NNJ Vendors

Bill has been simply a pleasure to work with from the beginning I have emailed him almost on a daily basis. We got so much for the price and people were raving about the food and service. Maryann my maiter'd(sp) was awesome from the moment I walked in the door on my wedding day . We went down to look at our room and I told her they had the wrong cake and she said no I called and told them to give you a 4 tier cake instead of the 3 tier one that was included in the package for simply no reason at all;) I just have nothing bad to say about them the hall was beautiful the people were nice . I am so happy we chose this venue. ~ jen629

We booked BCC a year and a half ago, and they have been wonderful throughout the entire planning process.  Jean (the sales manager) was very accommodating and flexible with every request that we made.  They made sure everything went perfectly the day of the wedding, if there were any issues all day, we certainly didn’t know about it. Our guests loved the placed and were raving about the food! The staff was very attentive to us the day of the
wedding, and made sure us, our families, and our guests had anything that we wanted.  When we were looking for a reception venue, we wanted someplace that had beautiful grounds (we wanted something with windows that had a view of something besides a parking lot), only one event at a time, and great food, and we got all of that and more with the Battleground.  Highly Recommend ~ 30may09bride

 

 

 

 

Our original salesperson left soon after we booked & this caused some miscommunication (which made me CRAZY & I was NOT pleased for @ 2 weeks shortly after we booked). Once we met with one of the owners, Al Manzo (I know, I know: forget about the tv show. He does know his business), we ironed everything out & Al was completely accomodating & yes, pleasant to work with. Contrary to what I hear has been some people's experiences, we were never condescended to, treated as if our wedding didn't matter, etc. Day of: phenomenal food (not typical "wedding food..." surpassed my expectations), service could not have been better. The waitstaff all had great personalities (that was unexpected...I thought they'd just pass appetizers), got a PLATTER of spanakopita brought to one table during CH (when my cousins said, "we're Greek..we're really into the spanakopita!"). I never had to ask for a drink, they woud APPEAR.  Our maitre d', Christopher, was polite, professional, a calming presence... he even drove MH, my mother & I back to the hotel at the end of the night with many boxed-up things when we were about to call the best man. Christopher offered. He was so organized, all of my things were returned in their boxes cleaned, intact. The executive chef came out, visited all of the tables starting with MH & my table to inquire briefly as to whether we were enjoying the food. The bakers are great; we LOVED our cake (I designed it & they recreated it perfectly) & dessert display (which they arranged/served outdoors on the terrace adjoining our room). Everything was fresh & delicious. We loved our wedding we were thrilled & again, I'm happy to be able to say we'd absolutely do it at the Brownstone again! ~ Jaytee501

So I am not usually a Brownstone fan, I admit it. But I attended an e-party there on Friday night (yes, I'm in NJ! lol) and it was great! They did a really nice job. The passed hors devours were plentiful and really delicious. The only thing I noticed was that a lot of them weren't exactly finger foods...some of them I passed on b/c they just looked too messy to eat. Although I did eat a slider and it was worth the mess, lol. The dinner was buffet and everything I had was great. FI made himself sick he ate so much. The cake was literally a three-tier wedding cake and it was really good. It was buttercream but they did a good job of mimicking fondant. We did have the music up pretty loud and when it was turned down a bit for dinner, you could hear the music from the party across the way. It wasn't annoying or anything, but maybe something someone might not like. Whenever you left to go to the restroom it was like "Whoa! There's a lot going on!" (I think they had all the rooms booked.) But inside the room we really didn't hear anything from other parties. ~ melissa82

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perfect, perfect, perfect! Pat the planner there is a dream come true. She is so caring and really works so hard. She was at our wedding the whole time and did everything from helping us to walk down the aisle to bussing tables! ~ aspeckles

 

 

The staff at The Graycliff really outdid themselves. Everything was perfect. The instructions I gave them for all of my items were followed exactly. The food was delicious and plentiful. John was the Maitre D' and he was professional and very attentive. The staff always checked with us if we needed anything but not to the point where it was overbearing. They were there when we needed them but let us enjoy ourselves also. The owner came by after the reception to make sure everything was great. It was really nice and unexpected. The fire show before dessert was amazing! Everyone was surprised and they really enjoyed it. Everything was pretty much awesome! ~ melissa721

everything was absolutely wonderful. All my guests complimented the food over and over. The maitre d was awesome, he was 100% on top of everything. Awesome!!!! I wish I can do another party there soon!!! ~ Lori&Peter
 

