Love Letters

I knew I wanted to get married near LBI and I originally thought I wanted to get married at Bonnet island (their sister property) until I stepped foot in Mallard. I knew my venue search was over and I found my dream venue. I loved the unique wedding experience you get with Mallard, you have the option to rent out the entire property overnight. The entire third floor is like a hotel so you and your guests of choice can spend the night. This eases so much stress that you know you have access to your own personal room with a bathroom whenever you need it and you don’t need to worry about getting on a shuttle after your wedding night and staying in a hotel!

We worked very closely with Gianna, who coordinates and basically plans your entire wedding at Mallard. Gianna honestly becomes like your best friend by the end and really makes your entire experience. There is no need to hire a wedding planner when you get married at Mallard. She truly is amazing at what she does. She is kind, organized, flexible, and always checked in week to week to make sure you had everything and anything that you needed for your big day. In addition on your wedding day you get two Maitre D‘s who make not only the bride and groom but your families feel like royalty. Anything you needed they had for us. They made sure my husband and I had everything we needed wedding day, gave us our own personal private cocktail hour, made sure we had a whole plate of every dessert, and so much more. My husband even got 2 dinners!!! In addition to us they also made sure our families were beyond taken care of by giving them trays of food at cocktail hour, trays of dessert, etc.

My parents and in-laws could not believe the above and beyond service the staff at Mallard gives you. Brides, if you envisioned yourself getting married at a location with a bridal suite look no further. The bridal suite is honestly unreal and it’s almost something you need to see yourself to believe. My girls could not believe how amazing that suite was and there’s an entire salon up there where you get ready.

One of the other selling points to me was the ceremony space. The beautiful boathouse chapel overlooking the bay was breathtaking!

Ok so let’s talk about the FOOD. My guests could not get over how amazing the food was from the cocktail hour to the reception and even the after party! Also not to mention the dessert was amazing (highly recommended the bananas foster and homemade ice-cream sandwiches)

The reception space is beautiful and I loved that there is so much room for your guests to hang out and not feel cramped. I also loved how the dance floor had its own area. Other weddings I’ve been too had the band right on top of the reception tables and it was so loud that I couldn’t even think. This was so nice that the band and dance area was a bit separated so people could still enjoy talking with other guests without screaming over a band.

I honestly can’t think of anything I didn’t love about my day and Mallard. Our guests were so impressed and it was the best day I could of ever imagined. From the second you and your wedding party steps foot at the venue you are treated beyond amazing. If you are looking for a luxury and unique wedding experience near the water then getting married at Mallard is a MUST!

Thank you Mallard for the best day EVER!!!

The moment you drive through the wrought iron gates at the base of the driveway, you are no longer in NJ – you have been transported to the European countryside. The property is massive and immaculate. There isn’t a single part of the entire property that you think to yourself “ehhh” – truly every corner is magical. And it just keeps on going! The main estate is beyond what words can capture; it’s unreal. We had our parents and wedding party stay there the night of the wedding and it was freaking awesome. Every one of our guests couldn’t get over how spectacular it was and said they’d never been to a place like that before (nor knew a place like that even existed in NJ…).

The staff at the Ashford is elite. Laura McCann is truly phenomenal. She was amazing to my husband & I in the very beginning as we finalized our date and throughout the entire planning process. She is a professional to the very end and also just a super lovely person. She made everything as easy and stress-free as it could have possibly been – from guiding us through the decision-making process for our reception to coordinating with our vendors on our behalf to making sure everything was falling into place the day of the wedding. I am beyond grateful for Laura. Her co-hort, Debbie, is also great – very responsive, pleasant, and helpful always.

Merri-Makers, the exclusive caterer of the Ashford, was fantastic. Their food is off-the-charts good. I didn’t try a single thing at the chef’s tasting or at our wedding that was mediocre – everything was superb. Ridiculously fresh seafood, thoughtfully curated cocktail hour stations, and top notch entrees. The wait staff service was outstanding throughout the evening – it felt like we were at a gala or some super high-end event.

I can’t rave enough about the Ashford Estate. You will be working with the best of the best if you get married here. And speaking from experience, if you are on the fence with choosing the Ashford as your venue because of the price – know that it is so exquisite that you don’t have to spend a single dollar on decor (other than your flowers, which don’t have to be crazy) to make this place special – it does that all on its own. No doubt it is a financial commitment (especially if you’re paying for it on your own, like my husband & I did), but I promise it is worth every single dollar.

One other suggestion I would like to pay forward to future Ashford brides & grooms is to use the estate’s preferred vendors. They are the “A Team” and will execute the wedding of your dreams flawlessly without bothering you whatsoever leading up to and on your wedding day, which is invaluable if you ask me.

We celebrated our wedding day on 11/18/22 and it was absolute perfection. Gianna worked with us from start to finish and made everything so easy for us- we didn’t have to worry about a thing! She was such a huge help throughout the entire process.

The food, service, accommodations, were all A+++. I can’t think of one thing we would’ve done differently… our guests were over the moon happy and full of compliments as were we.

I wouldn’t look anywhere else!