The Bethwood | Totowa, NJ | Photo Booth Rental 11/24/2010
On Novelmber 24, 2010 our Wedding Photo Booth found it's way to the Bethwood in Totowa, NJ in celebration of Casey's Sweet 16. The Bethwood is one of the most popular Wedding and Event catering halls in all of New Jersey. It hosts many bridal shows through out the year as well as up to 5 weddings every weekend with its many different sized ballrooms available.
Casey's Sweet 16 - 11/24/10
The views are amazing. Inside the venue you feel you are in a resort like hotel atmosphere with its long decorated hallways, and overall decor. The outside boasts some decent views of the area at night, especially from the 2nd and 3rd floors. The area around in Christmas and Winter is probably magestic.
The staff are always helpful and easy to get along with. The maitre'd made sure he came to our table to let us know we can eat. The staff also brought us silverware without asking. The food was incredible. Definitely recommend the shrimp dish we had here.
The load-in was the only nic in otherwise perfect 10 A+ venue being that there is a small loading door to the right of the building and a small elevator. If the ballroom you are hired to entertain in is on the far left of the building, it can be a time consuming process.
All in all:
- The View: B+ in Summer/Spring and an A if you are having a Fall/Winter event.
- The Staff: A+ for providing food without having to ask and bringing a table for our setup rather quickly and efficiently.
- The Load-In: It was a small elevator on one side and with 5 Events per weekend, it could be a nightmare if not planned ahead of time. A D-
- The Food: What we had was great
A+
Thank you for stopping by.
Scott Roth, Event Planner / www.scottrothevents.com
Helen Mills Theater – Video Karaoke | Julia’s Bat Mitzvah – 11/14/2010
What better venue to do a Video Karaoke make your own music video setup than at a THEATER?. That's exactly what happened this past sunday November 14, 2010 when Long Island Party Planners - Golden Carousel had Scott Roth Events provide Video Karaoke for Julia's Bat Mitzvah at Helen Mills Theater in New York, NY.
The load-in was relatively simple with easy access to the downstairs stage area via elevator access and ramp access. We had to use a parking garage after load=in which is understandable being the location of midtown Manhattan. The staff was accomodating and provided us a Sound Guy to work with and allow us to tap into the theater sound system which cut down setup time and made the whole process easier.
The setup gave the kids who were willing to sing a chance to actually be on stage while singing and have a theater type audience ...which beats the typical cocktail hour event space setup and peeked the interest of that many more kids and especially the bat mitzvah girl herself Julia had an incredible time being the star of the show.
Being that the theater is downstairs while the event space is upstairs, we weren't able to get fed so we have no say on if the food was good. We can say that we weren't even offered. This of course is always a downside
All in all -
- The View: From what I got to see, the upstairs was fit to the theme of her party. This is typical with most new york city venues. The space itself which pretty much that.....space. The right decorator (which I don't know whether this is provided in-house or if clients have to hire their own) can make or break the party's atmosphere. .....C
- The Staff: It was great to have a sound guy to work with and was accomodating. .....A
- The Load-in: Another notch up for the venue. They are used to performers and vendors, etc being that it is a theater and they made it easy for such. .......A
- The Food: N/A
Thank you
Scott Roth, CEO - Scott Roth Events "Venue Reviews from the Vendors View"
Park Ave Bar & Grill – Casino Game Rentals | Bernards 30th – 11/13/2010
Park Ave Bar - Flyer
This past weekend our Casino Game Rentals sent us to Park Ave Bar & Grill in Union City, NJ in celebration of Bernard's 30th birthday. The venue has a small capacity that is best for get togethers of less than 75 people unless you want them split up among different levels.
There are 3 levels to the Park Ave Bar. The downstairs boasts a double sided bar. The second level consists of a nice restaurant and the 3rd level is the lounge area with nice decor and comfortable one of a kind chairs. The downside to this setup is that most private parties take place on the 3rd floor lounge level and there is no elevator access other than a dumb waiter in the tight kitchen area.
Scott Roth Events provided a Black Jack Table, Roulette Table, and a Texas Hold Em Poker Table for this party which meant carrying each table of two flights of stairs....this is definitely a big soar spot for vendors doing events here as tough load-ins mean being that much more tired and worn out before the party even begins.
The staff was helpful and accomodating at all times which makes things easier and were willing to help with the load which meant going out of their way. A big plus in our books. Its important to have an "everybody works together" vibe among the staff and vendors.
Parking was pure luck being that there was very little street parking and no open load in areas. This venue isnt really setup for vendors beyond a typical basic DJ.
All in all:
- The View: the atmosphere was that of a chic New York nightclub environment which is great for private parties and small corporate parties. Too small for Weddings and Mitzvahs. Being on the third floor did add a touch to the scenery beyond the windows though. .....C
- The Staff: easy to work with and accomodating..... B
- The Load In: a nightmare for larger vendors like ourselves or any kind of larger scale DJ or band ..... D-
- The Food: what i grabbed was really good. the penne vodka pasta was top notch ......A
Thank You,
Scott Roth, CEO - Scott Roth Events "Venue Reviews from the Vendors View"
Congregation Ohr Torah – Photo Favors | Jordan’s Bat Mitzvah – 11/7/2010
On November 7, 2010 our Mitzvah Photo Favors sent us to Congregation Ohr Torah in North Woodmere, NY if you are in that area and Valley Stream, NY if you are on GPS or Google Maps. This could be a nightmare for vendors looking for directions to the place without a GPS. This thankfully is the only real downside of the location. The venue is extremely popular Bar and Bat Mitzvah Venue.....mostly being that it is part of a temple so it has its own in-house clientel.
