Skylands Manor - opinions?

APodiak

Hi all - Has anyone gotten married (or been to a wedding) at the Skylands Manor, in the Botanical Gardens? I'm looking at it as a big possibility but would love reviews from real brides! Also, does anyone know if they host more than one wedding at at time?

thanks!

gelaine22

Have you looked at the venue? I looked at it and personally did not like it (the ballroom was the part I hated). The grounds were/are GORGEOUS though. They do not do more than one wedding at a time. I dont see how that would be possible since there is only one ballroom and the cocktail "area" actually spans among 5-6 rooms.

firewaterx

I agree the grounds are beautiful bit the ballroom is horrible . The ceiling is super low and the carpet smelled dirty . The backup plan for he ceremony is in a basement...

Gordo2014

That's the biggest problem with this venue; the back up plan is no back up at all.  Beautiful if you have good weather, pretty horrible if you don't.

irishrose54

I too looked at skylands. I did not mind the ballroom - it just was not good for the amount of guests we are having. If you have 100-150 I think it is okay. However when you get closer to 200 it would deifinitely feel very tight, given the cielings. 

The place is old world - so if that is the look you like and the right vibe, I say go for it!! I love the grounds and the cocktail hour space!

Also, when I looked, we talked about the back up for the ceremony. I said that the basement was a big NO. However, you can always rent a tent and decorate it for the ceremony! We were going to do a Nov. date so we thought even adding some heat lamps would work too.

Ultimately, we went with a different venue with a similar vibe but with a much bigger ballroom.

Good luck!!

APodiak

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_skylands-manor-opinions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:a732ca92-f933-4b8c-97a8-b28369ce4a4bPost:15cd8b60-eaa6-4ba3-af91-e690decf5a99">Re: Skylands Manor - opinions?</a>:
[QUOTE]I too looked at skylands. I did not mind the ballroom - it just was not good for the amount of guests we are having. If you have 100-150 I think it is okay. However when you get closer to 200 it would deifinitely feel very tight, given the cielings.  The place is old world - so if that is the look you like and the right vibe, I say go for it!! I love the grounds and the cocktail hour space! Also, when I looked, we talked about the back up for the ceremony. I said that the basement was a big NO. However, you can always rent a tent and decorate it for the ceremony! We were going to do a Nov. date so we thought even adding some heat lamps would work too. Ultimately, we went with a different venue with a similar vibe but with a much bigger ballroom. Good luck!! :)
Posted by irishrose54[/QUOTE]

Can I ask what venue you did end up going with??

irishrose54

HI yes we ended up with Plesantadale Chateau in West Organge. We got a great price per head because we are doing a winter wedding(jan.)

Sorry for the delayed response! This week was so swamped at work I didn't get a chance to check. Let me know if you have any other q's

AJuliaNJ

We looked at it! I thought it was gorgeous and we didn't even get to see what the outside would look like since we looked in the middle of winter for our summer wedding. I loved how the rooms were decorated and how the cocktail hour spanned multiple rooms. It was really unique and breathtaking. In the end, it was not practical for us. Half our our guests are from out of town and there are not many guest rooms, and most of them share a bathroom with another. The nearest hotel is about 20 minutes away.