The Prospect Park Boathouse Reviews

The Prospect Park Boathouse is a stunning wedding venue. As soon as we saw photos of the boathouse while shopping for a wedding venue we fell in love. Seeing it in person only solidified our decision to choose the Boathouse for our wedding. Our guests were equally impressed, one of which described it as "the most scenic and beautiful wedding" she had ever been to. We had our ceremony outside in front of the lake. During the ceremony passersby gathered on the bridge across the way and clapped along with our guests at the end of the ceremony. One of the viewers even took photos from the bridge and sent them to the Boathouse for us to have! It really felt like a classic Brooklyn moment! It was also a pleasure to work with Purslane. The food was delicious and the staff were all fantastic! We were concerned about there only being two bathrooms, but with 120 guests the bathrooms were not an issue.

The Prospect Park Boathouse is an iconic NYC venue and the idyllic settings makes you feel like you're a worlds away from the city in the middle of Brooklyn. The beauty of it alone was enough to justify selecting it as our venue but it was amazing to have such an incredible team and caterer behind the venue. We worked with Kendra and Kendall throughout the process and everything went as seamlessly as we could have hoped, and beyond. We booked the raw bar which everyone loved and we did family style catering. We received lots of praise about how good the food was and how incredible the night was overall.

We live in the same neighborhood as the Prospect Park Boathouse, and so we had happened upon so many Boathouse weddings over the years that when it came time to choose our own wedding venue we naturally thought of the Boathouse. Getting married in what felt like our own backyard with Purslane running the show was truly one of the best decisions we ever could have made for our wedding. We worked with both Kendra and Kendall for our April 14, 2023 wedding and had a great experience being taken through the planning process, from signing the initial contract to seeing Kendall execute our vision on wedding day. One of the best things about Purslane at the Boathouse is the included rentals package: picking menu selections as well as details like linen color all in one place made the planning process so easy. The venue itself is absolutely gorgeous, and we loved that we could make the final call on a rain plan the morning of the wedding. Considering we got married in the unpredictable month of April, that gave us so much peace of mind. The food was absolutely delicious, and when we had some special requests around the groom’s mom’s food preferences, Kendall and her team worked with us to ensure we’d have an inclusive menu that made everyone happy. The catering team on wedding day went above and beyond, even helping the bride hide from the groom before our first look (LOL) and helping provide ice water to the bridal party on our hot wedding day while we were taking photos. We truly felt like we were in such good hands with Purslane, and all our guests absolutely raved about the beauty of the venue. We’ll cherish our photos and memories in this iconic building forever, and we love that we can always come visit on one of our neighborhood walks or even years from now, when we feel like reminiscing. All said, Purslane worked seamlessly with the rest of our vendor team to make our vision of a perfect wedding day come to life. You can’t go wrong with a Prospect Park Boathouse wedding!

The Boathouse is such a magical venue that would have been a great wedding even if Purslane's catering and service wasn't exceptional. Luckily for us, it was, and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. We felt well taken care of throughout the process (thanks Gina!) and many of our guests commented on how good the food was.

The Boathouse is just a spectacular place to get married. Everything about it makes it special - the history, architecture, location. We loved that people on the bridge watched our ceremony; it made us feel a part of the park and the city. There were some staffing hiccups with Purslane because of covid, but we ultimately worked with Gina, who was fantastic. Purslane was super flexible with floor plans, florals, candles, timing, sound/musician set up, so it was easy to customize. The day went exactly how we pictured it.

We couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous looking venue. Everything came together beautifully. Purslane and the Boathouse worked with us on a special wine selection. We also asked if we could have add some Latin flare to our menu which they also did for us. The staff was responsive and worked well with our vendors and coordinator. If you want a classic venue and amazing photos this is the place. Our wedding was July 2022.

