Outdoor ceremony/reception venue help

Knottie93217223

Hi all!

I've been trying to find a reasonably priced (under $130 pp) outdoor space for both the ceremony and the reception. I would love for it to be on a lake, but the body of water is not as important as the outdoor feel. A lot of places that advertise outdoor activities really only allow an outdoor ceremony and only if it's dry (no tent backup), whereas I would really love to both get married and have our reception in the great outdoors.

I've already looked at Fernbrook Farms, which is almost exactly what I wanted as far as the grounds are concerned, but way too steep of a price. I've also considered NJ state parks and Rutgers Gardens, but I would really prefer a wedding venue with in-house catering and coordinators for set-up/clean-up. 

I'd love any and all suggestions. We are looking in North/Central Jersey as well as NY state within an hour of the city.

Cookie Pusher

I had my wedding at Rutgers Gardens, and even though there isn't an "in-house" caterer, I highly recommend Twin Oaks. They've been doing weddings and events at RG for nearly 30 years so they know that venue better than anyone. Even the coordinator at RG told me to ask Twin Oaks some of my questions since she didn't know the answers. Twin Oaks also does all the set up/break down as part of the package. The food was awesome, the price was perfect for us, and we were able to have the completely outdoor wedding (that didn't require porta-potties) that we wanted.