Listen to the Podcast About White Cliffs Country Club
Podcast Summary
Cheryl Notartomaso from the White Cliffs Country Club located in Plymouth, Massachusetts recently had an enlightening conversation with podcast host Katie Cronin. Cheryl offered insights into the exquisite offerings of the White Cliffs Country Club, emphasizing its multifaceted nature as a waterfront, golf course, residential location, and events venue right on Cape Cod Bay.
Adding to the club’s allure, Cheryl discussed recent trends in the event and wedding industry. She noted a shift towards more intimate weddings with lower guest counts. This change isn’t merely due to the pandemic but also mirrors a societal trend where couples are choosing to marry a bit later, after establishing themselves professionally and personally.
Cheryl also touched on the common, albeit odd, scenario where newlyweds separate during the reception, mingling with their respective friend groups rather than staying together. Although it seems counterintuitive, Cheryl reasons it could be a needed breath of fresh air after the intense wedding planning.
One unique trend that caught Cheryl’s attention at the White Cliffs Country Club is the shift away from large wedding cakes. The club provides a variety of pastries with their entree price, so couples are choosing more modest cakes, driving the trend towards creative cake cutting ceremonies. These insights offer a delightful glimpse into the ever-evolving world of weddings and events at the White Cliffs Country Club.
Learn more about White Cliffs Country Club
This interview was provided by Felix and Fingers Dueling Pianos
Podcast Transcript
Felix And Fingers (00:24)
Well, hi, Cheryl. Thank you for coming on the podcast.
Cheryl Notartomaso (00:27)
Thank you for having me.
Felix And Fingers (00:28)
Yeah, so I just wanted to kind of ask you some questions and see kind of, you know, all about like your venue, things like some trends and stuff. before we get into the real nitty gritty, tell me a little bit about your venue.
Cheryl Notartomaso (00:43)
So
My name is Cheryl and I work at White Cliffs Country Club in Plymouth, Massachusetts. We are a waterfront community golf course and residential location. But we do special events, weddings, member events, all kinds of good stuff. And we are right on Cape Cod Bay. So it’s a lovely, lovely venue. And America’s hometown.
Felix And Fingers (01:02)
amazing.
So beautiful.
So yeah, that’s right, America’s hometown.
So tell me a little bit about some trends you’re seeing in the wedding and event industry.
Cheryl Notartomaso (01:13)
this year and even a little bit of last year we started to see a little bit smaller wedding numbers you know a little bit less on the guest count I think people were you know anticipating maybe not higher numbers and less people were attending and I think that you know more of an intimate type of wedding count versus like the big 200 person wedding
So I think that people are getting married a little bit old when they’re a little bit older, not that older, but you know, not in their very early, early 20s. I think a lot of couples are kind of getting through college, maybe getting their first job and sort of like establishing themselves, maybe buying a house before they get married.
Felix And Fingers (01:57)
Got
it. So we’re seeing, yeah, smaller weddings, maybe some couples closer to 30. That seems like a, yeah, it’s a new trend and, you know, it’s good to have an intimate celebration, right?
Cheryl Notartomaso (02:03)
Mm-hmm.
Yes, yes. For sure.
Felix And Fingers (02:13)
How about some things couples should never do, like some cringe-worthy things that maybe you don’t like to see?
Cheryl Notartomaso (02:19)
I think,
We’ve kind of see sometimes where, I mean, this isn’t necessarily cringe worthy, but sometimes couples sort of after they have their matrimony and they say their I do’s and then they kind of break off and they sort of go into their own friend groups. So they don’t tend to like stay together during the reception, which is not necessarily cringe worthy. It’s just sometimes it’s odd where you just got hit.
Felix And Fingers (02:39)
Bye. ⁓
Cheryl Notartomaso (02:46)
And now all of a sudden you kind of the guys are going with hang out the guys and the girls are hanging out with the girls But and then they come back together, but you know Maybe just because I’m a little bit older To be able to see that a little bit. It’s just like you you know you think you just like want to be together all the time, but maybe that’s just Because they have been planning a lot together and they’ve asked all their friends or their college friends And now they have this opportunity to kind of socialize with everybody
Felix And Fingers (03:12)
funny.
