Why a Family-Owned Wedding Venue Like Born to Run Farm Makes Planning Feel Easier
By the time most couples call Born to Run Farm, they have already toured a few places, and we can usually hear it in their voice. There is a folder of quotes, a list of names they cannot keep straight, and a quiet worry that nobody on the other end of the phone actually remembers them.
We work a little differently up here, and it comes down to something simple. Jay and Joan Gerish bought this land on top of Point Mountain in 1978 and used it as a family getaway and a place to train horses. In 2016, the family turned it into a wedding venue. It is still ours, and it always has been.
What a Family-Owned Wedding Venue Actually Changes
Ownership sounds like a technical detail until you are the one planning. It decides who answers your questions, how fast that answer comes back, and whether it can flex once you have asked. Here is what that looks like from our side of the phone.
You Are Not Getting Passed Around
We guide you through every step of the planning process from the moment you arrive, and that guidance is not a department. Ask about a layout change or a timeline idea and you are asking the same people who will be setting up the chairs that morning. Our staff stays with you from the first conversation through the last song, and the options really are customizable, because we are the ones who get to decide. When the venue is the family business, there is nobody to escalate to. You are already talking to us.
The Big Pieces Are Already on the Property
A lot of planning stress comes from renting things you did not know you needed. Every wedding package here includes six banquet tables, table numbers and umbrellas, staff support, golf cart services, a parking area and a fire pit. If your guest count climbs above 75, a bathroom trailer is required, and the size depends on how many people you invite. That is not the most romantic sentence in this post. It sits in our pricing guide on purpose, because knowing it in month one is much easier than learning it in month nine.
Three Packages, So You Are Not Building From Zero
The Daisy sets the frame for the whole day. You get a 40 by 100 foot tent with electric, Edison bulb lighting, carpet flooring, a chandelier and side walls, a second 20 by 40 foot tent, twenty round tables in 60 and 72 inch sizes, 240 white resin folding chairs, a 28 by 18 foot dance floor, a ceremony site with an arbor, chairs and benches, a cocktail hour setup built around a wine barrel bar, and a reception bar.
The Elouise keeps all of that and adds twenty farm tables and the vintage horse trailer bar. The Dorothy includes both, then hands you a bridal suite for five hours before the wedding, outdoor lounge furniture, and an engagement photo session. Want one piece without stepping up a tier? The champagne wall, bridal suite, farm tables, outdoor lounge furniture and vintage horse trailer are available on their own.
The Farm Is Still a Working Farm
Around thirty cows live here, along with a dozen sheep, two donkeys, chickens and a few other barnyard animals. None of them are ever sent to market. They stay, and they live full lives on this hill. We bring it up because the setting is not something we roll out for a Saturday and pack away on Monday. It is a real place with its own routine, and the mountain top views that made Jay and Joan want this land in 1978 are the same ones your guests will be standing in.
A Vendor List You Can Start From
Rather than sending you off to a search bar, we keep a preferred vendor list that covers caterers, entertainment, photographers, transportation, rentals, florists, liquor distribution, hotels, and event planners. Janine Collette, whose photography you will see across our About page, is one of the names on that photographer list. It is a shorter road from blank page to shortlist, and it is one more decision you do not have to make cold.
Come See It Before You Decide Anything
Planning a wedding is a long run of small decisions, and the venue you choose sets the tone for most of them. We cannot make your guest list any shorter. What we can do is keep the same faces in front of you from the first email to the last dance, keep the big pieces already here on the hill, and give you answers that come straight from the family who owns the place. That is the quiet advantage of a family-owned wedding venue in North Jersey.
Fill out the form on our pricing page, and we will send the pricing guide straight to you. When you want to see it in person, contact us at 973-349-0129 or email Joseph@borntorunfarm.com. A reservation is necessary to view the property, so let us find a time, and we will show you those mountain top views ourselves.
FAQs
Do we need an appointment to see the venue?
Yes. A reservation is necessary to view the property. Call 973-349-0129 or email Joseph@borntorunfarm.com and we will set a time.
What comes with every wedding package?
Every wedding package includes six banquet tables, table numbers and umbrellas, staff support, golf cart services, a parking area, and a fire pit. A bathroom trailer is required for weddings with more than 75 guests, and the size varies depending on your guest count.
What is the difference between The Daisy, The Elouise and The Dorothy?
The Daisy covers the tents, tables, 240 white resin folding chairs, the dance floor, the ceremony site, the cocktail hour setup, and the reception bar. The Elouise adds twenty farm tables and the vintage horse trailer bar. The Dorothy includes everything in both, plus a bridal suite available five hours before the wedding, outdoor lounge furniture and an engagement photo session.
Do you have vendors you recommend?
We keep a preferred vendor list covering caterers, entertainment, photographers, transportation, rentals, florists, liquor distribution, hotels and event planners. Reach out to us directly for the current list and any questions about your own vendor plans.
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