New York takes the cake when it comes to wedding venues.
On Friday night’s episode of TLC’s reality series “Four Weddings,” Big Apple brides are invited to judge each other’s very different nuptials and rank each experience.
The weddings are given an overall ranking from 1 to 10 and then judged on the categories of venue, dress and food. The winning newlyweds get an all-expenses-paid honeymoon.
Andrea Worthington, 34, went the grand, gothic route at Angel Orensanz, a historic renovated synagogue on the Lower East Side.
“I thought it was so beautiful, very gothic, very ornate and very different than the NYC loft thing. As an art person, it really spoke to me,” says Worthington, an art director who also considered the Bryant Park Grill and the Museum of Art and Design.
Of course, a magnificent Manhattan wedding comes with an equally massive price tag.
“Sarah Jessica Parker got married at Angel Orensanz. I didn’t have a Sarah Jessica Parker budget so it was a lot of friends and family helping out,” says Worthington, who spent about $47,500 on her 130-person event. “That’s the only way I could make that venue work with my budget.”
Linsie Abshire, 26, was impressed by Worthington’s venue, but went in a very different direction for her big day.
“My husband and I looked at so many locations, but we thought this one hugged us on the way out,” says Abshire, who chose the Valenzano Winery in Shamong, NJ.
Abhire, who works in sales, did a lot of DIY to keep her nearly 200-person event down to $35,000.
Jessica Alatis, on the other hand, went for the OMG factor with her classic fête. With a ceremony at Our Lady of Hope Parish in Middle Village, and a reception at the Flowerfield event space in St. James, LI, her all-day affair was the priciest of the bunch, topping out at $100,000.
“I wanted the party to be in Long Island somewhere, and I knew it was a little far from the church, but for how awesome it was, it was worth it,” says Alatis, 32.
Indya Franklin, a 28-year-old banker, made entertainment a priority for her Caribbean Carnival-themed affair, which took place on Labor Day, the date of the annual West Indian American Day parade in her native Brooklyn.
Her home borough inspired the theme, but Franklin hosted the wedding at the North Ritz Club in Syosset, LI, because it provided outdoor space.
Although Franklin faced challenges in keeping costs down and in snagging the vendors she wanted — “Some of them told me they get booked three years in advance!” — she and her bridal rivals agree it was worthwhile.
“The great thing about getting married in New York [is] it’s always a different wedding,” says Worthington. “You can be two blocks from someone else’s wedding, and it can be a totally different experience.”