Glen Foerd Mansion vs. Pen Ryn Mansion

KristyMac25

Hi Philly Brides!

For the past several months since my venue (Elkins Estate) declared Chapter 11, I've been painfully struggling to find another venue that compares. I had narrowed it down to Pen Ryn Mansion, but just recently visited Glen Foerd Mansion and really loved it there too. Can anyone give me any opinions on either place? It looks like the cost will be about the same. We are having 140-150 people. Glen Foerd doesn't allow buring candles - does this ruin the ambiance? Also, GF only allows arrival to be 1 hour before the event. Any brides find this to be too much of a time crunch, especially since we are doing "first glance" and pictures pre-ceremony? If I went with Pen Ryn, I plan on having fireworks (my date is on Memorial Day Weekend - how appropriate ). Is there enough room on the dance floor at GF? Does it flow well from dinner inside to the dancing in conservatory at night? 
Agh, I could go on and on with questions - I really need help since time is closing in. I'm a nervous wreck :-o.

Thanks for any opinions or suggestions to help me reach my decision!
 

caraellen23

I had my wedding at Pen Ryn this past October and loved it.  They were very accomodating with time, I think I arrived 2 hours early (since there wasn't an afternoon event the same day).  We had TONS of burning candles and the room was just amazing.  If you have any specific questions about PR, or would like to see pictures, I'd be glad to help.  I don't have any information on GF, sorry, it wasn't a venue we looked at.

spanglerwedding2012

I looked at so many "mansion" type venues around here. I ended up going with Knowlton because it was more rustic and I felt it would fit my "shabby-chic garden" theme the best. But as for the two you're deciding on, they're both great. I think Pen Ryn will probably be a little bit more convenient, but it depends what you're looking for. When I spoke with the manager at Pen Ryn, they gave us an AWESOME deal on a package. This included literally everything - and was about $20 cheaper pp than with Conroy Catering (who caters both Glen Foerd and Knowlton). The ballroom is really nice and they seemed VERY flexible and willing to work with your budget/timeline. The only reason I didn't go with Pen Ryn is because I wanted to avoid the traditional ballroom look - I wished the character of the rest of the building carried into there - just couldn't get past it. Other than that, great place and seemed to be the best bang for your buck.

Glen Foerd is beautiful - I was there for a wedding and loved it. I'm a little bias bc they are my caterer too, but the food is great. All freshly made and organic ingredients. The seating isn't your traditional set up but the flow definitely works. It feels like an elegant dinner party/event rather than your usual wedding reception, which is kind of unique. The only thing here is you have to watch the # of guests. Check with GF to make sure your # works, I know they say they can accommdate so many but with a steated dinner and dancing, I think it's a little less. Bummer on the candles, I didn't know about that. I think you could add ambiance by bringing lighting into the reception area. I just booked a lighting package to add warm amber light on the dance floor with a break-up pattern that makes it look like tree branches reflecting on the floor. Or maybe even just some up-lighting will make it seem more romantic. We did our lighting through the ppl doing our music and got a great deal.  As for coming early, I had the same question for Knowlton. They said you could come and take photos on the grounds earlier but in order to enter you had to pay a $200 fee bc they have to bring your coordinator in early too. A few added costs, but if you love the venue, it would be worth it.

Either choice is beautiful. I love the mansion-style weddings.

Amerbutt81

I visited both venues, and ultimately decided on somewhere else (not to any fault of either venue).

I LOVE Penn Ryn.  My brother got married there 7 years ago, and I had a friend get married there about 5 years ago.  I think it is just breath taking.  Even my hubs loved it.  It was a major contender-- we ultimately picked another venue in MontCo, however.

angel33284

Both places are great...HOWEVER....Glen Foerd has a brick dance floor, so your friend won't do as much dancing. That is unless you supply them with flip-flops.

Amerbutt81

angel, what is going on with your helpful and non-starky remarks?  I'm almost... dissapointed...

spanglerwedding2012

Completely forgot about the stone dance floor. Very pretty but yeah, flip flops are advised. Honestly you can't go wrong. But for the convenience factor alone, Pen Ryn may ease your worries a bit.

