Bear Brook Valley — Attraction in Fredon Township

If you are looking for a venue the covers ambience, beauty, elegance, food and drinks, Bear Brook Valley is your one stop shop. My fiancé and I booked in March 2021 for an October 2022 wedding and the process of booking the venue and all our other vendors was seamless. Our wedding planner Christina was truly amazing. Her bubbly personality and “can do” attitude made the stressful process of planning a wedding almost easy. All of the vendors that we chose were actually recommended by Bear Brook and Christina personally, and we couldn’t have been more happy with them. (Laurelwood Designs Florist, The Benjamins Band, Anthony Ziccardi (Photography), Top Knots by Aimee (Hair) and Makeup by McKenna (Make-up). Christina was so attentive to our every need and want. She emailed us back in a timely manner with every concern we had and always was so enjoyable to speak with. She even helped orchestrate a surprise I wanted to make happen for the night of the wedding and flawlessly helped me pull it off. I wanted to do a slideshow presentation and the venue even sent me a full video of what the slideshow looked like and sounded like before the big day. I really appreciated their attention to detail and sharing that with me.

Bear Brook has everything you could want in a rustic chic venue. My fiancé and I wanted something elegant but not over the top; something that was different than your cookie cutter wedding venue. The uniqueness of the building and grounds truly makes it a venue unlike any other. Our wedding was early October and the fall foliage against the already stunning backdrop made something out of a fairy tale. We didn’t have rain that day, but we liked how Bear Brook had many different options for inclement weather. Our ceremony happened next to their heart shaped lake and the reflection of the autumn foliage on the water behind us as we said our vows was stunning.

The one thing people remember most about a wedding is the food, and Bear Brook doesn’t just deliver, they OWN the food category. Their 90 MINUTE cocktail hour was incredible. They have the options of pairing stations WITH ALCOHOL IN THE STATION so your guests didn’t have to rush the bar. The food is all made on sight and the presentation is beautiful. Literally everything I ate at my wedding, I loved. There was not one piece of food that I felt was sub-par or just “okay.” I was especially impressed with the entrees. Usually the cocktail hour is the best part of the meal and the entrees are lacking. Well, being the groom at the venue, you get to try all FIVE (YES FIVE OPTIONS) for your dinner and every dish was delicious. I would give the food an 11 out of 10 because the expectations of “wedding food” were greatly surpassed. Speaking of food, we also have to comment on the drinks All top shelf liquor, 30 beers on tap for the cocktail hour along a full size bar; our guests LOVED IT. Like I said before, we also loved that there were 5 options for our guests to choose from for their dinner; one beef, one chicken, one fish, one vegetarian and a pork or lamb.

The day of the wedding we were treated like royalty. Rebecca, our day attendant, asked us every 20-30 minutes if we needed anything. She was so gracious and kind and made us feel taken care of. The silo suite is a truly beautiful and unique place to get ready for your big day. It sets the tone for the whole celebration and was an entity all to itself.

The grounds are spectacular and were a gorgeous backdrop for our pictures. There’s even a swing! We are so excited to see our photos and relive the magical memories we had on our special day.

To sum it up, if you are looking for a unique venue that delivers in every aspect of a wedding, Bear Brook is your one stop shop. We had so much positive feedback from our guests. People were asking how we found the venue and saying that THEY wished THEY got married there. We were told by many of our guests that our wedding “was the best wedding they have even been to.” We were so happy that everyone truly enjoyed themselves and had such an...

