8 Months left and still no venue.

I live in NY and I haven't been able to find a place to have our reception yet and I only have 8 months till our date. I know, I know that was the first thing we should have done after we set a date but i'm working on it now. I need a place that will allow me to do everything myself. I need a blank slate so I can paint my masterpiece exactly as I want. I did find a few places but they were either too expensive, they insisted on catering, or the place was just plain wrong. Oh well, the hunt continues...