In Love With The Casino

I have a secret to tell you....we found a reception place and put a deposit down before we were even engaged! I know, ballsy, but the fact of the matter was that we knew we were getting married, I just didn't know when the ring was coming. And to have a reception at our venue you need to book it quick, like it books almost 2 years in advance for summer weddings quick.


We knew we wanted a summer wedding, looking back I don't know how or why we established this, I just know we both were like, "yeah, July sounds good." Boom done, decision made. Let me take you through the process a little more in detail before I reveal our wonderful, fabulous, absolutely gorgeous reception choice!


When I told my mom about visiting sites but not wanting to wait until we were "officially engaged" to put money down on anything if we found "the" place, she told me that my dad and her booked a reception site before they were also even engaged! That sealed the deal for me....the hunt was on.



The first place we looked at was Glen Sanders Mansion in Scotia, NY. They have a beautiful outside area right next to the water, where you can get married underneath a gazebo. Beautiful place but we were too worried of rain, and having it here you would want to have to have the ceremony outside....so that was nixed.

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Second, was the Pruyn House in Colonie, NY. Another gorgeous location with an old historic house and barn and an outside garden seperating the two. All I could think of was a rustic wedding, with a barn filled with white lights. But, alas....again the fear of rain made me rethink how we would have to set up insdie/outide seating, bartender outside...the thought of it gave me chills. So nixed again...

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Finally, I came across a gem. The Canfield Casino in Saratoga Springs Congress Park. It's this great historic building that was originally a casino, now it is booked for all sorts of parties and weddings. When we went and looked at it I fell in love. High ceilings, romantic lighting, and a big mahagony bar perfect for the men. We originally wanted a certain weekend in July and it was already booked, there was only two other Saturdays available. So we booked it on the spot and picked one of the few available weekends in July of 2011.

Outside view in the park
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Inside dining area with gorgeous stained glass celing
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Again with the gorgeousness
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And the best bar in all of Saratoga!
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And another little secret about our reception choice. It was just on this little show on SyFy called Ghost Hunters...yeah have you heard of it!? It aired in October of 2010, where the show's hosts Jason and Grant and their team stayed over night to see if the ghost stories were true. 

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There were rumors of apparitions, moving objects, noises, and weird paranormal experiences. But don't worry, the team only found activity on the third floor. Which is offices and some museum exhibits, so we aren't planning on any uninvited guests at our reception!


That began the whirlwind of wedding planning.....after he proposed a month later of course!

How did everyone else's reception searching go? Was it quick and easy or seem like a never ending process to find the perfect site? Do you have any unique venue stories?