The really just did a great job..Greg and Donald are just AWESOME! We had our ceremony there as well.The rehersal night we had planned for rain so reharsed both outside and in. They moved the ceremony from the ballroom to the tulip terrace for me because I didnt want the ballroom. Our personal assistant was awesome. I felt like royalty. They whisked me away in the elevator. They made all accomidations for us that they could and we ate. We even had time for dinner but because we had so much at cocktail hour we couldnt eat it. I changed my cake the week before the wedding and the bakery designer did a phenomal job with it. It was sooo pretty. It also tasted soooooo good. Everyone raves about the food and service. Our drinks where never empty and some of my guests even tipped the waitstaff themselves. Every detail I went over with them was done to the T. The only thing that was wrong was the slideshow we made they didnt put on repeat. Overall excelent I hope we go to a wedding there just to expierence it from the other angle. ~ mcconvillejulia


Words can't describe how much this place impressed me, my family, and all of our guests. The cocktail hour was incredible, and there was additional food on it that we didn't even select in our package. Everyone enjoyed sitting out on the outdor piazza. People were coming up to us after our cocktail hour saying "the reception could end here and it would of been more than enough!" Our 3 bridal attendants basically kissed our butts the entire night. They took care of us the whole night and always made sure we had a drink in our hand and food on our table and everything was going perfect. I also liked how during the cocktail hour and dessert hour, they had a special table reserved for us and kept bringing us food (way more than we could eat, but a good variety of things). This way, we could enjoy the wedding and guests would come over to us to talk so we didn't have to walk around and get "side-tracked." Dinner was excellent, but I only tried the grilled filet. It tasted like what you would get at an upscale steakhouse....very impressive (later on they told me they use the same meat that their restaurant Rare uses). They also spaced the dinner courses out so people could dance in between them which was nice. And the service....OMG.....I don't think I ever saw one person at the bar. The servers took everyone's drink orders at the tables and kept refilling and checking every few mins or so. In addition, there were 2-3 people going around the room with bottles of white and red wine serving and repouring constantly. I have never seen service like this and it really impressed our guests. There is so much more to say, but the long and short of it was, it was outstanding in every way and def. worth every penny we paid. Marisa and Iris, don't worry about a thing, you are in good hands and are going to be blown away. ~ USER876
 

I had my Jewish ceremony and reception here.Leading up to the day, they were great.I worked with Arlene and she was awesome.She was always trying to get us extra things and we got a really good deal.It rained on my wedding day and we had to move the location of the ceremony and the staff was REALLY awesome about that.The food was good – cocktail hour was the best.The execution of everything was perfect – they did everything I asked for.We became friends with all of the staff there too, and everything turned out great.It’s a beautiful venue and I would recommend to anyone to have their event there. ~ raesan24

SO AMAZING! they exceeded my expectations and then some. every single person stopped to tell me how great everything was. our matire'd was arlene and she kept everything flowing and under control. i did a candy buffet and she set the whole thing up with all these lights and flowers! so unexpected but totally appreciated! i'd be happy to tell anyone what a great experience it was. ~ fparker49 

Great to work with, let me redo parts of the menu, and from what I have heard the food was really good, especially the eggplant rollatini.I had a few minor issues (didn’t start exactly on time and a few things changed at the last minute) but overall things went really well.At the end of the night they gave us pastries to take back when he realized we hadn’t eaten. ~ caketime
 

 

 

Last night we went to a wedding at the Manor and had a great time the weather was amazing and perfect for their outdoor ceremony. My top 3 raves for the night were the rolly chairs, the chocolate mousse, and the maitre de. The biggest complaints I heard (yes people are rude enough to bitch_about your wedding while actually at your wedding) was that the service wasn't the greatest. IMO the servers did their job, which is all you can really expect. They took our order, they served us the correct dishes and they didn't spill anything. Were they the most attentive? Not really. Were they super friendly? No. But I wouldn't say they had any effect on the overall enjoyment of the evening. Pictures ~ I <3 Seabass

LarissaAnn's Manor Reviews

Re: Virginian Room, Banquet Coordinator Preston, MD George, Bridal help- Isabelle I can not say enough about how amazing everyone was throughout the process. I had a snafoo with my dress where a bead caught and pulled the threads that tacked the netting to the silk (allowing dress to bustle properly) and Isabelle fixed it in a pinch. The food was unbelievable and the cake was AMAZING!!! Chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and fresh raspberry filling topped with chocolate ganache. Really, it was a perfect day. The weather cooperated and we were able to have the ceremony outside. Can't not say enough good things! ~ thirdeyeview

 

