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Reivew of Mayfair Farms

cindy91788cindy91788
500 Comments
in New Jersey
This weekend I went to see Mayfair Farms and I would like to share my personal review here.

We met with Sam who was VERY nice and informative.  When we first walked in, I was a little underwhelmed by the entrance area. It was nice, but nothing special, and the actual "lobby" was tiny. We also noticed a slight musty smell in the air. There were candles lit but they didn't seem to be helping. We got a very slight feeling of funeral parlor in that lobby, but that eventually faded.

The ballroom we were shown was in the back, where the patio is. The patio is very cute, with plenty of space for lots of tables. Sam said he could accomodate as many guests as we needed. The patio would be used for the cocktail hour, and if it were to rain, he could provide a canopy. Just inside the doors from the patio is the back half of the ballroom which gets separated by an accordian wall for the cocktail hour as well. So guests can move freely between inside and outside. There is a large bar in that area and plenty of seating and mingling room.

Personally, I did not like this cocktail area because it was still technically part of the ballroom blocked off, and I didn't like the accordian door.

Outside, beyond the patio is a gazebo and area for a ceremony. The gardens and landscaping were very pretty and it looked like a nice spot for a ceremony. However, they do not provide ANY decorations for the ceremony and that is completely up to you.

As for the ballroom, it was nice. Nothing specatcular, decent size. Similar to many other ballrooms that I've seen. I just wasn't overly impressed.

Regarding the menu - It is very extensive and we were quoted $95 per person a Friday evening in September 2011.  - plus 20% gratuity and 7% sales tax. (There is a $5 per person ceremony fee on top of that charge). They do not provide centerpieces in the ballroom, but they will provide flowers on the cocktail tables and votive candles. they have a choice of 3 linen colors (white, ivory or gold) - how boring! They also include chair covers in that price, plus all of the other standards like valet parking, coat check, seating cards, etc., etc. I believe Filet Mignon was also included in the standard menu price and is not considered an upgrade. A Venetian table is also included for that price.

That's about all I can remember right now.
Overall - I wasn't overly impressed. The package seemed comparable to other places, but I have seen others for less $ with more in the package. Just wasn't anything special about it - the main selling feature to me was the patio, but that's just not 100% important to me.

If you have any questions about things I didn't mention, please let me know and I may have the answer for you!
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Re: Reivew of Mayfair Farms

  • uppereastgirluppereastgirl member
    2500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    It was really nice of you to share such a comprehensive review -- I'm sure it will be really helpful to girls who are looking.  Welcome to the Knot, btw!
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  • JulepheniaJulephenia member
    Knottie Warrior 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Hi!

    I'm getting married at MF next May, and I also met with Sam. He's great!

    Is there any reason you did not look at the upstairs room? That's the room we are using, and it is much, much nicer. They are repainting this summer. Also, I feel like your quote may go down if you pursue the venue - we are contracted for $80 pp WITH ceremony for a Sunday. Now, that may be because of the Sunday afternoon, but Sam was very accomodating to our budget concerns.
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  • cindy91788cindy91788
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    No idea why we weren't shown the upstairs room. He didn't mention it, so I had no idea. Maybe it is only used on certain days or maybe it was due to how many people we have? We will probably have about 140 guests. How many are you having? Maybe its not big enough for us, or maybe we wouldn't have enough for the minimum?
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  • maddie7maddie7 member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    That is funny that you mentioned the SMELL!  We noticed the same thing upon walking in, it was like sewer back-up and the same thing, they tried to mask it with candles....  Didn't care for the downstairs room at all either.
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  • JulepheniaJulephenia member
    Knottie Warrior 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Our guest list is around 150. They want a minimum of 125-135 for the upstairs room, but we also negotiated to 125 and asked for the upstairs rooms.