KristyMac25

Thank you for your responses!  I really am stuck because I love both!

@spanglerwedding - wow - you hit the nail on the head! That's IT! I couldn't figure out what my hang-up was with Pen Ryn's ballroom. The ballroom IS SO different than the rest of the building. I was trying to come up with all these different ideas to jazz it up: hire up-lighting/pin spotting, have candleabras, put pipe and drape in different areas of the room, have really tall center pieces, etc.
But, other comments you all made about the floor in the conservatory is true too.

And how was the bathroom situation in GF? When we were there, we went to use the bathroom in the bridal suite and noticed that the door didn't shut/lock all the way. That would be no big deal if it was just the bridal party, but the coordinator told us that guests may use that bathroom too since there is only 1 bathroom in the wine cellar and one on the main floor.

KristyMac25

@caraellen23

How was the food at Pen Ryn?  Did you ever have trouble bumping into other guests at Belle Voir while your event was going on? I really DO love the dance floor and chandeliers in Pen Ryn! How was it when your event was over? Were you rushed out, or did they wait until the last guest left to help you pack up your things? I hear horror stories about country clubs strictly cutting people off and sending them packing .  I've been avoiding ballrooms and CCs ever since. Yes, I would love to look at any pics you have that you wouldn't mind sharing.

@Amerbutt81 Did people mingle into the cocktail area, even throughout dinner and dancing? What did you think of the food? Where did you end up choosing a venue?

I wish this didn't happen with Elkins - it has really affected my budget since I paid the whole site fee and then they gave the bad news 3 weeks later. GRRRR . . .

Amerbutt81

>>@Amerbutt81 Did people mingle into the cocktail area, even throughout dinner and dancing? What did you think of the food? Where did you end up choosing a venue?<<

From what I remember, the food was really good.  I was a member of the bridal party for my brother's wedding, so I didn't really get to eat the cocktail hour food, but I remember really enjoying my steak at dinner!

I can't remember if anyone mingled into the cocktail area, to be honest.  I am pretty sure I spent 98% of the wedding on the dance floor

I can tell you that my friend's wedding was held at Belle Voir (it wasn't built when my brother got married), and even though we roamed the grounds during the wedding, we never ran into anyone from the Penn Ryn wedding.  I think they are spaced far enough apart that you'll have privacy.

We ended up going with Normandy Farm in Blue Bell.  It was a little more of the rustic elegance look we wanted, and also, his family was coming from Chester County, and my family all lived in the Bensalem area, so we wanted a place that was a little more in between.  Also, we wanted a space where everyone I was related to hadn't already been

CleverEuphemism

If you are having a guest count of 140-150, I would recommend Pen Ryn--I really liked Glen Foerd when I visited it, but there is only one ladies room downstairs, otherwise guests will have to go to the bridal suite to pee.  And because it was a mansion that is now used for weddings, it wasn't built to accomodate that many guests so 150 people in there might feel a bit crowded. 
There are a few other mansions in the area if you like the mansion vibe, I don't know if you have checked them out, like Aldie Mansion, Knowlton as mentioned above, and Cairnwood.

jilly2121

Hi I actually had the same decision, it was between the Glen Foerd Mansion and the Pen Ryn Mansion and we decided on the Pen Ryn for several reasons.

We were not thrilled at all that there was one small bathroom for the female guests at the GF, we didnt like that you couldn't use candles, we were having a small wedding of 100 people and all the guests couldnt fit into that room two tables would have been right outside the room which did not sit well with us. Lastly we got an awesome deal at the Pen Ryn for a Saturday night wedding in April they still consider April the offseason and the prices were drastically cheaper than the GF, and they throw in a ton of free stuff for us as well. Also if you are having an outdoor ceremony I remember there being a flag pole at the GF which would be in the pictures wasnt a fan of that either.