I couldn’t have been happier with my venue choice. We worked with Tony as our coordinator and Rich was our maitre’d the day of. Tony was always willing to help us at any point during the planning process and Rich was right by our side the day of the wedding. Everyone commented on how well our event flowed and things went flawlessly. We did both our ceremony & reception at MF. For the price we paid, we definitely got a lot of bang for our buck at Mayfair Farms. The food was excellent and all of our guests raved at the service of the staff. ~ alyssa44

They were so nice since the first day we spoke to them. We booked this hall 4 months before the wedding and it was really a God sent. We had to cancel our old venue and surprising someone cancelled on them on our date which worked out. We worked with Tony up until the wedding day and he was nicest guy. They accommodated all of our requests and even allowed us to bring in some food from our culture. The day of we had Rich and he made sure everything went according to plan. They made sure the guests were eating and drinking at all times. They also set up the candy buffet, gave us mailbox for the cards. All the guests raved about the food from both cocktails and dinner. People were so stuffed after coctkails. I wish i can get married there again lol. They did a great job with over 400 guests. ~ oby

I absolutely love this place. We looked at a bunch of places before we found the Meadow Wood in Randolph. They were the only place that had the "wow" factor that we were looking for. The food was great and the cocktail hour was amazing. We had all types of stations there and it was awesome. The staff was so helpful and nice. Heather was great to deal with and Jeff the owner stayed around and greeted my guests and asked them if they needed anything. They gave us five star treatment. The Meadow Wood was everything we were looking for in a wedding, we weren't disappointed with one thing. And they had a tasting for us the was unbelievable. Some places we looked at said they won’t do a tasting and I thought that was weird. I would like to know that the food is good before I book a wedding. ~ Deener713

I went to my cousin's wedding last night at the MWM which is really pretty on the inside - I loved their crystal chandeliers. Cocktail hour: The food was good during CH and they had a really unique (as far as I know--I've never heard of this before) 50's station. They had 2 attendents in the 50's station dressed similar to Johnny Rocket's employees. It was a 50's diner set up and they served fries and onion rings, mini burgers, classic coke in glass bottles and milkshakes. They played 50's music and it was by far my favorite station. They also has a fajita and taco station which I thought was also kind of different. I didn't actually taste the food there but everyone said it was delicious. There was plenty of seating during the CH. There were pretty much the same amount of tables as a restaurant set up. The only reason I noticed this was because the last wedding I went to at the Brownstone it was just so obvious how limited the seating was at the CH. My only issue with their CH was the amount of food. There were only 4 stations and they were spread out between 2 rooms. There was no seafood and barely any passing trays (although that may have been the bride and groom's decision rather than a deficiency on the part of the MWM). However, I always thought seafood was a GIVEN on an CH menu. Reception: The food at the reception was also good. Service was just ok--no intro from our server, didn't really know who to ask when we needed things. The bar situation was disappointing to many guests. Apparently as a house policy they don't do shots. There were a group of guests who all got together to do a shot in honor of the B&G, including the B&G's parents, and the bartender told the group (in an extremely rude manner) about the house policy. I'm not sure if the B&G knew this beforehand but it was a bit of a letdown for the group. Dessert: Again, not much included but still delicious. They didn't have any Italian pastries (except a tiny tray they sat on the table, but it was very limited and NO CANOLIS! lol) So other then the small tray of pastries, they had 2 stations set up: one with waffles and funnel cake with all toppings, and one with 2 cakes and and a pie, plus the wedding cake.  ~ melissa721
 

 

 

No one ever talks about Newark as a hot bed of wedding venues but I believe that this place is a diamond in the rough. From the very first meeting with my now husband and parents they were in love with the place- it has an amazing view of the neighboring towns as well as NYC off in the distance. Their manager Harry went above and beyond with accomodations i.e. picking out linens that they didn't have available at the venue, uplighting, throwing in things to our package like the dessert table, arranging help with part of the wine favors and even sticking the labels that we purchased online for us! The day of went smoothly and we couldn't have asked for anything else from attentive staff to making sure that my husband and I were well taken care of. Besides that the food was ridiculously good and not designer food which when combining an Italian and a West-Indian family is important. ~ princet1
 

All I can say about this place is WOW. They were fantastic from the first meeting and really went above and beyond my expectations. Jason, our Maitre D, was phenomenal as was my bridal attendant, LaTonja. Even my bridesmaids felt like queens. Our ceremony in the foyer couldn't have been more beautiful. The cocktail hour is just mind-blowing...guests thought they were in a tiny food wonderland. Everyone raved about the food and how beautiful the Palace is. We lucked out with the weather, so guests were able to mingle outside on the patio. The Viennese was to die for...my friend's husband was like a little kid as he exclaimed, "There is a WHOLE room filled with desserts!" Definitely a wonderful, wonderful experience. ~ Strunella

