The Central Park Boathouse

We got married at The Boathouse a month ago and it was truly magical - Peter and his staff are incredibly professional, the food is excellent, and the room is designed to shine for all seasons. Many of our guests said it was the best wedding they've ever been to! The Boathouse is a well oiled machine with a whole network of blue chip vendors for you to work with... wish we could get married all over again :)

Once my husband and I toured the Boathouse, we knew it was the perfect venue for us. Originally scheduled for 2020, we had to push our wedding due to the pandemic. James (our planner at the Boathouse) was able to move our wedding exactly one year from the original date. Leading up to the wedding, James was very easy to reach and answered any and all questions that we had. We met with him several times to go over the day-of schedule, and went over every single detail multiple times. We can’t speak more highly of our experience at the Boathouse - the location is magical, the food was excellent (at our tasting, we could not stop exclaiming how good it was), and James and Harold (the maitre d) made our night so fun and stress-free.

We got married less than a week ago and we’re still on cloud 9 after the wonderful event thrown at the most fabulous location in NYC! We booked our wedding at the Boathouse back in August 2019. We decided to postpone in May 2020, and Peter / the Boathouse couldn’t have been more empathetic, accommodating and kind to us during this difficult time. I was hearing horror stories of people being charged fees and higher prices to book the following year, but the Boathouse honored our rate, which we very much appreciated. Throughout 2020, we had many, many questions/concerns and Peter was always there to answer an email or hop on the phone. In fact, they held TWO dates for us while we decided which month in 2021 we wanted to have our wedding! Now to discuss the actual event. Leading up to the day, Peter answered about 5 million questions from me and eased all of my concerns. We had a walk through a couple of days before, and even decided to add the raw bar at the last moment (excellent decision, by the way). Our wedding at the Boathouse was the most special day of our entire lives and in the words of ALL of our family and friends, the best wedding they have EVER been to. The food is fantastic, the location is incredible, the staff is AMAZING (shoutout to Harold, you’re the man!), I literally can’t find a single bad thing to say. The food is really the highlight of the night. The passed apps are INCREDIBLE, as are the four courses. We opted for the pesto pasta to start, followed by mozzarella/tomato, and chose a fish/steak for our entree. Back story on my husband - he has been to every steakhouse in the city and is a total snob when it comes to his steaks. In his words “the steak holds its own against any other top restaurant in Manhattan - absolutely delicious, and especially impressive considering they’re preparing it for 140+ people at a huge event.” Also, please tell me when else you can arrive to your cocktail hour on a gondola?! Peter and the staff at the Boathouse, we just want to thank you for making our wedding the most perfect, picturesque night of our lives.

A wedding in Central Park is not only an amazing setting but the Boathouse made it an amazing experience. The food was superb, the service was outstanding and the setting is one you will always remember.

Hosting our reception at the Boathouse was one of the best decisions we made! From the moment we toured the Lake Room and the lakeside patio, we knew it was the place for us! It is truly an iconic, unique venue within the heart of Central Park and Manhattan. The Boathouse was recently repainted and the floors were redone, and it’s never looked better! The views of the lake, Central Park’s lush greenery, and the skyline is one not to be missed! Your guests will be in awe of the surroundings. We had the pleasure of meeting both Peter and James and ultimately used Peter for our wedding planning process. Peter knows his stuff – he’s on top of everything (tastings, layouts, etc.). He had also worked with the majority of our vendors before so coordination between the vendors and venue was easy! Our guests raved about how amazing the passed hors d’oeuvres, appetizer, salad, and entrée were (thanks to the wonderful chef Ramzi)! Harold, the maître d, was on top of the timeline and coordinated the entire evening with ease. Every single thing about our cocktail hour and reception was perfect. I wouldn’t have changed a single detail. I can’t thank Peter, James, Ramzi and Harold enough for their hard work. It was truly the best night of our lives. Thank you!!!

