Hi fellow brides-to-be! My FH and I are getting married at the Bronx Zoo on July 27, 2019. We are planning on doing a rehearsal dinner on Friday the 26th for around 60 people, followed by welcome drinks for whoever would like to come.
We have chosen a hotel in Long Island City as our base of operations because: we live in Astoria, we want to do our first look on the water in LIC, the hotel is convenient by shuttle to the Zoo (we plan on hiring at least 1- a quick trip over the Queensboro or up a mile or so to go over the RFK, then another 15-20 minutes and you're there), and it's an incredible deal compared to hotels in Manhattan (and many others in Queens, even).
We're somewhat familiar with the area as we live nearby, but we're struggling to come up with venues for our rehearsal dinner that can accommodate 60 people. There aren't many in walking distance, so we are considering asking our guests to venture into Manhattan (we wouldn't look at anything that's farther than 6 or 7 stops on the subway, and we wouldn't consider anything that would require them to transfer).
So, what do you think? Do any of you know of venues in the LIC/Astoria area (we're considering Levante, Manducati's, Manducati's Rustica, Piccolo Venezia, and the Bonnie- most of which are a bit beyond walking distance anyway and might require a subway or cab)? Also, is it asking to much of our guests to have them venture into Manhattan (our hotel is located at the first subway stop in Queens)? Are there any Manhattan rehearsal dinner venues that you would suggest? Venues with fun bars/adjacent to fun bars for post-rehearsal welcome drinks preferred. Most of my family/guests are from out of town, so I am being extra careful to make sure that I provide them with enough information about getting around.
