$140 starting price
101-150 guest capacity
This venue can host up to 150 guests
About this vendor
Few locations compare to the James Ward Mansion in Westfield. This hidden gem is located in the heart of downtown Westfield. From the minute you step in the front door the magic of the place will enthral you . The 24 ft ceilings, gold gilded architectural detail, spiral staircases, fireplaces, and French appointments set the atmosphere of unsurpassed elegance. The sky-lit garden atrium room, with dramatic fountain, creates an air of sophisticated romance.
Our exclusive location is fully accessible with elevator access ensuring the comfort of all your guests. It is an amazing location for your ceremony, dining and entertainment. To see it is to fall in love with it. Don't delay schedule your tour today. Whether you are looking for a micro wedding or something bigger we can accommodate you.
The James Ward Mansion believes in equality and inclusivity All love is welcome here. We also work with the best in the industry ensuring your day is exactly how you dreamed.
We only ever hold one event per day. Make our mansion your mansion for your special day.
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Liability Insurance
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Covered Outdoors Space
On-Site Accommodations
Outdoor Event Space
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Guest Capacity
- Up to 150
Settings
- Ballroom
- Historic Venue
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Cakes & Desserts
- Food & Catering
- Planning
- Service Staff
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
4.7
out of 5.020 reviews
Review photos
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While the James Ward Mansion is undeniably a unique and beautiful venue, our overall experience was unfortunately disappointing. Leading up to our wedding, the owners were uncooperative and made the planning process more stressful than it needed to be. Since the venue claims that my concerns are unfounded and an anomaly of their 5-star reviews, here are the specific examples of our less-than-favorable experience: The week before our wedding, during our pre-event walkthrough, we discovered that the owners had made several cosmetic changes to the venue that were not communicated to us in advance. While we were notified of larger renovation changes, some major cosmetic changes were neglected—such as white-washing the exposed brick in the atrium area. This change, while likely done to expand the appeal of the venue, should have been communicated to a bride ahead of time and not discovered a week before the wedding. This lack of transparency was unsettling and frustrating. Adding to this frustration, the day before our wedding, the venue allowed us an hour to set up our chuppa for the ceremony. While my husband and his brothers were there, the owners stood with their arms crossed, watching them put together the chuppa, claiming my husband was damaging the floor (which was not true), asking for ID and proof of insurance, and generally exhibiting intimidating tactics. This added unnecessary tension during an already stressful time. The owners admittedly thought my husband was a vendor, but this does NOT justify nor dismiss their behavior and attempts to intimidate him. This behavior was unprofessional and left a negative impression on us and our families. During setup on the day of our wedding, our florist was placing flowers on the fountain in the atrium. My planner was called by the venue's coordinator and questioned about the flowers. However, at our pre-event walkthrough the week before, the venue had a representative present who knew that we planned to have flowers on the fountain and never mentioned that it wasn't a possibility. Lastly, the morning of the wedding, I paid extra to arrive early to use the bridal suite to get ready. The owners reside in the building next door and there is a hidden door between the two buildings. This access point leads to a catwalk directly outside the bridal suite. As we arrived and were getting ready with hair, makeup, and dressing, the owner came from his next-door residence right onto that catwalk outside the bridal suite. The owners were well aware that we rented the space that morning and should not have accessed the venue while my bridal party and I were in the bridal suite. After how they treated my husband the day before, it is easy to interpret this surprise visit as more intimidation by the owners. Most disappointing was the venue's response after the wedding. I asked my planner to arrange a time for me to directly discuss some of these issues. My planner was told that they refuse to address my concerns and feedback, claiming instead that my issues lie at the feet of her, my planner, and our caterer, and that their plethora of 5-star reviews speak for themselves. I, too, reached out directly to discuss these issues with the venue's coordinator and was met with the same resistance; my text message was ignored. This unprofessionalism and disregard for our concerns were extremely disappointing and added to our overall negative experience. My specific concerns are with the management of the venue and their treatment of us and our vendors. No venue should rest on their laurels of 5-star reviews and ignore a less-than-favorable experience by a customer.
Thank you Julie and Anna for all your help in making our wedding a success!! Highly recommend this venue for any special events. We had around 75 guests and it was perfect. We received so many compliments on how beautiful the venue was and the intimate ambience it created.
The perfect destination just a bit outside NYC. We loved the venue from the beginning and the staff was super attentive with every question we had. On the day of, Anna was a superstar and made sure everything was on time and running smoothly. A picture perfect space!