We greatly recommend Purslane and the Boathouse & Audubon Center @ Prospect Park for your wedding. The Boathouse is a natural gem and you can hardly beat the magical scenery of the Boathouse right on the lake in beautiful Prospect Park. Purslane is a fantastic caterer both in terms of delicious, natural food and in being environmentally friendly with a zero-waste, carbon-neutral policy. The team works perfectly hand in hand and it was a great pleasure to work with Kendra who initiated the entire planning and booking with us, and Rebecca and her team, who planned and orchestrated all details of our final event to perfection.
Our wedding at the Boathouse was a huge success with unforgettable memories. All worked out as we wished and we thank the entire Boathouse and Purslane team around Rebecca and Kendra for making this happen!
We wholeheartedly recommend them for your big day!

Purslane was the perfect catering company an vendor for our wedding at The Prospect Park Boathouse. They were quick to respond to all questions and created a private tasting session due to the schedule of my partner and I. We enjoyed every step of working with them. We had an idea to have a certain "event/catering activation" added to the day and they were willing to work with the vendor that we picked and figure out the logistics to make sure we had the two elements added and it was seamless. The day-of was seamless from the serving, to the bar setups and to the food that was incredible! We could not have gotten a more perfect catering company and venue to have our wedding!

The Prospect Park Boathouse really speaks for itself. It's a gorgeous venue in the heart of Brooklyn. My husband and I really liked that the venue fee would go to helping the park, not making a wedding corporation richer. We also really liked that the catering and bar package were included with our booking at the boathouse. It made planning easier and more seamless. We would definitely recommend having your wedding here!

We loved working with Purslane. We got married at The Boathouse at Prospect Park, where Purslane is the default caterer. We went with Purslane because we wanted a stress free wedding that the majority of things were included since we weren't hiring a wedding planner, and that's what Purslane delivered. The team was very communicative and even helped us get our timeline in order. If you are looking for a low stress wedding, definitely consider getting married at The Boathouse. Purslane handled all of the rentals - we just had to make decisions about food, linens, plateware, chairs, etc. The venue itself is incredible and speak for itself - you really don't need that many decorations because the Boathouse photographs beautifully without them. We had a hiccup with the final bill, but everything was eventually sorted out and they were responsive and easy to work with.

Working with Purslane, and especially with Machaela and Justin, was a highlight of our wedding planning, and we feel incredibly lucky to have had such excellent partners in producing our event. The staff, especially Machaela and Justin, are responsive, friendly, accommodating, and professional; the space is gorgeous and beautifully maintained and operated; the food and drink were bountiful and delicious, and the service rivaled any of New York’s fine restaurants. Best of all, the process of collaborating to make our wedding happen was easy and fun, and Machaela and Justin made us, the nervous engaged couple with a million things to manage, very confident that our day would not just go as planned, but would be a beautiful success. And indeed it was!

Of all the people we worked with. Machaela and Justin deserve special mention. They are excellent communicators, responsive to the million questions and people that wedding planning entails. They are proactive collaborators, laying out a clear process and schedule not just for the day, but for the process of working to plan it. They provided useful, detailed documentation at every step of the way, including a very helpful list of recommended vendors. Every meeting with them was fun and friendly, but also productive, punctual and a good use of time. And of course, the food and wine tastings were delicious.

Machaela and Justin were so helpful in giving us a sense of how the venue would perform in a situation we wouldn’t get to experience until the day itself. They guided us expertly, making shrewd suggestions we might not have considered (“Since you have an open bar, we recommend choosing a heavier vegetarian entree.”) My wife and I had a unique vision for our event, and these two not only assured us that it was possible, they worked with the park to accommodate myriad details, even down to the selection of lightbulbs. It’s no exaggeration to say that without their help, the event would not have had the specific atmosphere we imagined, nor would it have been the roaring success that it was.

All the confidence they inspired along the way paid off on the day, when Machaela, Justin, and their staff were a machine. The service was prompt, helpful, and invisible; the food was great, not losing too much in the translation from tasting to event; the wedding ran perfectly smoothly, with Purslane on top of the schedule, keeping the momentum of the night alive as they moved tables, served each course, operated the bars, and so on with perfect cadence.

