Branford House Mansion Reviews

My husband and I got married at the Branford House in April, and it could not have been a more perfect venue choice. The scenery is second to none, year round, hands down. It can truly be decorated to fit anyone’s style, and it creates such a special, unique space for each person’s day. The option to have all parts of the wedding inside or outside was a huge draw for us, and it was so nice to be able to utilize the beautiful indoor space and the peaceful outdoor space!

I don’t even know where to begin (in the best way) about the House Manager, Bethany. Bethany was absolutely AMAZING in helping us coordinate using the space for our day. Her knowledge of what works well in the indoor and outdoor spaces and just of weddings in general was invaluable to us. Bethany was patient, accommodating, and so willing to help with anything we needed. We knew immediately after meeting Bethany that we wouldn’t be able to find a better person to work with for our day — she is truly so kind and welcoming, and it made all the difference. Bethany is truly one of the kindest, most wonderful people I’ve ever met, and we will be eternally grateful to her for helping us make our day perfect!

(Photos done by Molly Mia Photography & Film and SMS Photo).

Honestly this location was amazing I’d suggest it to all friends an family

The Branford House Mansion was a dream come true. From working w/ the SUPER nice manager (Bethany) to the gorgeous mansion on the Long Island Sound, we couldn't have asked for a better venue for our wedding.

The most amazing wedding venue! Bethany & Bailey were fabulous to work with! I am so glad we picked the Branford House for our Fall wedding in CT. The house, the lawn, the water view, the wrap around patio - everything at the Branford House is picturesque. We were able to do our ceremony on the lawn, cocktail hour on the patio, and dinner and dancing inside the Branford House. It flowed perfectly and the venue was the perfect size for our 135 person wedding. The ability to work with any vendor (beverage must be done through Uconn) and 10 hour venue rental timeframe are two of the many factors we loved. This gave us plenty of time for our first look, ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner and dancing all at the Branford House. Would highly recommend this venue!

Wonderful place! Ask easy to work with!

This is such a stunning site for a wedding. Katherine was very easy to work with--she was responsive and helpful and very accommodating. The house has everything you could hope for, from a great kitchen for the catering staff to a beautiful room for the bridal party to get dressed in, and the fireplaces are stunning. Plus, you can bring your own vendors/caterer in, which very few other sites in the area allow. This flexibility allowed us to have exactly the wedding we wanted. We had a wonderful winter wedding here and walking down the staircase to get married in front of the main fireplace was like something out of a fairytale. The views out to the ocean are stunning and you really feel as though you have stepped back in time. The woodwork is incredibly intricate too, which makes for exceptional photo opportunities. I could not be happier with the venue!

My wedding is 1/1/2016 and I have been working with the Branford House, and Katherine since last March. They have been nothing short of wonderful, flexible, nice and open. I cannot wait until my wedding and I will definitely write a review after ward. My friends and family said this was hands-down the best wedding - most elegant, most fun, gorgeous venue they had ever seen! I highly recommend it. The staff is amazing, friendly, low-key and flexible.

There was nothing like the views that the Branford House provided! The backdrop of the house and the water view made our wedding breath taking. What we enjoyed most about the Branford House was their flexibility. We could use any vendor we liked, and as the bride, we were able to get ready right at the house. Katherine was responsive, and helped us to find a spot for the huge tent we put out on the back lawn. We know it was a difficult task because there was construction going on, but she got it done!

Thank you Katherine!

We had our wedding at the Branford House Mansion on 7/17/15 and it was absolutely perfect. Everyone loved the venue and kept saying how beautiful it was. The best thing is that the place looks so good on its own that expensive/elaborate decorations are not needed :) Katherine and the day of coordinator were wonderful to work with and kept everything running smoothly. Katherine always got back to us quickly with answers to any questions we had and was very helpful when we decided last minute to put a tent up on the patio. Overall, I would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for an indoor/outdoor venue with a beautiful view of the ocean!!

Kathleen was very helpful, easy to get ahold of, and very accommodating for the many times I went with a vendor to look at the space to help map out where we're setting everything up. Beautiful place and outside area.

