Wedding Venue HELP! Northern NJ

Continued...My wedding date is in 2018. If i book now in 2016 like i plan to (probably by Sep) then the price per person is what i am locked into right? Lets say i book now for 95pp and then by 2018 its 105pp they cant raise me right? Because i booked in 2016 and signed contract then?

Yes that's correct.

I've never been there, but are the spaces close together? Our venue (Basking Ridge Country Club) could possibly have another wedding going on at the same time but they won't be anywhere near each other. (One could be in the ballroom; we're in a tent outside). I would read some reviews to see if any of them address this. I'd trust that they're professionals (and well-staffed) to be able to handle it. I'd also want to be assured that I would have a dedicated point of contact for the evening.

Added: we also looked at the Oakeside Mansion in Bloomfield. It was $95 a person but would be another $7/pp for alcohol. Our wedding is also going to be around 120-130 people.

Personally, I love the Tides, and since we are there like every other week, I can tell you that they are vigilant about not having two weddings run into each other. I have never seen this happen except in cases where the BP is extremely late. Their inside chapel is also really pretty; really a consideration in extreme heat or rain.

Did you look at the Olde Mill? The Grainhouse doesn't have a huge minimum and it's gorgeous. Also with a good rain plan, and wonderful staff.

I've been at the Manor dozens of time, and I've never seen a traffic issue there; did you look at Highlawn? It's one of their properties, it's not as big as the manor, but the view is to die for.

And md? No worries about BRCC; they do a great job and the spaces are nowhere near each other. Stephanie is fantastic to work with, and I've really never seen two parties bump into each other.

If you haven't looked at Il Tulipano, you might; they redid their gardens outside and it's really, really pretty. Ballyowen, in Hamburg might work; that is the most reasonable of the Crystal Springs resorts. I don't know that Perona would work, but they have a smaller room that doesn't need a giant minimum.

@Celia that's good to hear! We've been working with Stephanie and she's been great!

Thanks for the helpful info! I saw highlawn today. It's 109pp for a sunday and I wasn't too impressed with the shape of the room or the fact they charge extra for filet mignon or other various ins and outs. I thought they would be lower than the manor but they are a one wedding affair so perhaps that's why they were higher. I didn't meet the minimums at il tulipano. They told me 120-125 min. I did see Olde mill inn! I liked the inn much more than the grainhouse. It's still on my short list but I didn't like the hotel rooms overlooking the ceremony space. I haven't ruled out tides either because the guy we spoke to (tom) was extremely kind and even offered extra discounts to me. I think I just really wanted the ballroom and not the basement lol but unfortunately I'm a smaller wedding.

Still waiting to see mayfair farms, David's country inn, and lake mohawk and then I think I'm done with venues and will have to choose.

I changed it to something else anonymous, i dont know how i feel about having my face as my avitar lol i like a little internet anonymity so someone i know in real life doesnt find my postings.

Hi there! Check out Perona Farms we had a hard time meeting the minimum too at only 75 guests but they did it for us! We are using the smaller room called the Venetian Room. Picture attached (it's obviously set up differently for weddings this was for their Sunday brunch). I'm getting married on a Saturday at $125 per person in August 2017. For Friday it was $105 - originally $110 but if you tell them you are trying to meet a budget they will lower it (probably not much more then that). Are you willing to do a Saturday afternoon 12 -5 or a Sunday?That price was $90. I just did all this pricing with her back in June so I'm sure this is still very accurate. It's a beautiful venue!! Definitely check it out and let me know if you have any questions. Happy to give you my email!

Ps the manor is beautiful, we've eaten there many times. I didn't even ask their price but I thought they were very pricy maybe I'm wrong though! I forgot to mention we also looked at Ballyowen in Crystal Springs it was soooo beautiful! They don't do a people minimum but instead do a food and drink revenue. So you can have any amount of guests. Saturday was a $13k food and drink minimum and Friday was $9K. Skylands in Randolph was another one we visited. We were not impressed with the grounds they were a bit dilapidated but If you are really sticking to a budget the price was $75 per person. May be worth checking out.

We do a lot of smaller weddings at Perona, and also at Ballyown. If you can look at an afternoon wedding, that might help.

Just a thought... Have you looked at The Stony Hill Inn? I had wanted to have my wedding reception there for years. In the end, we went somewhere else, but still a beautiful place.

Thank you! I havent looked at Perona farms or Stony Hill - i will look into them.

For the Manor they were $110/pp for Fri evening and 105/pp for Sunday. We asked if we could work with the menu to come to our price range and they agreed. Ceremony is an extra $10/pp but given that if i had it at a church we would have to spend more on florals and make a donation i would said the 1k is comparable.

I know you said north, but you if you want more central you can look into Galloping Hill Golf Course. It's only one wedding per day.

Look into the Stone House at Stirling Ridge... http://stonehouseatstirlingridge.com/watchung-wedding-venue/

I just went to a wedding at the Galloping Hill Golf Course in Kenilworth. They did a great job. It was very easy to get to.

The grounds at the Manor are to die for! But the dark wood on the inside turned me off completely. I loved the Tides Estate. It was my first choice for awhile until I saw my venue (Westmount Country Club). My FH's love for our venue was the tie breaker for me.,

Buttonwood manor is Matawan. We looked there and got a great price. Sat night in July $85 a person for their top package all inclusive if we paid cash. Idk if that's "north" enough but the deck was pretty and only 1 Weddinng at a time.

We ultimately ended up somewhere else but I thought that the price was phenomenal.

Stone house is probably not going to fit into that budget but Galloping might. Talk to Jennifer at GH.

I had someone call me today for Zeris Inn in Mountain Lakes, and I admit that I forgot about it. It's pretty and the people there are really, really nice.

S&J, I love the Westmount. I'm there next weekend, and I can't wait. They do a beautiful job.

Hello!

S&J funny you mention the Westmount i'm waiting back for a quote from them to see.

So far i have narrowed it down to Mayfair Farms, and The Manor. Mayfair farms had basically the best menu for my price range and even a cheaper one if needed and the man we met with was great! The kicker at Mayfair was their 95pp price included some seafood stations, and full Viennese. Ceremony was only $5 pp compared to The Manor with no Viennese included and $10pp ceremony. The problem is i'm just really in love with the look location and feel of the manor. So im making a second appt to ask all questions/concerns i may have.

As a side note - since i have this great menu option with Mayfair should i bring that up the manor or nix that idea since they agreed to take out a station during cocktail hour to meet my price range?

Can you check Woodcliff Manor? I'm having my wedding there and the place is absolutely gorgeous.. Also, the general manager, David, is very helpful and nice. We're paying less than $90 on a Sunday afternoon in September... we just eliminated one course and seafood, but the food is AMAZING.. I went for the food tasting and it was delicious. If your budget is $90-95pp, then you're perfectly fine there because that's the price he gave me for a Sunday. The place is beautiful. You should schedule an appointment and go see it. You won't regret it!