My son had his wedding at Newcastle Wedding Gardens and Red Horse Barn (NWG) in April 2018 and we were blown away by the overall experience. The venue itself was exactly what we were looking for when considering atmosphere, scenery, and overall experience. Matt Mermod, the owner of NWG, was thoughtful and helpful with every operational detail and upon our early arrival, the grounds and reception barn were beautifully prepared. The entire property was blown off, the lawn was trimmed and mowed, and the ceremony area was ready with music playing. Additionally, the reception barn had been professionally cleaned leaving no evidence of the prior event held the day before, and Matt was there waiting for us and ready to assist with any last minute requests. Also waiting was Jordan Brushia, the wedding coordinator included with the venue.
What can we say about Jordan other than she provided the most wonderful wedding day experience ever! First, Jordan is a coordinator for the venue and not a wedding planner. Jordan's role was to coordinate everything involved on the day of the wedding. She managed every component, including the loading-in and loading-out of items, tweaking last minute details, wedding timeline, reception floorplan, rehearsal management, wedding day vendor management and so much more. Jordan is extremely organized and detail-oriented. The care she provided the guests and both the bride and groom throughout the day was thoughtful and surprising. She is the ultimate reason why our guests and we look back on that day and say "That was the best and most AMAZING day ever!"
In addition to TEAM Matt and Jordan, NWG provides a list of hand-selected vendors which are exclusive to their venue and which we were required to use. We were unsure about this at first. However, the vendor selection proved to make this one of the best weddings our guests, or we have had to pleasure of being apart of. The day was perfect and went off without one hiccup primarily because every vendor is intimately familiar with the venue and are specialize in wedding coordination.
Jackson Catering - Exceptional food, staff, and service! At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Jackson Catering staff were there waiting for our guests with trays of refreshments and hors d'oeuvres. They also had individuals passing refreshments and food to the wedding party and family while they were preoccupied with the traditional post-ceremony pictures. The buffet presentation was beautiful, and the food was of the highest quality. Even with a buffet, the catering staff hand plated the food onto each guests plate creating a higher level of sophistication. The detail of Jackson's service and quality of their food makes them so much more than a caterer, and they truly added to the perfection of the day!
Divine Desserts - Esther made the most visually amazing and delicious wedding cake ever. The cake was reasonably priced, and because of seconds and thirds, the guests devoured the whole thing.
O'Shays Flowers - Sheri's wedding arraignment designs made such an impression and were more beautiful than we could have imagined. The reception centerpieces tied in the elegance of the setting and the wedding party bouquet and boutonnieres were put together exactly how my daughter-in-law envisioned. Sheri and her floral team are true professionals!
Photo Booth - Fun, Fun, and more Fun! Jeff Sharpe ran the photo booth at NWG and created such a fun environment for our guests. We have enjoyed looking at our guest pictures on the complementary flash drive he sent us after the wedding.
A&A Music - Anthony Avery - The music selection was perfectly executed based on Anthony's meeting with the bride and groom. He was also a fun MC who kept everyone engaged from start to finish because he found ways to include everyone in the celebration. He also provided uplighting in the reception barn which further enhanced the elegance of the décor. The best was at the end of the evening where he had everyone circle around the bride and groom for the last dance. This send-off captured the love and joy of the celebration and was the perfect way to end such an exceptional day. read more