John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove Reviews
Reviews
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![Daniel]()
Daniel Sent on 01/10/2025Fall Wedding at JJAC
We will be having our wedding at this venue in October 2025 and were blown away by its natural beauty and tranquility from our first visit there. There's so many unique areas to explore and we're so excited to celebrate our special day there. It is the perfect combination of rustic and elegant! -
![Laura]()
Laura Sent on 05/17/2024Love audubon
I have had such an amazing experience here. They are making my wedding truly magical and are very accommodating. -
![Nick]()
Nick Sent on 03/11/2023Wedding Tasting
Went to John James Audubon and had our wedding tasting. The food was unreal and the staff was very friendly and accommodating. We especially liked seeing the venue set up just like an actual wedding. This helped us get a sense of what it will look like on our big day. If you are looking for a wedding venue, look no further. We are looking forward to our big day! -
Madison Sent on 01/21/2023
Wedding Planning
We have been working with JJAC and JAM to plan our upcoming wedding. We have worked with the office staff as well as starting to plan with our personal planner. They have been so great about answering all of our questions and being so responsive in doing so. They gave advice when needed and just listened to all of our thoughts with ease. They have been so great to work with and we are so excited for our upcoming wedding! -
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![Julia]()
Julia Sent on 09/29/2022Beautiful venue with a great staff!
With just under 20 days to go until the big day, my fiancé and I are extremely excited for our 10/16/2022 wedding at the John James Audubon Center. We absolutely fell in love with the grounds during our initial tour of the venue (just down the road from our favorite stores and restaurants in the King of Prussia area)! My fiancé and I wanted a blend of nature and rustic grounds, and this checked the boxes for every aspect of our wedding — ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. We found the Pavilion alongside the main trail was perfect for our reception, with a beautiful fireplace behind the sweetheart table, lit outdoor space with a firepit, plenty of space for dancing and sleek vertically-opening doors that allow an entire wall of the space to open to the outside.
We’ve worked with Desiree for the initial tour, Shannon and Bonnie for the initial booking/logistics & wonderful group tasting, and Kimberly for our specific event details. The staff at JJAC are all very kind, welcomed our questions along the way (even the dumb ones!), and displayed excellent response times. -
![Tori]()
Tori Sent on 05/31/2022Beautiful location with great staff!
Booked with John James Audubon Center & JAM Catering in summer of 2021, for a fall wedding in October 2022! So far the process has been seamless.
I've very much enjoyed working with Bonnie, Michelle, and Shannon. All made themselves available to tour the grounds MULTIPLE times as my fiancé and our families were deciding on the venue. They answered every question we had about contracts (even if some were probably obvious). Then, when my fiancé got deployed for a bit, they were very accommodating to work with in setting up our tasting. I can't wait to continue to work with them through the design process and get to that big day :). The venue is so beautiful all on its own - a perfect mix of rustic, industrial, and whimsical! Will update my review if things were to change, but have currently enjoyed an already very stressful process very much. -
![Tamahra]()
Tamahra Sent on 12/18/2021Best Wedding Ever (According to Guests too)!
Our John James Audubon Center (JJAC) wedding was honestly the best day of our lives. Jeffery A Miller (JAM) staff truly made our big day so special. To this day, our guests continue to tell us that our wedding was in their top 3 best weddings they’ve ever been to and JJAC’s beauty and JAMs amazing food had a lot to do with that opinion. My husband and I could not have imagined getting married anywhere else and are so glad we went with JJAC and the JAM team. Lastly, our event coordinator Shelley was very professional and helped us throughout the process— we were a Covid wedding originally scheduled in June 2020… and then July 2020… and officially got married July 2021! Shelley took so much stress off our plates all the way up to the big day. Trust me, if you decide on JJAC and the JAM team, you’re big day will be all that you could have imagined. -
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Sami Sent on 12/03/2021
Just the most beautiful venue we could have imagined
We knew we wanted to get married outside and we saw a few places in the Philly area. As soon as we saw the Audubon Center, we knew it was the place. It is just extraordinarily beautiful and it was the most peaceful and lovely place to be all day. And we got to have an owl come visit the guests and he was a huge hit. Truly a magical place. -
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Jean Sent on 09/10/2021
Incredible Day!
