Waterford Banquets & Saratoga Elks Wedding Catering/Hall Review

A great company called Waterford Banquet caters all over the Capital Region and other areas nearby, but it is most noted for being the in-house food provider at The Saratoga Elks, Saratoga Springs, NY.

At the Elks, Waterford Banquets had a good little spread for a recent wedding I was the disc jockey for. Their prime rib, which I would classify (size-wise) as decent medium cut of beef, was a pretty tasty dish. On their website, I believe it is somewhere around $23 a plate. That actually for a wedding dish, is a competitive bid and a pretty good deal. You can spin by their web site for the menu pricing by clicking here.

Overall, the hall is pretty good for an average-sized wedding. not too small and not too big. It seems ideal for weddings between 125-200 guests.

At The Saratoga Elks which is very conveniently located by 87's Exit 15, they have a very modern look with great lighting, for what most would expect from an "Elks Club." The hall itself features a nice bar and a fairly new dance floor. For the vendors and decorating purposes, they also have good access to the hall itself with a back door, that you can pull right up to. There is also great air conditioning (I was actually cold, and many electric outlets for your convenience.




I would rate them about 8 stars out of 10, only subtracting a little for an unusable disco ball (people wanted me to turn it on as the DJ, but it didn't work) and a few minor eye sores, like the Elks Logo sign in the banquet hall and what I believe was a bingo board on the wall covered by curtains.

Small Wedding Venue - Inn at Saratoga

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of doing a wedding gig at The Inn at Saratoga, on Broadway Street. The Inn is a nice little place and I thought I would give those of you who may be planning a small wedding in the Saratoga area some info.

While a large guest list event probably wouldn't work well there, if you are planning a laid back, smaller wedding of 80-90 people or less, The Inn at Saratoga might be right for you. Their accomodations were comfortable for about what I saw there on Saturday, again, eighty people or so. Surpassing this many friends and family, in my estimation, would have been pushing it. .


CEREMONY LAYOUT - You can get married on location. The Inn at Saratoga has a courtyard with a nice white tent. This area is suitable for smaller outdoor weddings and has provisions to keep your guests safe from the elements. (On this past Saturday in particular, the tent turned out to be a godsent for the bride and groom, due to the drizzle and wind.)

COCKTAIL HOUR - This venue has an inside dining hall with a porch that leads out to the bricked courtyard. Both the courtyard and the inside area have bars and room for cocktail hour festivities. In my opinion, the outside bar on the porch by the ceremony tent would be the best bet for your cocktail hour, when the weather is nice. The inside cocktail bar is more like a hallwayledinginto the dining hall and people can't really minglenear the bar because of it. However, when it is rainy like it was the other day, it is great to know an inside bar option is available.

The Inn also has a popular public bar in the front, to compliment their actual restaurant. The public bar serves for a great hiding place for the bride and groom before their grand introduction into the dining hall, while the people are seated and waiting.


BANQUET ROOM - The room used as the main dinning hall, again, is not ideal for guest of 100plus people. It seems like a comfy and fun place at around 80 people or less. There is a small dance floor and enough space to the side to fit eight people comfortably at about ten round tables. In the eating space, they have a little fireplace, as well as a massive decorative victorian mirror by the dance floor.

FREE PARKING - Parking is limited but to no concern of the guests. The Inn makes up for limited spaces with providing a free valet service that actually works very well.

HOTEL ROOMS - It also helps that it is an actual functioning Inn. The Inn is located right near the nightlife of Saratoga city. Nearby is Congress Park and Canfield Casino. The hotel also provides free wireless Internet to everyone with no hassle. This may not seem like much to some, but being the DJ for the event, I had no problem at all downloading a random music request. (It’s awesome when you don’t need a wifi password.)

All in all, if your wedding is small, this hall is not a bad option.

For more of our wedding tips and reviews by DJ Kenny Casanova ... check out www.theDJservice.com


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