Choosing to have our wedding at The Central Park Boathouse was one of the best decisions my husband and I made. The staff was just SO incredibly lovely and professional on the day of the event. Absolutely every single detail went exactly as we discussed, from our signature drinks, to the menu, to the signs I brought in to be placed in certain areas of the room. The staff even ran after guests the night of the wedding to give them favors that were left behind. James, our event coordinator, could not have been more helpful and kind. He took the time to get to know my husband and me and made us feel like our wedding was important to them. He was an absolute pleasure to work with, as was 100% of the staff that was there on our wedding day. The maitre d was outstanding - everything the day of went off without a hitch. We could not be more grateful to James and the boathouse for giving us our dream wedding. It was flawless, and we highly highly recommend.

Dream come true! This venue was out of this world. The food, setting, and staff were fantastic to work with and made our wedding day unforgettable. We got married on a Friday in May, and the weather could not have been better. Cocktail hour outside was heavenly and the patio is gorgeous at night. Working with James was so easy, he was always on top of everything and very willing to work with us to make sure our day was exactly the way we wanted it. The food was absolutely delicious. Our guests are still making comments to us on how fantastic everything was. We will absolutely be going back year after year for our anniversary!

Our January 2018 wedding at the Boathouse in Central Park, NYC was amazing. We didn't want a "conventional" wedding, so we did our homework, read the reviews and looked at all the cool "raw" event space we could find. But each space had its challenges and compromises necessary to make it work for us. But then last summer, we were walking through Central Park and stopped by the Boathouse. We had actually first met when we both signed up for the same bike ride and have spent many happy hours together enjoying CP. As soon as we walked in, we fell in love with the space. Although some may consider it a more conventional event space, it still has a rustic vibe, which fits so perfectly into the beautiful natural surroundings of CP. We made the best decision to simplify the process, leverage the talent and expertise at the Boathouse and we are so glad we did!!! We worked closely with Peter Bischoff, who was so professional, thoughtful and accommodating and led an amazing team. We also had a planner, and all worked so well together. The space, lighting and access was a breeze. The team accommodated several people with food allergies, vegetarians and even a Glatt Kosher contingent. Peter provided the floor planning layouts as well as menus and tasting recommendations. We were able to speak directly with the chef, make suggestions as well as add a signature cocktail and augment with some special wines. We were so happy with our food and beverage selections. We found the planning to be easy, since the Boathouse works with a group of quality vendors that know the space well. But I did make it a point to meet with Peter on occasion face to face. On the day of our wedding, Peter was there along with Harold the Maître d’ to make sure everything went off as planned. It absolutely did and we could not have been happier with the outcome. True professionals from start to finish. Thanks to Peter and the rest of the team for the exceptional experience.

Fantastic venue for the wedding. Guests cannot stop talking about how wonderful the food was. The venue was elegant and service superb. James McGovern was attentive and always ready to help. Harold was great guiding everyone to where they needed to be. Cannot say enough about this venue and the truly nice staff. A true dream wedding for our daughter.

We got married at the Boathouse in April and it was an ideal venue. All of our guests (ourselves included) were so excited to be at such an iconic NY landmark and in the middle of Central Park. The entire staff there is impeccable and everything went seamlessly - they are clearly experts at hosting weddings. I have to say my favorite thing about the Boathouse is that they take care of so much for you. We saw a few of the more "raw space" type venues and the amount of coordination and extras that you need to worry about (like silverware and linens) was just ocerwhelming. At the Boathouse we were able to plan our wedding in under 5 months with little to no stress. I also loved that we didn't have to worry too much about decorating given the beautiful scenery and space. We worked with Peter who was not just a lovely person but kept us fully organized and feeling great throughout the whole process. He just makes you feel like everything will be okay and was a perfect mix of guiding and flexible. Harold was our maitre'd the day of and took great care of us and kept everything running smoothly. The food was also spectacular and all of our guests are still raving about it. I cannot recommend this venue more highly.