We had an incredible wedding experience for our daughter with JAM Catering on September 5, 2021 at John Jay Audubon Nature Center. We could not have been more pleased. Our wedding coordinator, Desiree. was amazing from initial planning stages throughout the wedding day. Her attention to detail, professionalism, creativity, flexibility and knowledge were priceless. Food was amazing, staff was attentive and the venue speaks for itself. Desiree and team helped us create the wedding that my daughter had envisioned. Five stars! -
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![Elyse]()
Elyse Sent on 11/13/2020Wedding Dreams Come True
We planned our wedding in less than 8 weeks and it turned out perfectly. I really couldn't have asked for anything more. Shelley and the JAM staff were friendly and helpful throughout the process without making it feel rushed. They worked with the things we could decide on the spot and gave us more time to figure out other things we were unsure of. Additionally, they can provide many decor options making the overall planning process simple. Any issues we had during while planning were quickly and professionally resolved. They were helpful as we changed our mind on a few things and made adjustments. We pulled off a wedding that seemed like it would take months to plan.
We are lucky and happy to have found the John James Audubon venue coupled with the JAM catering team. The owner introduced himself to us at our wedding and it was cool to see how he is an integral part of the team in addition to the name of the business. So many of our guests personally raved about the food to us. We both sat and enjoyed our meal on our wedding day - the evening just flowed perfectly. I only wish I tried more of the apps at cocktail hour - however, I heard they were great.
The outdoor nature of the space in temperate weather is perfect for hosting a wedding in a safe way during these crazy times. I felt that they took all of the necessary precautions to make everyone feel safe. Tables were distanced and enlarged per the number of seated guests. Masks were required and respectfully encouraged. I would recommend JAM catering team and this venue to anyone looking to plan an event. -
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![Ben]()
Ben G. Sent on 08/30/2019The Perfect Wedding at Audubon!
My wife and I instantly fell in love with Audubon when we visited the grounds looking for a wedding venue. Its picturesque scenery and connection to nature won us over — it felt elegant, modern, rustic, and peaceful. Perfect for us! They completed a series of incredible renovations just two months before our wedding, which made the already beautiful venue even more gorgeous. Plus, you can request to have an owl featured at your cocktail hour. Our guests absolutely loved meeting Scooter! Audubon was the perfect wedding venue for us, can’t recommend it enough! -
![Stephanie]()
Stephanie Sent on 07/16/2019Wedding Day 5.17.19
As soon as we visited Audubon, we knew it was the right venue for us. It’s just so naturally beautiful and rustic. Throughout our wedding planning process, we worked with Jenn as our wedding planner. Jenn was incredible. She was very Type A in the planning process, so that relieved A LOT of my stress during planning. I also appreciated that she would give me her opinion and her ideas when I asked because she obviously knows the venue way better than me and can tell me what works best. The day of the wedding Jenn was a source of calm for me. She made me feel like I truly had nothing to worry about and I can honestly say I was able to enjoy our day because of that. I really liked that Audubon offered Decoration Packages. It really saved me a lot of time and stress. We bought a decoration package that included table numbers, wooden tree stump slabs for the tables, a box of throw blankets for the firepit, tree stumps to line the ceremony aisles, a pick a seat not a side sign, an easel for our welcome sign, and these GORGEOUS wreath light installations for the Pavilion. We went to our group tasting the summer before our wedding. JAM Catering’s food is to DIE FOR. Almost all of the food we chose for our menu we tried at the tasting. We did Orange Cardamom Short Ribs, Seared Corvina, and Zucchini and Quinoa Cake. For the cocktail hour we added a BBQ in a Jar Station and