The Barn at Hillside Park is a perfect wedding location in Sussex County, even if you don’t see that from the outside. With plenty of parking and farm details on the inside of the building, your guests will feel the barn vibes when they arrive.
Pros and Cons
If you grew up in the area, chances are you’ve been to a wedding at Hillside Park, so here are some of the behind the scenes pros and cons based on our own brides’ experiences!
Pros:
- Parking
- Space
- Location
- Rustic Barn feel (if that’s what you’re going for!)
- Super close to Café Pierrot! (only half-joking on this one!)
Cons:
- No rentals
- The exterior isn’t quite as rustic
Ok, I can’t really think of too many cons to this place! If you’re looking to have a barn wedding, this is a pretty great place to do it. But you’ll definitely want to find a different barn for exterior photos since this one needed siding at one point in history.
More about the Location
Because it’s a children’s park, we’ve seen fun bridal party photos playing on the see-saws and swingsets. But the twinkle lights and high ceilings inside the barn really steal the show (and we forgot to mention the moose head!)
I know these photos are a little distorted to get the full sense of the room, but here’s the inside! The hanging chandeliers are wagon wheels and the lights on the posts are metal milk jugs! The room comes with some Christmas lights, but this December wedding needed a few more.
If you can see in the top right, there’s a hanging vintage wagon, and I love the wooden post railing around the room.
And here’s proof of that Moosehead I mentioned (from a very old instagram photo!)
Hillside Park Considerations
Choosing a wedding venue can be a big project. You might think the DIY option is cheaper, but full-service locations have some stress-relieving perks. If you’re ready to jump into the DIY wedding world, don’t forget these details.
credit: NJHerald
Rentals:
Hillside Park does come with its own tables and chairs, but you’ll need to order the linens and anything else you need to make your day special. Fortunately, if you work with our catering coordinators on a full-service wedding, we’ll do all the work for you. But if not, we can at least take care of the food!
The Knot has this handy checklist to keep track of all your rental needs!
Transportation:
As I mentioned earlier, this park has plenty of parking, but the spots are at the bottom of a big flight of stairs. However, grandparents and the bridal party can definitely park at the top of the stairs right next to the entrance; you just might want someone to direct traffic.
Otherwise, the Barn is pretty easy to find in Andover, so your guests should arrive quickly and on time.
Alcohol:
In DIY wedding fashion, you’ll need to find a bartender and purchase alcohol yourself. This location has a large bar area that works well for weddings.
Ready to book?
This is a municipal property, so the best option is to call the town for more information and pricing details. If you’re a Sussex County/ Andover resident, you’ll probably get a discount. Here’s a link to the town’s page on the Barn at Hillside Park.
Don’t forget to check out Pierrot Catering’s options for weddings, whether you want to go full DIY or full-service.