We had a tough time finding where to start with this review because every element of our wedding at…read moreCV Rich Mansion surpassed our expectations.
A major reason why we chose this venue was due to it's location. Our family and friends were coming from NY, NJ, PA, MA, NH, ME, and some southern/western states, so we were looking for somewhere easily accessible from all directions (with no crazy traffic like in BX/LI/NYC), near an airport, hotel, and with a lot of things to do nearby. White Plains was perfect and very charming. Our hotel, venue, restaurants, cafes, stores, mall and after party bar were all within 5-10 minutes of each other and super easy to get to.
Christine was our point person from day one. Communication with her was timely and transparent throughout the entire process and her professional demeanor made our experience stress-free. As an out-of-state couple, she was super helpful providing insight, sending pictures, answering questions as they popped up, and scheduling a few visits for us before and after the wedding. She gave her honest opinion which helped us a lot when we were on the fence with a few things. Upon arrival for the rehearsal, we met with Christine and Michelle, who were a great help to us and our families - from the many questions to the many boxes of decorations we brought in ourselves, they had positive attitudes and were able to create a beautiful day for us with the help of their team at CV Rich. We really loved working with everyone there!
Since we were not as familiar with the area, Christine suggested having our rehearsal dinner nearby at their sister property, Sam's of Gedney Way. This is where we had our initial tasting for the wedding menu (which was a blast) and where we ended up returning for the rehearsal dinner that was just as fun as our wedding. We had a private room on the enclosed patio, which was perfect for our group. The food was unbelievable - our guests were raving about it all weekend - and the service was amazing. We were able to meet May, head bartender for our wedding, who worked both of these events - she was phenomenal.
Photos of the mansion were great - we booked this venue without even visiting - but once we were able to see it in person, it was so much better than we thought. We loved how there were so many rooms for our guests to access and the vast amount of windows that let in natural light throughout the mansion. The rooms were already so nicely decorated, we didn't need to do much to them. There was plenty of room for the items that we did display (6' seating chart mirror, photo frames, guest book, card boxes and small bud vases). The sun rooms were my favorite, and were so perfect for our portrait photos when we were unable to have them outside due to the rain. Having two separate bridal suites upstairs the whole day/night was ideal; this private area was great for getting ready (hair & makeup were done at the hotel) and storing our personal items during the event. Unfortunately, our photographers didn't capture as many photos of the venue itself, which we are very sad about, since everything looked so beautiful (I tried to include a few photos here that do show it off a bit).
With rain in the forecast, we knew there was a chance we'd have to move the ceremony inside. Christine was texting with me all morning as we discussed the best possible options. We ended up having the ceremony inside, which was disappointing since we were dreaming of our ceremony in the garden for so many months, but the team made the ballroom look absolutely beautiful and comfortably fit our 155 guests. Christine and Michelle had an assortment of the cocktail hour food sent up to the bridal suite for us to enjoy alone right after our ceremony ended - that time with just the two of us (and food) was so essential, I recommend that to all future couples.
The food was outstanding and our guests were blown away by our cocktail hour which included 8 passed hors d'oeuvres, three theme food stations, a full bar, and a coffee/tea/water station. The food during the reception was also phenomenal. For the first time ever, my 6'6 football player groom had no room for a second plate that was offered to him - he thoroughly enjoyed cocktail hour and dinner. Shoutout to May again who made sure we always had our water and favorite drinks replenished at our sweetheart table!Dessert was wonderful for those who weren't too busy dancing or smoking cigars. We had a coffee/cappuccino/espresso cordial bar set up off the ballroom near the exit, but unfortunately not many people knew it was there since there was so much going on in that room. There was a photo booth area, table with a live cigar roller, full bar, and cordial bar all set up in that room (also where the bathrooms were located off of). I was a little uncertain if the dance floor would be big enough for everyone (we were supposed to have 175-200 guests, ended up with 155 with last-minute declines the week of), but with t