I hear what you are saying about the ballroom at the Pen Ryn, they threw in the uplighting for the room, Im going to do a ton of candles and we found a DJ, Synergetic Sounds that does draping around the dance floor that looks really elegant! Good luck let me know what you decide! It was a tough choice for me too!

ashleylovesmark

I'm getting married at Glen Foerd... when we booked the venue the said we could have candles then changed their policy afterward.  They're still letting us use them since it is in our contract, but that may have had me looking at elsewhere...  I also agree about the guest count... The dining room i think holds max of 95 without having tables outside the room, so that wouldn't work well for 150 guests obviously. 

I also find that you can only arrive an hour early super annoying.  We are doing our pictures before hand and now I'm planning on arriving ready rather than getting reading in their room so our time line works... which I'm kind of bummed about.

Of course I love GF since I am getting married there, but I think Pen Ryn may be a better option for you over all.

bvanosten

I'm getting married at Belle Voir and I was deciding between Pen Ryn and Belle Voir and ultimately chose Belle Voir because I have 200 guests and I like a lot of room.  They were willing to work with us on the contract.  Seriously, just ask if you want something and they will probably through it in your package.  My complaint is that they are terrible at communicating with their brides.  I've been trying to get a tasting for months now and they only let you know a week beforehand when they will be (and whether you get an invitation is hit or miss).  You can't schedule one with the venue on an off night or anything.  It's their schedule and you have to hunt them down in order to find out the next date.  I'm sure all brides have a lot of booked weekends and one week's notice is proving to be impossible for us.  Also, they claim that they don't receive our emails (there were several reviews about this online too) so you pretty much have to call them every time you want a question answered (and I swear, I'm not high maintenance).  It just seems like after you sign the contract, they don't care about you until the wedding gets closer (at least I hope).  I'm five months out and the only contact that I've had with the sales team has been when they sent me the deposit schedule after the contract was signed and one newsletter annoucing an open house with three different times in the same document so you didn't know when it really started.  All other communication was initiated by me (and ignored completely).

I went to a wedding at Glen Foerd and loved it.  My only complaint was that the ballroom was kind of cramped for dinner (I think they had about 160).  Dance floor was fine and the people that wanted to dance were out there (I didn't even remember the cobblestones until someone mentioned it).  It was neat being able to walk through all of the different rooms during cocktail hour.  Definitely a venue guests will remember afterwards. 

If I had 140-150 guests, I'd pick Glen Foerd, hands down.

KristyMac25

Hi again everyone! I haven't checked my message board for a week or so, so I'm just getting back. Is there a way that The Knot can notify us that someone has posted a response to our posts?
Anway, I am still torn between the two. I really appreciate all the comments!!

@Jilly2121 - what does the draping look like that they set up at PR? I was thinking of going with Synergetic Sounds and Lighting, and I'm just curious about how they can enhance the PR ballroom to look less county club-esque :-).

@AshleylovesMark - I know, isn't it ridiculous about the candles? A wedding without "glass-enclosed" candles? It's high on my con list for GF - but it's just so beautiful there. I went online and looked up those new "flickering flame" candles that are out - They actually look authentic in the wax pillar form.

As for only having an hour to get ready, that was a "con" for me too. I asked about that, since we are planning on doing a "first glance" and pics before the ceremony, and they said that we could add an additional hour for $250. My date was a Sunday though, so I don't know how that affects Saturday weddings, since there are 2 possible events that could take place on a Saturday.

The dining room seemed crowded for 136 guests, and since we would be having closer to 150, I would be having my dinner/dancing in the conservatory. I wonder how that would turn out?  Or would it have to much of an "outdoor" feel? When's your date? How many guests are you planning for?

@BVanosten - I know what you mean about PR responding. I have heard this from several different posts, but I heard that they become more responsive when you get closer to your date. I went to an open house there in February and the food was REALLY good, and the cake delicious! The catering staff is very accommodating and does really work with you - I felt very comfortable with Mary so I'm sure you're in good hands. :-)

Agh! I just can't decide!!! Maybe I should go look at Aldie Mansion - it just seems so far away from us (South Jersey).