a Paella Station. During the reception we added a Gelato Station. All of our guests raved about the food! Our BBQ in a Jar Station completely went and I keep hearing how amazing and tender the Short Ribs were. Our ceremony we had outside in the Apple Orchard. It was beautiful! And our cocktail hour was in the Barn and also outside. Everyone loved that! Our guests kept saying: “How did you find this place? It’s gorgeous!” Our reception was held in the Pavilion. Our guest count was on the higher side (200) so it was a little cozy, but during dinner we asked Jenn to open all of the garage doors in the Pavilion and it opened up the space SO much! People could be outside and still listen to the music and be a part of the party! Our guests utilized the outside fire pit too. One thing that really impressed me was the bartenders. Our wedding had a lot of wine drinkers. So we brought approximately 8 different wine varietals and about 3-5 different wines of each varietal. We were VERY impressed at how well the bartenders organized all of the wine we brought and were able to memorize Our selection and serve our guests in a quick manner. Lastly, we had JAM do cheesesteaks and Philly soda bottles to go as a favor! Everyone loved it! Overall, the event was flawless! The service was excellent. It truly was best day of our lives!
Only con: Videographers are not allowed to use drones. But I got over that pretty quickly. -
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![Laura]()
Laura Sent on 11/04/2018Stunning Venue and incredible staff
The moment we pulled into John James Audubon Center to meet Michelle, we knew the other venues we had planned to see that day had a lot to live up to. Michelle was incredible, she listened, cared and understood what kind of celebration we wanted for our wedding. She was wonderful in showing us other venue options under the J.A.M family but John James Audubon Center was tough to beat. Although it was always in our top three, we decided on this venue because the backup plan in case of rain was just as perfect as our original plan of an outdoor ceremony. After deciding, we were connected to the wonderful Shannon and Ashley, the whole team at this venue were beyond incredible! From the attention to detail to the seamless contact, we never felt stressed about our venue. Ashley made time for us via email and face to face to go over every single detail. She really did understand what kind of day we wanted and made sure everything was taken care of. Our face to face meetings settled our nerves, helped us with aspects of the wedding we hadn’t thought of yet (wedding brain exists) and confirmed why we were so connected to this venue and the staff. On our wedding day, Ashley was incredible, and our already stunning venue transformed into something magical. Our discussions with Ashley painted a good picture of what our day would look like but we were blown away with how beautiful everything was and how it surpassed our imaginations. John James Audubon Center was beyond incredible, the staff made our day seamless from the moment we showed up at our first appointment to leaving at the end of our wedding night. -
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Anthony Sent on 11/10/2017My husband and I chose to tie the knot at the JJAC on 10/14/17. From the moment we set foot on the gorgeous grounds at Audubon, we KNEW it was the place where we were meant to marry. Setting all other factors aside, the property is simply gorgeous and offers an array of beautiful locations for ceremony, cocktails, and reception.
We chose to have our ceremony in the gorgeous apple orchard, our cocktail hour in the 100+ year old barn (with its cracked plaster walls and wooden beams, the barn is a rustic couples DREAM location), and reception in the amazing pavilion. Combined with the perfect weather, the grounds at Audubon provided ample space for multiple changes of scenery all culminating with our dream reception in the pavilion where we were able to leave all of the gorgeous windows raised. On one side we had the fire pit surrounded by log seating, lawn games, and string lighting, on the opposite side was the bar and photo booth. Having all of the outdoor space effectively doubled the size of the reception and created this amazing indoor-outdoor experience that we had always dreamed of.
