13 Eco-Friendly Wedding Venues in NJ

One of the biggest wedding trends of 2020 is the eco-friendly wedding. Or the green wedding. Or the sustainable wedding. You get the idea!

Being environmentally friendly or, at the very least environmentally conscious, is extremely important to a majority of millennials and generation Z. The push to embrace ecofriendly weddings was huge in 2019 and with climate change and other environmental concerns constantly trending on Twitter and pushed to the top of news sites, it’s no wonder that this trend will continue to gain even more steam in 2020.

I’ve put together a list of the best eco-friendly wedding venues in New Jersey. Hopefully this can guide environmentally aware brides and grooms to be and help them choose the perfect place to have the green wedding of their dreams!

The Grove at Centerton

Pittsgrove, NJ

The Grove at Centeron sits right inside New Jersey’s beautiful Parvin State Park which will immediately tick off some boxes for nature lovers looking to be surrounded by green when they get married. What will further lure the eco-friendly bride and groom in, however, is their incredible catering menu that offers a farm-to-table dining experience for wedding guests. The Grove at Centerton puts an emphasis on using locally sourced ingredients in their menus, which means not only are you eating locally, but every wedding helps sustain New Jersey farmers! And of course, because the South Jersey wedding venue is located INSIDE a state park, your wedding will be far from the hustle and bustle of every day life, giving it a truly magical vibe.

Laurelwood Arboretum

Wayne, NJ

Laurelwood Arboretum is a 30-acre public park in Wayne, NJ. The arboretum became famous for its natural beauty and expertise of Dorothy and John Knippenberg, its founders. In 1996, Laurelwood Arboretum was brought into the Wayne Parks System and since 2007 has been preserved and maintained by the Friends of Laurelwood Arboretum. Laurelwood Arboretum is lush with hundreds of varieties of rhododendrons, azaleas, trees and shrubs and is the perfect setting for an eco-friendly wedding. It is open year round from dawn to dusk excepting for weather and emergencies.

Sayen House and Gardens

Hamilton, NJ

Created in 1912 by Frederick Sayen, a world traveling gardener, the Sayen House and Gardens is a tribute to his love of the natural world. Sayen built a bungalow style home on the 30 acre property and surrounded it with plants and flowers he collected from his travels around the world. The Sayen House and Gardens boasts plant and flower species from China, Japan, and England – many of which were actually planted by Frederick Sayen himself, still flourishing today! In addition to the breathtaking flowers and greenery, Sayen House and Gardens is also home to a beautiful gazebo and pond, the perfect setting for a green wedding!

The Farm at Glenwood Mountain

Sussex, NJ

If you’re an environmentally conscious bride looking for an authentic farm to table wedding venue, The Farm at Glenwood Mountain is your place. Herb gardens, pastures, and green beds of fresh vegetables sourced right on the fully functioning farm not only make for an eye-popping backdrop, but a mouthwatering and organic menu for your wedding guests.  The Farm at Glenwood Mountain also boasts three unique venue locations right on the premises, so no matter what aesthetic you’re looking for, they can cater to just about any eco-friendly wedding plan!

The Manor

West Orange, NJ

One of The Knot’s picks for 2020’s Best of Weddings award, The Manor – located in West Orange, New Jersey – is highly regarded and has over 1,000 5 star reviews on Google. That’s a lot of happy customers! As you can see from the photo above, The Manor is overflowing with greenery as far as the eye can see and beautiful flowers tastefully adorn the grounds which are meticulously maintained. The food is simply to die for, and the kitchen has something to please every wedding guest on your seating chart!

Willowwood Arboretum

Chester Township, NJ

The photo above is taken from an actual outdoor wedding at Willowwood Arboretum, and as you can see, there’s a real fairy tale vibe practically leaping off your screen. If you’re looking for an ecofriendly wedding venue where you’re completely surrounded by greenery, Willowwood Arboretum is definitely a place you should check out.

The arboretum itself is open 365 days a year and it’s free to visit, so you can see if it’s the best wedding venue for you at no cost and on your own time. Something that any bride-to-be (or wedding planner) can appreciate.

