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Did you like the Olde Mill Inn?

laurwin07laurwin07 member
First Comment
in New Jersey
Hi Everyone!

I got engaged in January, and my FI and I have been looking for a wedding venue ever since. The problem is, I am more of an artsy bride and want to have a quaint little party that's intimate, homespun, and crafty. I really don't like overly decorated ballrooms. He would rather pick a reliable place where our guests will be comfortable and we'll get the most for our money. I have, no joke, been to 23 wedding venues up and down the fine state of New Jersey, and still, no total compromise. 

We're paying for the wedding ourselves so price has been a key determining factor. We saw the Olde Mill Inn and he is ready to sign, but I'm on the fence. 

Has anyone ever had or have been to a wedding there during the day? I wanted a reception with a lot of daylight. Anyone have any reviews? Like the food? Please help!
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Re: Did you like the Olde Mill Inn?

  • maddie7maddie7 member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Could you eat at their restaurant on the side there to try the food?  My friend's sister had it there and they loved it because the hotel, etc.  If you want lots of light and a different scene, did you check out the Madison Hotel's conservatory?  Its pretty and the food at Rods (restaurant) is awesome.
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  • ToBeMrsC72508ToBeMrsC72508 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi - We have had a few events at the Olde Mill and will be celebrating Mother's Day there.  My sisters wedding in 2000 then her baby shower in 2004 and my other sistere bridal shower in 2001.  We also go there for Mother and Father's Day each year.  The food is always good and we never had a bad time there....or else we wouldnt go back.  So last big even was awhile ago but thier brunchs are great.  We loved having the wedding there and all staying overnight at the hotel and loved the courtyard.  I dont think you can go wrong there.  Also, if you are looking for modern, I got married acorss 287 at Dolce Basking Ridge.

    Hope that helps!
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  • mariaNryan mariaNryan
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Ive been to my fiancee cousin wedding there and it was nice... the only thing i didnt like is they had it at the restraunt in the back and it was in october.. THe cocktail hour and buffet dinner was served outside and it was freezing out!!! THerefore the food was cold!!! Other than that i thought the room was nice..... I agree that you should check out the madison hotel!!! Its nice there!!! But not sure that the price would be cheap because thats the reason we  didnt book there, the prices were a little high for us
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  • jewls4287jewls4287
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    If you're just looking for food/day of reviews, than you can disregard the below...but these were my thoughts when i went to see the venue.  Also, as I say, a lot of this might not be relevant if you're a larger wedding in the ballroom.

    FI and I had high hopes for the Olde Mill Inn and were really disappointed when we went to see it.  I think the big factor is the size of your wedding. At the time we were planning for only 125, so they wanted to put us in The Grain House.  I thought the ceremony space was beautiful, but the reception area was really awkward...it just didn't flow.  I especially disliked the dance floor was completely detached and not visible from the dining area...i kept thinking about all the people that are more spectators and our first dance and I just couldn't get comfortable with it.  I also thought the preparation space upstairs was ridiculously small and poorly lit. 

    If you'd be in the ballroom, it's another story, they already were booked for our date, so didn't even it see. 

    At the end of the day, no idea what they quoted you, but we were about $160pp with taxes which I thought was obscene given what we were getting.  The room rates for the Inn were not very reasonable either..can't remember what we were quoted, but I felt like I'd almost encourage our guests not to stay there.

    I totally hear you about not wanting to get married at the typical catering hall, I had the same feeling...we saw 15 venues.  We ended up booking The Grand Colonial in Hampton (Perryville).  It felt a lot more quaint with the stone facade and slate floor, plus I think almost all of our guests have never been there before.
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  • jewls4287jewls4287
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Forgot to mention Ramsey Country Club as well, we really loved that venue too...and it's not at all what you'd expect for a country club.  It looks like a castle and they just did a beautiful rennovation.  Cocktail space might a tiny bit tight if you're a bigger wedding, but grounds and location overall are very unusual and beautiful.  Pricing was about $130pp, but I'm sure you could get them down of need be, that's their standard.  Also, their catering chef used to work for the Waldorf Astoria for decades, so you KNOW that food is good ha

    Good luck!
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  • stapletondstapletond
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Are you opposed to a tent?

    Check out Wainwright House in Rye, NY.  It isn't that far if you live in Bergen County.
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  • rlb81rlb81
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_did-like-olde-mill-inn?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:94e1f80f-b44e-4b64-8340-b92c28bdecc7Post:bce0aa90-a705-47dd-bf78-3124034e1d03">Re: Did you like the Olde Mill Inn?</a>:
    [QUOTE]I think the big factor is the size of your wedding. At the time we were planning for only 125, so they wanted to put us in The Grain House.  I thought the ceremony space was beautiful, but the reception area was really awkward...it just didn't flow.  I especially disliked the dance floor was completely detached and not visible from the dining area...i kept thinking about all the people that are more spectators and our first dance and I just couldn't get comfortable with it.  I also thought the preparation space upstairs was ridiculously small and poorly lit.  If you'd be in the ballroom, it's another story, they already were booked for our date, so didn't even it see.  At the end of the day, no idea what they quoted you, but we were about $160pp with taxes which I thought was obscene given what we were getting. 
    Posted by jewls4287[/QUOTE]
    This is exactly what I was going to say. We were so excited to see the Olde Mill Inn, I really wanted to love it. However we had a guest list of 140 and an expected of 115-120. The grain room would have been way too tight, and we wouldn't have been able to have a sweetheart table because the room would be too small with that amount of guests. I also agree about the flow of the room and the "downstairs" dancefloor and bar.