Now having said all of that, beyond its beautiful spaces Audubon offers another indispensable benefit which comes in the form of Jeffrey Miller Catering!! Specifically, Shannon (our Wedding Coordinator) and Tom from Buttercup (Jeffrey Miller's floral and event design division) were HUGE assets to us during the planning process; I can safely say that our wedding simply would not have been possible without their unbelievable patience, creativity, flexibility, and passion. They both care so much about what they do, we genuinely felt like they were almost as invested in our big day as we were! These two, with the help of their amazing staffs, helped to turn our rough ideas and pinterest boards into the romantic and enchanted forest wedding of our dreams! -
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![Christina]()
Christina Sent on 06/11/2017I am so glad I booked at the JJ Audubon Center. We had an absolutely gorgeous day and the venue looked even better than we had imagined! We were able to keep the doors open at the pavilion and it was awesome. We are still receiving compliments from our friends and family. Seriously wish I could relive my wedding day over and over! -
![Renee]()
Renee Sent on 03/29/2017John James Audubon has been an absolute dream to work with on my September wedding! The grounds/venue is absolutely beautiful, and the rental includes the use of multiple areas on the property. Shannon and Katie are super responsive and easy to work with, and the whole process has been seamless so far. Jeffrey A Miller is the exclusive caterer of the venue, and their food is incredible! We were blown away by the fresh ingredients and all of the menu options we had to choose from. I would highly recommenced John James Audubon center to anyone looking to get married in the Pennsylvania area. -
![shelley]()
Shelley Sent on 12/06/2016I can't say enough good things about the experience we had working with Shannon and Jeffrey Miller Catering (JAM) at Mill Grove! Shannon spent a l lot of time working through all the ideas that our decor planner/florist and I had for our wedding, and she even stayed in touch on her days off to guarantee that we stayed on track. The details for my wedding were quite extensive and there were a lot of moving parts and Shannon made sure that everything went off perfectly.
The food was beyond amazing, including the oysters on the raw bar which everyone raved about! We offered a choice of Capon, Salmon or Butternut Squash Ravioli and all of our guests said that their dinners were delicious and on the level of a high end restaurant.
We had an all around fabulous experience at Mill Grove and highly recommend this venue and JAM! -
![Jaime]()
Jaime Sent on 09/10/2024A beautiful nature-centric venue!
Me and my fiancé were looking for a wedding venue that was rustic, not a ballroom and preferably a venue with space to be outside (weather permitting). We visited a few options in the Philly area and fell in love with the John James Audubon Center! The space offers SO many options for an outdoor or indoor ceremony. They host receptions in the pavilion which is really open with huge windows and firepits outside! The site is beautiful, and everyone we’ve worked with so far has been immensely helpful!
After officially booking for our October 2024 wedding, we planned to visit with our parents. What was originally intended to be a quick stroll around the grounds turned into an impromptu tour with the venue manager. She answered all of our parents' questions and even brought out photo books of previous weddings for us to flip through together. With the wedding right around the corner now, we could not be more thrilled with our decision and can't wait to be there next month to celebrate our big day! -
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Athena Sent on 07/23/2024
Beautiful Wedding
We had a beautiful wedding at the John James Audubon Center in 5/2024. We picked this venue because we wanted to have an outdoor venue that had an excellent indoor option. You never think it's going to rain on your wedding day but turns out it did and we were very happy to have the barn as an option for our ceremony. They were also very flexible and allowed us to make our decision about the venue by 3 pm before a 5:30 pm ceremony. Our guests loved the food and venue and had a wonderful experience, and when the rain cleared up they were able to enjoy all of the venue. The service was excellent and I thought it was special that they gave us our own private cocktail hour on the back porch before we joined the rest of our guests. We had our own planner and she did most of the communication with the venue. My fiance and I did not have the bandwith for much of the wedding logistics and it was very helpful to have our planner communicate directly with the venue.
I do think there are many extra fees which they say they are transparent about, but I think they are only transparent to someone who is well versed in the wedding industry (given that I don't work in the wedding industry and I hope to only get married once I am not an expert nor will I ever be one). It was hard to understand some of the charges for decor options. Some of this is probably a wedding industry-wide thing but it left a bad taste in our mouths. In addition, we did not enjoy the tasting; it felt overwhelming with so many people and many of the options were add ons that one would have to pay extra for (we ended up picking several of our included food options without trying them but they ended up being very good). The option for couples to write multiple reviews across social media platforms prior to their wedding to get a free appetizer or dessert is at best icky and at worst exploitative.
