Considerable time was spent searching for just the right venue. After reviewing about a half dozen places, we settled on The Birchwood Manner. We could not have possibly made a better choice of venue & our guests agreed as many of them express...ed positive comments throughout the evening. There was absolutely nothing lacking where quality & class are concerned.
The family-run facility was prepared to handle everything. The Birchwood provides easy access & parking for several hundred guests. The property grounds are adorned with picturesque fountains & beautifully manicured statue gardens which provided excellent photo opps. Inside the facility, elegant lighting provided a warm glow to the charming mansion style architecture. A grand staircase leads to the 2nd floor, but an elevator is available. Thanks to the COVID nuisance, our wedding had been postponed several times. Nevertheless, the owner & Manager Michael Marino was very patient & extremely pleasant to work with, as he remained on standby for our event for over a year. Sitting down with Michael in his office on several occasions always felt like we were all old friends getting together to chat. As plans progressed, we eventually left his office feeling that there was little or nothing that he would say NO to. Everything from pre-event setups to post-event takedowns was thoughtfully planned out & carefully executed.
Being a foodie of sorts, my primary interest was in their menu, & in most cases the food was to die for. The cocktail hour included a wide variety of mouth-watering morsels. That alone could have satisfied me for the evening, & I needed to be reminded that a 4-course dinner was to follow. If anyone left there hungry, it was their own fault. The food was expertly prepared & artfully plated. In advance, we picked out 3 entrees, so that our guests could place their orders from their table. They prepared a wedding cake based on our specs & used our topper. Guests were treated to much more than just a bite of cake. On each plate was a slice of wedding cake flanked by chocolate covered strawberries, along with an edible candy dish filled with syrup topped ice cream. Talk about decadence!
Even though Michael had to leave shortly after we made our entrance, he left us in the very capable hands of his niece Farrell, who was our maitre d’ for the evening. She was obviously a chip off the old block. I’ve been around for more than 60 years, yet I don’t think I’ve ever met a kinder sweeter more thoughtful young woman. We were also very appreciative of how, without any prompting from us, she zeroed in on my wife’s 91 year old mother & personally tended to her needs for the evening. All in all, it was a lovely event & by all accounts, everyone had a good time.
A few days later we returned to the Birchwood to gather left behind items. When we got there, Michael & Farrell met us in the lobby & had already packed our things for us. They helped load the car & then chatted for about a half hour. Suddenly Michael rushed inside & came back out with a bottle of champagne which he tucked into the trunk of our car. Is that classy or what? Finally there was a round of hugs & handshakes, then off we went. Somehow I think we also made some new friends that day. In any event, pleasant memories were created that will last a lifetime & should we ever again find ourselves in need of a banquet facility in this area, Birchwood Manor gets the job! It is truly a North Jersey treasure.