Summit Manor Reception House Caterers

A N O T H E R W E E K E N D A N O T H E R W E D D I N G .
All right, this historic mansion, formerly owned by the Scheneman family of dept store fame, is exquisite, and well maintained. Built in 1909, it has a certain elegance about it.
It is a perfect venue for a small, maybe 30 to 50 people tops, event. Very easy to find, a prestigious location, and lovely grounds.
Except for the owner, the staff is like high school kids. A tad on the unprofessional side. I mean, like coming up to my table carrying a bustub and removing plates directly into the tub. Ick. Like a Dennys or something.
The food was marginal, I will not accept instant mashed potatoes at my wedding if I ever get married again. Pork was ok, salad was a little wilted. S & P was not on each table, lame. Not much of a choice on the buffet, but I am sure that was due to the choice of the bride and groom.
B O T T O M L I N E … O K A Y

My mom got married at Summit Manor this summer (2010). It is a fantastic place for a smaller ceremony and reception (ours was about 60 people).
The home itself is so beautiful and ornate inside that there is no need for decorations; a huge cost savings! They even provide floral centerpieces at no extra charge. Now for a first-​time bride or one that is very particular on flowers, you may want to pay for your own, but if you are a second-​time/​older/​laidback bride who doesn’t want to pay $ 100+ per centerpiece, it’s very nice to have a little something colorful on each table provided by Summit Manor without the cost or hassle.
The only decorations we brought were family photos for the gorgeous, antique original fireplace mantel in the living room. This added a personal touch and I highly recommend doing it.
David, who runs the place, is very nice and accommodating. The whole staff was great day-​of, in fact; interestingly, I hardly noticed they were there, which is a good thing! It seemed like we were truly having a private home wedding (if our home was a mansion on Summit Avenue) yet everything was being orchestrated and taken care of quickly and under-​the-​radar.
The upstairs bridal suite is a huge beautiful room with a large private bath, perfect for the entire bridal party and gorgeous in photos.
The cost is great compared to other metro venues. We had the event on a Sunday and David waived the food minimum. You bring in your own liquour/​soda so that is also a huge savings. They also don’t do those silly add-​on charges so many venues do like cake cutting, etc.
All in all, Summit Manor is a beautiful, personal, affordable place to get married.

I will start by saying that I’m not married and I’m not reviewing my own wedding reception at Summit Manor. I was simply a guest along for the ride, making observations as we went.
I will start by saying the house itself is gorgeous, those mansions along Summit always have a certain mystique about them and this was the first time I’d actually really set foot in one. The rooms are huge, the woodwork is beautiful and the main staircase is creaky and amazing.
The woman who owns the place and the business doesn’t really seem like a «people person» though, which is weird, because you assume someone who runs wedding receptions would be better about that. Many times throughout the evening I caught her ordering guests around because she was trying to make things a «certain way.» For example, she ordered me to my table upstairs when I was in the midst of socializing over a glass of champagne with other guests, because she thought the foyer area was too crowded? Well don’t put the punch/​champagne table in the foyer if you don’t want people gathering there.
Anyways, overall the food was typical buffet wedding faire, and the champagne was served up aplenty by what looked like high school kids? Is that legal? Oh well, I had a pretty fun time, I wouldn’t choose this venue for my own wedding though.