If you are looking to have a micro wedding or smaller size wedding this is your place! My now husband and I always wanted a smaller wedding. We had a final guest count of 60 people, and this was the perfect venue of our dreams. Not to mention in our budget! It has that old vintage French/ Bridgerton vibe mixed with the atrium area out of storybook. This venue is very responsive and will work with you. Also, the mansion staff for the wedding night were also amazing and incredibly helpful. The mansion has a few food vendors that you have to choose from which made it extremely easy for me being a first time planning a wedding. Also, they provide you a list of vendors that they have worked with and love. Everything was amazing and our wedding was magical!
I booked the James Ward Mansion for a 60th birthday masquerade ball . From the very first inquiry with Julie Ibrahim to the exceptional service from Anna Sobolewski ! This event was a dream come true . The venue is stunning with beautiful adornments . Anna assisted and oversaw the evening and she went above and beyond to ensure that i and the guest of honor were being taken care of and enjoying ourselves. Whatever we needed she took care of us and my guests . Most importantly she was so caring and sweet and was constantly inquiring if we needed anything . She is a gem !
We used T & L catering for the evening. Words will never be enough for how exceptional their staff and food was ! We had a vision for the type of service we were seeking for this special event and Tom created a plan to cater to what we were looking for and delivered above and beyond what we were expecting.Pam took the time to execute the floor plan and ordering of the linens and the flow of how the evening should be and gave me so much confidence that everything would be beautiful. The day of the event , I was blessed with the presence of our Maitre d Jaci and her team . They helped me prepare the venue before our guest arrived and even willingly participated in the masquerade festivities. Jaci was my go-to and she communicated with every step of the way to the detail ! She is amazing . Leo is such an exceptional chef , my guests could not stop raving about how delicious the food was and even how many options they were able to have .
When events are being held , sometimes the people behind the scenes don't receive the credit they deserve and I want to extend my gratitude and gracious thanks to Anna from the James Ward Mansion and Jaci and Leo and the team for providing and enabling my mother's evening a night to remember .
James Ward Mansion is THE place to host your wedding in Central NJ. Look no further for constant support through the decision making process, a tailored experience to your exact liking with their amazing partners (caterer/dj etc). The space is nothing short of magical and the service from start to finish was superb. We were able to have the entire event (ceremony and reception) all in one night. Julie and Anna were amazing! It was truly my dream wedding and we did not have a single issue or concern all night, it was absolutely perfect! The pictures and video are outstanding, such a beautiful space. To think we did the entire event within our budget, we are so pleased. Thank you so much!
Overall it was a beautiful day and it all worked out well! Julie was a pleasure to work with from the beginning and Anna was a big help on the day of. We were SO happy to find an indoor venue that was pet friendly. Guests were impressed with the venue and enjoyed themselves. The only issue we had was with the audio system. We were excited to hear that we would have access to it but unfortunately it kept shutting off randomly and had to be at a specific volume level. The staff kept trying to help fix it but it kept happening. Our guests didn't seem to be bothered by it but it was a little frustrating for us. All in all, we were happy to have celebrated at the Mansion.
To say that our experience with The James Ward Mansion was excellent is an understatement. If you are looking for a venue that has an upscale feel with a romantic intimate touch this is the place for you. Not only is the mansion breath-taking, the people behind the business are even more wonderful. When my wedding got cancelled 22 days before the date due to corona virus protocols, The owners of the James Ward Mansion were the first to reach out and offer their assistance. Not only did they offer their venue, they assured us that they would help plan an entire wedding with us. They worked tirelessly with to recreate a whole new wedding with a new budget and because of their help our wedding was even better than the one we had originally planned. I can not speak their praise enough! Planning a wedding is extremely stressful to begin with, let alone having a massive wrench thrown into your plans. I have never felt more like family with their support and dedication to making sure our wedding was just as magical as we had been dreaming.
The James Ward Mansion is a vision.
I cannot thank the Mansion's team enough for making our wedding reception memorable and simply gorgeous. The venue had our guests exploring and taking photos of every inch of the property. And if you plan on having young children attend your event, the upstairs rooms provided an excellent place for them to lay down and/or take a break from the event's festivities.
In addition to the glamorous interior of the Mansion, downtown Westfield, NJ provided an excellent backdrop for more photography locations.
I highly recommend the James Ward Mansion!
We had our wedding here last month! It is truly an incredibly beautiful and unique space! We had the most perfect day. Julie was always quick to accommodate and answer any of my questions throughout the planning process, and Susie oversaw my wedding day from start to finish! She refreshed our rooms and kept the event space spotless. She even came in the following day (a Sunday) to help us retrieve some of our items from the reception! The James Ward made our wedding unforgettable. It was perfect. There is no other venue like it!
