Jul 15

Jul 15 SKY Armory Wedding: New York: USA

SKY Armory Wedding: New York: USA

Tell us about your venue. How long have you been holding weddings and how many weddings do you hold per year?

SKY Armory opened in October 2014 as the 2nd enterprise for entrepreneurs Nicole and Kevin Samolis. Their first venture, The Events Company was founded by Nicole in 1996 as an event management firm planning events in venues across Central New York and the US. Seeing the need for unique venue space in her home town prompted Nicole and Kevin chose to invest in an historic building in downtown Syracuse and create a repurposed urban chic venue with 3 floors of event space.

Why should a couple consider your venue over other venues?

SKY Armory is one of the few truly unique wedding venues in Central New York that can accommodate up to 450 guests. We've blended history with modernity with flexible spaces designed for versatility. Each ballroom has its own personality with large windows for city viewing, exposed steel beams, white walls, and brick elements.

We were event planners first, and so when clients come to SKY Armory they get an event planner to assist with their planning. We also offer the event space for up to 6 hours for wedding receptions.

At SKY, we love food and start with fresh, in season ingredients that our culinary team then prepares from scratch, infused with their love of food to create some of the best food in Central New York. All great food needs to be paired with exceptional beverages - we pride ourselves on the wines from the world, craft brews and your favorite spirits.

We think our client comments about their experience say it better than we can.

“If you are looking for the perfect venue, look no further. They made my day completely stress free. I am still receiving compliments on how beautiful the venue was and how incredible the food was. I had not one disappointed guest. Because they handle so much, you are getting your money's worth and then some when choosing Sky Armory.” – SKY Armory bride

What’s the first thing couples usually ask when they come and see you?

Wow! We could write a book on this one. The questions vary greatly but our goal is always to help educate the client about the process and usually provide them with more information that they knew to ask.

What size functions can you hold/host?

We can host events with anywhere from 50- 450 guests.

Can couples bring in their own caterer? What about alcohol?

Food and Beverage is where a venue makes its revenues, so no, we don’t allow outside catering and alcohol to come in. At SKY we’ve built a talented culinary team and can accommodate every type of savory and sweet cuisine. We customize menus to meet the needs of our clients and their events. We have created menus incorporating Indian style food, Asian inspired food, and our team is currently working on perfecting dishes out of West Africa. And because we cook from scratch all dietary needs are easily met.

Can the ceremony be held at your venue?

With our versatile event spaces on 3 floors we can accommodate wedding ceremonies on-site and find that about 50% of wedding couples choose to their ceremony on site. Our Betts Ballroom is a great space for ceremonies.

Are the couple free to decorate as they like?

Although 90% of our couples take advantage of our in-house décor and floral department, we do allow couples to choose. Pinterest has made it seem like couples can save money with DIY, but the talent of our team and depth of offerings sways couples away from the added stress and minimal savings and the risk of a less than desired outcome.

If your venue is outdoors is there a backup space in case of rain?

We like to say that the weather is always fine in the SKY. We do have some outdoor space for cocktail receptions with indoor space as the rain plan. The top of the parking garage attached to our venue offers for great cityscape photos.

Could you give our readers some indication of the range of prices for hiring your venue?

Our wedding menus packages range from $65-$95 per person and includes your cocktail reception, dinner, wedding cake, dessert and late night snack. A 4 hour open Ballroom rentals range $1,000-$2,500 and will depend on time of year. A client may choose to do a building buyout for $5,500.

How early do couples need to book you?

We would suggest booking with us 6 months to a year in advance.

What time at night can weddings stay at your venue?

Although typically most weddings are concluded by midnight we have hosted weddings ending as late as 1 or 2am.

Do you offer accommodation options?

The beauty of our urban neighborhood is that we have a parking garage attached to our venue and hotels, restaurants, pubs, and shopping are all in walking distance.

What other (if any) wedding services do you offer?

Because we’re planners, we have resources for every need: photo booths, welcome bags, favors and parting gifts, ice sculptures, DJ’s, bands and more.

How can people get in contact with you?

You can contact our sales manager, Amy! amyp@skyarmory.com 315-473-0826

Photos of SKY Armory

About Nicholas

"One of the World's Best Wedding Photographers". I've been been a professional wedding photographer for 15 years. My work has appeared in Harpers Bazaar UK, the New York Times, Style Me Pretty and brides.com. In 2015 Style Me Pretty interviewed me, in 2016 Complete Wedding Magazine called me "One of the World's Best Wedding Photographers".