Wedding DJ at Buttonwood Manor in Matawan, NJ

The Space

On July 1, 1933, an ad in the Matawan Journal announced the opening of Buttonwood Manor, on what was then Route 4 through Matawan, since Route 34 did not reach town until 1953. The property overlooks Lake Lefferts, a lake created five years earlier, in 1928, by damming Matawan Creek, so the water view guests see today predates the venue itself by half a decade.

MJ’s Restaurants took over the property in 2013, pairing restaurant-industry management with the venue’s existing event staff, and the manor now runs three distinct rooms plus landscaped grounds with a koi pond and waterfalls. It is a genuine restaurant-and-banquet operation rather than a rental hall, ceremonies, welcome gatherings, and receptions can all happen on site, indoors or outdoors, without a couple needing to bring in an outside caterer.

Capacity & Layout

The Lakeview Room is the largest, holding 100 to 225 guests behind wall-to-wall picture windows with its own private waterfront deck, and standing capacity across the property runs up to 275. The Greenhouse Room holds up to 100 under amber chandeliers and curved glass, with its own dancefloor, stage, and private bar, while the Terrace Room caps at 50, small enough for a rehearsal dinner or an intimate wedding.

That range, from 50 up through 225, means a couple’s guest list decides which room fits rather than the other way around: a smaller wedding gets the Terrace Room’s mirrored lake views, a mid-size one gets the Greenhouse’s own dancefloor and bar, and a larger wedding takes the Lakeview Room and its deck. All three rooms are wheelchair accessible, so the choice comes down to size and setting, not access.

Amenities

The waterfront deck off the Lakeview Room can host the ceremony and reception outdoors, weather permitting, with the lake as the direct backdrop rather than a landscaped stand-in, and the Terrace Room’s wall-to-wall mirrors bring that same lake view indoors when the weather does not cooperate. The Greenhouse Room’s built-in dancefloor and stage mean a band or DJ has a defined space to work from rather than open floor.

On-site catering covers American and Continental cuisine, and the bar carries around 150 premium liquors, a real bar program rather than a basic setup. Buttonwood Manor has won New Jersey Bride’s LOVE-IT Award five years running, and a bridal suite sits adjacent to the Lakeview Room, so the wedding party has somewhere private to get ready close to where the ceremony and reception actually happen.

Location & Getting There

The venue sits in Matawan, New Jersey, overlooking Lake Lefferts with landscaped gardens, a koi pond, and waterfalls woven through the grounds, a setting built up over decades rather than installed for weddings. Parking is available in a lot on site, with valet offered as well, so guests are not left circling for street parking on the day.

With three rooms of different sizes and an outdoor deck all under one roof, the acoustics shift by room: the Greenhouse Room’s curved glass and stage give a DJ a defined performance space, the Lakeview Room’s higher ceiling and wall of windows spread sound across a bigger floor, and the outdoor deck lets sound carry over the lake itself when the reception moves outside.