The Branford House is a beautiful location for a wedding. I got married a few days ago and was able to get ready on site. Our ceremony was set up for outside on the lawn facing the water, but the storm that rolled through forced us to re-evaluate our plans and we moved everything inside. The woodworking on the walls, large windows, lovely chandeliers and overall rich and glamorous interior made for a lovely ceremony and striking photos. Everyone raved over it. I am so glad that we could have a backup plan work out so well.

The planning leading up to the wedding has been stress-free and smooth with Katherine, the coordinator for the House. I highly highly recommend this venue. I would like to point out that you would have to bring in everything but tables and chairs.

Beautiful setting, gorgeous building, wonderful House Manager & staff. Even better, proceeds go to the mansion upkeep & to local campus programs, which we loved. Very little decoration needed to make the interior & exterior presentable & "wedding ready". Outside patio stones are a bit uneven, but it is a very old house so that is not unlikely. Our guests enjoyed admiring the amazing architecture & strolling around to take in the serene ocean view. Despite being on grounds opened to the public, our event at The Branford House Mansion felt very private. Our event had a really nice, flexible timeframe to mold to our wedding day's needs & Katherine was lovely to work with. A little tricky for some guests to get to, but an overall convenient location for those craving pics of oceanside nuptuals (like we were). Unique, Philanthropic & Unforgettable. Our wedding there was all I had imagined & more. Guests are stillreeling over the place! I would certainly recommend this venue for those looking to have a unique wedding experience some place other than a banquet hall.

We knew this was the place for us the moment we walked into the main room! The Branford House is a beautiful venue, and perfect for our unique day! Like most of the mansions, there were some restrictions on decorations and expectations on the time that we would be in and the time we'd be out, but they were more than reasonable and we never ran into any issues. It was a huge help having a caterer that had worked the venue, as the kitchen is in the basement so when making our seating arrangement, I knew in advance where there would be extra traffic coming in and out. The layout was also perfect for us - we had 125 guests, and the house is divided into three rooms. We were able to fit everyone in the main room and one of the wings, giving us another room empty for the dancing, which was perfect! With a few flowers and a couple of candles, our event was in the most beautiful of settings!

Kathryn Pollard, Director of The Branford House at Avery Point, UCONN, Groton, CT - the most helpful persons I have ever dealt with while planning an event. She was easy to get along with, flexible, accommodating and just plain nice. In fact, Kathryn went out of her way to connect me with the bride and groom who were renting the location for the next day to see if we could share the tent - once up and once down rather than the tent company having to come in and out twice - saved both us and the wedding party for the next day a lot of money! Compared to another similar location also owned by the State of Connecticut, and also located right on Long Island Sound - we absolutely hit the jackpot with The Branford House.

Beautiful location, beautiful bride, great day! Thank you, Kathryn!

This venue is beautiful. It is right on the water. So many places to take gorgeous pictures. All my guests loved the architecture.

The Branford House is an absolutely stunning venue. We had the ceremony outside on the lawn by the water, cocktail hour on the patio, and dinner and dancing inside. It's great for a summer wedding (like hours), but we did see gorgeous photos of inside weddings during the winter holidays. It's not the cheapest of venues, but it's worth every dollar. The house manager is most helpful, and she helped ensure that the planning and big day went smoothly. The Branford House will let you select your own caterer, DJ, florist, etc. When we first saw the Branford House, we knew we wanted to get married there, and it turned out to be the most perfect day. We highly recommend the Branford House (plus, the cost of renting the mansion goes towards the university's educational programs, so that was a nice added bonus).

AMAZING LOCATION!!!!!! I was blown away the first visit out there. The wedding was beautiful and the guests were blown away by the location. All Around great day!

The Branford House is a magical setting for your wedding or celebration. Katherine, the manager, is amazingly helpful and wonderful too.

We had our wedding at the Branford House 9/21/13 and it was terrific! The venue is absolutely beautiful and we ended up with a late-summer afternoon wedding on the lawn as the sun set and sail boats quietly coasted in the water. My wife went to school in Newport, RI and wanted the Newport feel without making our guests stay in hotels for Newport prices. The Branford House has all of the beauty and elegance that you would see in Newport at a much more reasonable price.

