We Don't Tour the Building. We Tour Your Wedding Day.

We Don't Tour the Building

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Most venues walk you room to room like a real estate showing. Here is the square footage, here is the ceiling, any questions. At The Gramercy at Lakeside Manor, we have never done it that way. When couples come in to tour our wedding venue in New Jersey, we walk them through the day in the exact order their guests will live it, from the moment the doors open to the last song. Because you should leave a tour able to picture your entire wedding, not just the building it happens in. So here it is, the same tour we give every couple.

It starts with one thing: the venue is yours

The most important quality of the venue is that you are exclusive to the facility for the day. No event before yours, no event running beside yours. Your florist and designer can arrive the moment our doors open, and everything that happens in the building that day happens for you. One wedding at a time is not a tagline. It is the reason the rest of this tour works.

Cocktail hour, done right

Your guests walk in and are greeted by two attendants who guide them into cocktail hour with either the signature drinks you chose or champagne and berries. The room has plenty of seating and high tops so everyone gets comfortable, and two tables are always reserved for your immediate family, parents and grandparents. The cocktail room has its own patio if guests want to step outside, its own restrooms, and its own bar, so nobody is wandering the building looking for anything.

The food is set up with intention. Cold stations run up the center of the room on their own display tables, hot stations line the perimeter, and butler passed hors d'oeuvres circulate the whole hour. Decor here is included too: a main centerpiece for the room, floating candles in cylinders, and tea candles on the tables and high tops. Add your own touches if you want. If you don't, you are covered. And don't just take our word for the cocktail hour. Matt and Rita's guests told them it was the best they had ever been to.

The reveal

During cocktail hour, the doors to the main foyer stay shut. That is deliberate. We want a wow factor in every part of the venue, so nothing is seen until it is time to be seen. When the hour ends, our captains circulate and guide everyone toward the transition. The foyer is where your personal details live: engagement photos, the memory table, the sign in book, your seating arrangements, with standard decor already included and the staircase yours to dress up if you like. Then comes the part we love. An attendant leads your guests down the grand hallway, the curtain still drawn, the bass of the music getting louder, and the room is revealed. The anticipation is part of the night.

A room that becomes whatever you want

The main reception room is simple, clean, and minimal on purpose. It is a universal canvas, which means any color scheme and any decor direction works. And when people ask what all inclusive really means here, this is the list: 72 inch round tables seating 8 to 12 guests, estate tables seating 12 to 22 that brides love for accenting the room with a different centerpiece style, floor length linens in black, white, or ivory with matching napkins, black Chiavari chairs in both rooms, table numbers, and uplighting. The perimeter LED washes the walls in whichever mood color you want, with livelier patterns for party time. In a minimal room, lighting is the most important piece of decor there is.

Three ways to lay it out

Our take is simple: a wedding is a party, and your guests came to eat, drink, and dance, so we feature the entertainment. Option one, the band or DJ at the top of the room with your sweetheart table in front of the windows, the best backdrop for photos, speeches, and the cake cutting. Option two, the sweetheart table across the dance floor from the DJ, for couples who want traditional seating with family on either side. Option three, the sweetheart at the top of the room with the DJ opposite. Whichever you choose, the room stays balanced. No side stepping between tables, no bumping into the chair behind you.

Service that keeps the night flowing

You will have one waiter for every two tables, and they are trained to notice a glass running low before anyone has to ask. The bar gets the same attention. For a wedding of 150 guests we put three bartenders behind the bar with a bar back running beer and ice, so the bartenders never leave their station and there is never a line. The main room has its own bar too, so nobody leaves the party for a drink. That level of attention is what couples remember. Kaitlyn and Peter said their December wedding ran so smoothly they did not have a single worry all day.

The grounds, and the best advice we give

The patio is private, gated, and reachable through two sets of doors, and the grounds are kept beautifully, with greenery, seasonal flowers, a 14 foot wrought iron gazebo, and a 15 foot waterfall. Now the advice: arrive three hours before your contracted time and take your photos then. The day flies. Do photos early, then actually attend your cocktail hour and get all the hellos out of the way, so when you hit the reception it is only party time. And if you would rather not be seen before the reveal, you can take your cocktail hour privately in the suite.

Upstairs: the suites

The upper level belongs to you. Her suite has a lounge, a private restroom, and a separate makeup room with hair and makeup stations and storage lockers. His is set up as an intimate cigar lounge with a 65 inch screen for streaming and a private bar.

Where the tour ends

This is where we sit down and go through our menu in detail, talk dates, recommended vendors, and every question you have. And as we shared before, you leave with room to breathe: we hold your date for seven days at no cost, and we offer private food tastings before you book. Shannon and Ryan said it was that first tour and tasting that told them they had found their venue, and that is exactly what we want you to feel. If you are comparing luxury wedding venues in New Jersey, or crossing over from the Staten Island area, come take this tour in person. Browse the gallery to see the rooms for yourself, then schedule a private tour and let us walk you through your day.