We just got married at Willowdale about two weeks ago. It was everything I could have ever hoped for! Our guests enjoyed the beautiful surroundings and the delicious food. But it was really behind-the-scenes where Willowdale shines. Every couple is assigned their own wedding coordinator, who was both very flexible and knowledgeable for us. Perhaps my husband and I were a bit unique in that we really didn't know what we were doing in the wedding planning process--we definitely could not have done it without Willowdale's help.

From start to finish, my experience with Willowdale was nothing but fantastic. The minute my husband and I walked into Willowdale, we knew it was the place for us. The charm of the mansion, the beauty of the grounds, and the unique romantic vibe were just some of the reasons I knew why my wedding would be beautiful. To start, the sales team was great to work with.They were extremely responsive and never pushy. They made the first phase of our wedding planning seamless. Once you make the awesome decision to wed at Willowdale, you are assigned a wedding coordinator and given a handy binder with all your “To Dos”. I was the luckiest bride on earth because they assigned me the wonderful Monique. She was the BEST and my wedding would not have gone as smoothly if it was not for her. No matter what time of year you get married at Willowdale it will be beautiful. I happened to get married mid-May. My wedding was in the courtyard and the reception under the tent. The tent is CRAZY nice and the courtyard had over 100 tulips that had bloomed – great for wedding pictures! I can honestly say that not one single thing went wrong on my wedding day. The food was incredible. I have to give a shout out to the chef who did a great job with the chicken dish. I was so impressed that he was able to serve flavorful moist chicken – you rarely see that at a wedding. The staff were so polite, helpful to guests, and extremely professional. The bartenders were friendly and perfected my specialty drinks! Every little detail from the way they folded the napkins to the chalk board announcements were done just as I had requested. It is evident by their great service and attention to detail that Willowdale truly understands the importance of a wedding to the bride, groom and their families. Getting married at Willowdale was the best decision we ever made and I will always cherish those memories. I highly recommend that you have your wedding at Willowdale - you will be so happy!

I found Willowdale through one of the various wedding websites and the minute my now husband and I walked in, we knew this was IT. The other thing we loved was that everything is right there, ceremony, reception, food, cake, it’s all included in the price! This venue obviously fills up fast and we were originally looking at an April wedding, but when our contact there Michelle suggested March with a discounted price, we snagged March 16th. Throughout the whole planning process the employees I worked with at Willowdale were friendly and responsive. Barbara, was my first "questions" person and she was SO pleasant and didn't mind answering all of my ridiculous questions. Once the date got closer I was introduced to Monique who was my wedding coordinator. She was the BEST! She never took more than 24 hours to respond to me even though I knew she was busy with other weddings. She was polite, helpful, responsive, kind and was able to put my vision into place without having to ask anyone where things were supposed to go. Monique coordinated with all of my vendors for arrival times and set up information so that I didn't have to bother with it and at the rehearsal as well as the day of she said to everyone "If you have a question, don't ask the bride and groom, ask me", which I loved because I knew I didn't want to have to worry about anything else but getting down that aisle. She was so wonderful to work with and I don't have enough nice things to say about her. EVERY ONE of our guests could not get over how beautiful the venue was and how great the food was especially the appetizers! The ambiance was exactly what I wanted and everything went off without a hitch thanks in large part to my wonderful coordinator, Monique!

I work in the wedding industry, and Willowdale has it all. I had looked at two other places before I looked at WIllowdale, and at other locations I would have had to find a caterer, rent tables, have the ceremony offsite-basically what was already a time consuming process would have become even more so. Willowdale offers everything you'd need in their price. Their catering is AMAZING-seriously the best, I stuffed myself at the tasting. The ceremony location in the mansion was stunning-we lucked out with the setting sun streaming in the windows as we said our vows. Nichole, my day-of planner was INCREDIBLE-she handled everything, if there was a hitch in any plans, I was completely unaware of it. Everything was beautiful and seamless. My single friends and relatives keep saying how I've set the bar impossibly high for their weddings-thank you Willowdale!

I just literally had my wedding here and it was everything I expected it to be, and more. About 3 months before your special day, you have a personal "go to" planner who talks to the vendors, and makes sure your night goes off without a hitch!! Special shout out to Monique! Thank you!!! The whole Willowdale Estate Staff, and the vendors that made the day what it was.

It is pricey, and, you may think why am I paying so much, trust me. It's worth it.

THANK YOU!

We got married on Feb 2, 2013 and our wedding was perfect. Willowdale Estate followed through on every promise made to us. The day was perfectly executed. We heard the food was amazing but it surpassed our expectation. Our guests are still raving about the food a month later. The staff was professional, courteous and friendly. Every detail was taking care of. I honestly felt like queen for the day. We highly recommend Willowdale for any event.

