We are so lucky to have selected The Ashokan Center as our venue! We wanted so many memorable moments and had non-traditional ideas, and throughout the process, Lisa, Chef Bill, and James were all in, helping us make our dreams come true! Thank you to the entire Ashokan team for helping us have the perfect weekend. We and our guests got to enjoy the whole weekend together, eat delicious food, and celebrate our new union! We cannot wait until our next visit to your beautiful grounds!

We LOVED getting married at the Ashokan Center! My husband and I were looking for a nature-focused, low key venue in the Catskills where we could host friends on site. We saw many venues in the area but didn’t love most of the “traditional” options. Ashokan was totally unique and a great fit for our needs: The venue is gorgeous and felt so comfortable and homey; there was on site accommodation but no buy out requirement, so our guests could choose the option most comfortable to them and we got to spend all weekend with our best friends; Ashokan is a nonprofit, so our money went to a great cause; we hosted all events on site, which was super convenient for us and our guests; all the activities were super fun (our friends especially loved blacksmithing); the price point was much more reasonable than comparable venues, opening up our budget for some other things we really wanted like a live band… the list goes on. Lisa was great to work with and we were surprised by how good the food was! The venue also dresses up nicely despite a more casual vibe. We unfortunately had rain on our wedding day, but the indoor ceremony site ended up feeling very special and intimate, we didn’t even miss being outdoors. We 10/10 recommend getting married at Ashokan, we had such a special weekend that we will cherish forever.

We couldn't be happier with Lisa and the whole team at the Ashokan Center. The Ashokan Center space itself is fantastic. Super beautiful, comfortable, relaxed and festive. The team was able to accommodate everything we needed and really felt like our friends by the time it was over. All of the setup and logistics went smoothly. I really appreciated Lisa's phone conversations with us in the weeks leading up to the wedding. Same for our conversation with Chef Bill. We didn't have a wedding planner or coordinator but thanks to the Ashokan Center team everything went super smoothly. Thank you!

We could not have been happier with our wedding at The Ashokan Center. We were looking for a low-key venue that allowed us to prioritize time with our guests and created a relaxing atmosphere for our families (including those with young kids) and friends to hang out in a beautiful outdoors environment. Lisa and the whole team were incredibly responsive and helpful, and we truly could not have found a better venue for us.
Highlights include:
- Delicious, veggie-filled, buffet style meals and the flexibility to save a couple plates for those arriving late. All meals were provided by Ashokan and we were able to bill some breakfasts and lunches to guests at our discretion. We worked with Chef Bill to deign our whole menu and he was an absolute DREAM to work with.
- 5 hr open beer & wine bar through the venue for the wedding night. We hired a bartender with a liquor license through Ashokan, designed our own liquor menu, and provided our own liquor and mixers. We brought our own beer & wine for all other meals - this really helped save on cost!!
- Gorgeous grounds with many hiking trails for guests to enjoy
- Lots of onsite housing! We had 80 people stay onsite in their 20 private rooms/cabins and four large bunk rooms. The rooms are a little rustic, but clean and have everything you need - it was PERFECT for our group. There are also hotels 20 minutes away in Kingston.
- A list of suggested vendors. You're required to do your catering through them (such a relief, Chef Bill was an absolute joy to work with and pricing was really reasonable) and pay the site fee, but you have tremendous flexibility beyond that.
- This venue is definitely not for everyone, but if you're looking for a low-key, family & friend oriented wedding weekend Ashokan Center could not be a better choice!

The best decision my husband and I ever made about our wedding was getting married at Ashokan. From the second we stepped onto the site, everyone was warm, welcoming, and dedicated to the mission of the center. The core values of sustainability, social good, and community are central to my husband and I, and it was incredible to see this brought to life at Ashokan.
This venue is perfect for couples that want a wedding that is a little more DIY and camp-style. My husband and I had a blast coming up with events and games, making s'mores with friends and family, and having a gorgeous ceremony with the sounds of a nearby waterfall (one of two on the property!). The day of my wedding I went for a run, swam in the lake, and tie-dyed with friends. It was everything we wanted.
When you get married at Ashokan, you are part of a community and history greater than oneself, and that is so palpable. Lisa (the event coordinator you'll work closely with), Chef Bill, and everyone at Ashokan is friendly and down to earth. They're straight shooters, but also work tirelessly to make your wedding spectacular. And it was! This place is truly special.

The Ashokan Center is a very special place with a generous, lovely staff and gorgeous property. The venue was a perfect fit a weekend wedding with lots of activities for guests to do. Everyone we worked with was incredible. I highly recommend this place!

We had our wedding here, and it was so wonderful! Lisa was great as well as the whole staff!

We wanted a low-key wedding where we could have a bonfire and camp with our friends, and this was the perfect place for us. Lisa was an absolute joy to work with, and Chef Bill is a phenomenal cook. Our friends+family kept coming up to say how happy they were, how relaxed they felt, and how well-cared for they felt. We had blacksmithing and archery workshops the morning of the wedding, and people loved the incredible hiking trails on site. We couldn't be more grateful to have been married at the Ashokan Center

We held our wedding at the Ashokan Center on the last weekend of October. It was so nice to have planning, catering, and on site accommodations all in one spot, and the staff were super relaxed and accommodating. Our guests also enjoyed a guided hike and blacksmithing workshop. The Ashokan Center was an amazing venue all around!

Lisa and the entire team at the Ashokan Center were out of this world for our wedding. We were open about our budget in the beginning and we were told "Oh, we can totally work with that!" This location has so much to offer: plenty of space for friends and family to stay, an incredible chef, hundreds of acres for you and your guests to explore, activities to include (we chose archery!), and many ceremony sites options. There are so many ways to make your wedding unique with this venue without having to stress the big stuff. The center was supportive, but also understood what the timeline of the build-up to a wedding is like and know when decisions need to be made and when things need to get done. It is rare to find such a down-to-earth, unpretentious, yet talented and profession team for a wedding venue as they have at the center. We hope to continue our relationship with the center and attend their Hoots for the rest of our lives. The Ashokan Center is magical and we cannot recommend it highly enough!