How to Find the Most Affordable Venues

Looking for a great space at a reasonable cost? Here are some key details that influence venue pricing.

All event venues price according to certain factors that are simple to understand, and, once you know what they are, you can use that knowledge to work in your favor.

_

PROXIMITY

The closer you are to your desired date, the lower the price will be for booking it. No venue wants to let a date go unused.

_

COUNT

The more guests you have at an event, the lower the charges can be. If you agree to pay for a guaranteed number of  guests, you may get a rate reduction for additional guests. You can also ask for a separate rate for different levels of guest count.

_

DAY

Monday and Tuesday are the lowest cost days of the week for corporate and charity events. Wednesdays and Thursdays are in greater demand so they tend to cost more. Weekends usually cost more than weekdays, but a luncheon on a Saturday afternoon costs a lot less than a dinner on a Saturday night.

_

TIME

Daytime events during the week cost less than evening events because they are just not used as much. Also, most venues have no problem transitioning from a daytime event to a different evening event, so being open to having a daytime function gives you a better chance of getting a desirable date. 

_

HOLIDAY

December events generally cost more than other months because of the demand. 

_

Note:

Some of these factors are not practical to plan around, like waiting to book on your desired date. However, if you keep these details in mind while you're planning, you may find yourself in a position to do some bargaining.

Check Out Our 40th Anniversary Menu!

For forty years, we've been doing our best to serve up the finest catering in all of New York. We're happy to announce that we've again updated our fabulous main catering menu. We've kept all of the old favorites, like the Chilean Sea Bass with Orange Beurre Blanc & Balsamic Reduction and the Filet Mignon Steaks Bordelaise with Pear & Shiitake, and also added new dishes that are sure to be crowd-pleasers, such as the Thousand Island Burger Sliders and the Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with Grainy Mustard & Minted Jus. Make sure to check it out and make your mouth water!

International "Food Fight" at the New York City Yale Club

Hello All,

Sam here. My Yale Club creates interesting culinary events, and this one, called International Food Fight, involved four teams of alums cooking four different meant to be judged by famous French chefs. The chefs were Jacques Pepin, Alain Sailhac, and Andre Soltner.  

The cook off benefitted two food-oriented charities supported by the Yale Club. Our chef with Green Mansions Catering, chef Noga Andriani, taught French cooking at the Culinary Institute with Jacques Pepin years ago. Three of the meals consisted of lamb with oriental sauces and sides, and one was a tofu entree. Some of the sauces, rubs, glazes, and slaws were of particular interest to me. 

See some of the photos below, and watch out for any new additions on our menu based on the entrees we saw at the Food Fight!

A Special Custom Menu from Green Mansions Catering

     One of our great pleasures in catering is to design a special menu for a group on 23rd street. The menu was done for Holland Lodge No. 8, one of the oldest in the country, founded by the Dutch in New York City and using a Dutch bible. So, two of the hors d'oeuvre were related to Holland and their Indonesian influence. The group really wanted large crab cakes of a style that did not have a lot of vegetables and breading. Here's a letter I received after the event

I want to personally thank you for a world class job last night! The food was delicious and the staff excellent and attentive. The hors d'oeuvre were delicious and perfect. Our crab cakes were delicious and just what I wanted. I have to tell you, you really out did yourself! I was beyond impressed. Thanks for all your efforts- I really enjoyed planning this with you and look forward to doing more in the future.

Check out the menu below! 

Menu

Hors d'Oeuvre

Dutch Rookworst in Pastry with Mustard

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

Newport Caviar Rounds

Montrachet Tarts with Basil & Dried Tomato

Dinner

Naked Crabcakes a la Ruth Reichl

on Fancy Greens with Creole Mayonnaise

Tournedos of Beef

with Grapefruit Bordelaise,

Individual Potatoes Anna with Rosemary,

and Baked Vegetables with a Touch of Balsamic

Dessert

Individual Chocolate Cakes with Molten Center

Whipped Cream with Cherry, Vanilla Ice Cream 

Almond Macaroons

Coffee

A Day with Donna Distefano

Hello All,

Sam here. Yesterday, my wife Lore and I were invited by Donna Distefano, a fabulous custom jeweler here in New York, to tour the "Out of this World! Jewelry in the Space Age" Exhibit at the Forbes Galleries on Fifth Avenue (just down the street from us at the Manhattan Penthouse). 

We invited the group to have champagne at Manhattan Penthouse prior to the tour. We then went and took in the displays at the exhibit.

Afterwards, she treated us to lunch at her remarkable atelier nearby. If you have an opportunity to stop by the exhibit (it ends September 7th), we highly recommend it. See more about Donna and her business here. 

--Sam

VitaminWater Rocks the Alger House with an #Uncapped Performance by JoJo and Casey Veggies

We've always known how to throw a party at Alger House. From weddings to corporate events to birthdays, we tend to think that we've seen it all.

Last night, through the incredible hard work of hosts VitaminWater and The FADER Magazine, Alger House was taken to new levels. VitaminWater brought it's #uncapped series to our little corner of the West Village, and along with it brought Platinum-selling artist JoJo.

The former 2004 Best New Artist MTV VMA nominee played to a packed house. She was supported by up and coming rap artist Casey Veggies. The event was pasted all over social media, with dozens of instagrams and tweets celebrating her talent. Below are a few videos from the event:

JoJo Playing Kendrick Lamar's "Swimming Pools"

JoJo Playing "Marvin's Room"

JoJo "I Get By"

At the end of the night, the crowd was left with nothing but smiles and great memories from another fantastic night at the Alger House.

Wedding Ceremonies at the Manhattan Penthouse

Wedding ceremonies are a huge part of any wedding. When we first started hosting weddings at our venues (don't ask us when that is unless you want to make us feel old), it was quite common for couple to have ceremonies at a church or separate location, and then have the wedding party make their way to us. 

These days, the trend has been reversing. It seems about 75% of our weddings at the Manhattan Penthouse have a ceremony preceding the evening's festivities. And we love it! With our Palladian windows and perfectly framed Empire State Building views, we can't imagine many places better for a first kiss. And we NEVER charge a fee to have a ceremony at our location, so it provides a great deal of value to the couples as well. 

How about you? Did you have your ceremony at the venue? Or at the church? We'd love to hear from you! Check us out on Facebook here!