Wedding Venue Shortlist

Scenario: 45-50 guests, Friday-Sunday only, ceremony onsite, daytime or evening acceptable, off-peak months acceptable, base/middle food and drink package.

At-a-Glance

Venue	Best-Fit Option	Current Planning Estimate	Coordinator / Planning	Main Caveat	Current Read
Aurora	Friday lunch or weekend brunch full restaurant buyout	Exact samples: Friday lunch $16,109.28 with ceremony / $15,465 without. Saturday brunch $21,264.38 with ceremony / $20,620 without.	No included wedding coordinator stated; they recommend hiring/assigning one for logistics.	Friday bar is consumption budget; Saturday brunch includes mid-shelf open bar. Need Sunday brunch sample if Sunday is preferred.	Best value if restaurant vibe works.
Wythe	Penthouse Loft + Cellar Dining Room, Roebling Street Family Style package	40-guest quote: about $22,118.75 all-in for the lowest date band, or $23,537.50 for the next band, including estimated occupancy tax/Javits fee.	Wythe includes Event Manager/Event Captain, but still requires an approved professional Day-of Coordinator/Planner.	This is a 40-guest quote, not 45-50. Needs re-quote if guest count stays closer to 50.	Potentially very competitive if the guest list can land at 40.
Celestine	Winter/off-peak AM Friday or standard AM Friday; PM Sunday if evening matters	Winter AM Friday with ceremony + tech about $23.6k using 20% gratuity estimate. Standard AM Friday with ceremony + assumed tech is about $26.3k. Standard AM weekend with ceremony + assumed tech about $34.6k.	Dedicated event planner and day-of coordinator included.	Beer/wine-only does not reduce price. Flat fee means 45-50 guests pay the same as up to 70 seated.	Cleanest package and easiest to reason about.

Celestine

Home link Peak package PDF Off-peak package PDF

Clean packagePlanner includedFlat pricing

Best Fit

Winter/off-peak AM Friday is now the strongest Celestine value. Standard AM Friday is the next cleanest option. AM weekend is polished but meaningfully more expensive. PM Sunday is the best evening option if the event needs to be nighttime.

Winter / Off-Peak Cost Snapshot (Dec-April)

The winter deck uses flat-fee pricing for up to 60 seated guests and 70 cocktail-style buffet guests. Maximum winter capacity is 74 seated or 80 cocktail-style. Ceremony is $2,500 and adds 30 minutes. The winter deck also lists microphones, ceremony sound, and onsite tech for 3 hours at $700.

Option	Flat Event Fee	Ceremony	Sound / Tech	Pre-Fee Subtotal	6% Admin	20% Gratuity Est.	Tax Est.	All-In Planning Total	Notes
AM Friday	$14,000	$2,500	$700	$17,200	$1,032	$3,440	$1,923	$23,595	Best Celestine price now identified. If ceremony tech is not needed, all-in planning total is $22,635.
AM Saturday	$18,000	$2,500	$700	$21,200	$1,272	$4,240	$2,371	$29,083	Winter Saturday is lower than standard AM weekend. Without ceremony tech: $28,122.
AM Sunday	$16,000	$2,500	$700	$19,200	$1,152	$3,840	$2,147	$26,339	Sundays before holiday Mondays are priced as Saturdays. Without ceremony tech: $25,379.
PM Sunday	$20,000	$2,500	$700	$23,200	$1,392	$4,640	$2,594	$31,826	Best winter evening Celestine option. Without ceremony tech: $30,866.
PM Friday/Saturday	$26,000	$2,500	$700	$29,200	$1,752	$5,840	$3,265	$40,057	Still expensive, but below standard PM Friday/Saturday. Without ceremony tech: $39,097.

Standard / Peak Cost Snapshot

The peak deck lists the $2,500 ceremony extra, but does not list the $700 microphones/ceremony sound/onsite tech extra. For comparison, this table applies the same $700 tech assumption from the off-peak deck.

Option	Flat Event Fee	Ceremony	Sound / Tech	Pre-Fee Subtotal	6% Admin	20% Gratuity Est.	Tax Est.	All-In Planning Total	Notes
AM Friday	$16,000	$2,500	$700 assumed from off-peak deck	$19,200	$1,152	$3,840	$2,147	$26,339	Best standard/peak Celestine value. 4-hour daytime event plus ceremony adds 30 minutes. Flat fee covers food, beverage, room, planner, day-of coordinator, basic decor, cake service, and printed menus for up to 70 seated guests.
AM Saturday/Sunday	$22,000	$2,500	$700 assumed from off-peak deck	$25,200	$1,512	$5,040	$2,818	$34,570	Weekend daytime package. Same flat-fee model as Friday AM, so 45-50 guests pay the same as up to 70 seated guests. Sundays before holiday Mondays are priced as Saturdays.
PM Sunday	$24,000	$2,500	$700 assumed from off-peak deck	$27,200	$1,632	$5,440	$3,042	$37,314	Best standard/peak Celestine evening value.
PM Friday/Saturday	$35,000	$2,500	$700 assumed from off-peak deck	$38,200	$2,292	$7,640	$4,272	$52,404	Clean but expensive for 50 guests.