We are so, so grateful to Purslane for making our wedding a true dream come to life. Our only regret is not responding sooner to their lovely post-wedding thank you note, and for taking so long to write this review! To you recently-engageds with so many decisions to make, let me help you with this one: your search is over; just hire Purslane.

Photos by Sarah Kuszelewicz, flowers by Grace + Grit.

Alexandra and the Purslane team exceeded our expectations and helped us throw the most amazing wedding! My husband and I were impressed with how organized and thoughtful the Purslane team is. They were incredibly responsive and ensured that no detail was left behind. The venue itself is gorgeous, and Alexandra knows the Boathouse inside and out. With her help, we were able to really let the architecture shine and had a seamless experience coordinating all park-related logistics. Alexandra and her team have strong relationships with other vendors (flowers, music, etc.) that led us to work with other amazing local individuals who were also familiar with the venue. The Purslane catering team created a delicious and unique menu for our guests and everyone was raving about the food the next day. We had such a wonderful experience planning our wedding with Alexandra and the Purslane team. The team took the time to get to know us and understand the type of party we wanted to throw, and they helped us create a wedding that was truly “us.” We wish we could do it all over again!

We can’t say enough good things about the Purslane team, especially Alex, with whom we worked incredibly closely with. My husband and I decided to get married much sooner than we had planned on due to my mother’s health, leaving us with only one month to plan our wedding start to end. We reached out to the Prospect Park Boathouse and were on the phone discussing details with Alex within 30 minutes. After meeting Alex in person a few days later to walk through the venue together, we were ready to sign the contract.

The Purslane team was accommodating at every step. We had originally estimated 85 guests but ended up with over 100, and they had no issues pulling this off. Everyone on the Purslane team was easy to work with and far exceeded our expectations. The team was involved in every detail of the day, beyond just the food, and played an integral part in making sure everything went as planned on our big day. We felt comfortable putting all of our trust in Alex and the team to make sure we had the wedding we always wanted, despite our circumstances. They advised on the menu, set up (chairs, table layouts, etc.), the general flow of the evening, and much more. The team made sure my mom was comfortable all night, which was so important to me and my husband. They were in contact with all of our vendors and were a great resource when it came to choosing vendors to work with. Their great reputation and connections in the industry made everything so much easier for us.

We got so many compliments on the food and had friends asking about our caterer immediately after our wedding.They accommodated the many dietary restrictions and allergies of our guests without comprising the taste of any of the food.

We can’t recommend Purslane highly enough! You definitely won’t regret hiring them for your wedding - it was the easiest decision we made in our planning.

My husband and I married at The Boathouse in prospect Park on June 11th 2016. The venue is amazing and full of character and history. Our ceremony was on the dock at 6pm and we partied inside and out until 11pm. The food, exclusively catered by The Movable Feast is excellent. We chose to splurge and upgrade on allot of the appetizer and dinner options and include a seafood table and an antipasto table. The open bar was stocked with top shelf liquor. All glasswear/cutlery/delph were provided by The Movable Feast and we had different options to choose from at our tasting, where they had a mock table set up. We also upgraded to chiavari chairs at $10 each. We had 80 guests, some of which were elderly and cannot walk far - this was not an issue at the boathouse and Yoriko (the boathouse/movable feast coordinator) did everything in her power to make everyone feel right at home. Yoriko is your go-to person for everything 'boathouse' and you could not be in better hands. It's not inexpensive to have a wedding at the boathouse but the reason you're having a wedding there is because you want unique, right!? Unique doesn't come cheap and the boathouse is one venue that you and your guests will never forget, paired with fantastic food. The parking and the path to the boathouse is a little rough, so be prepared. Maybe a cute favor would be a flashlight :) Corey & Irene Pugliese

We had an absolutely phenomenal wedding here on 5/29/2016. I cannot say enough positive things about the venue itself, Yoriko, Ryan, and the Movable Feast staff. The service was top-notch, what you'd hope for at an excellent NYC restaurant. Our guests raved about the food, the view, the bar—everything. If the Boathouse is a consideration for you and you can afford it (it's not outrageous, but it's not budget-friendly either), please do it! Words cannot express how impressed we were with literally everything. But it wasn't just us: Our guests have called the wedding "perfect," "unique," "tastefully done," "delicious," "stunning," to list off just a few of the compliments we received.

