wasn't real sure what kind of venue I wanted.  My style is a beach wedding with starfish in the sand, a flowy gowns and khaki suits, saying our vows as the sun goes down.   Mr. LB wants to feel like he's getting married in a garden courtyard of Buckingham Palace.   Its amazing we get a long sometimes because we're so different!   Here are a few blogs that convey the wedding feel I desired:

   *Miss Cowboy Boot of weddingbee--here is personal blog.  While Mr. and Mrs. Cowboy Boot were married on a ranch in Colorado, I love the whimsical, relaxed, outdoor feel, that at the same time was so classy!  Look at this loveliness!

   *Here is Hee won and Peter's wedding, which was outside at Greystone Mansion and Park in Southern California.  This wedding felt so warm, classy, flowery--I loved it! Check it out--

   *Then there's my friend Daisy from London, who married some hunk from Seattle and they got married in Southern California.   Drool...they look absolutely amazing and so do the waves.

   Finding a venue with an ocean view, within budget and less than 45 minutes away from Garden City one would think to be easy because its Long ISLAND.   Not the case--it has been more like finding a needle in a haystack.  Last January reminds me of the Amazing Race:  4 weekends and 12 venues: cozy reception rooms with fireplaces, mansions, ballrooms on the bay, country clubs, and even a ritzy beach hotel.   For those of you how don't know, weddings are a huge industry that capitalize on the feelings of  entitlement many brides feel are due to them.   Apparently brides on Long Island feel ultra entitled because the wedding industry here is out of control.   I don't know how these venues think they can charge what they do when their ballrooms look like something out of a 1970s prom.   Personally, throw up in my mouth a little when I imagine the typical "Long Island wedding."  Chocolate fountains, carvig stations, candy bars, Viennese Hour, a 23 year old D.J. who gives out glow necklaces,  bride and groom receiving line OUT of the floor with liquid nitrogen smoke announced, an after party at the hotel bar, and 11 bridesmaids.  It's the Ugg boot/black legging answer to a wedding.  I don't fault brides who are from Long Island and have a Long Island wedding, but its just not me.   So finding a venue on Long Island that was not very "Long Island" was going to prove to be a challenge.
   First stop:  The Stewart Manor Country Club.  I wasn't offended; they actually had a very nice bar area for cocktail area.  But the reception ballroom didn't do anything for me, kind of like how I feel when I go to Applebees.  blah.  The price for the winter time was pretty good, but I really didn't want to get married in the winter and where was the beach?  yeah, there was no water in sight.  See for yourself--

 
   Next we looked in the Riviera in Massapequa, where Mr. LB's cousin works.  The view of the bay and outside deck was pretty nice, but Mr. LB reminded me that who wants to see Mike Jones Jet Fan and his buddies slamming Bud Lights in tow on the bay.  Yeah, probably not...  The inside of the Riviera was the opposite of good and reminded me of my grandparents 40th wedding anniversary party.   The carpet looked like it was the original from 1962 and I did not care for the "tapestries" on the walls.  No thanks.  here, take a look--

the lighting makes this place look great--it's really NOT that great.  

   Then, there was the Old Field Club.  This place was beautiful.   I really loved the simple ballroom with the wooden floor and the view of the bay.  However, it was too far for guests to travel and it was out of budget.     While there were views of the bay, but the bay does not feel like the beach.  Strike three...

   After a month of the Amazing Race to find our perfect venue, we both felt very defeated.  And I wanted one large cocktail. Mr. LB and I weren't sure exactly what we wanted in our venue, but we did know what we did not want.  The venues we were looking into had one thing in common: a separate cocktail area with a large ballroom, perfect for a sit down dinner.  We learned from this adventure that we didn't want a sit down dinner, we wanted a roving cocktail dinner party with themed stations.  We needed a new direction.

What was your search for reception venues like?    Where do you find your wedding inspiration?

thanks for tuning in
xoxo Miss LB