When we first visited our venue, I thought I wanted just the blue water and clear skies in the background.  Then I saw these photos of weddings in our venue and those sailboats made gorgeous backdrops.  Aren’t they perfect for a nautical wedding?

Here’s to wishing for sailboats on our wedding day.

Belle Mer offers free private menu tasting for the bride and groom.  Belle Mer no longer has a menu that you can choose from.  Their new “custom menu” works differently.

First, we discussed the type of menu we like for the wedding with our assigned Belle Mer event coordinator.  The Belle Mer culinary team then created a menu proposal based on what we discussed.  We were able to make changes or add or subtract items from the proposed menu until the tasting.  Note that the Belle Mer culinary team likes to create their own version of the usual items, like duck sauce for example.  They won’t provide the regular duck sauce you can get from the grocery store, they create their own duck sauce.

When we didn’t like an item, the chef discussed with us possible alternatives.  We then had to trust them to create something better or at least something we may like, as we would not be able to taste those alternatives as per Belle Mer policy.

Before I start saying what I thought about the food, I just want to say that I’m not a food connoisseur and my description of the food is not very good.

Now on to the food (click on images to enlarge)…

BUTLER-PASSED HORS D’OEUVRES:

Vegetable Fresh Rolls with Cucumber Dipping Sauce

I’m not a vegetable fan and I don’t like cucumber, so this wasn’t my favorite.  But it was a good vegetable option.  There was a good amount of vegetables and the wrap tasted great.

BLT on a Savory Spoon

This was John’s favorite and my second favorite.  The spoon was edible, but it wasn’t crispy as I was hoping it to be.  The portion was really really tiny.

Kumomoto Oysters with Spicy Mignonenette Gelle & Smoked Sea Salt

Oysters are my favorite, but I didn’t like these oysters too much.  I couldn’t taste much of the oysters, the taste of the Mignonette Gelle was too overpowering.  It didn’t help that the oysters were tiny too.  So we told the chef to replace the gelle with cocktail sauce.  The chef told us she’ll create something similar to cocktail sauce.

Lamb Noisette on a Rosemary Spear with Lemon Mint Aioli

This was my favorite hors d’oeuvre.  The lamb was cooked just right and the lemon mint aioli perfectly complements the meat.  It was a good portion too.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Filet with Sweet Corn Relish

The chicken was tender and juicy.  It was really good.  However, I didn’t like the sweet corn relish (I’m not a relish fan) so we asked the chef to propose another garnish.  The portion size was big.

Bacon Dusted Sea Scallops with Red Pepper Jelly

John and I love bacon and scallops.  And Belle Mer’s version of the Scallops Wrapped in Bacon hors d’oeuvre is the bacon dusted scallops.  We loved it, but I didn’t like the red pepper jelly.  I thought it was too sweet and didn’t go well with the seafood.

Grilled Littleneck Clams with Spicy Parsley-Garlic Butter

I like the Spicy Parsley-Garlic Butter on the clams.  Unfortunately, the clams were chewy so we didn’t go with it.

COCKTAIL DISPLAY

We are having a Far East Experience cocktail display and requested some Filipino items included.  Belle Mer usually don’t include cocktail display items at the tasting, but I requested some of the Filipino items and here they are…

Pinoy Pork BBQ

The pork was tender and juicy and flavorful.  However the sauce was more on the sweet side and tasted more like teriyaki instead of barbecue sauce.

Lumpiang Shanghai with Duck Sauce

Lumpiang Shanghai is the Filipino version of an eggroll.  The eggroll was great, but the Belle Mer duck sauce was very sweet.  I had to ask the sauce changed.  I really wanted the regular Chinese duck sauce, but they create their own duck sauce so they said they’ll tweak it to make it less sweet.  Hopefully it will turn out more like the regular duck sauce.

SOUP

John and I both love New England clam chowder so we requested that to be included in our menu.  But the chef suggested something lighter, as New England clam chowder might be too heavy for a Spring day wedding.  So here are the soup we had…

New England Shellfish Bisque with Pernod and Red Pepper Rouille

It was very “seafood-y” in a good way, but still not as good as a New England clam chowder.  It is lighter and it didn’t have anything in it, just soup.

Mushroom Barley Soup with Goat Cheese Croutons

It tasted good, but it wasn’t something we would order over some soups that we regularly order.

SALAD

Caesar Salad with Baby Green & Red Romaine with Ciabatta Crostini and Parmegiano Reggiano

It was good and Caesar Salad is the only salad that I eat, so we went with this of course.

Field Greens & Watercress Salad with Haricot Vert, Shaved Red Onion, and Creamy Cucumber Dressing

I thought there weren’t enough dressing on it.  But it was alright.

INTERMEZZO

Champagne and Lemon Intermezzo

The lemon intermezzo was creamy while the champagne is more “icy.”  John preferred the lemon, I preferred the champagne.  So we decided to get small scoops of both.

ENTREE

The entree portion of the tasting was my favorite, even though I was already full by then. All the entrees were delicious! It makes me hungry now just thinking about them.

