venue search (Part II)

and then there were four...
(venue search, cont'd)

as we continued to winnow the venue field, we had four places that we still wanted to see, viz., The Metropolitan Club; The Rainbow Room; The Pierre; and The Newark Club. transit strike be damned, we made appointments to see these four places and each had its own pros and cons.

The Metropolitan Club

the Met Club is a gorgeous private club in Manhattan. happily, i would have a sponsor here as Mrs. A's dad is a member. further, i am in good standing with dad-of-Mrs. A, since i introduced his daughter to her now husband, the EvilAlchemist.

anyway, Thurston and i went to see the Metropolitan Club at 9am on the first morning of the transit strike. if you can imagine a less-than-fun commute, imagine our drive to midtown that day. it took us a good hour to get up there from the Village and then, upon our final approach across 61st Street, we were stopped at Park and had to circle back around. it was a) way-too-early to have already been commuting for an hour and b) fuh-reezing. we parked somewhere east of Lexington and then hoofed it over to 60th and 5th Ave.

however, these factors notwithstanding, i adored the Metropolitan Club. the space was grand (a Stanford White building, don't you know), the location was ideal (close to plenty of hotels and the park (for day-of photos)) and the space was the right size for our guest list. (and also had a lot of flexibility with different room permutations should our numbers vary).



exterior


the grand foyer with 55-foot ceilings (!) and an incredible staircase.

Thurston was not nearly as keen on the Met Club, finding the space a bit intimidating. he also felt strongly that it "called for" a black-tie affair and T was really, really intent on not having a black-tie wedding. on the other hand, while viewing photos of previous weddings at the Club, T recognized Chuck Knoblauch as one of the groom photographed. this, to a major Yankee fan, was definitely going in the "pro" column of the Met Club.

pros: grand space, classic elegance, many rooms; one wedding per weekend; Chuck Knoblauch had wedding here.
cons: potentially intimidating; specifically formal space; lots of stairs

The Rainbow Room

for T and i the Rainbow Room held a special sentimental sway with us, since we were engaged just below, in Rockefeller Center. the idea of a glamorous room, overlooking all of Manhattan was also intriguing. when we got there (also during the transit strike, another fun trip-- this time an hour in a shared cab), the views looking out were all we had hoped they'd be.


the views of the inside, not so much:


the Rainbow Room was more modern a space than i liked. i also thought it sent more of a Bar Mitzvah or office party vibe than a wedding one. at least for the wedding that i had envisioned. i really thought that i needed a venue of a grand scale to be able to handle the style of dress i planned to wear.

however, T love-love-*loved* the Rainbow Room. especially the revolving dance floor.

he is also more sentimental than i, (difficult to believe, i'm sure) and was keen on getting married right over where he proposed. such a softie, that one.

so, although i wasn't loving the idea of the modern decor and the "flip"-- this is where the ceremony is in Room A, then everyone goes into Room B for cocktail hour, during which the staff reconfigures Room A into the dinner/dance room--i kept the Rainbow Room high on the list for T's sake and because the food is done by Cipriani, which is a major plus.

pros: close to proposal; ultimate NY views; Cipriani food; revolving dance floor; u-shaped seating arrangement
cons: the "flip"; potentially two weddings at once (there's another floor where a smaller wedding can be held at the same time); modern decor; wedding bathrooms shared with clientele of Rainbow Grill (restaurant open to the public at same time as wedding).

ok, that's enough for now!

the other two in our search will be written up later or tomorrow!

next post:
The Pierre (Cotillion Room)
The Newark Club