We were so lucky to get the Boathouse in Prospect Park for our wedding. And even luckier to have Yoriko and the very professional and cheerful catering team at Movable Feast help us put together and execute a gorgeous wedding. The setting was lovely, the food was delicious (we received many compliments on the steak and cake especially (red velvet)!), and the staff just wonderful--from keeping the candles lit during dinner to their unfailing courtesy to the guests. It was a very stressful day for us (as i'm sure it is for many brides and grooms), but they all took such great care of so many details that we enjoyed ourselves much more than we would have imagined, given all the competing demands! A pleasure to work with from start to finish--Yoriko and the entire Movable Feast team get huge thanks and kudos from us.

The Movable Feast crew headed up by Ellen and Jackson did an amazing job on every aspect of the wedding planning process from decorations to table settings, lighting, and food. They are sweet, kind, accessible and flexible, and make a potentially stressful process for brides an absolute breeze. Ellen and Jackson made me feel at home during every meeting. They worked with me to put together a delicious menu that our guests adored, and helpfully added some modified selections for family members with special food needs. All around a fantastic group to work with!

Getting married at the Prospect Park Boathouse was a dream come true. Marrying the love of my life would have been a beautiful milestone in life no matter where it had happened, but being able to host our friends and family at such an iconic, idyllic location on our special day really made it feel like we had “arrived” in life. It is something that we will never forget, and many of our guests remarked that ours was the most beautiful wedding they had ever attended.

Alexandra with Purslane and the entire team at the PPBH made our experience of planning and getting married an absolute breeze. Apart from the beautiful venue and grounds, a few moments stand out as examples of excellent service. First, as I was debating the order of the dances, they suggested for us to have our first dance on the patio, which worked out beautifully with the setting sun. Secondly, the food and drinks were delicious and accommodated all of our guests' food allergy/issues! Lastly, when the water pressure at the park was suddenly low due to a water main break, they speedily communicated and brought in a backup plan - renting a luxury bathroom unit - without ever causing an alarm to us! Alexandra and her team's professionalism, communication, and experience with events really shined through. The big plus is that the venue is a beautiful historical building that now serves good (Audubon Society) and I had so many guest compliments to how beautiful and awing the space is.

I would describe this venue and our experience as magical. It’s not cheap but the experience you receive mostly reflects the high value. The water backdrop is serene and the high ceiling interior is classic. Our guests raved about the venue. We are grateful that we chose the Boathouse at Prospect Park for our wedding venue. We plan to go back and visit every year to relive the magical memories.

The Boathouse is a dream venue. My husband and I got married in October 2022 and we knew this was the only venue we wanted to have our reception. The architectural details are stunning and it was the perfect size for our 80-90 person wedding. They handled all of our requests with very quick responses and a willingness to meet our ideas. We had both a DJ and a Band and they all fit perfectly in the space beneath the stairs while leaving ample space for a dance floor. We worked with Gina who was the absolute best, but she, unfortunately, left Purslane before our wedding so she was not there for our special day. She went above and beyond to accommodate any requests we had and even found ways we could be efficient and save some money. Our only feedback is that we had a sweetheart table and Purslane provided a floor plan with four tables on either side, centering the sweetheart table. We discovered just before our room reveal that only three tables fit on one side, five on the other. Our planner, Cherish Events, jumped right on it so that our two family tables were still the closest to us, but it required a bit of last-minute maneuvering of table names and namecards. Word of advice to brides+grooms is to double check these things! We also had three different points of contact from Purslane during our wedding planning process, making it feel slightly impersonal. They were all EXCELLENT and very professional, but it was difficult to catch up and get to know a new person each time. All that said, the Boathouse staff and Purslane catering were top-notch service and the food was delicious. We found out later that the security also escorted some of our guests back up to the loop to where their cars were parked - an additional level of service we greatly appreciated and didn't ask for!

