Fall Wedding Venues in Northern Delaware

Planning your wedding can be a huge daunting task. You have everything from getting the dress fitted and the guest list to setting rules for making sure the best man does not get the groom into any trouble. Here are some places that you can have a reception in and around Northern Delaware. This can help you with starting your search.

There are lots of places in Delaware that you could have your wedding reception at. The amount of space and pricing are the main factors that couples will use to decide on a venue. Here are five that I am familiar with that you could use in the northern Delaware and surrounding area. I always mention this as a great piece of advice. Your wedding day is one of the most important days in your life. It is something that you typically should only do once, but that is not the world we live in today. One thing to remember though is that it is not worth going into years of debt for one day. I have noticed that the brides and grooms seem to take a different standpoint on this most of the time.

The Hilton in Wilmington is usually one of the more popular spots. Since this is a hotel you can also get rooms there. They have changed the number a couple of times, but typically if four rooms are purchased they give the bride and groom a room for free. You also can get the deluxe honeymoon suite with a group purchase of eight rooms or a nominal fee with a smaller block or rooms purchased. There are four rooms of various sizes that you can choose from to accommodate various numbers of guests from ten up to 300.

The food that they make is great as I have been to a couple of weddings there. Chef James Lauser is top notch and can make some great creations. He has won various awards and is highly regarded in the area. There are a wide variety of menus available with everything from pasta, to surf and turf to fajitas. The prices are all inclusive. They run everything from an open bar period, h’orderves, champagne toast, wedding cake, and the meal itself, which typically covers four courses including a salad and dessert, plus the wedding cake. The prices can get very expensive. The value priced options will run you at least $85 per person at the reception. If you want to go all out their deluxe package will run you $120 per person and you can add extras from there. That does include an anniversary dinner for two on your anniversary. This will typically give you a five hour time period to do all of this in. this is a really good place to have a wedding, but it is also very expensive. For further information you can contact one of their banquet managers at 302-454-1500.

Harry’s Savoy Ballroom is also a rather popular location for a wedding reception in the area. They are not a hotel, so you still have to find a room for yourselves and your guests. There are ten rooms available there that you can use for the reception that range in sizes and seating that can accommodate 400 guests. One of them is a balcony with an outdoor courtyard. This is really nice especially on a nice fall day. You get rain in Delaware, but there are some really nice spring days. They are pretty flexible in trying to keep a room open in order to accommodate you in the event that there is rain on the day of your wedding. They actually have quite a bit more variety than other venues in the area and the food is great. The prices here are also a bit better than most similar reception sites. They also offer a wedding buffet, which is not very common. This is good as you can save some money by using a buffet. Their prices also include three hours of limousine service and your wedding cake. The dinner will be your typical four course dinner that includes an appetizer, salad, dinner, and dessert. The prices will vary and they offer discounts to employees of several local businesses they also offer better deals in the fall months than the summer and spring months. The cheapest you will typically get is about $50 per person and up to $100 plus per person. Considering the limousine and the cake, the prices are pretty good. I will say that I think the food is a bit better at the Hilton, but Harry’s definitely should not be overlooked. It could be considered a hidden treasure. You can contact Meg Morgan at 302-475-3000 for further information and pricing

The Farmhouse is quickly becoming a very popular site for weddings in Delaware. Here you are renting out the entire estate for the wedding. You can therefore have it outside and you have the option of moving inside if need be. You have the booking so you do not need to worry about someone else having the inside booked. The only schedule one wedding per day to insure that things go smoothly. I believe the scenery there to be beautiful and probably the best in the area. All of the photographs from there that I have seen were remarkable. Another very special feature is that The Farmhouse is set up to have you take your vows at the site of the reception. This can be done at the other sites, but most are not set up for the exchange of nuptials. This alleviates guests getting lost of the way to the reception and other things of that nature.

There are a variety of menu items available and the food is very good. They offer your standard wedding dinners and all have buffets available. I do believe them to be pretty pricey compared to the other places, but you are renting an entire house and estate for the wedding. They have to make money somehow. Their most inexpensive prices are for a Sunday brunch reception of $68.50. Their most expensive package is fillet mignon and either crab cake or shrimp for $83. All of the meals include the standard four courses. The food is delicious and the scenery is good, but I would not advise this place to anyone on a serious budget. For more information you can contact them directly at 302-999-8477.

Another pretty popular place to go to is The Hockessin Memorial Hall. This is a fire hall, but they have a good set up so that you are not disturbed if a fire call comes in. wedding are only done here on Friday, Saturday and Sundays. A party of 150 is required for a Friday or Sunday wedding and 125 is required for a Saturday reception. There is not a lot of variety that is offered here as there are at the other sites. They also tend to have much stricter rules even about only immediate family at the family tables. That would come under the heading of my business if I were booking the wedding there.

For your reception a buffet or sit down meal are offered by The Hockessin Memorial Hall. I was not able to get a price for the buffet, but the sit down meals that I checked on were all very pricey. The meals include appetizer, salad or soup, entrée, and dessert. The cheapest meals that I had seen were at $70 per guest for basic chicken dishes. The only thing you get with it is a cake. No limo or rooms are included. I have tried the food there and it is very good. It tastes about as good as most of the other places. The scenery is pretty nice, but the problem is that you pay just as much if not more than you would at some of the prestigious places on the list. I personally think they need to come down a bit on the prices to be competitive. They do a great business though, so they are doing something right. The one difference between them and other reception sites that I have seen is that they leave the bar open for the entire five hours that you are there. They even leave the bar open during dinner. This is the only place I have seen that does this. Booze was the least of my worries during our wedding day. You can call them for further information at 302-239-5279.

The Crystal Center probably the best bargain in the area in terms of quality and price. They have three rooms that can be accommodate from 50-225 quests. The do not offer a sit down meal, but the buffet does include sit down service for the bridal party table. The decorations are included and it looks very nice. I would say that it looks almost as good as most of the much higher priced venues that you can have a reception at. The rental is for four hours, but additional hours can be rented for a nominal cost.

I must say that their menu set up in a pretty unique way. If you want diversity their menu does it. Instead of the various items they offer themes. They have The American Banquet and Wedding, Caribbean, African, Indian, Hispanic. I found that to be pretty neat. You also can customize your menu by combining dishes from their main themes. Their prices range from $49 per guest for the most basic reception up to $65 for their “Crystal Gold Wedding”. All of their choices include an 18% tip added to your bill. This is standard for most venues, but they mention it very prominently unlike several locations that I have checked out. Their prices are is for a three course meal with appetizer, salad, and entree. One thing they do not offer is dessert. The dessert is the wedding cake, which is provided by you. Dinner choices include things from pasta and seafood to steak. For further information you can contact them at 302-764-7240. They are very nice and have a wonderful staff.

Here are the websites from the various reception sites discussed in my review.

http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/groups.jhtml?moreDesc=true&ctyhocn;=ILGCHHF

www.weddingwire.com/shared/VendorWebsite?vid=9211745a64547006

http://www.thefarmhousede.com/

http://www.hockessinmemorialhall.com/contactus.html

http://www.thecrystalcenter.com/americanwedding.htm