The price of the venue has gone up slightly but is still pretty reasonable relative to other options. You have to pay to use their wooden chairs if you decide that you'd rather use those instead of the free plastic ones. Given how expensive the venue was and that they already owned the chairs, this extra charge was a little surprising. Also, if you decide that you wish to use the lawn (say you want to do a big tent on the grounds) there is another charge for that.

We did the ceremony outside with the dancing under a tent on the patio and the meals inside which was terrific. The venue is so beautiful it is nice to be able to use as much of the space as possible which we felt like we were able to do. The only complaint we have about the facility is the bathrooms - they are okay and certainly functional but not terribly nice. The staff actually did some decorating for us ahead of time which was very nice of them.

Overall would absolutely recommend the Branford House - you and your guests will without question have a day that you will never forget.

One last item of note, if you are going to have your wedding at the Branford House, make sure you get a good photographer. There is such beautiful architectural detail that having a great photographer is really worth the cost (we hired Joshua Behan and the pictures are terrific).

We were SOOO happy that we chose the Branford House for our venue! The management was amazing and helped us plan every step of the way. They were very flexible and accommodating. Any questions we had were answered in email or over the phone right away. We had our ceremony on-site and had to be indoors due to weather, but it was so easy to make the last-minute change and we were happy there was a pretty room with a fireplace to use as our backdrop. We ended up having a ridiculously stormy day for our wedding and because of the beautiful architecture and features inside, we were still happy because it felt like we were in an old castle. All of our guests loved it and said it was so unique! The waterviews are gorgeous and would recommend this venue when you can show the beauty outisde as well!

Absolutely Beautiful!!

I had the pleasure of hosting my wedding here in May of 2024. I was initially very hesitant to book this venue as I wanted a true "wedding venue", not a venue that is able to host weddings. However, my husband was totally in love with the setting and I'm so glad we booked our event here! From the start Bethany and her team were great to work with. Their hours seem to be a bit sporadic so if we had a question for their team, we found it was best to email. Responses were not immediate, it did often take a few days to hear back which was fine, it just meant we had to plan ahead with our questions!

While Branford House isn't a "wedding venue" specifically, they are able to offer many of the items needed to host a wedding, including tables and chairs, which made planning so much easier. Additionally, they do not require the use of a specific caterer though they do provide a list of vendors that have worked the venue before. Given that the venue was built as a home and subsequently has a more challenging floor plan to accommodate, I was grateful that we elected to work with a catering company that's familiar with how Branford House operates. However, they do require that if you are serving alcohol that you contract with UConn Catering for bar services.

My husband and I held both our ceremony and reception at Branford House with the ceremony outside and the reception inside. Because the venue is on the water I did need to account for humidity and wind when planning my hair/makeup as well as ceremony decor. Additionally, because Branford House is considered state property, renting the property does not include the sidewalks behind the mansion along the Sound-- meaning that depending on how things are staged, you could have strangers in the background of the photos. My husband and I did not have this experience but it was something that we took into account when booking the venue. Overall though, this was the perfect setting and perfect venue for our day.

Bethany helped us plan our wedding at the Branford House, and we cannot say enough about her or the venue. You can see for yourself how absolutely stunning the Branford House is – from the ocean view to the romantic wood décor, we felt like royalty getting married in such a place. Bethany is the manager, and she was wonderful to us. She cheerfully fielded multiple phone calls and emails about even the tiniest of details, sending us pictures of the beautiful mantlepieces and videos of measurements she took for our floral arrangement planning. She also went above and beyond in coordinating with our caterer the day of our wedding to help set up and take down our ceremony and reception. She helped us fit a relatively large winter wedding indoors without it feeling crowded at all, and we are so grateful for all the care she took with us and our day. I know it’s something she does every weekend, but she truly made us feel like the only wedding of the year and her priority, and it was wonderful to know we were in such caring hands.

