The Merion — Attraction in Cinnaminson Township

Literally just got off the phone with Cliff Miller of The Merion to advise him on my clients experience with the venue. Mr. Miller kept interrupting me, as I would speak to inform him about some changes that needed to occur with how The Merion runs their event facility. There were a number of things that took place on Sunday, August 4, 2019, that I question whether or not should this investment had occurred with my clients. Please keep in mind my clients booked this venue in advance prior to hiring me. Please note these are some of the things that occurred during the day that you should consider with great caution whether or not if you want to invest your money into this particular facility…. Nicole Dicesare (my point of contact) failed to advise me about a Rose Parade and Champagne Toast after a very detailed timeline was submitted to her two months prior to the event. I also advised Nicole if any changes should occur prior to the event I will update the details and forward them over prior. One week before the event I specifically asked, “if all insurances were submitted, if anything was missing on my behalf, and do we need to review anything prior to my arrival?” Nicole advised me everything was fine. Please keep in mind I showed up to the venue a day in advance for rehearsal and to do a walk through with my vendors. On the day of the wedding a maitre d by the name of Mike shows up trying to compare our schedules 15 minutes before my clients ceremony! I advised Mr. Miller that this should have occurred a day prior to ceremony or I should have been made aware by The Merion’s Event Staff about this. While on the phone with Mr. Miller he shared with me that on the day of the event, Mike basically runs the show which if you define maître d, they oversee wait staff and busboys, not run the event the day of logistics. My second issue was while the ceremony occurred my staff just so happened to be on the way to the restroom upstairs near the Skylight Ballroom and caught The Merion’s event staff eating the cocktail hour food that was provided for the guests. Third issue that occurred; on my detailed timeline a seating chart was provided that had the vendors placed at a vendor table during the reception area. This was at my clients request simply because they wanted the vendors to feel like guests on the day of their wedding. Nicole and Mike advised me that if that happened the bride and groom would be required to pay $110 per plate to place the vendors on the floor with the guests. I was then told we would have to eat in the cocktail hour space to have our meals at the 50% discounted rate. The maître d could of easily advised the Captain of the kitchen Joanne that table 10 was a vendor table to avoid any confusion. My next problem occurred that evening was due to a delay in the timeline dinner started late and an executive decision was made by Joanne and Mike without consulting me in regards to what items were going to be served for dinner after my clients had already paid for them. Joanne and Mike decided not to place an item out that was on the menu and left the guests without anything to eat during this period before the wait staff decided to bring the dinner out. I approached Joanne suggesting that they should place the item out and allow the staff to determine whether or not if they would like to eat it prior to dinner being served. This venue has some underlying issues behind the scenes with staff and management and several changes need to happen immediately. They should consider having an in house planner on site instead of having the managers over the event department handle the logistics. They need to focus on bookings solely and not have their hands in everything else nor be concerned about coming downstairs during the ceremony to re-position the clients gown as she walked...

TLDR: We would give zero stars if that were an option.

We chose The Merion in Cinnaminson, NJ with high expectations for our wedding and reception, trusting their reputation and the assurances given by their staff. Unfortunately, our experience fell far below the standard any couple should expect on one of the most important days of their lives.

To begin, even the simplest promises agreed upon with the Merion were not fulfilled. Our guests were supposed to be offered water, mango lassi, and coffee/tea at the ceremony. Instead, the mango lassi was simply forgotten. While this may sound small, it was our first sign that attention to detail — something absolutely critical at weddings — was missing.

The reception was where the issues became impossible to overlook. Our wedding cake design had been finalized with the venue months in advance, yet the cake that was presented on the day was incomplete and bore little resemblance to what had been agreed upon. We were left cutting into a cake that looked unfinished — an incredibly disappointing and embarrassing moment given the significance of that tradition.

Later in the evening, we faced our most unacceptable issue. We paid to extend the timing of our open bar until 10:30 pm prior to the event. At around 9:45 pm, one of the bartenders ended her shift early, leaving only a single bartender to manage the main ballroom bar for our entire large party. Guests waited in long lines and some — including the groom’s mother, who waited 30 minutes for a simple mocktail — were never served. Having one of the most important people in our lives turned away from a drink she requested at her son’s wedding is something that should never happen.

During these issues, our Maitre D (Nick) — the person who should have been overseeing and resolving problems — was nowhere to be found. When we finally asked him at the end of the night to relay our feedback to management, our concerns were never addressed until we followed up with the Merion, suggesting that our feedback may not have been promptly shared with management.

After the event, we reached out to management to address our concerns. In response, they extended an offer of compensation. However, when we expressed that we did not find the offer to be fair given our experience, the partners abruptly rescinded it in full. Ultimately, management refused to provide any form of compensation that we believed to be reasonable or equitable. Since then, we have received no further communication from The Merion—neither from Michelle (our Sales Representative), Dave (the General Manager), nor any of the owners.

What makes all of this worse is that these weren’t “small hiccups.” They were fundamental failures in planning, communication, and professionalism. A venue in this business is entrusted with once-in-a-lifetime events. When corners are cut or responsibilities ignored, it doesn’t just cause inconvenience — it leaves lasting scars on memories that should have been joyous.

We wish we could recommend The Merion, but we cannot. For the cost of hosting an event here, couples deserve attention to detail, accountability, and a staff committed to executing the basics with care. Sadly, that is not what we...

While the grounds and skylight ballroom are beautiful, the service at this venue was very unsatisfactory. We were very displeased with the bartenders who were rude, a few of the servers who were impatient, and worst of all Cali, the coordinator who was super unorganized on my brother's/sister-in-law's wedding day. There were red flags when she cut the rehearsal 20 minutes short because she had a meeting that she apparently couldn't be late for, despite the bride and groom's request to do another run through. I went to the venue the day of the wedding in attempt to help set up (about 4 hours prior), however the ballroom and cocktail hour room were a complete mess. I was told staff would not be there to clean or prep until 3:30PM (the wedding was scheduled for 5pm). There were still dirty glasses with alcohol, a pair of heels on the bar top, dirty linens still on the table, and a pile of flowers lying in the corner all from the wedding that took place the night prior. I spend almost two hours at the venue setting up, yet during this time Cali was nowhere to be found. After wandering around the offices looking for anyone who could assist and provide some clarity, I was told Cali was in a meeting (again). Cali was not responsive and impossible to find majority of the night. She was unorganized and some decor never made it to their proper places as a result. This is a bride's worst nightmare on her wedding day. The venue clearly prioritized securing more checks and events ($$$$$) over treating their customers whose money they already received with respect and consideration. There were several events all going on AT THE SAME TIME, therefore guests of other events at the venue were walking through the wedding photo shoot and regularly crossing paths throughout the entirety of the event! Because there was no direction at the door from staff, guests basically had a front row seat to the bride and groom's photoshoot prior to the ceremony, which should not have happened. The entrees were mediocre at best. The hors d’oeuvres and desserts were pretty good and the skylight ballroom was beautiful, for that I will give this place two stars. Otherwise, I would not recommend as the service was subpar and not...