I cannot recommend the Soundview enough! This is an absolutely gorgeous venue, right on the water in Bayville, NY. It consists of two floors: the first floor has a lobby, the brida...l suite and adjacent restroom, and the main reception area. The reception area is absolutely beautiful—it can accommodate up to 200 guests, and they can also put up an unobtrusive screen to cut off part of the room if your wedding party is on the smaller side (they did this for me--I had 100 guests and it didn’t feel cramped or too big, it was just right). There is a really beautiful 1920’s-esque bar, and an amazing view of the ocean.
The lower floor contains the bathrooms and another dining area, which is where cocktail hour is hosted. This too contains a large, beautiful bar, an outside patio where guests can go, and a baby grand piano! We hired a pianist for an hour, and guests loved it. Lastly, there’s a walkway down to the ocean.
One of the best features of the Soundview is that this whole area is yours for the day. They only book one wedding per day, so your guests can have the run of the place and go wherever they want. It’s also incredibly practical: you have a drop-off appointment where you give them everything you want put out for your wedding and they put it all together for you, but you or a family member can also go there the day-of, if you forget anything at your formal drop-off appointment. I found this to be a huge stress-reliever. Just knowing that I could go there if I needed to and make changes was a big weight off my shoulders.
The food is superb. And the food you get for cocktail hour is ridiculously good—there’s SO much and each dish is better than the last. When we arrived they took us into the bridal suite, so that we could relax for a half hour and have time to regroup, and they brought us a sampler of everything people were eating at cocktail hour. I could’ve cried in joy. We didn’t know they would do that and it was AMAZING!
And that brings me to one of the best features of the Soundview, and that is the people who work there. Michael, the owner, works hard to accommodate you as a client. The amazing food, I hear, can be attributed to him being a chef. Diane is the main contact after you sign your contract and she was amazing to work with. Best of all, she gives great advice if, like me, you were unsure of basically everything. Diego, the maître’d, was so attentive, polite, and genuinely invested in making sure the night went well. You also get a bridal attendant, and mine was absolutely lovely. She was always on hand to help with anything, be it your veil coming undone, bustling your dress, or finding your shoes. At the end of the night one of the valet drivers came up to me to thank me for tipping them, which I thought was so sweet. Truly everyone there is just so genuinely kind and good people.
The best part was, after we got to our hotel room and were looking through our things, we saw that they had written a sweet message for us on our cake box, AND took a picture of all of the staff with our polaroid, put it into our guestbook, and wrote a beautiful message on behalf of all of the staff at Soundview. I was so surprised and touched!
Honestly, I know I’m repeating myself here, but I can’t recommend this venue enough. I would give them 100 out of 5 stars if I could! They made this whole experience as stress-free as possible, and it was a beautiful and memorable night. Thank you so much, everyone at Soundview!