Venue Shopping Day 3
The Westwood in Garwood
It’s further away than the other venues, but we decided to visit because they had a lot of good reviews. They seem to offer a lot for their very low price.
The food sounds good. There’s definitely places to take pictures in the lobby. I like that the room we would have the reception in has a fireplace. I think that would be a nice touch for a winter wedding. And you definitely can’t beat the price. She’ll even include the ceremony room for free.
I didn’t like that the rooms upstairs where we would be, have no windows. They’re a little dark and not extremely nice looking. Still much better than the other places we visited that are about the same price.
They said the centerpieces are included, but I read a review that says they lie about that. I don’t know if that’s true. There is a fee for the maitre d’, but gratuity is included unlike…
Jacques in Middletown
I visited back in March for their bridal show and the food was delicious. The building is new, they fixed the parking lot problem and currently there’s construction going on for a garden. The lobby is gorgeous.
The price is less than I thought it would be. Unlike other places, it seems they have lowered their prices for 2010. Still, it’s more than PNC or The Westwood because gratuity is not included. In fact, they add on a 20% service charge, not 18% and it says in their packet they expect you to tip on top of that! ??? Why not just add the 20% onto the price?
They said that the ceremony room only accommodates 100 guests, but we could probably get 150 in there. They have two reception rooms, right next to each other, separated by a removable wall. I don’t see that being extremely soundproof and to get the whole building to ourselves, we need to guarantee a minimum that’s much too high. Though I don’t understand how we would have the wedding there if we’re under the minimum since the cocktail hour is supposed to be in that other, smaller room.