    Also, we find the menu options to be extensive and helpful - vegetarian is standard, not an add on, and Sam was bending over backwards to deal with my strange eating habits!
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  • cindy91788cindy91788
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I would think that the minimum guests required on a Sunday afternoon is less than the minimum required on a Friday night. That is more than likely why he did not show us that room.
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  • USER876USER876
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    That price is less than what they quoted me back in 2008.
    1st Groom

    View our FOR SALE items
    http://tinyurl.com/3jjv7vy
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  • cindy91788cindy91788
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Yeah I think prices may have gone down in the past couple years because of the economy. I was actually engaged 5 years ago (which fell through) and the place we were going to have the reception at is still the same price, 5 years later.
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  • Reilly626Reilly626 member
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I was quoted $125 pp last July for July 2010 before tax/grat.  and ironically we smelled that "smell" also when we walked in and noticed the lit candle trying to mask it.  It was a turn off.  But we didnt like the downstairs at all- green room with wall and the fact your guest had to walk around to get to cocktail hour.  If you are in the main ballroom you are better off.
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  • DMLJDMLJ member
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I thought it was also plain and boring... but then again I am a manor bride so I liketo be a little over the top :).... didn't notice a smell. 
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  • cindy91788cindy91788
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Yeah, the more I think about it - I wouldn't want to book here because of the smell we noticed. And since other people here have been commenting that they smelled it too, we know it wasn't just that day, and it wasn't just us - which means our guests would notice it too. That's enough to turn me away.
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  • cindy91788cindy91788
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I actually had a question:

    Some of you mentioned that guests would have to walk around the building to get to the patio for the cocktail hour. Was that because you were using the upstairs ballroom?

    The way we were shown it, guests would walk into the back of the ballroom (the downstairs one) which would be blocked off from the rest of the ballroom with the accordian door. Some of the cocktail hour would be inside there as well as the bar, and the doors to the patio were right off that room, so people could go in and out if they wanted to. It didn't involve anybody walking around the building to get to the patio.  After the cocktail hour, the doors would be opened to the ballroom. If you were having a ceremony first, the guests would walk right from the gazebo area to the patio and then inside.
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  • JulepheniaJulephenia member
    Knottie Warrior 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    The upstairs ballroom usually uses the lobby to enter. What people are talking about is the start of the reception/ceremony, where, so long as another ceremony wasn't going on, they'd go around the building to the patio.

    There might be contigency plans due to weather/scheduling with another wedding, but I believe that is what people are talking about.
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  • cindy91788cindy91788
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I still don't understand why people would have to walk around the building to get to the patio, instead of just walking through the building to it, unless that wedding isn't using the downstairs ballroom.
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  • JulepheniaJulephenia member
    Knottie Warrior 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    It's because the upstairs ballroom usually gets the other upstairs room for cocktail hour. If the two overlap, you don't want guests getting confused or mixing the parties. The patio is used only by the downstairs ballroom events.
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  • cindy91788cindy91788
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    ok, so if the patio is only used for cocktail hour by people also using the downstairs ballroom, then why would people have to walk around the building? Sorry for my slowness here..lol
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  • JulepheniaJulephenia member
    Knottie Warrior 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Because they cannot go through the building, period, if there is someone using the upstairs, from what I understand. Since the cocktail hour starts off the night, they walk people around the building in good weather. Plus, if you are having the ceremony there, and outside, the guests will need to be at the downstairs outdoor location, which is around the building.

    If I keep confusing you, call Sam.
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  • cindy91788cindy91788
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011

    Ok, I understand what you are saying now - that people can't walk through the building at all.
    I was confused because Sam never told us anything of the sort, I  just heard it on here.
    doesn't really matter to me because I'm not booking there anyway.

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  • JulepheniaJulephenia member
    Knottie Warrior 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    To be clear for other posters - when I looked two years ago, since we were looking for a June wedding at the time, we were told guests would walk outside, down to our ceremony. (At the time, we were checking out the downstairs ballroom.)

    Since you are looking for fall, I believe, that may be totally different. People remember that the nicer months push guests outside, and don't mention the winter months.
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