Silver Bay YMCA

erienced problems with a wedding. No one warned me, so here is your warning. If you choose this venue for an outdoor wedding, treat it as though they are providing only the location and food. This venue is not equipped to run a large outdoor wedding without significant outside help. Hire your own day-of coordinator. When I booked, I specifically asked, “Do I need to hire my own day-of coordinator?” I was told no—the venue would handle it. A day-of coordinator manages wedding-day logistics so the couple can actually enjoy their wedding. The venue coordinator has an entirely different set of venue responsibilities. Here, one person was expected to do both. We effectively had no day-of coordinator, despite raising concerns about this before the wedding. Nothing was done to ensure adequate coordination on the day. Things we were promised simply did not happen. We were told the ceremony chairs and sound system would be set up the day before so I could rehearse. They were not. I ended up winging my own wedding without a real rehearsal. The signage I was promised was not put out. Multiple guests told me they struggled to find the ceremony. Transportation I had been told would be provided was not. My family had to set up the ceremony and reception. Dietary accommodations were not properly handled, and some guests simply did not eat. These are not minor details on a wedding day. These are fundamentals. Read every contract. Then read it again. Throughout planning, we encountered sudden fees, missing information, mistakes, and inconsistent wording between documents. We were still dealing with these issues and negotiating contracts up until the week before our wedding. Expect to be the one communicating. We received essentially no proactive communication from the venue, including about things that directly affected our wedding day. I arrived on my wedding day to find large construction vehicles parked near my tent, along with smaller construction projects throughout the property. Our ceremony was held at Slim Point. I was explicitly told the beach would close. When I turned the corner to walk down the aisle, instead of seeing my guests, I was greeted by strangers in bathing suits holding up their phones and recording me. These would have been incredibly easy things for the venue to communicate. Instead, I repeatedly discovered important information myself. That was one of the biggest problems: I was constantly finding things out instead of being told. -   Ask about other events taking place. I actually did. At my very first meeting, I was asked to give up our rehearsal dinner space for a “large financial donor” to hold their rehearsal dinner there instead. I agreed to move our event. After that, we heard about this donor at virtually every meeting. I ended up knowing far more about their event, including what they had donated to the YMCA, than I ever expected to know while planning my own wedding. Overall, the property is beautiful, and our guests enjoyed the food. These do not fully make up for a venue failing to communicate, coordinate, and deliver on basic commitments. We filed a complaint. They explained limitations that directly contradicted what we were told initially. Clearly they do not communicate within house and the weddings suffer for it. 

oking beautiful Lake George and the mountains. The staff was professional, the food was great and pricing was more than fair! Our family utilized the on campus housing options which are super convenient for out of state guests! They even gave us a free room the night of wedding !! Highly recommended as the perfect choice for wedding venue.