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Weddings

About

The Highlawn is a beautiful historic wedding venue in West Orange, New Jersey. This banquet hall is surrounded by acres of nature preserve and holds over 100 years of history within its walls. Highlawn Pavilion was built in the early 20th century and used by great historical figures such as Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park, and Thomas Edison. It has been used by hundreds of couples for intimate weddings and grand celebrations of all kinds. Choose Highlawn Pavilion for the elegance, charm, and exceptional staff. You won’t be disappointed.

Facilities and Capacity
The Highlawn sits at the summit of a 400-acre nature preserve, Eagle Rock Reservation,. The Florentine-style historic building provides panoramic vistas of the New York City skyline from oversize windows. Inside the pavilion you’ll have access to a spacious banquet hall with dance floor, an intimate piano room, wine cellar, and patio. The venue is adorned with antique decor and furnishings that add to its continental charm. For your outdoor ceremony, Eagle Rock lookout offers views of the city skyline and the hundreds of acres of nature preserve below. Features a beautiful flowered arch and brick aisle. All facilities are available for your big day.

Services Offered
The Highlawn provides couples with the utmost quality service to ensure their big day is executed to perfection. Gatherings big and small are prioritized by the event coordination staff. They will work with you to define every detail of your wedding. The culinary staff at The Highlawn is one of the best in the area. They offer custom curated menus to suit your wedding style and personal tastes. From initial planning to presentation, your wedding vision will become reality when you choose The Highlawn.

Cuisine
The Highlawn's cuisine has been rated “excellent” by the New York Times and given Four Stars from The Star Ledger. They use fresh produce from the nearby Pleasantdale Farm, and commit to sustainable practices in their food preparation. All menus are custom tailored and can include:

  • Five-hour open bar
  • Butlered hot hors d’oeuvres
  • Cold hors d’oeuvres trays
  • Chilled seafood station
  • Four-course plated dinner including appetizer, salad, entree, and dessert
  • Champagne toast
  • Coffee and tea station
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Frequently asked questions

How many event spaces or rooms does your venue offer?

2

Describe your venue:

Ballroom
Banquet Hall
Historic Building

What kind of settings are available?

Indoor
Uncovered Outdoor

Which of the following wedding events does your venue service?

Ceremony
Reception
Bridal Shower
Engagement Party

What event services do you offer?

Clean Up
Event Planner
Get Ready Rooms

What transportation and access is available?

Parking
Valet
Wheelchair Access

Reviews of The Highlawn

J
Jenna Sent on 01/02/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Perfect wedding experience

My husband and I planned a last minute wedding at the Highlawn. We cancelled our wedding many times in the past due to covid and decided to try once more at the Highlawn. Planning a wedding in 4 weeks generally isn’t easy, but the whole team was all hands on deck. We were in contact with all of the members constantly, they recognized concerns and addressed immediately.
We ended up having the most beautiful wedding and are very grateful for this amazing experience. The venue looks gorgeous, the food was unreal, and the views were breathtaking. It was perfect.
MrsPez19
Brittany Sent on 09/28/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing Venue!

Highlawn made our day so special. Chris the banquet manager makes everyone priority. All of our guests loved the food atmosphere and the amazing NYC skyline view!
C
Caren Sent on 08/10/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Flexible planning, good view, good food

The People: Chris Gellings is our venue manager. Chris was very warm and accommodating. After communicating with Chris, we thought that Chris runs a great team at Highlawn, he's very experienced and caring, and he has attention to details. On our wedding day, the staff gives good directions, and we received good reviews from our guests on the reception serving crew and the bartender(she made me a really tasty and ins worthy drink). We had full confidence in Chris leading up to our big day, and I didn't worry about anything about the venue and the logistics that day(actually I didn't notice anything that day, it was just really smooth...). We did not hire any day-off coordinator or wedding planner.

The Venue: we love the view! Everyone loves the view! It's on a cliff with Manhattan skyline far away and lots of lots of green. It's very relaxing and refreshing for us and our guests from the city. My only complaint is about the ceremony garden. They removed the bushes around the garden this summer and it lost that close and intimate feeling. I didn't like how the setting was changed after we booked the venue. But it was ok at the end of the day.

The Food: yes, cocktail hour shrimp was fantastic! We had a buffet for the reception. Steak, rack of lamb, the crepe, peking duck, and homemade mash potato are very very good.

Others: bridal suite is tiny. There's no suite for the guys. If this is very important for you, then this is not the venue for you.
We had the daytime slot from 11am to 4pm. The restaurant downstairs is not open till 5. So we had the whole venue to ourselves. This is very important for me.