I can’t say enough good things about the Branford House. I went to a wedding there years ago and it absolutely blew my mind. When we got engaged, I knew we needed to get married there! The building itself is gorgeous, and the views are breathtaking! We lucked out with the best weather and were able to have our ceremony outside on the lawn. Katherine was great to work with from start to finish. Our guests were completely wowed. I can’t wait to see our professional pictures! If you’re having your reception inside, there are some challenges as it’s separated into three rooms and is unlike many traditional venues. Hire good vendors (especially a day-of coordinator!) who know the space and you won’t have any issues. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day!!

The Branford House was the perfect wedding venue for us. Katherine was very easy to work with, and we loved that we could work with any vendors we wanted. You can't beat the beautiful stately exterior, stunning dark woodwork inside, and those ocean views - all of our guests loved it and it had the classic romantic ambience that we were looking for.

We had our wedding at the Branford house on Saturday, 4/23. The venue is spectacular - beautiful stone mansion on the water with a gorgeous lawn and stone patio. The inside is also amazing, with ornate wood walls, huge fireplaces, super tall ceilings and chandeliers. Since the venue itself is so beautiful, you really don't need to do much in terms of decoration and you can still have a beautiful wedding! The venue also allows you to bring in all your own vendors - a blessing and a curse. Blessing because you can choose anything you want and find cheaper options. Curse because it's a lot of work! But I think well worth it in the end because the even will truly be "you".
Katherine was great to work with and very responsive. Either Katherine or her assistant will be at the venue with you the day of the wedding, which was nice to help organize. There's a great room to get ready in for the bride & her maids off the side of the venue. I really enjoyed getting ready there because you can keep an eye on the set up while getting glammed up and hanging out with your maids.
The price for this insanely beautiful wedding is really low. We got lucky and got a Saturday right before the rates went up for Spring/Summer/Fall. I would definitely recommend this venue if you're looking to really personalize your wedding and make it your own.

We had our wedding at the Branford House in August and it was everything we could have asked for and more! It it an absolutely beautiful setting. It's natural wood, fireplaces and beauty make planning and decorating quite easy.

We had our ceremony outside on the lawn, cocktail on the patio and the reception inside. Our wedding was "rustic chic" meets "nautical."

Katherine and her team were flexible with us - always let us pop in to take pictures and see the space. We could bring in any vendors that we wanted. She had worked with a lot of our vendors previously, which made coordination seamless.

They have a beautiful bridal suite that we used the entire day to get ready, store our things in etc.

There are so many nooks that we used for flowers, candles etc. The fireplaces are naturally extravagant and we enhanced them with plants and candles.

The grand piano is available for use and we used it for our guest book and favors.

People spent most of the evening outside on the water enjoying the weather and the view :)

I would highly recommend this venue based on its location, beauty and flexibility! Book in advance though, as they fill up quickly!

The Branford House is an absolutely stunning location! We were married in April 2015 inside the mansion in front of their grand fireplace. It was ideal. The location provides for a unique experience and is not your typical wedding venue. We loved the option that people could go outside and down to the water if they wanted to. The terrace and lawn were recently renovated and look gorgeous.
Katherine is prompt and helpful with getting everything set-up before the wedding, but I would highly recommend hiring a day of coordinator to oversee your day. Also, be sure to check in with her to clarify what vendors you can bring in. We had to change our liquor vendor at the last minute (3 weeks away) because their insurance was not accepted by the Branford House.
The value of the Branford House is also incredible. We got married in the off-season (end of April) and had a beautiful 55 degree day. You get the home for 10 hours but Katherine is very flexible and may allow some vendors to arrive earlier for set-up.
With the Branford House, you truly get to create a venue that is all your own. It is worth the extra work of brining in the vendors because it ends up being so personal. This place is magical!

This is such beautiful venue. All our guests were absolutely blown away by the interior and Katherine is so professional and helpful. If you are thinking of getting married in a mansion in New England, this is the best choice for you. The A/C is an added (and wonderful) modern addition to this gorgeous setting.