The minute we first stepped into the main room of the James Ward Mansion, we knew that the beautiful, intimate space was where we wanted to get married. Our hunch was confirmed by the interactions we had with the staff, Julie and Anna, who were extremely accommodating and knowledgeable about the particulars of the venue. On our wedding day, we enjoyed getting dressed in the cozy bedrooms upstairs, and our guests continually remarked about the fascinating space that includes a dining room table seating 22, an open kitchen where you can watch the culinary magic happen, and the one-of-a-kind reception area with spiral staircases, fireplaces, and views of lovely Westfield (our hometown). In much the same way that New York City is a character on the show Sex and the City, the James Ward Mansion was very much a character in our wedding.
We chose James Ward Mansion for our wedding because we wanted a non-traditional space (something different than a catering hall) that would keep our guests entertained the whole night and the mansion sure delivered! The venue is gorgeous in person and photographs really well. Plus our guests had fun exploring all the rooms throughout the night.
We didn't work directly with the mansion that much but we appreciated they went along with some of our different ideas, such as placing our photo booth in the blue bedroom and allowing a handful of our guests to stand on the balcony overlooking the main room during the ceremony.
Outside the mansion is a lovely downtown area which we fell in love with as well. We would definitely recommend having your next event at the stunning James Ward Mansion!
The James Ward Mansion is stunning and unique. From the moment we saw it, we knew it was the right venue for us. The space feels intimate and cozy, and the ambiance was the perfect backdrop for the most beautiful pictures. The ornate decor in the mansion allowed us to cut back on flowers and other decorations. Our wedding size was 55 guests, which felt like the perfect size for this venue. We also had our ceremony on site in the main room, and the caterers were able to reset the room for the reception while all the guests were happily enjoying cocktail hour in the atrium. The JWM staff were accommodating when we requested to visit the venue with vendors in advance to coordinate the details of the event. If you want a unique, all-in-one venue, JWM is a great option.
My only suggestion for improvement would be to allow the bridal party earlier access to the venue. Because of the limited time available, hair & makeup and lunch had to be done before arriving at the venue. Early access is available for an additional cost, but we felt the rental fee should have included time for the bridal party to get ready at the venue. I would have liked to utilize the gorgeous bridal suite/bath upstairs!
You simply cannot find a more intimately magical venue for your wedding! Our photographer was in awe. Search no further... You have found your perfect venue!
One of the most beautiful venues I have seen! Working with the staff here has been such a pleasure as they have been beyond accommodating and helpful. Such charm and class right in downtown Westfield! They were so helpful in providing us with their partner vendor information and the planning is going wonderfully. I would highly recommend this venue for any special event or celebration!
This venue is incredible and one of a kind! The decor is elaborate and elegant and truly requires no further decoration. We got so many compliments on how stunning the space was. There are a few things I would change about the layout if I could, because there are a couple separate rooms that break up the space, but overall I couldn't have asked for a better venue. The photographs all turned out beautifully thanks to the unique backdrops we had including exposed brick walls, the small chapel upstairs and the luxurious upholstered furniture.
I had the pleasure of attending a party at the James Ward Mansion Recently. Such an amazing space in the heart of downtown Westfield. It much bigger than I realized and the decor is out of this world. Everything about the place felt almost magical. I hope I get to go back there again soon.
When my husband and I first saw the Mansion we were sold there was no other place to hold a candle to this. Its absolutely stunning, ornately decorated in places and beautiful backdrop for pictures. It offers a unique experience for your guests allowing them to explore different rooms and sit at the 20 person dining room table to stay away from the music in the main room. It is a venue for a smaller group as it is not large but offers an intimate opportunity fro a beautiful event. The decorations of the house allowed us to have less decorations and flowers so we were able to save money in those areas.
We also had our ceremony here which they were able to accomodate. In addition, the town of Westfield itself is a nice area and this is right in the middle of downtown. We were able to stay at the hotel down the block and eat dinner at restaurants in the area.
The James Ward Mansion is beautiful great for pictures.;Because there are a few different rooms for guests to mingle through and people naturally gravitate towards food there was an imbalance in the way the facility was used. It's a space issue but one to be considered when working with the caterer.
I loved that it was a beautiful place, yet a casual environment. It was like being in a big beautiful home.;The people who I rented the mansion from were showing the area to other clients while I was getting ready. So on 'MY' time, they were doing business. Which I was told would not happen. Also they insisted we use their caterer. Who was way over priced. There is much more I am upset about, but writing it all down will remind me of what a fiasco it was.
Contact
169 East Broad Street, Westfield, NJ
The James Ward Mansion
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