Help! unique and affordable wedding venue in the southern NJ/Philly area?

And what would that budget be?

You realize you're looking at prime season too; any wiggle room in the time?

I would check out the venue section on here and just start requesting info from places that seem interesting. I got married in Philly and in my experience, the more unique venues, were more expensive.

Budget means different things to different people. Usually the best value venues are halls because they offer more inclusive packages.

I got married on the Moshulu. The price wasn't too bad but once you start adding the taxes and service charges it really pushes the budget.

If you are REALLY on a budget, you cut the list to immediate family and have a sweet, beautiful small wedding for your immediate family.

Celia - I have no set date for my wedding. WeddingWire wouldnt let me create an account without making a date lol. We have PLENTY of wiggle room on the dates. Just not in September 2017 because another family member is getting married. We want to keep the budget under $20,000 (which still is ridiculous in my eyes lol)

Elyse - I have been requesting info all over. And you're right - it seems as though the all-inclusive halls seen A LOT cheaper. I just really wanted something DIFFERENT from all the weddings I see and have been to. But that unfortunately comes at a price

Celia - We did consider just a small family gathering too. I think I'm just hoping for some miracle place for $10,000 to pop up! lol. I really know nothing about weddings and whats acceptable pricing. After looking for the last few months we even considered eloping!

I hear ya. Is that for the whole thing? Because almost every place that I can think of is at least 80.00 ++ (plus tax and service, close to 28%)

I'd say think Thursday night (the new Saturday....), Jan-March (I did a showcase tonight and out of 14 people who filled out forms for me? Three of them were in Jan-March....)

You can do different, but it needs to be really different, and when you start adding up all the costs, you'll probably be just as shocked.

I'd look at Valley Crest Farms, an organic farm in Lebanon NJ (obviously not in the winter....), and cater an afternoon cocktail party with desserts. Their rental fee is very reasonable, but when you start looking apples to apples, a Thursday in March at a venue may be more cost effective.

There is a great venue up here, the Garden Vista Ballroom, that is a ballroom (yes, I know) in a landmark building in Passaic. It's beautiful, and Jim's packages for food are very reasonable (you BYOB....)

We stayed just under $20k and we did everything at TCNJ in Ewing (so it might be a little far north for you, depending on where you're located, but still only about 45 min from Philly). We have a special connection to the school, though, and they have a great space. We used catering services (no, not the same food we ate as students) and supplied our own alcohol (just paid their bartender). Not sure if something similar would work for you.

We don't have pro pics back yet, but my non-pro BAM gives an idea of the space we used:

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/just-little-friday-non-pro-bam/859a6bc2a84fc707.html

ETA: We had 100 guests. 120 would fit. Also, since it wasn't a traditional venue, no one cared what night of the week it was, etc.

Celia- Thanks so much for all the information!!

Mrs. Lav - Ewing might be a little too far for my fiance's family in PA. But that is a great space! Beautiful! I will try looking into similar places..great idea! Thanks for the info!

Thanks! Just FYI that Ewing is right over the bridge (just north of Trenton). I grew up in Montco PA and it's only about 40 minutes from my parents' house. I actually commuted my last semester as an undergrad.

Best of luck with your search! I heavily recommend Cutting Edge Entertainment for DJ in the area-- price was pretty reasonable and they were awesome (probably my best vendor).

I have a girlfriend who's getting married at the 1850s River House in Stockton, NJ. I would try and look there because from my understanding, my friend is getting a very affordable deal. It's on a river with a barn and tent area. I believe they just went under new ownership.

Fellow Philly area bride! Our guest list is max 125 and we're getting married at the Maas Building. We were able to rent the whole place plus on-site cottage for us to get ready in/stay over for under $3500. They let you bring in your own caterer & alcohol so we're planning on saving a ton there too! Their website is

www.maasbuilding.com

Some other venues I looked into before we decided on Maas were:

Artesano Iron Works

http://artesanoironworks.com/gallery/

Curtis Hall

http://www.cheltenhamtownship.org/facilityView.aspx?fid=8 (I LOVE Curtis Hall but we wanted to stay in the city!)

Front & Palmer

http://www.frontandpalmer.com/ (basically a pricier version of our venue but can hold a lot more people)

We were looking for nontraditional wedding venues as well and our max budget is $15,000. It's definitely do-able you just need to get a little creative. Let me know if you need anything else!

I'm in South Jersey. I started out pricing places that are "different" because I thought they might be more affordable. It turns out that you have to factor in extra stuff like rental chairs, tent, etc. i realized a brunch wedding at a golf course country club was the best value for us. I know it's not different, they do lots of weddings... But it's beautiful and they include a lot for the price.

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I went to a wedding at the 1850s River House! It was nice and has a casual vibe. That might need to be May-October because it's a tented venue and I'm not sure if they have heaters. There is a building with bathrooms, a kitchen, and I think a changing room, but no indoor party room. I don't have any recommendations farther south than that. We were going to look at 2 wineries: Valenzano and Tomasello, in south jersey but decided they were too far away. I think they might push your budget a little. We were trying for $20k for 100 people at first, and I think they were a little high for us. That was a year ago. I would recommend a daytime or even a brunch wedding to cut down on your costs.

I would second (third?) the advice to look carefully at rental costs and catering/staff costs before going into a raw space like the River House. I've actually worked at the River house, as as many other, "put up a tent, bring in the caterer" venues, it adds up fast at .50 per fork.

The bonus at Valley Crest is that it is very affordable to begin with.

I'm a South Jersey/Philly bride who wanted something different, there are a ton of great options in the area if you have a ton to spend, but I definitely second looking at "off peak" times. I'm able to do mine because I've gotten a ton of great discounts for a January wedding. Make sure to ask places and vendors about that when youre looking, some people/places I thought were too much gave discounts for January that put them in my price range.

Paul, you can't advertise here.

Me and my fiancé are in buffalo NY doing wedding on a budget as well. one idea we are considering that might work nice for you as well is doing a small ceremony with limited guests, followed by a catered lunch with cocktail hour. After the cocktail hour around 3pm go take photos and relaxing before a big party style reception. For the reception have buffet from less formal caterer along with dishes made by family and friends. supplying our own alcohol get a DJ or jukebox do the formal dances and then just celebrate with everyone in a relaxed environment. All possible with a budget under even just $10,000

I'm getting married at the Mill next door to the River House in Stockton (same company/non-profit). My budget was about the same, with a lot less people and we're just coming in at about $20k after vendors, all the rentals, catering, liquor, etc. etc. They are also in the midst of changing over all of their preferred vendors so I'm not sure how that's going to effect cost. I imagine it's only going to go up. The tent used to be included in the cost of the river house booking and now that they've changed their rental company contract, it probably won't be. Beautiful and different, but not necessarily budget friendly and definitely labor intensive. Definitely look into it, but believe me when I tell you (and like Celia said), it's not really cost effective to get a non all-inclusive venue. It adds up and it adds up quick.

edit: The DRMS (river house and mill) isn't under new ownership, but new management/leadership. For all I know the new changes will be more cost-effective for new brides, but you may have less choice in your caterers etc. I don't really know since my contract was left as-is.

I'm in Philly too and like Elyse said a lot of the more unique places were more expensive. Country clubs and hotels were definitely cheaper. I'm getting married in January so we're saving some money, if winter is an option for you that could help you. I found almost all the places I contacted had a 10-20% discount January-March.