 

 

 

Perona Farms was simply amazing. I've had people calling me nonstop to rave about the food and service they received. Through out the 2 years we were working with Alison, who is wonderful. After they screwed up our date, they more than made up for it. When Alison left for her maternity leave we were left with Kate who turned out to be completely useless. When we expressed our concerns, Alison came back for a meeting and then transferred us to Tracey, one of the owners. On the day of things went so smoothly. We had Dan as our Maitre D' whom I've known since high school. He really went above and beyond to make sure we were happy and full. We actually had the time to sit and eat dinner (which was amazing). My bustle kept falling out and Dan was right there with pins. They made sure all our little details were set up perfectly, the viennese hour was delicious, the cordials cart was a huge hit (not as big as our candy bar), and they loved the cup of coffee to go. I don't have one single complaint about Perona Farms and I'm dying to go to a wedding there as a guest ~ CM1206

We worked with Tracey, and our Maitre D was Dan – everything was fantastic. We booked the smaller ballroom because we liked the feel of it – and even though there was a wedding in the big ballroom we couldn’t tell – we never saw or heard them. All of the staff was fantastic and kept everything running smoothly. The food was also fantastic. We gave them a lot of different stuff (photo share cards, pictures of our parents’ weddings, etc) and they got it all to where we had visioned it. We got a ton of comments from guests about how they loved everything. ~ Kate&Mark

 

 

Food was great. Drinks were great. Service was impeccable. Dominick is a doll and was on top of everything leading up to the wedding and day of. I have not one negative thing to say. It was an excellent value for the money. Its not a highly rec'ed venue here, but I def encourage you, especially you budget brides to check them out if you are still on a venue hunt. ~ Sinthya
 

 

I cannot rave enough about the Rockleigh and their staff. We worked with Rockni and we had everything we could want. Food was amazing (kosher menu). Grounds are gorgeous. Banquet room is beautiful. They were even able to make the ice sculpture be of our dog. I have NO complaints. ~ Caryn1980

From the moment we first arrived over a year ago to check out the hall I fell in love with the feel of the venue. It's simply stunning and walking around the beautiful grounds makes you just feel amazing. They were beyond accommodating with all our menu change requests and any other special instructions we had on the day of. The wedding day was executed perfectly. They really know how to run an event there. We felt so taken care of by the Maitre'D and the bridal attendant, and the two banquet managers that have been with us along the way. You do NOT need a DOC at the Rockleigh. All the food we ate was spectacular and they put a nice spread for us in the bridal suite. Guests were raving about the Viennese ~ teamAandE

 

Seabra's Armory was absolutely amazing! While communication was a little tough over the phone, we got everything we asked for. The food was amazing (many of our guests said it was the best food at a wedding they have ever had). We had a lobster bar, top shelf open liquor, sangria, filet mignon, and so much other food that no one left hungry (or sober). They had set up in the bridal lounge a private cocktail hour for the bridal party, parents, and grandparents, which was a great way to escape from the guests for a little while and still be able to enjoy the cocktail hour food. The atmosphere is fabulous - one guest said she felt like she was on a ship but without the sea sickness. Our only complaints were that our cake started to melt and they did not set up our candy buffet correctly. Other than that, we got whatever we wanted - and at an AMAZING price. While Seabra's Armory has no website, it is completely worth the ride to Perth Amboy to take a look. It is a "diamond in the rough". ~ Bashert628

 

Anyone getting married at Seasons will not be disappointed with their food and service.They go above and beyond not just for the bride and groom but each and every guest.We ran a bit behind schedule taking pictures and they knew I really wanted to try and mingle a bit at my cocktail hour, so they extended it 15 minutes.My football helmets ice sculpture rocked too ;-) The additional of the balcony right outside the ballroom was a great idea.So many people went out there to either smoke or get some air and they were still part of the party.Seasons is truly an exceptional venue and worth every penny. ~ Jerzee