This venue is stunning. You're guaranteed to get beautiful photos on this site. I worked with Katherine who is responsive and kind and easy to work with. Our wedding was one of kind with the space and decor. Everyone loved the Branford house and all it's grandness. Definitely fit for royalty. We booked a little over a year early and was able to get the 2nd Saturday in August. So I would suggest booking early because this venue will not be available its too breath taking. Our guests were impressed by the venue and the great detail in the woodwork inside is it's own artwork. You can dress this venue to the max or you can leave it as is and it will stand on it's own. Love love love this venue!

When it came time to find a venue, my husband and I knew we wanted to get married on a place on the water. We found the Branford house and loved how we could bring in our own vendors, rather than have them pre-determined for us. It really gave us the flexibility and creativity to make our wedding our own. The venue is well kept, and the view is just breathtaking. We couldn't imagine our wedding anywhere else. During the planning process Katherine answered all of our questions and was accommodating when it came to organizing our various vendors for the day of. She was sure to contact us after our wedding regarding some items we forgot to bring back with us to ensure we got them back. We booked the venue two years in advance and found responsiveness to emails/phone calls to not always be immediate. However, as the date became closer responsiveness greatly increased and was never a real issue!

The Branford House was the perfect wedding venue! We had originally planned on getting married at a barn venue, but due to the number attending that idea quickly shut down (especially since we would have to pay for the venue and then pay for a pricey tent). The mansion is so beautiful on its own that you can save a lot of money on decor alone - and the price for the venue is hard to beat! Everything was so lovely, people are still raving about the wedding weeks after and I really believe that the venue has a lot to do with it.

They were very helpful and a beautiful site.

Absolutely incredibly gorgeous dream venue, absolutely amazing location, and a fantastic price!!!!

This venue is incredibly affordable for what you get - a full day of flexible time (ceremony on site? Sure, no extra charge!) and a fairytale view from a castle. It was an absolute dream, and my photos are just spectacular! It was rather windy during the ceremony, but that's the trade off for a picturesque lawn on the ocean with a lighthouse and a castle, with sailboats drifting by.

The only thing that could make this place better is more responsiveness. I sometimes had questions go unanswered, but as the wedding got closer, communication got much better. As it isn't an expensive venue, and there's only one person as the event manager, it makes sense she's very busy. If you go in with the expectation that it's an absolutely dream of a location at a very budget-friendly price, and don't expect a built in coordinator on site, you will be very satisfied!

This is a GORGEOUS venue! If you aren't looking for a run-of-the-mill, wedding factory wedding, then this is your place! You get to bring everything in yourself to create your own dream wedding, not the wedding that the venue chooses for you, as is the case with your typical venue.

This venue lends itself towards a more intimate gathering, it is essentially like having a party at a large house, so you do need to be flexible regarding certain issues, such as seating arrangements, and a more go-with-the-flow type of atmosphere.

I wish I could do it all over again and again...I would not have changed a thing about my wedding at the Branford House!

Thank you to The Branford House for the beautiful venue for our dream wedding. The only slight complaint was the lack of mirrors with which to get dressed in the private room.

Overall, it was a beautiful location. The view is spectacular and there is air conditioning inside! The guests loved being able to walk outside and talk on the patio after dinner, get drinks at the outside bar, or dance with the dj. There were many options for every guest at the wedding to be satisfied. The outdoor area is perfect for appetizers and cocktail hour, too. Guests could spread out without feeling confined to small spaces. The only negative is that there are 3 separate rooms inside which kind of separates people from each other. We had a little over 100 people so we spread people out between the main room and the room to the left of the main room. The room to the right was designated for dancing and the bar was just outside that room. We didn't have to break down tables and it worked out perfectly! You can make it work depending on your needs.

A great option for us and our wedding! We had about 75 people, and the tables were tight in the main room, so 75 was a good number. It was also a little difficult to get dancing going in the side room because the rooms are split and the dancing room got hot fast with only twenty people, but that being said, everyone said it was one of the most beautiful weddings they'd been to. The grounds were beautiful, it was open, people came and went, and it had a great, elegant but laid-back feel that we wanted. We had a pizza truck out front (Branford was great about flexibility and letting us use our own caterers to create our vision and feel for the night) and Cloud Nine salad bar and bar. So many people loved the outside parts of the venue that many people milled about outside, enjoyed the view and the ocean breeze. The photos were exceptional; there were so many photo opportunities that it was hard to narrow down our options to favorites. The on-site coordinator was helpful and incredibly kind. We loved the intricacy of the interior and the wood work.

