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New Jersey
Review of The Manor in West Orange
I would like to share my personal review of The Manor in West Orange. This is based on my visit there this weekend. I have not had an event there. I am not looking for suggestions on locations, just wanted to share my experience and information with everyone.
We were shown 3 different rooms. The first room was on the main floor. I forget the name of it. The cocktail hour room was pretty with windows looking out onto the beautiful gardens and fountain. The room did seem somewhat small though and we were afraid it would be crowded. It was just outside the doors to the ballroom. The ballroom seemed VERY small - I forget how many people he said it would hold, but it was not an option for us with 130 guests. The dance floor was tiny. The bar is a "rolling bar" that would be left just outside the doors to the room, where the DJ would also be setup. While the room was pretty, it just wasn't our style and we disliked the layout.
The second room we were shown had a similar cocktail hour room with windows overlooking the gardens, but again the room is kind of small. I was in my friend's wedding who used this room and I remember the cocktail hour being very crowded with limited seating. Also, in order to access the cocktail hour room, guests would need to walk through the ballroom - which we did not like.
The ballroom is very pretty, but again we felt the dance floor was small and the room was very crowded. (I also want to note that the bathrooms are downstairs on the opposite end of the building from this room, which I think would be inconvenient).
The third room we were shown was downstairs. The cocktail hour room was pretty plain with no windows, however there was an interesting wine cellar room that we were told could also be used for some seating and mingling (but no food would be setup in there). to access the ballroom, you walk down the hall to other end of the building. So basically the entire downstairs would belong to you if you used this room. The ballroom was an awkward layout. It was long, with all of the tables at one end, the dance floor, and then a raised section of the room where the head table would be. I definitely would not want to sit up there because I would feel so far away from all of my guests. But there was an interesting side area in this room (which used to be where the cocktail hour was held). It was up higher next to that area where the head table would be, and there were some additional cocktail tables in there for relaxing. That was where the bar is located also. Overall, I wouldn't use this room because of the awkward layout - but it was definitely interesting and something I have never seen before.
As far as the package, we were quoted $93 pp on a Friday evening in Sept 2011. The menu is very big, with a very large cocktail hour. I don't remember all of the details. I forget how much they charge to have the ceremony there. I do know the gardens are beautiful - my friend had her ceremony outside and it was really nice. There was an Indian wedding going on while we were there, so we couldn't really walk around the ceremony location.
If you have any questions, I may have the answer but forgot to mention it here.
We were shown 3 different rooms. The first room was on the main floor. I forget the name of it. The cocktail hour room was pretty with windows looking out onto the beautiful gardens and fountain. The room did seem somewhat small though and we were afraid it would be crowded. It was just outside the doors to the ballroom. The ballroom seemed VERY small - I forget how many people he said it would hold, but it was not an option for us with 130 guests. The dance floor was tiny. The bar is a "rolling bar" that would be left just outside the doors to the room, where the DJ would also be setup. While the room was pretty, it just wasn't our style and we disliked the layout.
The second room we were shown had a similar cocktail hour room with windows overlooking the gardens, but again the room is kind of small. I was in my friend's wedding who used this room and I remember the cocktail hour being very crowded with limited seating. Also, in order to access the cocktail hour room, guests would need to walk through the ballroom - which we did not like.
The ballroom is very pretty, but again we felt the dance floor was small and the room was very crowded. (I also want to note that the bathrooms are downstairs on the opposite end of the building from this room, which I think would be inconvenient).
The third room we were shown was downstairs. The cocktail hour room was pretty plain with no windows, however there was an interesting wine cellar room that we were told could also be used for some seating and mingling (but no food would be setup in there). to access the ballroom, you walk down the hall to other end of the building. So basically the entire downstairs would belong to you if you used this room. The ballroom was an awkward layout. It was long, with all of the tables at one end, the dance floor, and then a raised section of the room where the head table would be. I definitely would not want to sit up there because I would feel so far away from all of my guests. But there was an interesting side area in this room (which used to be where the cocktail hour was held). It was up higher next to that area where the head table would be, and there were some additional cocktail tables in there for relaxing. That was where the bar is located also. Overall, I wouldn't use this room because of the awkward layout - but it was definitely interesting and something I have never seen before.
As far as the package, we were quoted $93 pp on a Friday evening in Sept 2011. The menu is very big, with a very large cocktail hour. I don't remember all of the details. I forget how much they charge to have the ceremony there. I do know the gardens are beautiful - my friend had her ceremony outside and it was really nice. There was an Indian wedding going on while we were there, so we couldn't really walk around the ceremony location.
If you have any questions, I may have the answer but forgot to mention it here.
September 2011 Brides Siggy Challenge: Reception Venue
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Re: Review of The Manor in West Orange
The Virginian room seemed so small to fit 200!