I just did a holiday party for the first time at The Ballston Town Hall Community Room, in Ballston Spa, NY. I figured I would leave a little review on it for people in this area.
Off of 323 Charlton Road, the community room seems to be a great option for wedding rehearsal parties, bridal showers, or maybe like a sweet 16 or graduation party.
There is comfortable seating for about 125 people with room for dancing. There is a full kitchen set off to the side with a serving window into the room. And there are two access ramps in the back of the room for easy set up. Here is the contact information:
Ballston Town Hall 323 Charlton Road Ballston Spa, NY 12020 (518)885-8502
Looking for an alternative wedding reception site for your special day?
Last Saturday afternoon, I was the DJ for a fun wedding at Camp Scully on Snyder Lake in the North Greenbush / Wynantskill, NY area. I have provided entertainment before at the pavilion at Snyder Lake Beach, but never at the neighboring Camp Scully. It’s actually a nice little place!
Camp Scully Wedding
With Camp Scully having a bunch of camper cabins for bridesmaids and groomsmen to get dressed in, lots of grass and a pavilion of its own with Snyder Lake as a backdrop, it really is a neat little alternative for a wedding location.
The camp also has a volleyball court if you want to sport things up on your special day.
Another plus… you can bring in your own catering service and save tons of money!
Are you looking for a non-traditional, fun and old fashioned-type setting for your wedding? One that has lots of outdoor potential and one that is also affordable?
I have done a number of weddings at Lakeside Farms in Ballston Lake, NY, on 336 Schauber Road. It is a simple nice venue that provides great rustic pavilion setting for people who want to be more on the outside. The area is perfect; not to far away from everything, yet away from everything, as well.
Amy Hedges (who, by the way is a fabulous photographer) has uploaded a number of pictures that show the Lakeside’s roomy pavilion with plenty of outdoor light bleeding in on a wedding reception about to happen.
A great time was had by all, with a blend of live acoustic music to start, and fun DJ action later on with me.
Having been the DJ for a number of events at 235 Hoosick Street, in Troy, NY, I an safely say that The Hilton Garden Inn is a great place to have your wedding, in and around the Troy, NY area.
COCKTAIL LAYOUT – One thing that I really like as a DJ is the layout. The main event hall is perfect for a wedding with a cocktail hour at hand. A portion of the hotel is sectioned off so that there are no real issues of interaction with guests staying at the hotel not related to the wedding.
The event kitchen, the wedding hall and the bar for the cocktail hour are all removed from the room and hotel business.
As you enter the event wing of this newer hotel in Troy, NY, there is a long wide hall in front of the dining room. There is a branch off of the walkway perfect for horsderves, with a comfy sofa area that even has a large screen television. This area even has a private restroom area for events, separate from hotel guest use.
At the end of the hall there is another opening, which allows for additional entertainment in front of a full bar. This place is perfect for wedding vendors, or activities. One thing I have seen that works well is having a photo booth or magnet shoot in this area.
Hilton Garden Wedding Dining Hall
DINING ROOM – There are actually two rooms that can be used, with a folding divider partition down the center. What I have experienced as a disc jockey there is usually weddings with around 150 people or so in one section of the hall. (The use of half of the alloted space seems perfect for most weddings that I seem to take part in.)
The room is carpeted with a slightly-raised removable dance floor (provided by the hall). The acoustics are great for music and the tables always look sharp.
STAFF – The event organizers do a great job. The wait staff is really funny, too. Setting up, they have a good time with each other and are good people. They even danced a little here and there while waiting on the guests.
FOOD – I’ve had both chicken and prime rib there. Both were very very good! No complaints!
OTHER GOOD STUFF – You are also looking at an ample parking lot for any crowd, The Recovery Room bar built into the hotel for an after-party (for those who want to keep the night alive when the DJ is done,) and even rooms to stay in when the night is over.
Without hesitation, I recommend The Hilton Garden Inn on Hoosick, Troy, NY to be considered for your wedding!
Colonie Elks in Latham, NY - Affordable Wedding VenueAffordable Wedding Hall Review – Colonie Elks in Latham, NY
If you are a bride or groom to be and interested in saving a little on your hall but still want an elegant layout with outdoor ceremony potential, you might want to check out the Colonie Elks Club over in Latham, NY.
The Colonie Elks of Latham, NY is pretty much in the middle of everything. It is conveniently located ten minutes or so from Troy, ten minutes from downtown Albany, ten minutes from Albany airport, and not too far away from Schenectady and Clifton Park; maybe 15 minutes or so.
The Colonie Elks Club has a large outdoor space for your wedding ceremony. If an outdoor ceremony is important to you, I think it is safe to argue that will enjoy the ceremony site on hand; complete with a nice white gazebo and lots of shrubbery / greenery to boot. There is also a large pavilion available for outdoor activities / functions.
From my experience, the food is pretty good. Last Saturday, I was the wedding DJ there. The hall was offering their guests a choice of a stuffed chicken or prime rib. I had the beefy prime rib, and it was great!
They also have a separate bar for your cocktail hour and a disco ball set up with both white and red lights!
The Colonie Elks is a great medium-end venue option for a wedding that really gets the job done, in the end. It is an affordable avenue made possible without cutting any major corners. For my reviewing purposes, I would have to rate it 8 out of ten stars, in looking at the big picture, maybe only subtracting a tiny bit on not having lightning quick service on the actual entree. While the Elks may not have a huge waiting staff like maybe a Mallozzi’s catering venue, I am sure you will end up saving a lot of money because of this in the long run.
If you are now planning on having your wedding in this area, the Colonie Elks is definitely worth looking into.
This weekend, I had the pleasure of being the disc jockey at a fun wedding at Key Hall at Proctors of Schenectady NY. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this venue, it is conveniently located to the left of Proctor’s on State Street in downtown Schenectady, NY.
This hall is the former Key Bank who many may remember as being decked out in stone and marble flooring, now making an interesting backdrop for weddings and other events, alike.
For this particular wedding of about 100 guests or so, the front of the hall was curtained off to provide accommodations for a cozy ceremony. After the ceremony, the chairs are lifted and shifted back to the tables and the cocktail hour is ready to go.
Comfortably seating 200 guests for a sit-down dinner at Key Hall at Proctors, this hall is somewhat narrow, but is still very spacious. There is also a nice bar in the opposite corner of where the ceremony was set.
The food was great! The caterers had four different stations featuring a carving station, a pasta station, a nice buffet selection, and a hamburger slider table with homemade milkshakes to order.
If you are thinking about booking this hall for your wedding, the high ceilings and the original vaults from the old-fashioned bank make for some great picture opportunities, as well.
The acoustics are quite a bit tricky in this hall, but can be dealt with. I have found that an L1 Model2 BOSE System (not a model 1) is ideal to use for this venue. The Model 2 may be the best option for sound, due to the stone walls making it kind of gymnasium-like. Therefore, if you are looking at this hall, you may want to see if the BOSE L1 Model 2 is an option from your DJ.
This particular BOSE system (L1 Model2) has many, many small speakers (rather than one large one) that are tilted in many different directions and aligned into a sound bar-like position. This enables the speakers to send out a blanket of sound waves further at lower levels. This means you don’t have to crank the sound very loud to reach the back of the hall. What your DJ should probably do is turn the bass down a bit, as well, so that it doesn’t echo too much, as the acoustics in this hall will accentuate the bass that is already there.
In the end, Key Hall at Proctors is a good option where you can have your ceremony, cocktail hour and reception all in the same place.
