So, my fiance, mom and dad and I drove around northern NJ this weekend looking at venues. We saw:
-David's Country Inn (hackettstown)
-The Morris Museum (morristown)
-The Montclair Art Museum (montclair)
-Perona Farms (andover)
-Lake Mohawk Country Club (andover)
-The Crossed Keys Inn (andover)
After the first day we were really leaning towards David's Country Inn, because the Morris Museum was just too small and echo-y for us (we want a band and expect 150 or so guests). David's was so personal, we met with Christopher and he seemed like they do all they can to bring your vision to a reality. They even have a beautiful outdoor ceremony location at Rutherfurd Hall at Alamuchy State Park.
But we ultimately FELL IN LOVE with Lake Mohawk Country Club. All of us. I think we had a moment when Larry was showing us around. They have the ability to do beautiful outdoor ceremonies and cocktail hours, but in case it rains there are many options for rain locations. There is a beach and a dock where your guests can spend time. The bridal suite is awesome, a two story tower overlooking the dock and ceremony site. The ballroom is very charming and large, with a full wooden floor, and it really all has a great feel of an old country club.
To top it all off, so much is included in the per person price, and the costs are very reasonable. 5 hour open bar, very abundant cocktail hour, plated dinner, wedding cake, ceremony all for around $100 per person. My fiance and I are excited.
So...we have a date and a venue! September 14, 2013 at Lake Mohawk Country Club. Now I can really start checking off more of the "to do's".
If anyone has any questions about the other venues we toured, feel free to post below. Each one had its pros and cons, although there are not many cons with Lake Mohawk. The only one we could all think of was that the large restrooms are one flight down from the reception space, but there is an elevator.
Something mentioned in some of the reviews is that Larry is not very responsive. A counter example from today: I called his office and left a message (it was his day off) saying I had some follow up questions. He called me back from home within the hour. That is pretty amazing!