My husband and I loved the venue. Our goal for the wedding: Do as little wedding planning as possible. We were able to do that with the Audubon Boathouse. We loved the historic feel of it, the fact that it is in one of the most beautiful parks in Brooklyn (and really in New York City), the scale and intimate feel of it - it was perfect for our wedding size of 75 guests.

Some people might not like the bird theme - some of it is not removeable, but we figured that the kids would enjoy it. It's a perfect space for 70 - 90 guests and you can rent a tent if you want to squeeze in more people, but you kind of lose the indoor / outdoor aspect of the space. Because of the natural beauty of the building, we really didn't have to do any decorating - we brought in some flowers for the tables, but that was pretty much it. So, on the day of - we had very little to have to do in terms of decorating - I hate decorating and I had enough to deal with on the wedding day. This was huge.

Also, venue does come with the parking lot was maybe a 5 minute walk (Not the Wollman Rink location, but not too bad of a walk). We didn't have too many guests that drove - most took the subway, but free parking in a New York City venue, it was pretty rare to have that feature, so that definitely saved guests money because they didn't have to pay $20 - 30 for parking for a 4 - 5 hour event! The subway is pretty easy to get to there, the only sligiht problem is that we should have called for a local car service and had that set up for late that evening as people departed. Oh well.

I was originally not thrilled that we didn't have much choice with the catering option, but I ended up being very pleased by the service provided by Movable Feast. All-in, the price was about as good as you can get in NYC - you could pay less, but you pay for what you get - i.e. if you're paying less, you're probably getting less for the money. I'm a big foodie, but the fact of the matter is that you are never going to get a four star meal at a wedding venue. It's just not going to happen - anytime you have to feed more than 20 people all at the same time, it's never going to end up as good as being able to feed 4 people at the same time. Nonetheless, I thought the food was perfectly fine - it doesn't compare to some four star meals that I've had at some of NYC's finest restaurants, but nothing will. The best wedding food I had was at a wedding that had fourteen guests. But more important, the service was very good. Service was professional, timely and I was very pleased.

We got married at the Boathouse on September 16th. On July 18, we received word that Movable Feast, the exclusive caterer to the Boathouse, was MIA. That's not exactly the news you want as a bride less than two months out from your wedding day. It was a crisis, but it was a crisis that the team at the Prospect Park Alliance, which owns and operates the Boathouse, handled as well as could be expected. As far as I've heard, every single wedding went out without a hitch, despite the fact that the venue had to find a new caterer for dozens of couples so last minute.

We thank the Prospect Park Alliance for making our wedding happen, because at the end of the day, this really was the best venue for my husband and I as a couple. It's gorgeous, it has character and history, and the rental fee is incredibly reasonable for New York.

If you've heard about the catering situation and were thinking of looking elsewhere, don't. You are in capable hands with the Prospect Park Alliance team and with the new caterer, Bon Soir.

PS - We were told the space can seat up to 150 for dinner, and we originally thought we'd have about that many. We ended up with 131 (11 12-person tables + a sweetheart table) and I really can't imagine fitting more people in there! In fact, if you want a sweetheart table, you can't have more than 11 tables, so no more than 132 guests (or 134, counting the bride and groom).

Booking Prospect Park was a easy choice for us. Everything is packaged here, but it's a good package not like a hotel wedding package. The food, alcohol, CAKE, rentals (ie. table cloth & chairs), and services are ALL included in the price. If you have little time and only want to focus on small things that make the place unique, this place is perfect. There's indoor and outdoor options, boat rides and a historic building. Moveable Feast is the dedicated and only catering service allowed. Personally, I had a great time working with them though I don't think I was a pushy pushy bride. I just emailed them a list of questions in the beginning, middle and before. A lot of it is trusting your vendor to do the right thing and we did. Food and service was above average I think.