I had my wedding in the mansion in January 2013 and it was absolutely exquisite. The beauty of grounds (even in the dog days of winter) is only matched by the charming details inside. Our guests have been raving about our wedding ever since, and the team at the estate played such a huge role in making it the best day of our lives. Initially, one of the most appealing parts of working with Willowdale (aside, as I mentioned, from the overall beauty of the place) is the fact that everything is included (venue, catering, cake, entire day-off staff, a personal wedding coordinator, linens and so much more). But as the planning process progressed, it became clearer and clearer that choosing Willowdale was a stroke of genius. Our coordinator, Monique Jeffrey, is a rock star. She went over every tiny detail with us ad nauseum, helped us set up a wine tasting with our fabulous alcohol vendor (Chebacco Market in Essex) and executed our evening flawlessly. Really, the entire staff at Willowdale is exceptional. Many of my family members and friends commented on how lovely and helpful the service staff was during the duration of our wedding.

Special attention must be given to Executive Chef Ben Lightbody because his food was, undoubtedly, one of the highlights of the evening. As my father remarked, "There is wedding food -- and then there's the food at Willowdale." We gave guests a choice of Filet Mignon (at most weddings, a small slab of overcooked meat) and Seared Halibut. Both were cooked perfectly and portioned generously. The best additional money we spent at Willowdale was on the Butternut Squash Ravioli first course -- almost every guest cleaned his or her plate. A cousin of mine told me that she was sad that Willowdale isn't a restaurant because she'd go back and order her meal all over again. I could go on and on and on. Suffice it to say: Book Willowdale for your wedding; they will exceed your expectations and give you an evening you'll remember forever.

I am so glad that we had our beautiful wedding at Willowdale Estate. Ever since I saw the venue for the first time, I have been obsessed. It is so unique, picturesque, and special for a wedding. The mansion is absolutely gorgeous; plus, in December it is decorated for the holidays which just adds a whole other level of beauty to the location! The design of the house is perfect for a wedding; the flow through the rooms is unexpected and will make you and your guests feel like you are at home and not at a "wedding reception hall." I cannot say enough about the staff - the planning team, the sales department, the catering staff, the wait staff. Everyone that we worked with was AMAZING!! They really care about their couples and they want to do everything to help. The wait staff is superb. They are so efficient and friendly! For instance, a piece of paper caught on fire at my parents table and it was simply lifted away and walked out of the room without a hitch. Our day-of-wedding-planner, Colleen, was OUTSTANDING!! She s super organized, calm, professional and did not let anything slip past her. She has such a big heart and will literally do anything for you to make you and your guests happy. It was SO NICE to be able to drop off my decor with her a few days before the wedding and not have to worry about anything - her and the team took care of everything and the way that things turned out on the day of the wedding was even better than I expected. The dance floor was tight at the beginning of the night with our 125 guests seated between the two rooms, but after dinner we moved a table (which happened without some guests even noticing!) and it was perfect. The food was spectacular - you must try the cookies! Also, we stayed overnight in the bridal suite - which I would also recommend. It was SO romantic; filled floor to ceiling with candles.
Many guests have said this was the best wedding that they have ever been to, and I could not agree more!! Thanks!!!

I cannot say enough about how wonderful the team is at Willowdale! The staff is fabulous - so attentive and willing to help! The food is phenomenal! The planning team and the information that they provide is invaluable. Everything at our wedding reception at Willowdale was ust amazing - even better than we expected!

Willowdale has been absolutely amazing throughout the whole planning process. From the wedding planning book to the people, everything was absolutely superb. They were able to keep us on track every step of the way, so when it came time for the day, we were completely relaxed. Even after the wedding, they packed up all of our decor for us so it was easy to grab the next day. Our wedding planner, nichole, was amazing. She made sure we were completely relaxed all day. It was my dream wedding and I don't think it could have gotten any better!

Willowdale was amazing. We had the ceremony and reception there, and the decorations they provided were STUNNING. The food was incredible, the coffee and tea bar was great, and the cookies were a big hit. The coordinator I had was Nichole, and she was incredible. She was extremely helpful (everyone I dealt with from Willowdale was extremely helpful), and she kept the day moving smoothly. She was always around if we needed her, but she wasn't intrusive at all. All night, our guests were commenting on what a beautiful venue it was and how amazing the food was. I could not have been happier with how perfectly the day went.

I cannot recommend Willowdale enough as venue, as a cater and as a wedding planner.

