The Merion - Wedding Venue

Coleyon24

Hi ladies!
Has anyone had their wedding at The Merion or been to a wedding there within the last year?  I wanted to get some feedback on ballrooms and pricing.  They won't give any idea on budget over the phone, and I wanted to get an idea how much per person for a Saturday night wedding in Sept or Oct.  Also reviews on food and overall experience.  Thanks

angiemg22

Sorry for the long post...
I'm having my wedding at The Merion next year, and I have been to a wedding there two years ago. It is absolutely gorgeous, I felt like I didn't need to go to any more appointments. For September or October, they will give you a great price break. The pricing was actually less than what we were quoted at The Westin Mt Laurel. With discounts for the time of year, we're paying about $150 per person (including the filet mignon options). All four of the ballrooms have a different feel, but all are very elegant. They include ALL of the passed hors d'oeuvres and 6 cocktail hour stations. I can tell you people at the previous wedding thought the cocktail hour was the dinner. Open bar included, with all top shelf liquor (if they don't have it, they will get it for you). All three of your entree choices are offered to guests, with an additional vegetarian option and special diet options, so you don't have to get food choices from your guests. The dessert spread is phenomenal, and all of the food was delicious. Cake is also included in the price, and they have a new pastry chef with awesome design options. They even give you a sampling of hors d'oeuvres when you visit the first time.

We are having our wedding in the Palazzo ballroom: the room size can be changed based on guest number (don't worry about not meeting a max in this room like I did the first time I saw it), gorgeous columns, huge cocktail hour room, very high ceilings, rectangle dance floor

I highly recommend going to see The Merion, I had looked at Luciens Manor and thought we were going to go with them until I saw The Merion.

aprovencher21

I got married at The Merion this past Jan.  It was absolutely amazing.  I believe I was quoted at about $140 per head for a Saturday in October.  Also, go in there ready to negotiate a bit even if you are happy with the original price they give.  I was completely ready to sign but negotiated a bit and got two free cocktail stations (we added on the seafood station, the gyro station and the sushi station and only paid for the sushi station), a free ice sculpture and a free martini bar.  I had my ceremony in the Palace ballroom and my reception in the Empire ballroom.  I cannot say enough good things about The Merion.  We were taken care of like royalty and every little detail was managed beautifully and easily. 

My brother in law is a major major problem.  I was terrified he would get plastered and start something plus he's a huge guy.  I told Cathy (my Merion planner) and JImmy the other main person in charge of my entire wedding about my concerns and they alerted the bartenders to not serve him and also had two guys keep an eye on him all night.  It was a huge relief.  I liked that I knew I didn't have to hire a wedding coordinator as they had everything in hand.

My wedding cake was stunning.... it was 6 tiers, two flavors, had sugar paste hand cute snowflakes and covered in sugar crystals to look like snow.  It was made on site by their baker and only cost me an additional $150 (because I added on two tiers and the snowflakes). 

I loved it there so much that we plan to hold our future kids Christening parties there and my mom wants to throw my baby shower there (I'm not even pregnant).  I looked at a ton of places prior to deciding on The Merion and the best decision I made was to have the wedding there.  Good luck with planning!

Rangergirl

My husband and I got married at The Merion in January of this year and I cannot say enough good things about our experience there. It truly was a dream wedding in terms of our venue. The staff is impeccable, the food is beyond amazing and the venue is gorgeous. My friends kept telling me that when we found the venue we would know just and I was starting to doubt that would happen - we looked at 12 or so venues before The Merion and as soon as we walkd in, we looked at each other and said this is it. We originally thought it was out of our price range and I actually started crying thinking we couldn't afford it. If you are up front with them about your budget and willing to work with them on dates you can get a GREAT rate. We paif $110 per person and they allowed us to include our vendors towards our minimum as well. We also paid $1500 dollars and they made a RIDICULOUS grooms cake for us. If you'd like any other info or wan to see pictures of the venue, PM me and I will be happy to share!

Bonnie&Clyde77

I am having my wedding there in the Empire Ballroom on Sunday. I will write a review after but I can tell you that they are amazing, just make an appt to meet with them and they will treat you like royalty. They will sit down and talk pricing and everything at that first meeting and you definitely don't feel pressured. I think for the money that you pay, you get absolutley everything you could want. 

I can tell you for a sunday wedding we are paying $121per person. We got an upgraded cake and really you just have to bring in a DJ, FLorist and Photographer. They take care of setting up and everything.

miss1180

i was in a wedding there.... its a gorgeous place, and the food was good. BUT there is a lot going on. depending on the time of year, they hold a few weddings at the same time, morning AND afternoon. 
my friends had a mornnig/afternoon wedding (11-5)- we left our stuff in the bridal suite. when we went back up after the wedding, it was gone!! they had moved it to another bridal suite because the evening wedding needed it. not a HUGE deal- but just unnerving to know that they were moving our stuff, and didn't give us a heads up about it beforehand.
 also, my husband had to stop my friends videographer from video taping the place cards from another wedding. again, not a HUGE deal and could be edited out. but, would have been strange to have another brides place cards on their wedding video!
  i also felt like they kind of rushed the meal. we would get up to go get a drink, and come back to our plate gone- instead of them just leaving it there until they asked us if we were done.
  again- i think a lot of this was because it was a daytime wedding in may (popular wedding month). but, just something to be aware of- that there most likely will be other weddings or parties going on at the same time as yiur wedding (sharing photo spots, seeing other brides/wedding parties, guests going into the wrong reception room, etc)

nacooper25

I was going to get married at the Merion. I've had serveral events there as well as suggested my cousin to get married there. She did in 2007. It was beautiful. I love the different rooms and was looking into the Empire room downstairs since we would have the whole floor. However, The Trump National Golf Course in Pine Hill, NJ is much more affordable, has a more scenic place to take pictures, and only hosts one event at a time. I think I'm going to book there for mine. The Merion wanted to charge me $125pp for a buffet. Trump is charging me $120 to $130 for sit down and there is still room to negotiate. So look around before you book. 

LiaAli

I am getting married at the Merion in 2 weeks and I have nothing bad to say about it and have not heard anybody else have anything bad to say. They have taken care of my fiance and I from day one and treated us and our families like royalty. Our wedding is on a Friday in October in the Palazzo Ballroom and we were able to get it for $125 a person with extra stations. They are definitely willing to negotiate and work with you to get within your budget. They really go the extra mile and do whatever it takes to ensure that your day is personal and special.

Coleyon24

Thanks for all your help Ladies!  We actually decided on a different venue, but we did visit The Merion and it was very nice!!