Once Upon A Time Gardens

Clayton, NJ

Being a South Jersey native, it brings me joy that one of my favorite eco-friendly wedding venues happens to be right in my back yard! Located in Clayton, NJ (not too far from Rowan University), Once Upon A Time Gardens is one of the most charming and unique wedding venues you’ll ever visit. This eclectic wedding venue is owned and operated by Kathy and Phil Costello, a husband and wife team who bought a colonial style home that was originally built in 1850 and turned it into an absolutely gorgeous locale with green as far as the eye can see and a healthy supply of photo opportunities! As an added bonus, Kathy is a registered wedding officiant and has officially married many of the couples who choose to get married at Once Upon A Time Gardens.

Cecil Creek Farm

Mickelton, NJ

South Jersey’s Cecil Creek Farm sits on 42 acres of USDA certified organic farmland and has been host to over 100 sustainable weddings over the last 4 years. Cecil Creek Farm prepares wedding guest with sustainably-sourced, grass-fed, pasture-raised proteins and wild caught seafood complemented with seasonal, local, organic harvests from the farm and ingredients from other local farmers, purveyors and artisans. To say that they’re committed to an eco-friendly wedding experience would be an understatement, in fact they recently eliminated buffet style service in an effort to reduce food waste.

And if all that wasn’t enough to please any environmentally conscious bride and groom, all excess food waste is given to Cecil Creek Farm’s free range chickens, ducks, and goats or sent to a half acre compost pile to be used as fertilizer for their perennial wildflower fields. This is as sustainable as it gets!

Photo by Michael Romeo

One Atlantic

Atlantic City, NJ

Overlooking the beach and ocean, One Atlantic offers a truly unique skyline for couples looking to get married at the beach without getting their feet wet. Atlantic City’s One Atlantic was specifically designed to run as a green facility and they happily cater to environmentally conscious couples when it comes to what’s on the menu, including vegan options! The venue also has a spa and salon on the premises, making it one of the few truly all-inclusive wedding venues in New Jersey!

The Ryland Inn

Whitehouse Station, NJ

The Ryland Inn, situated in the hills of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, is an undisputed culinary landmark. Executive chef Chris Albrecht brings the farm to table spirit to every item on the menu by incorporating sustainable ingredients that are sourced locally. This means that the menu offerings change with the seasons and that your wedding guests will be getting the absolute freshest organic food available! And as though that’s not impressive enough, they also offer one of the more robust vegetarian menus I’ve ever seen at a wedding venue. The Ryland Inn’s website makes it clear that over 90% of the ingredients used in their kitchen are from the local area. If that’s not eco-friendly, I don’t know what is!

Natirar

Peapack, NJ

Built over 100 years ago as a family estate for the King of Morocco, Natirar now operates as a farm, wedding venue, and eventual luxury hotel and spa.  And while all of that is wildly impressive, one of the most inspiring things about Naritar is that they locally source the food for their menus from the organic, 12-acre farm on the property during growing months. When the farm is dormant, they order as much organic and sustainable produce as possible, based on availability. To reduce waste, Naritar composts organic material for recycled use on the farm. Everything they provide at this ecofriendly wedding venue from the tablecloths and napkins to the place settings are reusable.

Rock Island Lake Club

Sparta, NJ

Rock Island Lake Club accurately describes itself as a “Pinterest worthy venue” and I couldn’t agree more. Completely surrounded by organic beauty, set beside a mountain lake, there are few places like Rock Island Lake Club in New Jersey. And one of the major things that set this wedding venue apart from the pack is that they only allow one wedding to take place on the property per day. That means they’re only focused on you, something all brides can appreciate. More eco-friendly inititaives that Rock Island Lake Club has taken are their use of eco-friendly cleaning products and a policy requiring all couples to give a food count ahead of time to help eliminate food waste!

Beach Plum Farm

West Cape May, NJ

Nestled on 62 acres of farmland in West Cape May, Beach Plum Farm is a gorgeous setting for a wedding. What’s more, the farm is committed to sustainable farming practices and instilling that ethos in the greater community! Beach Plum Farm produces over 100 different kinds of fruits and vegetables and is a locally sourced provider of meat and produce for many local restaurants in and around Cape May, NJ.