Day of Seasons was great, they did almost everything that I expected and wanted. My only two gripes was they didnt light the votives placecard holders, they put the candy buffet in a weird spot, and I have to figure out who my cocktail hour hurricanes were given too. These are not things that ruined my time there, so realistically these are minor things. The food was excellent, drinks & shots were excellent, and the service was excellent. All my guests were in awe of how much food their was, that they had the vodka shot luge and that there were serving shots period, the reception room looked amazing and I loved how they lit up the ceiling different colors throughout the nite. The maitre' d & bridal attendent were so helpful to us that night and worked well with my DOC. They made sure that we ate and had a drink all night. The bridal attendent helped me so much that night...especially when my hubby broke my bustle during our first dance....she was to the rescue and fixed it and it lasted the whole night. There was actually a mishap with two of the guests and seasons kept it under raps to not bother the rest of us and got what needed to be done done! The cake that was included in our package looked and tasted amazing and I got my top teir of my cake by the end of night in a box. They alsohelped pack things into the car, and really did their job to make our wedding night an amazing one. Things don't always go 100% perfectly and all the things that should go right did.
The biggest flub afterwards was that they never gave hubby's family my cocktail hour hurricanes that the bridal attendent was aware that needed to go home with us, and she was aware that the florist was picking up the placecard table and reception centerpieces hurricanes the next day. The day after the florist went to pick them up and they told them they didnt have them and said someone from the bridal party must have took them. Seasons never called me to tell me or ask me, and then when I found out about it and contacted Seasons they gave me a hard time and played the blame game. How can over 80 hurricanes go missing less than a day later?! when i first called about it they were very nice about it and said they would get back to me about it....no call when I called back again the attitude was not so great...this is really upsetting to me bc its not like I didn't pay good money to have my wedding there....and the day was great I cant deny that but they should still be professional and accomodating after the fact, and should accept responsibility when they make a mistake! It's not the worst thing that could happen but its not the greatest thing either. I have to say though if you talk to anyone about any issues just go to Carl because when my talked to him he was willing to write a check for the missing items and was much better on the phone....the 2nd time we talked to Jay and he wasnt really that responsive or professional, but I felt that I got the respect and attention I needed from Carl and he was willing to fix the problem and thats all I really wanted! ~ Dancer2873
 

The Tides was absolutely phenomenal. I couldn't say enough positive things about them. People raved about the food and the grounds are fantastic. Steve was maitre'd and was always there whenever we needed him. ~ Lovemuffin1125

Everything was fantastic. The guests kept telling us how much they loved the food and the grounds at the location. My only bone to pick is with the MC before the ceremony. He was extremely pushy, and at one point we were ignoring him. We understood he was doing his job, but sometimes there's a way to be nice about it. Once the ceremony was over, it wasn't a problem anymore. Other than that - everything was absolutely great. We didn't eat much - the salad was actually presented really beautifully and tasted delicious. Also, we really enjoyed the Chateaubriand. They actually took us to the Viennese hour before everyone else so that we could take pictures eating everything - which was really nice because we actually got to eat by ourselves! ~ Mishie

 

They completely lived up to their reputation and exceeded my expectations! From the amazing food to the outstanding service, this venue truly did make our reception unforgettable. **At some point during the Viennesse Hour, one of our guests dripped melted chocolate onto my dress. Before I even realized it, my wonderful bridal attendant was at my side with some creative mixture that worked perfectly! I was so thankful to have her there. Anyone who is planning to have their wedding at the Venetian will be beyond thrilled with this venue. They really live up to the saying "You get what you pay for" ~ misskris927

Okay so let me see how I can rate them as fair as possible. They were amazing, the food was great, the place was awesome, the staff was incredible, Willy and I were treated like royalty, the cake was perfect, all my guest raved (and are still raving) about how good the food was and that there was food in abundance, I wouldn’t change the place if I had to do all over again….So, here is where the “I have to be fair” part comes in. The wedding is going to be on TV (I will have a separate post to discuss this) and I feel like the Villa would’ve done just as good of a job as they did with or without the TV crew (based on what I saw at Leigh’s wedding) but I think I got treated extra special b/c they wanted to look good on TV. Would I recommend the place ABSOLUTELY! But I just felt like I had to mention the TV show thing b/c I want to give them a fair review. So that’s why I didn’t give them an A+ and the fact that they kind of tried (emphasis on tried b/c they were not successful thanks to my DOC lol “wink wink sin”) to take over a couple of aspects of the reception that I had given clear direction to the DJ about. It all worked out and I can’t really blame them too much for it b/c it was mostly the fault of the TV crew and that’s what I signed up for. Anyways, to sum it up, I recommend The Villa. ~  N&W09

We could not have been more pleased with Westmount.The food and service were amazing.We were catered to all night and so were our parents.Karen was our MD and she was wonderful and very attentive.Our guests raved about it from the second the cocktail hour started.As far as during the planning process, again, I have no complaints.They were responsive and very helpful the week of the wedding when we were bringing things there, asking questions, etc.It was a great reception and I would highly recommend this venue. ~ cknud112

5 stars…. Everyone there went above and beyond what was ever expected. Food was amazing. Attention to me & my husband was beyond outstanding. I would do it again if I could! Used Tom, Jr. to deal with. At first seemed like a hard butt but once the wedding got closer through in a lot! ~ Mags0220