First, every one from the sales staff, to the entire planning department, to my individual planner, to the catering staff makes the planning process easy. They have incredible vender suggestions and all the venders love working with them. They are organized, very experienced and professional. It's difficult to plan a wedding and Willowdale walked me through ever step, helped me maintain a good pace and didn't let me forget any important details.

Second, it is the most perfectly beautiful venues I have ever seen. If you have a wedding in the mansion you don't need to do anything to space to create a cozy and elegant atmosphere. It's already there in the design of the building and the decor of the house. The house is designed for entertaining so the layout is perfect for weddings. Each room flows into the next and there are more than enough little hideaway spaces for people to have intimate conversations or for guest to get away.

Third, the experience of the staff cannot be stressed enough. I'm an architect, which means I'm particular about creating an atmosphere and executing a concept. I worked with my mother and my sisters to do our own centerpieces/tablescape, menu cards, cake design, cocktail table design. . .we did a lot of stuff on our own. But, Willowdale brought it all together and surprised us with how it was all put together. It was better than what I had created in my head. In fact, on the rehearsal day, Monique our planner told me, as I was dropping our centerpieces and other decor, not to worry that they would take care of everything and that even I would be surprised on how it all came together. I was!

Perfect event, perfect place, amazing staff!

Willowdale Estate was the perfect place to have our wedding. Monique and the rest of the staff were kind, supportive and helpful. We picked Willowdale based on its beauty, but we loved having our wedding there because of the amazing staff.

I can not rave enough about the Willowdale Estate... My wife & I had the wedding of our dreams there and things could not have been more perfect! Our wedding date of course had to be visited by hurricane Sandy but the staff was so great at the Willowdale you would not even have known. They greated all our guests at their cars and walked them in under umbrella's, I was told by many of them they felt like VIP's LOL. Our wedding was selected for TLC's four weddings (Airing 03/01/13) and I hope when watching my episode you see how great the place was. The food was out of this world!! I LOVE food and my inlaws are right off the boat Italian and food is VERY IMPORTANT to them, that's all my mother in law worried about was the food and let me tell you they did not disapoint!!!! Everyone had said that their meals was the best food they have ever eaten!!! The food was that good!!!! Everything was fresh made NOTHING FROM A BOX!!! I'm still dreaming about my pasta dish and forget our main course..... OK now I'm hungry and have to end my review but believe me do not hesitate to book the Willowdale, it was THAT good!!! Watch me on TLC 4 weddings and judge for yourself (and cross your fingers for us!!!!) Thanks Willowdale for making our wedding everything we dreamed of and WAYYYYYY MORE!!!

My husband and I recently got married at Willowdale and would recommend it to a friend in an instant! Everything from the picturesque setting (which provided an amazing backdrop for our wedding photos), the amazing food, and the fabulous planning staff contributed to a day that we can only describe as "perfect". In the weeks leading up to our wedding, Nichole and the rest of the planning team was an invaluable resource. They answered every question we had and coordinated with our vendors so that we didn't have to worry about a thing. Nichole did an amazing job running our rehearsal and the event on the day of - it was virtually stress free! She told us and the rest of the wedding party exactly where we needed to be and when so that we could really enjoy our special day. Willowdale has really thought of everything, from passed wine immediately following the ceremony so that guests to have to wait at the bar to delivering a plate of appetizers to the newly married couple, ensuring that we had something to eat! I would without a doubt encourage anyone considering Willowdale to go ahead and book - it is well worth it!

From the start, Willowdale was obviously the right choice. My husband and I knew the instant we pulled up out front that it was our place and it only continued to wow us more and more. Every single member of the staff is AWESOME and totally AVAILABLE to help you from the second you sign the contract to your wedding day. We were so impressed with the friendly staff that we wish we still had a reason to email them. :)

Whenever we visited, they remembered who we were and we ALWAYS felt welcome in the house.
The planning was easy and the food was absolutely delicious. We ordered the Statler Chicken for our wedding because at the tasting, we deemed it the "best chicken we've ever had."

Our wedding went perfectly smooth from the rehearsal the day before to the very last dance. We worked with Willowdale Wedding Coordinator, Monique, who really paid special attention to every last detail. She was fabulous, we call her the wedding ninja because she was rarely seen during the night, but we know she was behind the whole thing. We just loved her. She coordinated the flow of the whole evening from the arrival of guests, to fixing my dress before I walked down the isle, to making sure everyone had boarded the buses back to the hotel at the end of the night.

The service was also something worth noting - the wait staff was SO professional, well dressed, and relaxed. They just got everything right.

I more than highly recommend Willowdale to any couples searching for the perfect, cozy, garden spot. The house is absolutely gorgeous, the grounds are well tended, and the Sperry Tent is SO beautiful. There is a butterfly garden...I mean...seriously.

It's perfect.