Question for L.A. Brides - New York Food Company?

[TravelingGal]

Hello L.A. Brides and Brides to be....

Has anyone used any of the New York Food Company''s venues? They would be La Venta and Verandas. They only have tastings every other month or so, and even then, you can''t taste their full menu. We are deciding on whether or not we will go ahead, but we will be commiting without trying the food. I know from using NYFC for corporate events, their food and service are great. But that is pretty basic stuff.

I did a search here and couldn''t find anything, so I thought I''d ask to see if anyone has looked into them and what they thought. Thanks!

 

[selflove]

One of my good friends had her reception in 2004 at Verandas. She loved everything about it!

 

[TravelingGal]

Thanks Selflove..glad to hear it. Verandas is the one I am considering. It''s pricey, but the venue is lovely and there aren''t any real hidden fees, which I like.

The bummer is the fees are actually rolled into the food prices, which are very high in my opinion.

 

[ivanadiamond]

My friends had their wedding at La Venta and it was amazing. The food was fabulous. They had chefs that prepared steaks and salmon. A pasta station and buffet food as well. Without a doubt one of the most gorgeous venues I have ever seen. We would have had our wedding their but they beat us to the punch.

The food was great! I think they have an amazing reputation, i don''t think you will go wrong with Verandas either. It''s in such a great location. I have never been inside however. Catalina Room looks awesome too! Travelingal, are you from the Southbay? I live in Hermosa beach~

Good Luck!

 

[TravelingGal]

Ivanadiamond,

I grew up on Manhattan Beach (I felt like we were the only poor family in town).

Love it there, but can''t afford to live there. Live in west Torrance now. But I love Hermosa...you are lucky to be living there. The other thing we were thinking about for a wedding venue was doing a simple late lunch at the Bottle Inn restaurant in Hermosa...MUCH cheaper, but then there would be a lot of other things we''d have to coordinate ourselves.

Thanks for the info too on NYFC. I know they don''t operate Catalina Room anymore. Verandas is nice, but not as swanky as La Venta, judging from the photos and food minimums. We could probably afford to do it there, now actually (we''re doing weekday, so it''s much cheaper). But I want to get married on the beach for "free" since you don''t need a permit for under 50, and at the beach, you don''t have to decorate with flowers, etc, like you would in La Venta''s courtyard. Verandas is just so close to the water.

Where did you get married?

 

[ivanadiamond]

The Bottle Inn is a block from our house and yummy!!!!!! What a great idea to host your wedding there, the outdoor area is great too and you would be so close to the beach. Both are actually so close to the beach, so you can''t go wrong either way~ Actually all three are just divine...A girlfriend of mine went to a midweek wedding at La Venta and said it fabulous too- your guests are going have such great food either way~

I honestly think that you don''t need a lot of flowers whether you get married on the beach or pick a venue overlooking the ocean... sometimes too much stuff becomes a bit overkill, the ocean view is totally enough...here is a pic of our ceremony, there were actually supposed to be flowers on both sides of us, but the florist messed up...anyway, I opted for that instead of a cazebo since we were able to take it inside after the ceremony. We got married at the Bel Air Bay Club in the pacific palisades.

Have you met with Verandas yet? I would ask them to give you an estimate, because they too charge for a lot of additional cost.

 

[selflove]

Traveling Gal--if you choose a restaurant you have SO MANY choices near the beach! That''s a great idea and I looked at so many of them in the RB/HB/MB area. The Chart House in HB will coordinate the ceremony outside the restaurant and then you can have a reception dinner inside...I think the area was big enough to fit 50 people but not big enough to also fit a dance floor. Do you have your heart set on any particular spot on the beach for the ceremony?

Ivana--what a nice photo!! Looks like it belongs in a bridal mag!

 

[TravelingGal]

Gorgeous photo Ivanadiamond! It looks like one fantastic wedding!

I did get an estimate at Verandas. Their per person prices are high, but everything is included. You can your choice of colors for the linens (so not just plain white), use of the entire property, free parking, no "additional" site fee, etc. Basically everything is rolled up into the cost of your food. You just have to meet the food&bev minimum, add 21% service and tax.

Having it at the Bottle Inn would be so much cheaper, but I''d have to figure out quite a few things. They run a restaurant, not a wedding venue, so I can''t expect the same level of service. However, I am figuring it will only be half the cost...which may make it worthwhile.

Selflove, I couldn''t really think of any other restaurants in the area...were there any others besides charthouse that stood out in your mind? The biggest thing for me is some kind of back up plan in case of bad weather. We would like to get married at either Hermosa or Manhattan Beach. Verandas is offering a back up plan for us, and will only charge us if we need to use it. That almost makes it worthwhile.

Thanks for your input ladies!

 

[selflove]

I would think that if you did it during the day AND during the week, how could they charge a minimum at Veranda''s? The minimum is what kills ya! (Plus the 21% and then the 8.25%)

If you are going to rent out a restaurant like Bottle Inn, the others that I can think of that might be at that level would be in MB: Micci, Mangiamo (although a lot of windows on the sidewalk on both those places). In HB I can''t really think of anyplace except Chart House. What about the Redondo Beach Historic LIbrary? It''s RIGHT on the sand by the RB Pier. Also, Harbor Drive has a lot of restaurants with banquet rooms (I''m using one of those--Bluewater Grill Restaurant, which only has a minimum Fri and Sat nights) but you wouldn''t be right next to the sand like I think you want to be.