Ashley
Ashley Sent on 02/08/2019
5 out of 5 rating

A great venue

This was the first venue we went to visit where they were prepping for a wedding & the guests were already on site about to go to the ceremony. I was happy to see things were going smoothly for the bride and groom. Seeing them in action really allowed us to get a picture of what they would be doing for us & I think that helped, not to mention the skyline view that would be during dinner.
Erica
Erica Sent on 01/08/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Wonderful Wedding, Awesome Serivce

My husband and I were so happy with our decision to use The Highlawn Pavillion. We were blown away with the service and attention to detail. Chris was fantastic to work with, the food was wonderful, and the wedding cake blew us away. It was such a special evening and we are so happy!
N
Nicolette Sent on 10/06/2018
5 out of 5 rating
We had our wedding reception at the Highlawn Pavilion on 8-5-18. We were extremely happy with our venue from start to finish. We were looking for a place that had a great view, great food and was a little different than your typical NJ ballroom wedding venue. The venue itself has an incredible view and beautiful grounds for pictures. We worked with Paul to plan the event and he was extremely flexible, helpful and easy to work with. He helped us work out all of our details and made us feel confident our day would go without a hitch. I cannot say enough about how delicious the food was. All of their food and desserts are made in house and I had many guests say it was the best food and dinner they've had at a wedding. The staff was great and it was the perfect venue for our wedding. If you are looking for a place that will wow your guests with its food, view, rustic villa feel and great service, the Highlawn is the place for you.
Danielle
Danielle Sent on 11/24/2017
5 out of 5 rating
We have nothing but good things to say about Chris and his team at the Highlawn !! They helped to make our wedding on October 27, 2017 flawless and the best night of our lives. The food was great the service was great and the whole night is still being talked about! Chris was always available to answer any of our many questions and took all of our requests seriously, they made all of our dreams reality, and then some! Thank you so much to everyone at the Highlawn! We thoroughly recommend this venue, the pricing was right, the food was impeccable, the atmosphere is romantic and the view is breathtaking!!
G
Gregory Sent on 09/13/2017
5 out of 5 rating
We were thrilled with our positive experience at Highlawn Pavilion from 11am to 5pm on 3 September,2017. Key to our satisfaction was the cooperation and time extended to us, months in advance, by the Banquets Manager Paul Keenan and his very capable colleague, Christopher. Paul spent all the the time we needed with us going over the details of logistics, food and the ceremonial/religious aspects of planning a wedding for 110 people months in advance of the event. We were thoroughly impressed and satisfied with this level of cooperation.

On the day of the wedding we had rain, but as promised the Highlawn team "made lemonade out of lemons" and assembled the wedding area, including the chuppah, entirely to our satisfaction and the ceremony was very dignified and beautiful. We had a lot of enthusiastic young folks in attendance and the microphones for the speeches were all in working order, the dance floor was full, the food and wine and bar area were impeccably prepared.

It was our first daughter to be married and we were thrilled! When the event was over, the staff had prepared on a cart excess flower arrangements, wedding cake and any other wedding paraphanelia belonging to us, to take home. We didn't even have to ask!

Regarding the transactional aspects, i can say there were no surprises; the rates offered by HP are very competitive.

The key to success was the professionalism of the staff, our primary contacts being Paul Keenan prior to the event, and Norma, the irrepressible Maitre D', during it.

Thanks HP!
M
Maria Sent on 09/10/2017
5 out of 5 rating
Had to book a VERY last minute rehearsal dinner for a large party. Gorgeous views & great atmosphere. Very attentive staff. Live music was great. Dinner took a tad bit long but we had an extremely large party. The booker and hostess were very accommodating. Highly recommend purely for the location, views & photo ops!
M
Melissa Sent on 08/07/2017
5 out of 5 rating
Oh my gosh where to begin about this amazing venue. Our wedding day was so beautiful and we have Paul and Norma at the Highlawn to thank for that. They exceeded our expectations! Paul from the very beginning was so accommodating and so chill which I loved right away because I know the day of the wedding I wouldn't have to stress. From the start of it was such an easy planning process they work with you budget wise especially when you guarantee them a certain number. Anytime I had any questions Paul got back to me right away. The day of the wedding was great, the weather wasn't perfect we were hoping for the amazing view of NYC but that was something no one could control. But we were able to have the ceremony outside and everything went perfectly. The room was decorated exactly how I asked it was so gorgeous and the food was delish! Def go for the perogies at cocktail hour all my guests were raving about them. I had the filet mignon and my husband had the Cod and it was perfect. From the wait staff to the bartenders superb service! Cake and Viennese hour was just beautiful. I highly recommend Highlawn I loved the fact that it is not your typical wedding venue very different and vintagy which is what I was looking for. Everything else the venue has to offer speaks for itself, the view, food and service. Very happy Bride & Groom-Melissa & Luis 6-16-17
We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.

Awards

58
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2013 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2012 Winner

Professional Network & Endorsements

1 Endorsement
Gemini Productions Entertainment & Videography Gemini Productions Entertainment & Videography Wedding DJs

Great working with everyone at the Highlawn! Amazing food and great staff!

Map

The Highlawn frequently asked questions

The space offered by The Highlawn for wedding events is known for:
  • Ballroom
  • Banquet Hall
  • Historic Building
The Highlawn offers the following indoor/outdoor options for weddings:
  • Indoor
  • Uncovered Outdoor
The Highlawn offers the following types of wedding events:
  • Ceremony
  • Reception
  • Bridal Shower
  • Engagement Party
The Highlawn offers the following services for wedding events:
  • Clean Up
  • Event Planner
  • Get Ready Rooms
The Highlawn is recommended by 98% of couples who have used their services. Their overall rating is 4.9 out of 5 with the following breakdown: 5 in quality of service, 5 in value, 4.9 in professionalism, 4.8 in average response time and 4.8 in flexibility.
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