Again, overall, we had a beautiful wedding and we are so happy we picked the John James Audubon Center as our venue but I think it's important to be honest about some of the things that were less than ideal. -
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![Natalie]()
Natalie Sent on 12/22/2021Excellent service & delicious food!!
JAM went above and beyond to make sure our day was perfect. We had our reception on 11/14/21 at the JJ Audubon Center, and our guests have been talking about how incredible the food & cake were ever since! The guacamole was probably the best I've ever had. We were also able to schedule a private tasting a few months prior. Our chef that evening was absolutely amazing, he held great conversation and truly cared about creating perfect dishes to serve at our wedding.
I can't say enough about the staff, especially the servers and bar tenders. They were ALL extremely kind, efficient and personable.
We honestly only have one recommendation for better service - If you book with JAM, make sure you read the fine print. When my fiancé and I first started the planning process, including tasting and menu choices, there are a TON of hidden fees they will try to throw in to up your cost. As long as you understand the cost you're obligated to pay vs. extra fees, you should be good.
Other than that, the service was excellent, food was delicious, and I would absolutely recommend JAM to other couples. -
![Luba]()
Luba Sent on 01/01/2020Working with JJAC
The John James Audubon center is a beautiful venue that we are having our wedding next August. So far the staff have been super helpful with answering any questions we have regarding the wedding process and timeline. We are looking forward to our big day! -
Rebecca Sent on 06/18/2018We had an amazing wedding over memorial day weekend. I appreciated that the venue (JJAC) was a blank slate that we could decorate however we wanted (which you don't need to do much because it has a lot of natural beauty); that we could provide our own alcohol; that there were plenty of hotels close by to transport guests to (we recommend guests staying at the newly renovated Valley Forge Casino Resort - Casino tower). the venue itself is beautiful, and the guests loved that each part of the day had a space dedicated to it (ceremony outside; cocktails in the barn; reception in the pavilion with outdoor space for people to retreat to). JMC has staff that run the day like a business- everyone seemed to know what they needed to do and the service and bartenders were exceptional. Food was delicious and not traditional wedding food. We found the price to be very competitive with other venues and caterers in the area. We were so happy that we picked JJAC and JMC for our wedding.
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Pamela Sent on 09/03/2018This was the second venue that we saw and knew from the beginning this was exactly what we wanted. The barn is so unique and special and we decided to do our ceremony there, the cocktail hour on the lawn in the Honey Locust tree area, and reception in the beautiful pavilion. My husband was thrilled that the barn and pavilion had air conditioning especially since we got married in late August. Not only was the venue gorgeous, but the food was exceeded our expectations and our guests are still raving about it. Jeffrey A. Miller provided a diverse and seasonal menu and even accommodated our custom layered cookie cake with cream cheese icing in between. The staff was very attentive the night of and throughout the process. Shelley was our assigned coordinator and we couldn’t have made it through the day without her. For example, our ceremony started one hour late due to transportation issues and she immediately took a look at the timeline and made suggestions for how we could make up the difference. She took care of us and our guests all night. We choose John James Audubon Center again in a heartbeat!
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Brigid Sent on 01/05/2024
Gorgeous grounds and excellent food
It took a while to get them to be responsive but once we actually got assigned a wedding coordinator (Kim who was FANTASTIC) the communication went wayyy up. The grounds are gorgeous, the food was genuinely delicious and the CAKE. I had to be talked out of baking my own wedding cake and honestly I'm so glad I was because there's no way I could have done what they did. It was a perfect night and I am still getting compliments on how everything looked and tasted 6 months later. -
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![Chris]()
Chris Sent on 06/29/2021A great experience
Jeffrey Miller Catering and the John James Audubon Center gave us everything we had hoped for in our wedding! Rain played havoc with our ceremony location but Shelley and the rest of the JAM staff quickly pivoted and delivered an amazing ceremony and cocktail hour space.
