Went to a wedding at Shadowbrook (NJ)
I know there are a few girls looking in NJ..
My cousin's wedding was at shadowbrook on friday evening. Shadowbrook is an old georgian mansion.
You drive up a long long driveway with lighted trees, you turn the corner and the place is all lit up and it looked MAGNIFICENT. it was so memorable and beatiful turning the corning and seeing the mansion. It looked beautiful decorate for the holidays with wreaths and bows!
When you walk in the lobby is just stunning. it's all old world style and looks very very rich!
Then you walk in and we had to walk through the main ballroom (with the fireplace) to the bar for the cocktail hour. I think with smaller weddings that section of the L shaped ballroom may be sectioned off so you see the fireplace, and not the tales, but we saw all the tables as we walked through....when you walk through the ballroom you're in the bar room, whichha sa huge l shaped bar. There were 3 bartenders for about 180 people. It seemed like it was about enough. Then you had to go to the side for the cocktail hour food. There wasn't a tremendous amount of food, but there was enough variety and enough food that you could try everything you wanted, which was good. I only aw about 3 or 4 thngs being passed, and all were VERY small. You had to go down a couple steps form teh bar to the cocktail hour room which had all open windows like a sun room, unfortunately it also have outdoor wrought iron furniture, which was very pretty, but there were very few tables, and I swear the chair left an imprint on my butt.. The cocktail hour was far too crowded. The cocktal hour food was very good.
The ballroom was L shaped, with the dance floor and the bride and groom being in the axis of the L. I was at one of 4 tables on the short side of the L, and we really felt like we were at a different party, whereas on the long side of the L, they were crammed in. I had so much empty space behind me, they could have spread it out a little better, but I don;t know if that's the coupl'es choice.
One annoying thing I notice sitting on the end like that was that the kitchen and the abr were on opposite sides of the ballroom, so once in awhile we saw people pushing those 6 foot tall carts wiht fresh glasses and dirty dishes back and forth THROUGH the ballroom. WHAT an eyesore. wauters and waitreesses were constantly running through this area...one waitress ran in front of the maid of honor and best man as they were being introducded entering the recption and I said 'there goes the video!'
There was one waiter for maybe 3 tables, so we never got drink refills, we had to ask for water, and 2 people at one table would get served, then the waiter would serve the othr table, it was pretty bad. The salad was mesculun with a vinaigrette. Just mesculun greens on a plate. It really didn't look like much, so it was sort of disappointing, but ti was fresh and it tasted good. The intermezzo was passed pineapple sorbet in cones. it tasted really good and people seemed to enjoy the cones. There wa sa choice of two entrees, salmon or filet mignon. I had the salmon and FH had the filet. The slamon was very good, the sauce was a little thick and creamy, which I didn't like and they didnt tells us anything about the dish we'd be getting they just asked us 'salmon or filet' so... it was served with delcious potatos and some good vegetables. the fod was served so hapahazardly because there werent enough waiters that the food was cold by the time I got it. FH had the filet, which was very rare and also very dry. The wedding cake was delicious. I usually hate wedding cake, but this one tasted really good. It was served with ice cream (it looked like those little cups you eat with a stick) with chocolate chips on top.The downside? They ran out of it. My dad never got any, and they were served coffee about 20 minutes after everyone else got it.
overall the place was so breathtaingly beautiful, the food was only ok, and the service was awful. I think it's service that makes the difference. When you're looking for a reception hall, i think one waiter per table is really a KEY aspect. Also, enough seating at the cocktai hour is important. They tell you you don't want seating, you want your guests to mingle, but many of them may be elderly or tired or wearing painful shoes and will want to sit, especially since there'sfood involved and they want to eat!
My cousin's wedding was at shadowbrook on friday evening. Shadowbrook is an old georgian mansion.
You drive up a long long driveway with lighted trees, you turn the corner and the place is all lit up and it looked MAGNIFICENT. it was so memorable and beatiful turning the corning and seeing the mansion. It looked beautiful decorate for the holidays with wreaths and bows!
When you walk in the lobby is just stunning. it's all old world style and looks very very rich!
Then you walk in and we had to walk through the main ballroom (with the fireplace) to the bar for the cocktail hour. I think with smaller weddings that section of the L shaped ballroom may be sectioned off so you see the fireplace, and not the tales, but we saw all the tables as we walked through....when you walk through the ballroom you're in the bar room, whichha sa huge l shaped bar. There were 3 bartenders for about 180 people. It seemed like it was about enough. Then you had to go to the side for the cocktail hour food. There wasn't a tremendous amount of food, but there was enough variety and enough food that you could try everything you wanted, which was good. I only aw about 3 or 4 thngs being passed, and all were VERY small. You had to go down a couple steps form teh bar to the cocktail hour room which had all open windows like a sun room, unfortunately it also have outdoor wrought iron furniture, which was very pretty, but there were very few tables, and I swear the chair left an imprint on my butt.. The cocktail hour was far too crowded. The cocktal hour food was very good.
The ballroom was L shaped, with the dance floor and the bride and groom being in the axis of the L. I was at one of 4 tables on the short side of the L, and we really felt like we were at a different party, whereas on the long side of the L, they were crammed in. I had so much empty space behind me, they could have spread it out a little better, but I don;t know if that's the coupl'es choice.
One annoying thing I notice sitting on the end like that was that the kitchen and the abr were on opposite sides of the ballroom, so once in awhile we saw people pushing those 6 foot tall carts wiht fresh glasses and dirty dishes back and forth THROUGH the ballroom. WHAT an eyesore. wauters and waitreesses were constantly running through this area...one waitress ran in front of the maid of honor and best man as they were being introducded entering the recption and I said 'there goes the video!'
There was one waiter for maybe 3 tables, so we never got drink refills, we had to ask for water, and 2 people at one table would get served, then the waiter would serve the othr table, it was pretty bad. The salad was mesculun with a vinaigrette. Just mesculun greens on a plate. It really didn't look like much, so it was sort of disappointing, but ti was fresh and it tasted good. The intermezzo was passed pineapple sorbet in cones. it tasted really good and people seemed to enjoy the cones. There wa sa choice of two entrees, salmon or filet mignon. I had the salmon and FH had the filet. The slamon was very good, the sauce was a little thick and creamy, which I didn't like and they didnt tells us anything about the dish we'd be getting they just asked us 'salmon or filet' so... it was served with delcious potatos and some good vegetables. the fod was served so hapahazardly because there werent enough waiters that the food was cold by the time I got it. FH had the filet, which was very rare and also very dry. The wedding cake was delicious. I usually hate wedding cake, but this one tasted really good. It was served with ice cream (it looked like those little cups you eat with a stick) with chocolate chips on top.The downside? They ran out of it. My dad never got any, and they were served coffee about 20 minutes after everyone else got it.
overall the place was so breathtaingly beautiful, the food was only ok, and the service was awful. I think it's service that makes the difference. When you're looking for a reception hall, i think one waiter per table is really a KEY aspect. Also, enough seating at the cocktai hour is important. They tell you you don't want seating, you want your guests to mingle, but many of them may be elderly or tired or wearing painful shoes and will want to sit, especially since there'sfood involved and they want to eat!
