Hi Ladies! Well, after checking out tons of NJ venues, I THINK we made our pick! First let me give you my totally honest impressions on all our visits - this is candid everyone, and totally mine and the man's opinion:
Neshanic Valley Golf Course
Pros- Merri Makers is the exclusive caterer and you can't beat the pricing (starting at around 70p/p)... the building is gorgeous and they offer an the wrap around porch for cocktail hour, blank canvas for great lighting/center pieces
Cons- middle of nowhere, odd sized tables (oval-ish) and the room was long and narrow, not many photo opportunities, ceremony is right next to parking lot
Oyster Point Hotel
Pros- the view! great upscale look and feel- feels like you've been transported to NYC. Hotel, so you don't need to provide transportation, great food, bar for afterparty
Cons- no designated ceremony space - you set up in dining room.
Molly Pitcher Inn
Pros- none, hated it.
Holly Hedge
Pros- in beautiful new hope, rustic, quaint, rooms for bridal party, amazing photo opps
Cons- not a lot of room for customization, boring menu
Clarks Landing
Pros- gorgeous!!!! SO GORGEOUS! We really loved it here and the sales woman we worked with was AWESOME! Awesome food, awesome decor, amazing view. Everything about it was wowwww.
Cons- $$$$$ PRIIIICEY with a capital P! But in their defense, EVERYTHING is included except music and photography.
The Mill at Spring Lake
Pros- lower end, cost wise. Pretty outdoor ceremony spot.
Cons- smelled kind of funky, weird wall art, outdated chairs, tables
Windows on the Water
Pros- wowzaaa, we liked it here a lot. Beautiful marble ballroom, amazing views, menu looked awesome. Price is kind of on the high end though and the cocktail hour would be pretty tight if it rained.
The Berkley Hotel
We snuck in here without a tour and it looked like they hadn't yet cleaned up from the night before.. the wallpaper in the cocktail hour room was seizure inducing.. don't know anything about the prices
The Audubon Center in PA
I really wanted to love it, we did for the most part, but its about an hour and a half from our home and we couldn't justify the trip.
Addison Park
Gorgeous, totally posh and beautiful. We showed up on a Friday evening and they had 3 weddings going on. We were in jeans and I felt my cheeks turning bright red! Middle of the road pricing, out of this world packages, indoor outdoor ceremony options and amazing ballrooms. We loved it. My only complaint was that it kind of smelled like a catering kitchen... In their defense, I've been catering part-time for about 10 years and I can sniff that out like a police dog.
So in the end I think we are going to go with Oyster Point Hotel, it was the perfect storm of everything we were looking for. Looking forward to booking! Please feel free to PM me for any more details, I kept notes and would love to help everyone
In the meantime, a question for Red Bank brides - anybody know of any ceremony sites? My FI is spiritual/not religious and I was raised Catholic. We were thinking the Chapel at Allaire State Park but it's kind of far. Any ideas/suggestions?!