We got many, many complements on the food, the space and the overall set up and execution of the day.
We can't recommend JAM and the Audubon Center enough! -
![Hillary]()
Hillary Sent on 12/01/2018A perfect day
John James Audubon Center was the second venue we visited. While walking on the grounds, we knew we wanted to get married there and booked it during our tour! We got married there on 10/27/2018. I would describe the venue as historic and rustic. Audubon’s home is on the grounds and makes a beautiful backdrop for photos. Also, the barn is absolutely stunning. It rained on our wedding day, so we had to go with “Plan B,” but I’m not sure I would call it a “Plan B” because our ceremony was still perfect inside the barn. We held our reception in the pavilion, which is simple, yet beautiful. The pavilion has window- garage doors, so you can open them if the weather is nice. Attached to the pavilion is a cute little sitting area with a bonfire pit. Perks of the venue: 1. Every part of your wedding can be held on the grounds (ceremony + cocktail hour + reception). 2. Great photo spots 3. Plan B option is actually just as good as Plan A. 3. There is a small bridal suite. 4. You provide your own alcohol. 5. It’s an owl sanctuary and you can get a photo with an owl! 6. They exclusively work with Jeffrey Miller Catering (JAM), which has many perks. I may be biased, but their food was some of the best food I’ve ever had at a wedding. Guests loved our duet entrée and are STILL talking about our sushi station at the cocktail hour. Cake is also included, so you don’t need to find a baker. Lastly, the JAM staff are helpful leading up to the wedding and during your wedding. Shelley, our coordinator, was detail oriented throughout the process. Staff set up all of our décor perfectly day of, which was in part, because Shelley worked with us beforehand to get a sense of how we envisioned the décor. Many friends said they didn’t get to eat or enjoy a drink at their weddings. That was not the case for us! Shelley was so attentive on our wedding day. She made sure we had time to eat our meals and that we had drinks. Our wedding day was perfect and the venue and JAM staff were a big part of why it was such a perfect day. -
![Haley]()
Haley Sent on 12/06/2014Wonderful venue made more wonderful by Jeffrey Miller Catering and wedding planner Shannon Mullane. Along with our wedding guests, we loved this venue! -
![Matt]()
Matt Sent on 05/07/2022Great venue
John James Audubon is a beautiful venue. So far the staff have been very helpful and have worked towards making our special day amazing. -
![Valerie]()
Valerie Sent on 08/23/2021Not worth the price
The venue was absolutely gorgeous. Our coordinator, Kim, was amazing and made us feel special on the day of our wedding, however, there is nothing inclusive about the price and rescheduling due to COVID was a nightmare. -
Brianna Sent on 02/05/2021
Helped Save a Covid Wedding
We had fallen in love with John James Audubon Center pre-pandemic hitting and we're set to get married on 12/12/2020. In the early stages of the pandemic, we thought we were safe but as mid-summer hit, it was clear we would need to shift our plans. We didn't want to postpone so we dropped to 25 people and moved forward with planning an intimate dinner party (a LOT of courses, wine pairing, etc). Jenn was the most fantastic planner in helping our vision come to life. She made herself available on weekends to do walk throughs each time our plans changed. Unfortunately, as cases got higher and higher and PA restirctions changed, two weeks out, we decided to postpone our party and move forward with just the "mini ceremony" package at Audubon. This allowed up 2 hours to use the space for photos and our ceremony. While we didn't have any food at our event, we did have our tasting which was delicious.