Why It Is On The Shortlist

Most complete package: food, beverage, room, planner, day-of coordinator, menus, cake service, and basic decor.
Dedicated event planner and day-of coordinator are included.
Pricing is easy to understand because it is flat up to 70 seated guests.
Winter/off-peak pricing is now the best Celestine value, especially AM Friday.

Known Clarifications

Beer/wine-only is possible but does not reduce price because pricing is based on private use of the space.
Simple florals are included.
More bespoke in-house florals are available for an additional $500.
For daytime lunch events around 50 guests, gratuity is typically 18%, 20%, or 22%; this doc uses 20% as the planning estimate.
Winter/off-peak deck adds a $700 microphones, ceremony sound, and onsite tech line item for ceremony support.

Aurora

Home link

Best valueRestaurant buyoutCeremony appears allowed

Best Fit

Full restaurant buyout. Friday lunch is the lowest-cost route; weekend brunch is likely the best weekend daytime value. Evening is still competitive, especially Sunday/off-peak.

Cost Snapshot

Option	Estimate	Notes
Friday lunch buyout	$16,109.28 with ceremony; $15,465 without ceremony	5-hour full restaurant lunch buyout, 11:30am-4:00pm. Includes 4 canapes for one hour, 3-course sit-down lunch starting at $70/person, about $150/person budget for bar consumption/menu upgrades, $500 ceremony fee, 20% gratuity, and tax.
Saturday brunch buyout	$21,264.38 with ceremony; $20,620 without ceremony	5-hour full restaurant brunch buyout, 11am-4pm. Includes 4 canapes, 3-course family-style brunch, mid-shelf open bar with 2 signature cocktails, wines/prosecco/rose/orange wines/beers/soft drinks, children meals, vendor meals, $500 ceremony fee, 20% gratuity, and tax.
Off-peak evening	About $27,437-$31,356 before ceremony depending day	Sunday is strongest evening value.

Why It Is On The Shortlist

Lowest known fully private option.
Full restaurant buyout can fit ceremony, dining, and dancing.
Good value for 45-50 guests because the minimums are relatively low.

Need To Confirm

Whether dancing/amplified music are fully workable for lunch/brunch buyouts.
Whether a day-of coordinator is required or just recommended.
Sunday brunch equivalent estimate if Sunday is preferred, since the quoted weekend sample is Saturday.

Wythe

40 guestsHotel venueCompetitive if smaller

Best Fit

Penthouse Loft + Cellar Dining Room with the Roebling Street Family Style package at $328/person. This is materially different from the earlier 50-guest Wythe math: the quote is for 40 guests, so it should only be compared directly if the guest list can realistically come down to 40.

Cost Snapshot

Date Band	Quoted Grand Total	Added Occupancy Tax + Javits Fee	Planning All-In Estimate	Notes
Fridays & Sundays in January, February, March, July & August	$21,939	$176.25 occupancy tax + $3.50 Javits Fee	$22,118.75	40 guests. $13,120 F&B spend, $3,000 space fee, 25% admin, and tax included in quoted grand total.
Fridays & Sundays in April & November; Saturdays in January, February, March, July & August; Sundays in May, June, September & October	$23,299	$235.00 occupancy tax + $3.50 Javits Fee	$23,537.50	40 guests. $13,120 F&B spend, $4,000 space fee, 25% admin, and tax included in quoted grand total.

Fee assumption: the provided Wythe totals say they do not include occupancy tax of 5.875% on Penthouse Loft space or Javits Fee of $3.50. The planning all-in estimates above assume the occupancy tax applies to the full listed space fee and the Javits Fee is a flat $3.50 line item. Confirm exact treatment with Wythe.

Why It Is On The Shortlist

The 40-guest quote is much more competitive than earlier 50-guest Wythe scenarios.
Penthouse Loft + Cellar Dining Room gives a hotel/private-event experience with strong built-in infrastructure.
Lowest date band comes in around $22.1k all-in under the assumptions above.

Need To Confirm

What the same package costs at 45 and 50 guests.
Whether ceremony is included in this quote or would add cost.
Exact occupancy tax/Javits Fee treatment.
Approved professional Day-of Coordinator/Planner is required. Wythe's Event Manager handles venue logistics and the Event Captain handles food/beverage service; the Day-of Coordinator handles personal details, timeline, vendors, ceremony cues, and last-minute logistics.