Cheryl Notartomaso (03:13)
buddy too.
Felix And Fingers (03:14)
Right, some kind of middle school dance behavior.
Cheryl Notartomaso (03:17)
Yes.
Yeah, the boys stay on that side of the room and the girls stay on this side of Though not cringe-worthy, but you know, it’s just kind of like odd to us, know, a little bit. But you know what? It’s your wedding day, so do whatever you want.
Felix And Fingers (03:20)
What’s the most like unique or fun?
Yeah, a little bit.
That’s right. Now what about like unique or really fun ideas you’ve seen recently?
Cheryl Notartomaso (03:35)
Well, one of my favorites has been cake cutting.
So we actually supply many pastries and things like that that come with our entree price. So we always will tell couples, you don’t need to buy a big gigantic cake for how many your guest count is for. So we have seen cakes of cheese, big cheese wheels, so cute. Gigantic cheese wheels making a cake with
Felix And Fingers (04:05)
⁓ fun.
Cheryl Notartomaso (04:08)
and their little bride and groom on the top of the cake was two little mice. That was really super cute. But they love cheese, so that was their cake. And I think, so cute. And I think my favorite so far has been the pizza cutting. And that was a groom’s idea. He’s like, know, Cheryl, it’s round, I can cut it, we can feed each other. I was like, you had me at pizza. you know, that was a favorite of mine.
Felix And Fingers (04:18)
love that.
Yep.
Cheryl Notartomaso (04:36)
and special.
Felix And Fingers (04:37)
that’s brilliant.
Cheryl Notartomaso (04:38)
Super cute.
Felix And Fingers (04:39)
That’s so cool and I’m sure speaks to the personality of that couple too.
Cheryl Notartomaso (04:43)
Exactly right. Yeah, so traditional cakes have kind of a little bit gone by the wayside some some Couples don’t even have cake, you know, they’re just like we’re not really into it So we don’t want to have it or you know, we don’t really care about that So again, you can do whatever you want cupcakes cake pops donuts pizza wheels of cheese, whatever you like
Felix And Fingers (05:08)
Amazing. Do you have any advice for anyone who’s maybe just starting out on their planning journey?
Cheryl Notartomaso (05:14)
For me, I always will.
just say to couples, know, keep an open mind, right? When you’re shopping around for venues and it’s kind of like buying a house, right? You kind of know when you walk in that this is the place that you wanna be. And sometimes, you know, the things that you think you want, you realize as you go through the planning process that maybe those things aren’t as important as you thought they were in the beginning. So again, just kind
to keep an open mind through the process and know that you have a little bit of time. know, lot of most couples give themselves a year or two years of planning time. So that’s a long time, right? Like things can change over time. So again, just keeping an open mind and realizing that nothing has to be decided, you know, right away. You have a little bit of time for planning.
Felix And Fingers (06:08)
Cool. Now to kind of get into the nitty gritty in terms of White Cliffs, what is your current availability? Like how far out are you guys booked?
Cheryl Notartomaso (06:15)
So we book out at least a year in advance. I am getting some inquiries around for 2027. We’ll start booking 2027 brides probably in the fall, like September. So basically a year and a half ahead of time. That way right now we’re very focused on 2025 weddings because our season is May through October.
Felix And Fingers (06:41)
Mm-hmm.
Cheryl Notartomaso (06:45)
So once we finish our detailings and our tastings for the 2025 season, we are really ready to go with 2025 bride. So we try to focus ourselves on them. And we’ve already booked a lot of 2026 weddings already. We already have about 25 on the books. And our sweet spot is around 35 to 40.
Felix And Fingers (07:09)
Gotcha. Okay.
Cheryl Notartomaso (07:13)
So we’re getting there.
Felix And Fingers (07:14)
Okay.
So for that average event size, what is the typical cost at the venue?
Cheryl Notartomaso (07:19)
So right, so I would say that an average guest count is probably about 150 to like maybe 175. But on the 150, I’d probably say a wedding is probably somewhere in the, you know, low to maybe mid 40s. Again, that is dependent on your guest count, what you decide to have for food and beverage. There’s a lot of variables that will
Felix And Fingers (07:47)
Right.
Cheryl Notartomaso (07:49)
determine your final cost. But somewhere around the 40 range, I would say.