In the end, we ended up with the most perfect day but there were a few bumps in the road. While Jenn was fantastic for day to day planning, we had a very hard time communicating with and getting ahold of Shannon from sales/ contracts. We often felt we were met with an attitude from her end and push back as we were hopeful JAM catering could help us think of creative ways to make the wedding happen. We weren't even aware of the mini ceremony package until it was presented two weeks before. Day to day was great but I think JAM as a whole could have handled communications around postponements, opening of other dates, etc better. We were fine postponing a year to a Sunday in 2021 (12/12/21) but dates were limited and it felt defeating to know Saturdays we not avail so they could be kept for those willing to pay 2021 pricing. -
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![Michelle]()
Michelle Sent on 06/12/2021Postponed Wedding
Our wedding was recently at John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove. It was a beautiful setting and we really loved all of the locations where we could choose to have our ceremony and cocktail hour. The owl was another added bonus that our guests LOVED! The space overall was simply incredible, but it was quite expensive to rent the space especially after having to move the date of our wedding to another Saturday months later thanks to COVID. Communication in terms of reaching out to vendors and payments were also delayed and did cause some unnecessary anxiety. Overall, however, our wedding was perfection and the service they provided was well done come the day of our wedding. -
![Tamar]()
Tamar Sent on 12/31/2025Hidden Gem (with a few flaws)
I'll preface my review with saying, my May wedding was as perfect as I imagined and I wouldn't change anything. I'll talk about the actual venue first:
The Audubon Center is definitely a hidden gem of a location. If you want a stunning outdoor wedding, this is the place for you. There are several places to choose from for an outdoor ceremony or you can use their historic barn. The reception area beautifully balances rustic elegance. One of the primary reasons I chose this venue was because their rain plan was so solid. I would highly recommend this venue if you are looking for an in-door/out-door organic, classy, wildflower vibe.
The Audubon Center is connected to JAM Catering. JAM provides the catering, decor, linens, tables, and chairs, which was nice plus. However, the management team left something to be desired. Although we were assigned a personal coordinator, it quickly became clear she was there more to support the business than us, as the couple. Although not her fault, she was often unable to answer our questions during the planning process and at times it felt that she was actively withholding information. I wanted a deeply personal wedding and working with our coordinator made this challenging because it felt like she was pushing us to fit their standard pipeline wedding.
Furthermore, the venue provided documents listing our options for decor, food, venue procedures, etc. but this information was spread out among about 50 different documents that were incredibly hard to search. Finding the answer a simple question became a frustrating task because we were so unclear about where the information was. When emailing the venue about these there was often not a timely response, adding to the bottleneck, or we were directed to a resource that was incorrect or inconsistent with existing information provided. This made it hard to feel like we were making informed decisions.
Additionally, although there was a tasting, most of the food items served were up-charge items. I ended up having to choose a vegetarian option that I was unable to try myself because there was no way of trying it before serving my guests, which made me uncomfortable. Finally, when we found out what the reception room layout was (late in the process), it was not conducive to the guest experience, and we were met with resistance when we voiced that we would like to change it. Overall, the lack of transparency, inability to explain their choices, and general disorganization made an already overwhelming process even more so.