Congregation Ohr Torah has a very cool staff for the most part though they dont appear to outgoing they do seem friendly.
The load-in is relatively easy with a ramp and side door access. The unload is into a hallway. If you are a DJ or setting up in the lobby or main ballroom, its a bit of a trip but no obstacles and not too hard. If you are doing Photo Favors or Sports Game Rentals, there is a good chance you are going into the cocktail hour room area and therefore its an easy unload right into the room.
Parking is relatively easy to find on the street. The venue is a bit off Sunrise Highway / Route 27 with a ton of stores nearby such as Staples, Target, etc. This is good cause if you ever need to send a staff person out to get some last minute items that may have gotten left behind (such as Batteries lol) .......there are local options easy to find.
It's rare at Mitzvah's to get fed so don't to eat during your night. This of course is always a strike against the venue. I do understand that they leave it up to the client to decide but this shouldnt always be the case. The vendors help sell the venue and the overall experience a client has at such a venue (such as with blogs like this, etc) and should always make dinners for the vendors there.
All in all:
- The View: The inside ballrooms are small but decent. There are nice chandeliers in the enterance. Its upscale but definitely not that unique. The area outside the venue is standard suburbia. Overall I give it a C
- The Staff: They seem nice but not really engaging or outgoing from my experiences there. Also a C
- The Load-In: Relatively easy with a nice easy ramp and easy to find parking. .... A
- The Food: N/A
Thank you for taking the time to stop Scott Roth Events "Venue Reviews From The Vendors View".
Rouge Tomate | New York, NY | Bat Mitzvah 11/6/10
This past weekend our Wedding Photo Booth, Green Screen Photo Favors and our Foosball Table sent us to Rouge Tomate in New York, NY for Sashie's Bat Mitzvah. This venue is the cream of the crop for New York venues.
Located on the upper east side, the area is not as busy as other sections of New York City so the we were able to find street parking right near the venue. There is a service entrance to the left of the main entrance which allowed for easy access to the downstairs area of the venue, which is where our setup took place.
We did two meetings ahead of time with our clients who were planning their first Bat Mitzvah party for their family and took extra time and care to make sure every area of the event ran smooth. That the venue knew the vendors and vice versa. Although all parents take this approach at heart, they don't always take this approach in action.
A strike goes against the venue for the service elevator not being in service causing our staff to load through stairwells......this can be disastrous if unexpected and not planned for but these are reasons why we try to be 2+ hours early.
Chris Crocco, who was the Event Manager on behalf of Rouge Tomate
was very accomodating at the start of the event to make sure we were good to go. He also was ok with the staff taking part in the photo opportunities providing it didn't take them away from their duties. This is important and plays into the personality of the event manager. An uptight Event Manager over these seemingly small things can symbol an uptight manager in other areas, which could mean an uncomfortable catering staff on the event.
The atmosphere of Rouge Tomate itself is very upscale chic with a lush red feel from the lighting to the walls to the drapery. The color theme for Sashie's Bat Mitzvah was Purple and Lavender which the decorator added plush pillows for the furniture and flowers among other additions that blended well with the red tones around the room.
The food was some of the best basic food I've ever personally had....and that was just from the kids buffet. It was standard burgers and fries like other venue kids buffets for mitzvahs but being that these were made in-house, it was to die for. A+ in the food category.
The DJ was Jarrell Entertainment whose style took some getting used to as it was New York nightlife style and not typical Bar/Bat Mitzvah style dj'ing. They definitely took risks and some of the songs selected wouldn't necessarily be the first choice for most mitzvah families but they did do a great job and kept the kids dancing as if they were in a nightclub.
Sashie chose not to do a formal introduction or candle-lighting and with that said, DJ Ray might have just been the right infusion this party needed to keep the kids entertained the entire 4+ hours of the party......us Photo Favor guys can only do so much In retrospect they were a perfect fit.
All in all :
- THE VIEW: Rouge Tomate is located in the upper east side which boasts central park horse and carriage, and f.a.o. schwarz is a block away which adds to the feeling of the venue but you cant really see much beyond the next building from inside the venue, but the atmosphere is lush romantic and upscale. There are three huge flower towers that add to the rooms look and stand out. B
- THE STAFF: The staff at Rouge Tomate were clean cut and professional and enjoyed our service A
- THE LOAD-IN: The load would've been a breeze had it not been for the service elevator being out of service. The on-street parking available does bump Rouge up to a B. With elevator service and the parking available to boot, they would've been an A B
- THE FOOD: For some odd reason, every Wedding we do...there is a vendor table setup for us whether its a buffet or plate dinner. Every Mitzvah we do (or any vendor does) its a grab if you can situation. Luckily we were able to grab some and it was well worth it. B
Thank you for stopping by and reading our Vendor Reviews from the Vendors View of Rouge Tomate in New York, NY.
Scott Roth, Scott Roth Events