After searching Central New York and the Capital District for a location for our reception, we were pleased that the Gideon Putnam was available. It was a beautifully located building in the Saratoga State Park, but very close to downtown Sara...toga. We visited in Jan/Feb and they provided us with all the samplings of our food choices, along with wine! We couldn't finish it all but had great service for about $60.
We were married at the Hall of Springs in front of the reception pool, but had our reception in the ballroom. I definitely recommend using the entire ballroom and not breaking it into sections regardless of how many people you have, we enjoyed the entire ballroom.
We stayed at the Gideon and our guests loved the Bridal Suite, and we got ready in the suite, which was beautiful! They were very accommodating. The staff so was helpful and we were able to get into the ballroom the night before and that morning to set things up. We loved all the pictures we were able to capture because of the setting.
During the cocktail hour some guests did complain about there not being enough food, and that there were no crackers with the cheese, which was thrown away early, but that is the only negative we heard (no biggie!). There was some changes made with our wedding planner, but we had Rob at the reception, who was more than helpful, and also recognized us walking in the town the next day and said Congrats. There were fireworks ironically during our reception which lead to great pictures.
We had valet parking which was very convenient and the golf course was so close, which the groom and groomsmen appreciated. One last thing, the wait staff provided us both with drinks throughout our entire reception, without even asking.
Overall, we were so pleased and we can't wait to come back and visit on our anniversaries.