Weddingbee boards

Hi Everyone -

This is my first posting! My fiance and I are desperately trying to find a beautiful, non-wedding-factory location for our reception.  We thought we had it totally wrapped up in Bayonet Farm in Holmdel (which is very close to my parents) but the barns were way too small to comfortably accommodate close to 150 guests.  A tented reception could work, but I questioned the reasoning behind renting the venue just to stay under the tent all night.

We then found Prallsville Mills, which is close to The College of New Jersey where we met some eight years ago.  Its a beautiful location and we're very happy with it - however I know that there is an exclusive contract with Brillman's Rental Barn and they require all rentals to go through them - including the caterers needs.

Does anyone know how expensive this will be? They have no prices on their website and they were very illusive when asked directly. 

I have a healthy budget for the wedding but definitely not extravaggant by any means.  I'd love to be able to invest in great photography and amazing entertainment, but I fear that Brillman's will find ways to charge us an arm and a leg - I read one horror story of someone getting an inflated bill the day of the wedding with charges never before discussed.

Any experiences with the venue and the rental vendor and suggestions on caterers or photographers would be welcome!!

THANKS!