It was love at first sight when I saw the Branford House. Gorgeous!! Didn't have to look any further for a location. If you want to pick and choose all your vendors like I did then this is the place for you! Trying to get a hold of the main contact for the mansion is frustrating and it usually takes a few calls or e-mails to get answers.

Please do not look at my 4.6 rating as this place not being absolutely beautiful!! As soon as I told my husband (then fiance) that I wanted to get married on the water, he knew exactly where we would be married. I would not have chosen a different location for anything!!

There is one woman scheduling all the weddings, so sometimes she is a little difficult to get in touch with. But she worked with us, met with us, and answered all our many questions.

This is the best place to put together the wedding you want - you just have to be willing to put the pieces together yourself (or with a planner)! Not your typical wedding factory. This mansion is so gorgeous you don't even need that many flowers to enhance its natural beauty! I just went crazy with candles to create a beautiful glow :)

We had our wedding at Branford House in May and it was absolutely beautiful! We had an outdoor ceremony overlooking the water and an indoor reception. The inside of the mansion is beautiful and really doesn't need much additional decoration. We had so many complements from our guests! As other reviewers have mentioned, you rent the space and then bring in outside vendors. I liked this idea because we could customize the wedding to fit our style and didn't have to stick with only certain approved/favored vendors.

Beautiful location. They let us bring in our own caterer and worked with us to find the right rental company and bartenders. The set up is a little awkward of you're indoors the whole time but guests appreciate the beauty of the location.

The Branford House is a stunning mansion on the water in Groton, CT and only 5 minutes to Mystic. The entire house is yours for the whole day so there will not even be a chance that there could be another bride passing you by. It will but YOUR day. The photographs are amazing because the grounds are impeccable. The inlaid wood throughout the house bring the house to life. The stone patio wraps around the property and offer very dramatic views of the water and the sunset. The house is fully air conditioned should you have a summer wedding. I could not imagine having our wedding in any other place. It was a perfect location to hold your fairytale wedding.

Our wedding was at The Branford House Mansion at Avery Point in Groton, CT. It is a beautiful gothic mansion on the water and part of the UCONN campus. We wanted to be near water and use both outdoor and indoor settings for our wedding.

Was so please with this gorgeous back drop for my wedding and reception. Event Manager went above and beyond in helping me plan my wedding and in helping me find other vendors as well. Highly recommended!

The Branford House was absolutely beautiful and we were able to get ready on site, making it a very smooth day. We had so many comments on how stunning the place was and how representative it was of the beauty that is the New England Shoreline. If you want to feel like royalty, this place will do just that.

There are not the right words to express how amazingly beautiful this venue is. The Branford House is situated right on the Long Island Sound and is a beautiful 1800s mansion with wooden walls and floors. The venue is separated into three separate rooms, a main ballroom and a smaller left and right ballroom. In that the venue is on the University of Connecticut’s Avery Point campus, the venue is handicap accessible and has public toilets.

Working with the Branford House team was a pleasure although Katherine responds much better to phone, which she is very clear about from the get-go. My caterer also enjoyed working with the Branford House and found it quite easy. Finally, my friends and family were utterly impressed with the venue!

We had our wedding here and you really can't find a more breathtaking venue in CT. Our guests are still talking about it. Yes it is somewhat pricey and you do have to provide your own caterer, rentals, etc which gets time consuming and expensive. But if you are looking for a spectaular view and a beautiful, unique reception spot this is the place for you. People were in awe of the grounds and the architecture. We are very happy with our decision. FYI: They have A/C but we were sweating bad once all the guests were in there. It was very hot unless you stood directly in front of the a/c unit. It wouldn't have deterred me from booking it but the heat was annoying and did not do good things for my hair lol.

a beautiful venue that allowed us to customize exactly what we wanted!