For all the challenges of working with JAM during the planning process, on the day of the wedding, everything went smoothly. All staff were friendly, professional, and efficient. The food was fantastic and the venue was gorgeous. I would recommend the Audubon Center, but just go in with your eyes wide open when working with JAM. -
![Laura]()
Laura Sent on 07/23/2021Questionable and Frustrating COVID Business Practices, Wonderful Day-Of Celebration
I will start out with the negative, because I think it's important for any couple considering this venue--though really the issues were with the partnered catering company (Jeffrey A. Miller), which must be used--not the venue itself. Because of their handling of rescheduling and fees/pricing during the pandemic, I unfortunately would not recommend them to another couple. Or, I would at least warn another couple that they need to be ready for surprising and questionable policies in the event that their wedding must be altered due to the pandemic. Our initial wedding date was a Saturday in May 2020. As it became clear this would not be feasible, we were offered to reschedule without any fees to any date. We selected a Friday in July 2020 (naively thinking that things would be better by then). As that date neared, it again became clear that we would need to reschedule again. At this point, the conditions were changed. We were offered, without charge, to switch to any Monday-Thursday date until March 2021. If we wanted any other date, we would be charged an additional $6000. After much discussion, we opted to select a date in May 2021, accepting this additional charge that was obviously frustrating. Our wedding planner, who works with many similarly priced venues in the Philadelphia area, informed us that this was the only venue with this new fee policy. When we asked for our new contract to include a COVID-rescheduling clause in the event that we needed to reschedule again, we were denied this request. Luckily, we were able to hold our wedding on our May 2021 date. However, we were again met with a surprise regarding fees. Leading up to our wedding, local regulations decreased our allowed guest count to approximately 15-20% of our original guest count. In response to this, JAM lowered our catering minimum by 20% of the original (not TO 20%, but BY 20%), so we were expected to pay 80% of the original catering minimum for only 20% of the guests, thereby increasing our charge per person by nearly $100. Our wedding planner discussed this unfair (and frankly, made-up?) policy with Jeffrey Miller (the catering company’s owner) himself, and she reported to me that he agreed we should be paying 20% of the minimum, not 80%. However, the next day, our planner received an email saying that Jeffrey Miller had talked to his business manager and would be unable to honor the pricing that he, the owner, had said was appropriate. Counting the $6000 we were charged to move our date, we would have actually been paying over 100% of our original catering minimum for 20% of the original guests.
I understand that this pandemic has been difficult for couples, vendors, and guests. And I am glad that our venue and associated catering company were still in business when it came time for us to finally celebrate together. However, working with JAM and its unwritten, changing policies (that were not seen at other venues or vendors) just added to the stress. Having already spent thousands of dollars with this company and knowing that other venues were booking up, we felt trapped. It was unfortunate that with each changing policy, we were made to feel like we were being given a deal, that fees/costs could have been much worse. My hope is that the pandemic's effects are through, but in the event that they are not, couples will not be met with flexibility or professionalism from this catering company. If I had could go back in time, I would not have scheduled with this caterer. And I would not say that about any of our other vendors.
If it weren't for the catering company's COVID business practices, I would give this venue 5/5 stars across the board. The venue itself is beautiful with multiple locations for ceremony, reception, and cocktail hour. The addition of the owl and hawk during our cocktail hour was also a hit with our guests.
Regarding the catering company, the food was fantastic, and while we did not customize our menu much, they offered nearly unlimited options. The day-of staff were wonderful. -
![Kristie]()
Kristie Sent on 06/06/2017We had our wedding here May 2017 with 180 guests. This venue is beautiful with a natural landscape for a simple wedding. When we first visited, the grounds were incredible but couples be aware they are currently undergoing some renovations.
If you are looking for a place to customize and go over the top, this may not be the right option. Or be ready to spend some extra money! If you have a larger guest count I highly recommend you look elsewhere as the space will start to feel tight.
Shannon and Lindsey were our planners and coordinators that day. Overall things came together but communication and prioritization can be improved greatly as logistics were not the best. I had a lot of DIY projects and creative details so Shannon worked hard to make sure she can provide me with what I needed.
However, there were also some major disappointments: set up was not on time, our friends were ignored waiting for Shannon to finish conversations with potential clients during set up, some paperwork wasn't reviewed until the morning of the wedding, order of service was incorrect (family served last instead of first), kitchen ran out of salad, end of night was chaotic with boxes and bags of food thrown into the bridal room (small closet space).
Pros: natural grounds, many photo ops, varied outdoor/indoor spaces, food, alcohol BYO, outdoor firepit space and lawn games, bartenders
Cons: communication, planners, logistics, order of food service, tiny bridal room, venue currently under construction
All in all our day was perfect because of all the love and people we had with us but if you choose this place, be aware there might be some work and headache ahead!
Are you interested?
Are you interested?