Bloom Lake Barn — Attraction in Franconia Township

I'm not one to write bad reviews unless I truly feel the need to communicate a bad experience to future customers. In this case, I feel I have to warn future couples about my experience with Bloom Lake Barn. We were so disappointed and hurt about how our experience went with this venue. We were so excited to have our wedding there and to work with the owners when we initially got engaged. Then COVID hit, and our 200 person wedding just felt impossibly dangerous in September 2020. We simply did not feel comfortable hosting our wedding when there were so many similar events this past year that resulted in COVID outbreaks. Moreover, we have immediate family members who are compromised and would be at high-risk at such an event. With the decision to postpone, we simply wanted to be able to rebook another available date in the future with Bloom Lake Barn. We were shocked when they told us that we couldn’t have any Friday or Saturday dates in 2021, even though there were plenty available. We were told these dates were reserved for prospective future couples, so that their business could make extra revenue in light of the financial losses due to COVID. Essentially they wanted postponing-couples to take up their weekday slots that never get filled. This just felt like a huge slap in the face to us as existing clients who had already put down a deposit, invested both time and money into planning and had signed a contract. While we completely understand that businesses are really hurting because of COVID, we also feel that companies must have their own contingencies in place to remain financially secure and not put that burden on their clients. If a business is going to choose to make decisions like this, they should sure bet they are going to get bad reviews. All of our other vendors helped us to find another date without even charging a fee. While we didn't expect this exact service from Bloom Lake Barn, we at least expected that they would allow us to select a weekend date if it was available. They didn't even give us that option with an upcharge or additional fee. It didn't feel true to the contract, as our contract had said that if a reschedule was decided, the owners would "use all reasonable efforts to work with client to reschedule the event at a later date if necessary, subject to Bloom Lake Barn’s availability". They had availability in this case, they were just withholding it so they could book extra weddings. The ultimate big kicker though, was that when we asked if we could cancel altogether so we could find a venue that could give us a weekend date, they wouldn't give us our deposit of $2500 back. We felt like we had no choices. We could not possibly select a weekday for various reasons, so we ended up canceling with Bloom Lake and losing our deposit. We simply felt like they had no care in the world for us as clients. In talking to other vendors and businesses, they were all absolutely shocked that we didn't get the opportunity to cancel and have our deposit refunded. All in all, I would strongly discourage you from booking here as they don't honor their contract and they don't seem to value...

My son and his wife had their wedding and reception here on Memorial week-end Saturday. The barn is nicely re-done, but there are several other issues. The biggest issue for us was the "exclusive catering partner Unique Dining Catering". It took between 2.5-3 hours to serve our 160 guests. Oh, let me correct that: 130 guests, because they RAN OUT OF FOOD, and 30 guests got nothing but a salad. The guests were heard grumbling as they left, missing the rest of the evening. But those of us that got food weren't necessarily the lucky ones. The chicken was like a hockey puck, steak over done and hard to chew. Heard a rumor the head grill master didn't show up. That accounts for the bad food, but not for running out of food or for taking 2-3 hours to serve. That put the whole evening behind. Then there's the handicap accessibility: think twice about bringing Grandma with her walker. To get to the upstairs part where the wedding and reception were held you need to walk up a long, gravel ramp. It was difficult with heels, so I don't know how an elderly or wheel chair bound person would make it up the hill with gravel. Then to use the bathrooms, it's a large set of stairs, or it's back down the ramp, around through the grass, and inside. Where, incidently, an elderly lady fell stepping into the building by the bathrooms on a small toe-catcher step up. There is no elevator, so be aware of that. Nor are there any paved sidewalks. The gravel path might meet ADA standards, but it is not practical. I'm also not sure where the main door actually is. There were no signs, no directions. The website shows it by the silo, but that's not where the parking is. There were no flowers, no hydrangea path as shown on the website, or landscaping to indicate a main entrance. There are only 3 bathroom stalls for the ladies and 1 plus a urinal for the men. I personally don't know how that works for 298 capacity guests. They were constantly busy with a waiting line for our small crowd. We had a beautiful day and could be outside between the wedding and reception, and for that...

We just attended a wedding here over Memorial weekend and it was, overall, a disappointing experience. First, we watched the preferred caterer use a whole bottle, A WHOLE BOTTLE, of lighter fluid on the grill... our food reflected this. My entire plate, including vegetables tasted like lighter fluid. My throat hurt the next day from this. Some of the chicken was hockey puck hard and my steak was dry with a charcoal layer. Then, they did not have enough food for everyone. It took 2.5-3 hours to serve 160 people minus the people that didn’t get their food. They served them extra salads though. 😑 The staff was overwhelmed. The food was being plated in the basement and carried up the stairs 5ish plates at a time, sometimes without a tray and just two plates at a time. You couldn’t hear the music. There’s no elevator for anyone that needs any help. There’s 12+ stairs on the way up. Just overall really disappointing. There’s a step up into the basement through a barn door that could easily be fixed with a small ramp and made safer. Someone fell passing through this area. I truly don’t know how 298 people (capacity) could fit in the awkward space, comfortably. There are 3 stalls in the women’s bathroom, 1 urinal and 1 stall in the men’s. The bathrooms are in the basement. I would not recommend the venue or...