Felix And Fingers (07:52)
Got it, okay.
And what’s the deposit amount?
Cheryl Notartomaso (07:57)
So $2,500 to take the date off the books. we would, I usually give a couple of weeks once the couple says that they have the date that they want and they want to move forward. We have a process and like to kind of keep things, compartmentalized as we’re kind of moving through things. So it’s a deposit of $2,500 and then half is due six months prior to the wedding.
Felix And Fingers (08:01)
Good night.
Cheryl Notartomaso (08:21)
two weeks prior to the wedding, the entire wedding is paid for. Yeah.
Felix And Fingers (08:25)
Got it, okay, cool. Do
you have a cancellation policy?
Cheryl Notartomaso (08:30)
Well, you know, we don’t, we…
Do it will really depend on when a cancellation happens, right? Obviously closer to the wedding, there are more stipulations because you can’t sell the date again and things like that. ⁓ If folks cancel for some reason and it’s far enough out and I have the opportunity to sell that date again, then that is a whole different thing. Then they would get their deposit back as long as I can sell that date.
Felix And Fingers (08:44)
Right.
Cheryl Notartomaso (08:59)
not about just keeping people’s money. We want them to have their wedding here. So yeah, we try to be fair about it.
Felix And Fingers (09:04)
Cool.
Do you guys have an in-house catering or do couples provide their own caterer?
Cheryl Notartomaso (09:08)
So we do all
the food and beverage here ourselves. We have a great banquet team. Our banquet chef is amazing. Our executive chef is an award-winning chef. So our food is pretty incredible. Read any of our reviews. Everybody always mentions how great our food is. They say it’s not wedding food. I think that is kind of old school. As far as what wedding food means, think
that might mean that you know you’re plating up your food and you’re putting it in a hot box and waiting until we’re ready to serve but that doesn’t happen here. We plate everything live so you would if we’re calling table one in the kitchen and then we’re serving table one so everything is coming out hot and live at the time of service. So no one’s getting cold mashed potatoes that’s for sure.
Felix And Fingers (09:40)
Right.
Cool.
Do you have preferred? No, that’s, gosh, that’s the worst. Do you guys have preferred vendors that you recommend?
Cheryl Notartomaso (10:00)
Yeah, the worst. We do have preferred. We do have some preferred vendors.
Sorry, I’m crossing over you. I apologize. They are not. are not. People can bring in their own vendors if they like. We just want to make sure that they have their insurance and all of that. And we like to have new vendors come in because we may end up putting them on our preferred vendor list.
Felix And Fingers (10:05)
okay. Are your couples required to use them? you’re good.
Okay.
Right? It’s always good to expand that. Amazing. What’s your maximum capacity for, do you do ceremony on site?
Cheryl Notartomaso (10:23)
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
We do.
So our max capacity for service and for a ceremony needs to be 200 people. Yes.
Felix And Fingers (10:37)
200, okay.
And do you have a designated bridal suite?
Cheryl Notartomaso (10:42)
We do, we have a small bridal suite. Currently it’s not for hair and makeup. People usually come ready. It’s more of a holding space for them. We’ve got some comfy chairs. It’s a place for them to change their shoes, bustle their dress. The girls can put their stuff in there. We usually will give them water and beverages. And for the bride and groom, we always set up a nice little past appetizer station in there for them.
Felix And Fingers (10:48)
Okay.
Cheryl Notartomaso (11:09)
because we know that certain times during cocktail hour they might miss some of those past appetizers and we don’t want them missing any food at all. ⁓ They’ve got a long night ahead of them so we want to make sure they’re well hydrated and fed. For sure. And past appetizers are one of the best parts of weddings, don’t you think? Right? Nobody does.
Felix And Fingers (11:14)
right?
that’s so thoughtful.
that’s great.
Right? I don’t want to miss out on the bacon wrap scallops. No.
Do you guys have any noise ordinances?
Cheryl Notartomaso (11:33)
So, our weddings end at 10 p.m. We are on a residential campus, basically. Our members live here. So, we like to end by 10 o’clock. But we have a five hour reception. usually your wedding or your ceremony might start around 4:30. 4:30 to 5 would be ceremony and 5 to 10 would be the reception. And we only do one wedding a day. So, nobody’s like,
Felix And Fingers (11:37)
Okay.