The Branford House Mansion speaks for itself. All those that attended my wedding could not get over the mansion, the view and the grounds. We have nothing bad to say about the venue it was exactly what we always imagined our wedding to be like. I would warn people about responsiveness of those in charge of the mansion, just keep calling and leave messages. They take a while to get back to you and you have to keep on them about your vendors etc. Overall the place was magical.

The Branford House is a stunning and beautiful venue at a great price, especially if you compare with similar venues. I do think they need to add a mirror into the bridal suite - I had no idea what I looked like all day once ready.
Unfortunately if you book this venue you can only choose Uconn catering for alcohol services. The lack of options is some thing we weren’t too worried about, what I didn’t appreciate after having a relationship with this venue for 2 1/2 years, was the liquor service’s assistant manager’s treatment of my family which was completely uncalled for on the day of our wedding.

With my husband and I being the only two signing and reading a contract with UConn, this staff member felt the need to be condescending and snotty to multiple people in my family. Meer minutes before alcohol services were supposed to open, my groom kindly asked for a drink and she replied that the contract says 5:30. Any normal human would not have been so petty over literal minutes, and even so he said OK and walked away, upset, on his wedding day. The same staff member came into the bridal suite, looked at glasses in everyone’s hands which were provided by our caterer and gave my brother-in-law the same attitude and told him that his tea better have tea in it - which it  did.. completely out of hand and rude. As someone who has worked in both food and customer service, I would -never- speak to a customer this way, let alone anyone at all. I just gave nine grand to these people who for some reason felt their bad day needed to upset a newly married couple and their family. We’re nice people. I’m disappointed.

This same staff member once, confronted, justified her attitude that it was in the contract, as if my family read it or knew anything otherwise - not only that, but they weren’t even in the wrong to begin with. Completely unprofessional with this employee and embarrassing on my behalf.

As if that wasn’t enough, I gave a very detailed floor plan to all vendors and signed on for three bars, two of which were there. We were missing an entire bar by the dance floor. I didn’t want people leaving the dance floor for drinks, thankfully our DJ was amazing and made that happen. We had added a bourbon bar to fit our theme as a fun addition, it was mixed with our regular bar which was not what we had asked for either.

Unfortunately, I had already handed gratuity money to my planner and had have a nice tip before all of this, expecting wonderful services and happy guests. I will add that our guests never had to wait for drinks which was of course ideal.

Bethany L. at this venue was very kind and helpful. If you put signs up at this property, prepare for the wind! All of our beautiful acrylic signs fell over and broke before the ceremony even started. IT forgot to keep the building open for my planner the night before which may have prevented some hiccups, but overall the rest of the people and experience at this venue was a happy one. Thank you for your help over the past couple of years.. our wedding was beautiful and we’re still happy we married here regardless of the problems.

The Branford House was an absolutely beautiful venue for my wedding of about 100 guests. I loved the unique charm the place has, my guests still comment how wonderful the venue was.

The space was a bit tough to manage but we made it work and our wedding went very, very well. There was an incident with one of guests and they were very professional in their dealings with them and made sure not to make a scene. The grounds were beautiful and we were able to have our wedding on the lawn. There was a smooth transition when moving from the wedding to the reception and everyone was in awe of the beauty that was to found around every corner.

Stunning venue. Wish the staff was more helpful though. I had to design the floor layout myself.

This place went with our Fairy-tale, Ocean-Side theme wedding perfectly! This venue is absolutely beautiful, and the ocean-side views are amazing is you are so lucky to have the weather cooperate for you to have your wedding outdoors on the lawn. We were lucky and the weather was absolutely perfect! This venue does have it's challenges, as it's a broken up space and not an open ballroom type setting. With keeping our guest list to right around 100 people we were able to work with the space, having the guests eat in the center ballroom, dancing in the West Room and Food Service Stations in the East Room. Realistically, this venue can really only comfortably accommodate weddings up to 100 people, any more than this and it's tight and challenging. If you have a wedding larger than 100, I would recommend renting the tent out on the lawn. I also discovered when interviewing caterers for this venue, that most DO NOT WANT to do a seated, plated dinner at this location. Because they kitchen is in the basement, they said it was very challenging. So if you're heart is set on a seated, plated dinner, this is probably not the best venue, unless you do the tent. The venue does absolutely nothing for you, except provide a person to be on hand to have the place open, direct traffic and close the place up at the end. The people on hand were very friendly. However, one frustration I did have was getting a response from the venue coordinator. At first she was very quick to return my calls, but after all my money had been paid, it seemed as though I was no longer important and many calls and emails were not returned quickly, if at all. The bridal party got ready on site, but it is good to note that no mirrors were provided and it was a good thing we had thought to bring our own. It would have been also good to bring some lamps, as the lighting was very poor. We are still very happy that we found this place to have the wedding, even with it's challenges it was awesome.

