By Jennifer St. Pierre

They sure don’t make ‘em like they used to. This common phrase—used on everything from pickup trucks to baked goods— rings true for many occasions, especially during an endless tour of cookie-cutter-style banquet halls.

With handcrafted woodwork, artisan-grade marble, grand spiral staircases, and stunning stone exteriors, many of New Jersey’s historic sites have no aesthetic equal.

The Kirkpatrick Chapel is a 134-year-old building on the old Queens Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Originally designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh to house both the school’s library and chapel, the building boasts grand arches and one-of-a-kind antique furnishings.“The chapel has a 3,300 pipe Aeolian-Skinner organ and three Tiffany stained-glass windows that were signed by Louis Comfort himself,” says Patrick Cogan, operations manager of the chapel.  “When you hear the wedding march played on (the organ), it’s very stirring.”

However, historic sites aren’t without their drawbacks. Some have small or outdated kitchens, few offer air conditioning, sometimes they aren’t handicap accessible, and frequently they have minimal bathroom facilities and restrictions on decorations, candles, and even alcohol use.

But couples willing to work—albeit sometimes creatively—around the restrictions, will often be rewarded with a unique and personal event.

“The nice thing about our site is that you can customize your wedding,” says Edith Sharp, executive director of Prallsville Mills, a 294-year-old grist mill located on the Delaware River within D&R Canal State Park in Stockton. “A lot of commercial settings have certain table settings and certain menus. Here you can choose your own caterer and make your wedding as expensive or inexpensive as you like.”

What could be more unforgettable than blending a part of history with your own? “It puts things in perspective,” says Sharp. “And it’s a perfect day to embrace things that last. We like to say that we are saving a segment of history and making it a part of the community today.”