Cheryl Notartomaso (12:01)
crisscrossing or anything like that. Nothing worse than getting kicked out because another wedding is coming in right after you, right? Right, right. We’re not a wedding factory, you know? No.
Felix And Fingers (12:03)
that’s great. There’s no feeling of…
Right. Yeah, you don’t want to feel like you’re being ushered in and ushered out and someone else is, yeah.
Good.
Cheryl Notartomaso (12:18)
Every wedding is specifically, the menu is for them, their wedding is theirs. everything is basically customized for the couple themselves. Yeah.
Felix And Fingers (12:29)
that’s great.
Cheryl Notartomaso (12:30)
We kind of like to consider ourselves like the huggers, right? We kind of surround them with big hug and take good care of them. So we know this is a really important day for them and especially for their parents as well, knowing that this is a big family event, right? They put a lot of time and effort and money and love into this event. So we wanna make sure that they feel that too. Very important.
Felix And Fingers (12:47)
Right.
That’s amazing.
So, and you can tell like you’re putting a lot of heart in it on your side, which is amazing.
Cheryl Notartomaso (13:01)
Yeah, we try, we really do. I mean, we get it, right? We’ve been doing this a long time and yeah, we know that this is a huge day for people and we wanna make it as special as possible. I say we’re dream makers.
not dream crushers.
Felix And Fingers (13:15)
Right. Do
you guys have ample parking? Is it complimentary?
Cheryl Notartomaso (13:19)
We
do have complimentary parking. have ample parking, we always do suggest to our couples that they provide some transportation, possibly for their guests if they can. mean, everybody wants a ride right at the end of the night. So I mean, we just really suggest even just school buses. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on coaches and things like that. mean, people just really want to get a ride back to the hotel, but they don’t have to worry about driving. we always suggest that obviously if there’s people
Felix And Fingers (13:30)
Right.
Yeah.
Right, Okay.
Cheryl Notartomaso (13:47)
that have driven and needed to leave their car here overnight, that’s fine too, and they need to jump on the bus, that’s okay.
Felix And Fingers (13:53)
Okay cool.
Do you guys have a backup plan for outdoor weddings in case of bad weather?
Cheryl Notartomaso (13:57)
So we are outside. So our tent, our patio and our ballroom are all connected and they’re all in shelter. So if we have a wedding ceremony that can’t be done outside, we just do it under the tent. ⁓ We are always watching the weather too. Sometimes it could just be a passing shower. There has to come a point where people
Felix And Fingers (14:13)
Okay.
Cheryl Notartomaso (14:21)
Stop checking weather at some point because we’re always checking it too. And the thing about Plymouth is it’s very large so It could be raining in North Plymouth and down here. It could be bright beautiful and sunny But White Cliffs is a very magical place. I always say we seem like we’re in this little protective bubble And you know, it doesn’t it doesn’t really rain a lot here on wedding days And if it does rain, it’s usually in the morning
Felix And Fingers (14:28)
Right.
Right.
Cheryl Notartomaso (14:46)
passing shower and by the afternoon when when you know the music starts the skies are beautiful and there’s a lot of times you might be able to get a rainbow too. You’ve seen it!
Felix And Fingers (14:57)
Wow. Well, I mean, it’s, you you
think about it, you’ve got Plymouth Plantation could be in a total thunderstorm. And then the mall could be completely sunny. So I get it. Having been there many times, my family came over actually on the Mayflower. So we love Plymouth and my family. Yeah. So are there any like additional costs associated with using like the backup contingency plans?
Cheryl Notartomaso (15:03)
Exactly right.
You’re absolutely right. You’re absolutely right.
⁓ okay, so you know.
No, no, we make that call. That’s all part of it.
Felix And Fingers (15:24)
Okay.
awesome.
Cool. Tell me a little bit about vendor setup. How early can vendors access the venue on the day?
Cheryl Notartomaso (15:36)
So
usually vendors come about three to two and a half hours prior to the actual event. Also just depends on, you know, if it’s a band or a DJ, know, bands need a little bit more time. ⁓ Sometimes for us, depending on, you know, what the couple is doing for flowers, you know, they may need a little bit more time. It depends on, you know, how much it has to get done. But we’re usually intimate with the vendors.
