Orange Lawn Tennis Club and Mountain Lakes Club- thoughts?

dp867

I know these aren't super popular venues around here, but if you attended a wedding/event or were considering one of these places, please let me know your thoughts. I'm torn between the two and could use some outside opinions!

Aliadee1984

We looked at Orange Lawn. I loved the space itself but did not like the outdoor ceremony area. Seemed like a lot of female guests would have trouble walking through the grass in heels. Also, not sure what time of day you're considering, but the outdoor view from the reception room is not lit up in any way at night so you lose the setting. We didn't check out the other venue you mention.

37 Butter Knives

(I haven't posted in ages, but I came back here today out of boredom, saw this thread, and had to comment ...)

I was an OLTC bride (April 2011), and it was the perfect venue for us - sophisticated yet cozy, and not at all gaudy. We didn't want a typical NJ wedding, where the venue's décor dictates the event's style and the food is the same as every other banquet hall's. I wrote about my experience for the vendor reviews site (http://nnjknottievendors.weebly.com/venues---reception.html - scroll down), as well as on WeddingWire and Wedding Channel. Since it wasn't a popular venue even when I was planning, I felt I needed to get the word out!

Not long after our wedding, the coordinator left and the caterer changed (Ariane Duarte from "Top Chef" Season 5 did our food). So I can't vouch for how the food or service is these days.

We had the ceremony elsewhere, so the PP's concern didn't apply to us. However, the BMs and I changed into flats for when we did photos on the grounds, since we were told about the slopiness. As for the ballroom, just having windows was a good thing, even at night when you can't see the outside - it felt less claustrophobic.

ETA: It's possible the ballroom has poor acoustics - we could hardly hear anything from our table in the corner of the room, although the sound was fine on the dance floor. I don't know if it was because of the high ceilings; it also could have been a DJ issue.

martigins

Funny, I was also an OLTC bride (June 2012) and just happenned to log on today out of boredom-- see if anyone needed any recommendations. Like 37 Butter Knives, I was looking for an atypical venue. The space was perfect. Nothing too glitzy. Charming like an old inn or mansion, beautiful green grounds, nothing too manicured and done up, just very authentic.  Felt like someone's home -- in fact we decorated the indoors with framed pics of all our family and friends on all the mantles and shelves, etc so that it would feel like we were welcoming guests into our home.

We did have our ceremony there, outside. And it was lovely. (I can send you pictures if you like.) The walk to the aisle was a little confusing, but you can work that out. I'd recommend walking through that so folks know where to go and where the aisle begins (we didn't and really should have). I honestly dont remember if heels were an issue for women, but I did make sure everyone knew in advance that the ceremony would be outdoors on grass. I do believe there might have been an issue with the sun and heat for older folks that showed early since we had a Jewish pre-ceremony ritual (ketubah signing and Bedekken just for family) inside, while folks were gathering outside. Just the vaguest of memory on that.

Our biggest problem (and only real issue) was the catering manager. The food is AMAZING, but the fellow who was running our wedding and who was our contact from the very start was incredibly lacking. I dont know if he is still the catering manager at OLTC but I know he used to bring in someone else as well, if there were multiple events ina weekend, so if you like the place, see if you can get the partner to run your wedding. Seriously.

John, however, was impossible to get a hold of from the very start (it took him a month to get us the contract, and we knew that first time we saw the place that we wanted it there). My (now) husband was ready to have it somewhere else (in fact we started looking again) except that I had just fallen in love with the space. Getting a hold of him, or getting him to respond to anything was a big issue throughout the process, but I just hoped that when it came to the day he would make good. 

Unfortunately, he was so lost that day. In fact he had booked another event in one of the smaller rooms, and neither he nor the kitchen could handle the two parties at the same time (not to mention how surprised we were when another couple showed up to set up for their anniversary party). Our ceremony started at 2:30 in the afternoon and yet at 7:30pm some folks were leaving still having not been served. At 8pm we had to extend the band an hour because they were just starting to serve the cake. There were lots of other issues during the day of the wedding which I dont really need to go into, but they all came from him, so if you can work with someone else, it's all moot. (And by the way, acoustics were not an issue as someone else had mentioned.)

At the end of the day however, our wedding, though incredibly stressful, was also incredibly beautiful, and OLTC did provide exactly the feel I was looking for. And after the honeymoon we had a conversation with the owner  of the catering company that John works for to make sure they knew what went down. They were incredibly gracious. 

And by the way, Louisa Amabile Testa, the florist that works with them, was amazing and was able to work within our small flower budget. The flowers were perfect.