    The ballroom had a minimum of 150 for a Friday night so that wasn't even an option for us. And they weren't willing to negotiate on price so we didn't even consider them.
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  • SCGeeSCGee
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Just wanted to throw out there that because of the recent economy situation, the Olde Mill Inn has changed their minimums for the big ballroom (not familiar with the Old Grain House pricing). At the Olde Mill Inn, minimum for Friday night is now 140 people, and 150 for a Saturday night.  Also, the hotel rooms are $125/night.  
    That information is of this past February, so it is pretty recent!

    Good luck!


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  • kristen8040kristen8040 member
    Knottie Warrior 1000 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_did-like-olde-mill-inn?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:94e1f80f-b44e-4b64-8340-b92c28bdecc7Post:1da3c60c-5f8d-4f35-8a0d-200445dbdf49">Re: Did you like the Olde Mill Inn?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Forgot to mention Ramsey Country Club as well, we really loved that venue too...and it's not at all what you'd expect for a country club.  It looks like a castle and they just did a beautiful rennovation.  Cocktail space might a tiny bit tight if you're a bigger wedding, but grounds and location overall are very unusual and beautiful.  Pricing was about $130pp, but I'm sure you could get them down of need be, that's their standard.  Also, their catering chef used to work for the Waldorf Astoria for decades, so you KNOW that food is good ha Good luck!
    Posted by jewls4287[/QUOTE]

    <div>
    </div><div>Ramsey is actually up to $150-160 for a Saturday night, they just raised their prices, just a heads up!! But I can't agree more about how it's not a typical reception hall! (not sure if my opinion counts since I'm getting married there ;)</div>
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  • jewls4287jewls4287
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Geez, crazy how pricing fluctuates year to year... I guess Ramsey is trying to cover the cost of the reno...I'd still pay 150-160 for it, loved it!

    I'm glad to hear Olde Mill came down a bit, they kept telling us they were priced "competitvely" lol, no idea who the competition was
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  • LolyalyssaLolyalyssa member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011

    Don't book with Olde Mill before going to a tasting!!!  They are free and they are held the first Tues. of every month.  I was considering them before I went to a tasting and then decided against it.  The food is mediocre wedding food.  The proteins aren't salted properly and don't have enough sauce, the polenta was very dry and the veggies on my plate were just raw--no sauce or spices. 

    When they brought the cream out for my coffee it was spoiled and it curdled in my cup (gross).  The chef they use for catering is not the same one for the restaurant and the restaurant food is much better.

    Also, the price they charge for the food is about $25 or more too much per head.  I was quoted about 135 a head for a Sunday night of labor day weekend.  This was before tax and tip and it wasn't close to what the food was worth.  Also, my FI did not like the road noise that you would hear when doing an outdoor ceremony.

    I had really high hopes for this place, especially because it has a hotel for out of town guests, but I was unfortunately disappointed.

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  • lblumettilblumetti
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I went to a wedding here - I thought it was pretty nice.  The food was pretty good, but the time frame in which they served it was definitely off.  We went into the ballroom at 8:00pm and finished dinner at 10:30!  If you decide to go with this venue, make sure they are more on point with how much time they leave in between the different dinner courses.

    PS - I am getting married at The Primavera in Stirling - I've heard a lot of good reviews and really loved the place.  Their prices are also very reasonable, and you get a lot within your package.

    Good luck!
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  • LadyEmmaLadyEmma
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Hi there,
    We looked at the Grain House which is on the other side of the parking lot as the Olde Mill Inn. We wanted to do a brunch reception, but oddly enough they didn't have a set brunch menu, so we were going to have to create our own. By the time we added a couple stations and Mimosas and Bloody Mary's, the cost was well over $100 per person....too expensive for what we were getting.
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  • SCGeeSCGee
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    As far as the food goes for The Olde Mill Inn, they have a new chef their now, I think he has been there for over 1 year now, so some people post about there previous food experience that was with the old chef, and now it is the same chef that cooks for the Old Grain house.  The new chef's food is very good, but of course, every one has different taste buds.

    Also, as far as the timing of dinner, usually it is the couples decision on when to serve food and such, so I am sure the PP who ate so late, that may have been planned ahead of time. I was told the receptions start at 6pm there, dinner at 7pm, so just ask ahead of time.


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