This place has very poor business practices. I'll start with the good- We chose this venue because it is gorgeous inside and out. The staff the day of the wedding was great. The food choices, drink pairings, and bar were fantastic. The food is good, not great, but the options and display make up for this in value. The bad- From day 1 I felt lied to. During the initial tour they promise you so many thigs that just aren't true, such as "48 beers on tap" and you can "choose your favorite beer". This was later deemed false. They also implied we could utilize a golf cart on site- again, this was false as we had to inquire numerous times the day of our wedding until finally someone brought it out for us yet didn't even let us drive it. The list goes on...The handling of the COVID-19 situation was most disappointing. We were pressured into choosing a postponement date within 24 hours (not enough time to check with all vendors), and were only given the option of weekdays in the winter despite paying for a weekend in the summer. They then felt the need to tell us that they had to spend $10,000 on a tent for the wedding to be outdoors, and that they already put a $5,000 deposit on it for our wedding date without our agreement to continue with that date. They further implied that they would lower the minimum if we continued with the wedding, stating that some weddings were having "as little as 100 guests" and they were "working with them". This was false hope as they didn't lower our minimum anywhere near this, and they tried to say they would "let" us allow for our vendors to count towards plates, even though we still pay for them. They also said that we couldn't take our $5k+ worth of plates to go as its "against code", yet they sell an upgrade for to-go food, so how does that make sense? They made us reschedule out entire day and told us our band couldn't play past 10pm. They promised us they could move the piano outdoors and then the day before our wedding they said they couldn't- we had to change our band around because of this. Also they charge for "uplighting", which is them turning on the lights. You better believe they have these lights on during their tours and they don't tell you it's an upgrade, then they try to sell you this upgrade later on. One staff member told us they were working on making the uplighting free. We ended up getting it free because we added on a late-night to-go food station. Funny thing though is that because the wedding was outdoor the uplighting was now useless, yet I had to ask what we were getting in return, you know, because it's $500 worth of value. We asked for the groom's lounge (~$700 value), their response was that the groom's lounge was too much money, then they offered us a $100 s'more station instead. So essentially they were not ok with giving us $200 but had no issue taking $400 from us. We ended up paying for the groom's lounge anyway- it was not good. When we arrived there was no proper explanation as to what was included and there wasn't much of a service of any kind. The food came very late and we didn't know where or how to set up the lawn games. Basically this upgrade was a ripoff. Overall I am very disgusted with how the admins/management treated us by taking advantage of us in a vulnerable situation and lying to our face. I also don't appreciate them complaining to us about their problems resulting from a lack of good business management (why wouldn't you invest in a outdoor tent from day 1?). I hate to say it because this place had so much potential, but I would NOT...

Where do we start? We started our wedding planning with venues – 12 venues in one weekend. We were looking for a rustic elegance style that fit at least 250 guests. Coincidentally Bear Brook Valley was the first place we saw, and to be utterly cliché it was love at first site. We met the wedding coordinator and she showed us around the ballroom, the cocktail hour area, and the outdoors. She took us through the menu and all the add-ons. We were hesitant at first because we saw the venue before they even had their first event. We didn’t have a reference – but what we saw was potential. We fell in love and our trust in the BBV team was rewarded every step of the way, and tenfold on our wedding day. The space was gorgeous, set in a gated community at the heart of an old golf course where you can find peace and quiet, as well as beautiful green hills, and a sea of stars above you on a cloudless summer night. A small waterfall lay hidden in the woods behind the building, giving life to a stream that makes its way to the pond at the feet of the pergola where many outdoor ceremonies take place. It’s a gorgeous location for Secret Garden style pictures. Aside from the shear beauty of the location, the building is also something to marvel at. From all of the outdoor fireplaces and areas to discover, to the cocktail area which is incredible. When you see it filled with your guests you couldn’t imagine a better place for them to mingle before the main event. Groomsmen can hide away in the Woodford lounge to play a game of pool while the bridesmaids have a nearly fully equipped salon in their hideaway for any touch ups necessary throughout the night. As you make your way up the iron staircase decorated with the signature cattails, you set your eyes on the large hall, with exposed beams, exposed wood tables, and the view of the grounds. This is not your typical New Jersey wedding venue… but it was the venue of our dreams. So the location is great, but it’s not just the physical attributes of Bear Brook Valley that sold us. We went to our venue probably 5 times before signing a contract. We met our coordinator and all the assistants that would be taking care of us on our big day. We met the owner and his wife and when they saw us back for subsequent visits, they remembered us. They knew details of our wedding and were extremely friendly. The quarterback of the whole operation was the program coordinator. Katrina went above and beyond, always available, and bent over backwards to make our ideas a reality. Three months after our wedding people are still talking about it; about the beautiful venue, excellent service, and delicious food. We couldn’t have imagined a better place to have our wedding. Any regrets? We didn’t have our ceremony at the venue due to religious regulations (of the church, not the venue), and we would’ve loved to spend all day there to take full advantage of venue. The minute our wedding was over we started to tell everyone we knew about Bear Brook Valley, with the secret wish that someone would have a wedding there so we could go back as guests. You will not be...