The Branford House was the perfect back drop to out wedding. It is a magnificent stone mansion right on the water. The staff there is ehh. Katherine was OK but the woman who was there the night of our wedding (possibly Katherine's assistant) was awful. She told our transportation to not come back to pick people up and they were left stranded. She tried to kick us out of the mansion before our time was up. She made the wedding end on a sour note for sure.

Branford House was the venue of my dreams! You get the Newport look and feel without the insane price. The inside is just as beautiful as the outside and all our guests were so impressed with the location which is right on long island sound. The property around the house was just perfect for our outdoor ceremony and all of our our pictures. In my opinion, the best thing about Branford House is that they let you hire the caterer of your choice - a huge cost savings! I was nervous about the three different rooms but we used the large main room and one smaller room for a sit down dinner. With 115 people, it was just perfect. We used the other smaller room (near the portico) for our dance floor and it all flowed well. It helps that our caterer and DJ had worked there many times before. We optimized use of the space by having our cocktail hour and first dance on the patio. The only reason I give this place four stars instead of 5 is because the bathrooms are hideous (think public school bathroom) and the venue manager, Katherine, can be pretty tough to get in a hold of. But don't let that deter you - this place is amazing otherwise!

My husband and I got married at Branford House in April of 2022. The venue is absolutely beautiful - three stone fireplaces (one for each room!), stunning wood-paneled walls, and an incredible stone portico with a great ocean view. Those features are the reasons why I was eager to book the venue, and they really shined on our wedding day. However, the Branford House is incredibly difficult to work with, and the complaints I have are not unique to me; I've seen other brides complain of Branford House's inflexibility, and it's something that I would encourage any bride to seriously consider before booking. Branford House forces you to book a bar through UConn Catering. The bar seemed pretty overpriced (their "Premium" tier featured Tito's vodka instead of Grey Goose for example). When it came to the wedding day, the staff was oddly strict about how drinks were served. There were multiple points in the evening when the bar refused to serve our guests; they told guests that they wouldn't serve drinks while speeches were being made, but the very reason our guests were at the bar were to acquire drinks to participate in toasts. The Branford House manager also scolded my mother-in-law and wedding party for bringing drinks to the bridal suite. Beyond the bar, Branford House was inflexible when it came to scheduling our rehearsal time. I was told that they would not allow me to book any rehearsal time at the venue until 14 days before the wedding. That window of time was too close for comfort, and we ended up scheduling our rehearsal at a separate venue to make everything work logistically. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, the Branford House manager told us that she would be present for the wedding to help answer questions as vendors were setting up. However, when we arrived at the venue, the manager introduced us to a new staff member who - while very kind - did not know where certain things were in the building when our vendors did have questions. All of that being said, Branford House was incredibly affordable and saved us a ton of money when it came to our wedding budget. But at the end of the day, I would have booked a different venue for a higher price if it meant getting more responsive and flexible service.

The Branford House is VERY beautiful and has an amazing location. If you get a good day as far as weather, which we did, it makes for the most gorgeous and relaxing wedding experience you can imagine. Unfortunately everything else about this venue is a problem. Staff were unresponsive and unhelpful. There is very little flexibility or understanding on any front. They have a requirement that you hire UConn Catering for any alcohol, and their service is very overpriced and lacking in selection. Again, it's very picturesque but I don't think I'd recommend it to a friend.

The person in charge of booking is absolutely terrible with responding to messages. I almost didn't think I was going to get my selected date or if the wedding was actually going to happen because she NEVER answers e-mails or messages.