Brianne Sent on 10/29/2014

5 out of 5 rating

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If I could rate Preakness Hills with 10 stars I would. Words cannot express just how incredible James and his staff at PHCC made our special day. From the time of our first meeting more than a year before our wedding to the day of, PHCC ensured that our wedding day was one that we and our guests would remember for the rest of our lives. So many of our guests have written to tell us how wonderful the setting, food, cocktail hour, and service were. Chef Chris provided an unforgettable dining experience...we couldn't believe just how much QUALITY food was prepared for our wedding. Between the stations, raw bar, passed hors d'oeuvres, dinner and desserts, our guests were RAVING about just how good the food was. The attention to detail James exhibited is unmatched. Between making sure Guinness was on tap for our Irish relatives to the candles hanging above the dance floor, James went to great lengths to make sure we had to worry about NOTHING on our day. The whole atmosphere at PHCC is one of class and elegance. From the beautiful entrance to the majestic view of the pond and well kept golf course while sitting on the back portico, PHCC is probably one of the most beautiful venues to hold a wedding in northern NJ. We can't recommend PHCC highly enough. My husband and I joke that we want to be invited to a wedding at PHCC just so we can have the experience again...and this time without the stress of being the center of attention! Thank you to James, Chef Chris and everyone at PHCC who made our wedding day such a beautiful moment in our lives.

Brianne Sent on 10/29/2014

5 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
5.0 out of 5 rating
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5.0 out of 5 rating
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5.0 out of 5 rating
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5.0 out of 5 rating
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5.0 out of 5 rating

If I could rate Preakness Hills with 10 stars I would. Words cannot express just how incredible James and his staff at PHCC made our special day. From the time of our first meeting more than a year before our wedding to the day of, PHCC ensured that our wedding day was one that we and our guests would remember for the rest of our lives. So many of our guests have written to tell us how wonderful the setting, food, cocktail hour, and service were. Chef Chris provided an unforgettable dining experience...we couldn't believe just how much QUALITY food was prepared for our wedding. Between the stations, raw bar, passed hors d'oeuvres, dinner and desserts, our guests were RAVING about just how good the food was. The attention to detail James exhibited is unmatched. Between making sure Guinness was on tap for our Irish relatives to the candles hanging above the dance floor, James went to great lengths to make sure we had to worry about NOTHING on our day. The whole atmosphere at PHCC is one of class and elegance. From the beautiful entrance to the majestic view of the pond and well kept golf course while sitting on the back portico, PHCC is probably one of the most beautiful venues to hold a wedding in northern NJ. We can't recommend PHCC highly enough. My husband and I joke that we want to be invited to a wedding at PHCC just so we can have the experience again...and this time without the stress of being the center of attention! Thank you to James, Chef Chris and everyone at PHCC who made our wedding day such a beautiful moment in our lives.

Ashley Sent on 06/03/2013

5 out of 5 rating

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Preakness Hills Country Club was the best decision we made (other than actually getting married!!!) James, the GM, and the entire staff gave us the best possible wedding and we really can't thank them enough.
We looked at a few venues throughout NJ and were really looking for something a bit different than the typical "NJ wedding." We saw Preakness in the winter, and even then we could see it had beautiful grounds. It doesn't have the typical Country Club feel, and I loved the raised ceiling over the dance floor. For a May wedding we were also excited about having the outdoor patio area for cocktail hour.
Several months after booking we had a tasting with our parents. The food is really superb and a huge shout out to Chef Chris for delivering amazing food and making it look good! People could not stop raving about cocktail hour, the stations, the hors d'oeuvres, everything. We had a filet and a fish option for our dinner and we trusted Chef Chris so much we let him decide the fish based on the best options he could get the week of the wedding.
Everything involved in the planning with Preakness was easy and I really can't stress enough how wonderful that is. It is not easy to plan an event for 165 people, from another state, but once we talked over a certain details, I no longer worried about them. And so many of the details were handled by Preakness including food, drinks, chairs, linens, menu cards, and setup. They even handled a rental for our favors and provided a signature drink station (which was a huge hit).
The day was seamless, the venue was perfect, and we had the best time possible. We'll say it again, but we cannot thank the entire Preakness team enough. I could go on and on, but do yourself a favor and hold your wedding here.

Erica R. Sent on 07/29/2024

2 out of 5 rating

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July 2024 Wedding

We had our wedding at PHCC and while it was our favorite day ever, sadly we would not recommend this venue for weddings. The venue itself is beautiful but we felt the overall experience working the team lacked the special attention to detail and personal touch that wedding vendors should have.

Weddings should be an exciting, joyous occasion and in short, we did not receive that “warm & fuzzy” feeling we were hoping for when working with this venue.
We had toured MANY other wedding venues and noticed how others genuinely went above and beyond to make the bride & groom feel special but this venue truly lacked that.

PHCC prides themselves on “exceptional service” and we were very surprised and disappointed by the service we received throughout the entire process.

When we booked our wedding there were many things that helped us make our decision. For example, specific details, items, packages, and prices that were agreed upon by the venue which helped us make our decision to book there.

Later on as it got closer to our wedding date, almost everything changed. Prices, packages, what was included, etc. When we questioned the changes the staff made us feel as if we were completely wrong. Luckily I had previous email conversations with everything in writing to reflect on.
I went into this hoping to feel secure and have confidence in our venue and the staff but everything quickly seemed very unorganized after booking. It almost felt as if they were “Yes-ing” us to death just to get us to book with them and once we did, everything quickly changed.

In addition to hosting our wedding at PHCC, we also hosted our Rehearsal Dinner there. We were disappointed by the service at the rehearsal dinner, especially when it came to the bartender. The bartender did not smile once throughout the entire night, was rude, rolled his eyes at guests when they ordered drinks and acted as if every order was an issue. Almost everyone at our dinner noticed this. Is this “exceptional service”? We found this entirely unacceptable and when this was brought up to the staff there was no explanation or apology.

The day of our wedding, there were many things we were disappointed with.
I have been a bridesmaid in MANY weddings at MANY different venues throughout the years. I have seen first hand how the staff treats the bride, groom, parents, and bridal party and I was truly disappointed by the lack of attention we received on our special day.

Throughout the entire day while getting ready, we very rarely saw our Bridal Attendant. We were outside in 93 degree heat for almost 2 hours taking photos and no one ever once came outside to offer us water or simply check in on us. It was as if no one was even there.

As the bride, I also checked in on the setup of decorations several times and each time I checked in something was wrong or had not been set up properly as discussed.

Following our ceremony, my new husband and I waited nearly 15 minutes for our first beverage during cocktail hour. At almost every wedding I’ve ever been to, the staff has cocktails already prepared for them and hands them their first drink as they walk out of their ceremony.
There should have at least been a glass of champagne poured for us… something, anything?! I really do not think we should have had to stand at the bar and waited for the bartenders to serve other guests as the Bride & Groom just stood there waiting.
This continued throughout the reception as well - as the Bride & Groom we stood at the bar, were not even greeted by the bartenders while they served all of the other guests before us. There was no excitement for us or special treatment extended towards us.

Overall, the venue itself is beautiful but I truly do not believe PHCC should specialize in hosting weddings. We had a smaller wedding (approximately 110 people) so I cannot imagine their excuse is that they were overwhelmed. We were not asking for anything out of the ordinary, these are all simple asks that ALL other venues do with ease and genuine excitement. For all of the money we spent to host our wedding at PHCC we really believe we should have received better service. A little effort could have gone a long way and would have made that much more of a difference on our special day.

Preakness Hills Country Club Reviews

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Preakness Hills Country Club