Felix And Fingers (15:50)
Right.
Right. Yeah.
Cheryl Notartomaso (16:04)
ourselves too. They put us in touch with them so we kind of work all that stuff out with them as well. The less that the couple has to worry about the better it is for them. They’re Yep, yep. Pretty standard, yep.
Felix And Fingers (16:13)
Right. Yeah, I know for us, we usually do two hours before guests get there. So that’s pretty par. Yep.
Is there an event coordinator or like a manager on site during the day?
Cheryl Notartomaso (16:25)
Yes,
so we’re basically all here, but we do have a day of coordinator that’s included. You know, once we start doing tastings, we usually will do the tastings or I’ll do the tastings with the couple and then they go off with the coordinator and start talking about details. You know, who’s walking with who, you’re doing a band, a DJ, you who are your vendors, all of that sort of stuff. So we start to, you know, create the relationship.
Felix And Fingers (16:44)
Cool.
Cheryl Notartomaso (16:55)
between the day of coordinator and the couple. You know, they’ve already met me a couple of times and they’ve had contact with me a few times, but at this point that’s when we start expanding, you know, the relationship to multiple, the day of coordinator plus anybody who’s working the tasting. A lot of times that person who’s doing the tasting is also going to be at the wedding as well.
Felix And Fingers (17:02)
Mm-hmm.
Got it.
Got
it. So are you the main point of contact like prior to the event? Okay. And you’re pretty.
Cheryl Notartomaso (17:24)
So I am the main point of contact. So we work, I start
alone and then we start working in tandem as we kind of progress through the wedding, the details, the billing, all of that sort of stuff. yes, I’m always a constant.
Felix And Fingers (17:34)
Got it.
So you’re pretty involved in the planning process.
Good, okay.
So you would say you’re pretty involved in the planning process.
Cheryl Notartomaso (17:46)
yeah.
First you are.
Yeah, so once we do tasting and things like that once I get the menu back again, know We’re customizing the menu specifically for the couple like they’re choosing what they’re going to have They’re they’re basically deciding all of the things that they want to have at the wedding themselves. I kind of put that all together I get that information put it all together and send it back out to them Any things that we need to change or modify or whatever? They’re working back and forth with me at that point And again once we once they’ve had their
Felix And Fingers (18:12)
Got it, okay.
Cheryl Notartomaso (18:16)
details, then more of the detailing things are worked out with the coordinator. So I’m kind of like food and beverage and they’re kind of like details, vendor stuff, decor, any of that sort of thing. So we kind of tag team it.
Felix And Fingers (18:21)
Makes sense.
Awesome. That’s
great. Sounds like it’s a well-oiled machine.
Cheryl Notartomaso (18:36)
We try, we try. I think we do a great job, you know, I am.
Felix And Fingers (18:39)
All right, well, thank you so much.
Cheryl Notartomaso (18:42)
Yeah, we love what we do. Our couples become really close with us. There’s that trust factor there, which we find really important. People want to work with people that they like, that they have an established relationship with, people that make them feel comfortable and at ease. And that’s what we really try to do here.
Felix And Fingers (19:09)
That’s awesome. Well, that’s all I have. So thank you so, much for coming on, telling us about White Cliffs. ⁓ great.
Cheryl Notartomaso (19:13)
Thank you so much. This was so fun. I
appreciate you taking the time to talk to me today. yeah, anybody who’s out there listening, if you’re looking to get married, yeah, definitely give White Cliffs Country Club a call and be happy to chat with you and show you around. And maybe you can come down and visit me too. All right. Let’s put let’s get down on the books.
Felix And Fingers (19:30)
Yeah.
Amazing.
I would love that. I would love that, yes.
Absolutely. If you want to stay on for one second after we finish recording, we can maybe figure out maybe a good day. Awesome. Well, we’ll say goodbye to our listeners. And thank you again so much, Cheryl. And yeah, any brides listening, any couples listening, check out White Cliffs Country Club in Plymouth.
Cheryl Notartomaso (19:41)
All right, cool.
I would love that.
Thank you.
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