Pat’s 30 Acres in Wall Township, NJ (you may also find it online under the name “Pat Joyce Holding Co”) was a “sleeper hit” of our 2019 wedding season. It’s a place without a huge web presence, and photos we could find online turned out to not do it much justice. Because of our great experience documenting a wedding there, and watching as our clients, their family & friends, had a super awesome time – we wanted to share some thoughts on why we felt this is a great spot to have a wedding.

Main Attractions

As the name implies, Pat’s 30 Acres is made up of 30 acres of open fields, woods, a lake, and a covered pavilion. Here are a few of the highlights we took notice of while we were there:

Beautiful lakeside ceremony site

For couple’s getting married, one of the first things they will want to see is the ceremony site. This is where one of the most important series of moments in their lives will happen! Pat’s 30 Acres provides a really beautiful natural setting that is really complimented by an arbor that can have floral touches added that bring an extra pop of color.

Seeing the space in person is naturally good looking, but experiencing it with the commotion of wedding guests seated around the space as the bride & groom are right in front of the lake exchanging vows – that’s an experience to write home about!

Mixed open air and covered reception space

Next up, this really is an excellent venue for spring, summer, and early fall weddings where the weather is warm because no one will be stuck indoors at all throughout the day. The covered pavilion provides a lot of seating room for sit down dinners, as well as a great space for dancing, grabbing a drink, and more.

It was a lot of fun being able to move in and out as we captured candid photos of guests mingling and having a good time here. This layout really helps maintain a more natural vibe for the wedding venue!

Ample room on the lawn for games and more

One of the goals many couple’s have with their wedding is making it a party to remember. A good way to do this is to give guests opportunities to actually do things together. While very simple, having the large lawn right outside of the reception pavilion was great for setting up quoits and other lawn games.

Towards the back of the property, there was also a little playground space that could be great for kids to get off some steam as well.

Plenty of natural spaces throughout the property for great photo backdrops

So, of course, as wedding photographers we are really partial to wedding venues that offer great photo locations. This is where we were most amazed when it came to Pat’s 30 Acres as, after doing some research online before the wedding we documented, we didn’t have high expectations. We were pleasantly surprised by the options we ended up having, and now would love to capture more weddings here in the future.

What is so great about this space is the natural diversity on the grounds – and everything is within a pretty small walking distance.

You can see the full wedding we documented at Pat’s 30 Acres here!

Huge weddings are welcome!

According to Pat’s 30 Acres website, the venue has room for a capacity of up to 750 people – that’s huge. The wedding we documented had around 150-200 people in attendance, and the amount of space felt more than comfortable.

What we found most appealing about it was how there is a lot of space if you need it, but so many of the main features are within a small area of the property.

Why It’s So Great for Weddings

Having a wedding celebration at Pat’s 30 Acres is a great choice if you want a natural setting that is still very accessible (ie: grandparents don’t have to walk too far). It is also a really excellent spot if you plan to DIY your wedding décor – in fact, the creative vision you bring to the space will hugely impact the wedding look you get as the place is fairly “barebones” on its own.

Ultimately – it’s the simplicity of the space that compliments a wedding day that really gets to us. Sometimes wedding venues can feel a little too grandiose with decked out ballrooms and so on, so if something a little more simple and minimalistic is your style, this is a great choice. Of course, the environment isn’t the only thing that matters on a wedding day (we know this all to well), and we can say that after meeting the staff and seeing how seamlessly things came together, you’d also be well covered there too!

Photos of Pat’s 30 Acres Wedding Venue:

If it sounds like a venue that speaks to you, check it out in person to get to know more. Of course, if you like the photos you’ve seen throughout this post and would be interested in having us document your wedding at Pat’s 30 Acres – definitely get in touch with us!