Olive Oil Poached Free Range Chicken with Crispy Pistachio Crust + Parsnip Puree & Bay Scallops Sautee with Garden Peas & Wild Mushrooms

The chicken was again very tender and juicy.  The parsnip puree perfectly complements the chicken.  I don’t like pistachios but the pistachio crust was great.  The peas and mushrooms were alright.

Grilled Filet Mignon with Sweet Onion Parsley Relish + Shrimp & Leek Risotto / Lobster Risotto & Vanilla Baby Carrots

Like the chicken, the filet mignon was tender, juicy and flavorful.  I loved the shrimp & leek risotto, it was creamy and not too seafood-y.  We were served lobster risotto as well as another option to pair with the chicken or filet.  I loved it too and chose it over the shrimp & leek risotto.

Truffled Spring Vegetables + Pearl Onions, Leek Puree & Hand Rolled Potato Gnocchi


I don’t like vegetables, but the leek puree and potato gnocchi were great.

All photos were provided by Belle Mer.  It was nice for them to do that so we only needed to focus on the food at our tasting.  Our event coordinator also brought 8 (more than we requested) sample linens and chargers for us to look at!  She was very helpful and very responsive.

With the help of fabulous vendors, the bride’s vision had been turned into this stunning wedding.  The details of Tania and Loc’s wedding are just amazing – from the invites that Tania created to the unique and brilliant combination of colors.  Their wedding was held at the ultra-chic Belle Mer Salon.  Photos were taken by the talented Kristin Spencer.

We finally decided and booked our venue!  We’re getting married at Belle Mer in Newport, Rhode Island on May 22, 2010.

I have fallen in love with the place the first time I saw it online.  We knew that the place will cost more than we were willing to spend on a venue.  But when we came for a visit, John loved it and I fell more in love with it.  After a few months (yes, months) of thinking it over, we decided to book the place.  Now, our biggest task is yet to come – how to plan our wedding within our budget, when the venue and catering takes almost 75% of that budget and only 25% left for everything else.

Belle Mer in Newport, RI was gorgeous – simple, modern, chic. The day started early and I was tired and sleepy. Unfortunately, the day didn’t progress very well. I was disappointed, then excited, then back.

I was supposed to meet with Nichole for a tour but it turned out that Nichole didn’t get the confirmation so noone was there when we arrived. I made the trip all the way from NY to see the place, so I insisted someone show me the place and all the other details. So we waited a little more than an hour until…

Katherine came by on her day off so we could see the place. She was very nice and I love her attitude and passion for weddings. We entered the place and we were amazed. It was more beautiful than in the pictures.

There were two venues available. Painted in neutral tones, both venues make for great backdrops and blank canvases for brides to create the wedding of their dreams. They are draped with white sheer linen that gives the place elegance. They have separate cocktail areas. The drapes separating the cocktail and the dining areas are parted after the cocktail hour to invite guests for dinner.

1. The Salon is the bigger venue with a beautiful fireplace. The oceanfront side of the venue was lined with sliding glass doors blending the indoors with the outdoors. The glass doors give guests a view of the beautiful lawn and of course the shining Naragansett River.

2. The Island House (smaller venue) looked less beautiful in the pictures, but we were pleasantly surprised to see how gorgeous it was and perfect for our party. The grounds around the Island House is even more beautiful than the grounds around the Salon. The Island House is open and airy (no walls).

I couldn’t really think of anything I don’t like about Belle Mer, except…

It was very expensive. Gorgeous place + expensive town = ridiculous. The menu pricing was competitive. But what gets you is the site fee. To rent the place, you will have to shell out at least $4500. It can easily go up to almost 10 grand. Is the place worth it? We’ll see.

**Belle Mer Policies have changed dramatically since end of 2008.  You may contact me for more info.**

Info as of October 2008 for a 2009 event:

Ceremony site fee: $1,500
Reception site fee: $4,500+
Capacity: up to 400
Minimum: $12,000+ (food and beverage)
Catering: $89+/guest
Bar: $16+/hr/guest; $32+/5hrs/guest
Kid menu: $20 (no age limit)
Vendor menu: $40
Tax: 8%
Service charge: 20% added to the bill

*Accuracy of information above is not guaranteed. Contact the venue for a more accurate quote. For venue comparison, click here.

Other Venues:
Venue Saga #1: Wequassett Resort, Cape Cod
Venue Saga #3: Hyatt Harborside, Boston
Venue Saga #4: Palm House, Brooklyn

Venue Saga Sequel:
Venue Saga #5: Castle Hill Inn, Newport
Venue Saga #6: The Chanler, Newport

Below are the cost and info I received for my initial inquiries for a 2009 event. The info below just gives you an idea of how and what the venues charge and include. A lot of factors such as season, day, time and number of guests can affect the pricing. To get a more precise quote for your event, please contact the venues.

Click on image to download file

John and I had just finished visiting all four venues, so stay tuned for our impressions.