We had our dream wedding weekend at Airlie and would do it all over again with them. Airlie has so many amazing things that make it worth it, but they do have some room to grow- if they do, they could really be one of the top wedding venues in ...the DMV.
Pros:
-Absolutely gorgeous, unique grounds: 300 acres of land with rolling green hills, tons of trees framing the venue everywhere, and many different lovely gardens. It feels like you're at an elegant "summer camp" with so many beautiful areas to explore. We and our guests loved the natural beauty of Airlie.
-Amazing in-house catering: Airlie's food is unparalleled for a wedding- it is absolutely delicious and so many of our guests said it was "the best wedding food" they'd ever had. Every single steak and piece of salmon was cooked perfectly. I also have to mention how incredible they were in catering to my groom and his family's many food allergies. No one got sick and the food tasted wonderful. So grateful for their food allergen accommodations!
-All inclusive venue: Airlie provides a ceremony and reception site, bridal/groom's suites, rehearsal dinner site, tables/chairs/linens, and tableware.
-Lodging on-site: You and your guests can stay at Airlie in their 4 different (cute and updated) lodging buildings! This made everything so easy and fun for everyone. They offer a (small) room block discount as well.
-Awesome service: Throughout our weekend, the staff was so accommodating to everyone. Between golf cart/car shuttles for guests at night within a few minutes notice to their lodging buildings, to friendly and helpful check-in staff/catering managers, to great wait staff during the wedding meal, Airlie's staff was so awesome in making sure everyone had a great experience.
-Lovely attached Harry's bar/restaurant: We used Harry's 3 times over the wedding weekend and were so happy with our choice every time. We hosted our welcome gathering the night before outside at Harry's and everyone loved the indoor/outdoor feel with the pretty lake view, string lights, and spacious seating. We hosted our afterparty at Harry's after the wedding and the staff was SO accommodating in keeping the bar open longer than we had planned for, as we had so many guests that wanted to keep the party going. The drinks were also on point. The last thing we hosted at Harry's was a pay-for brunch the morning after- the food was so delicious and again, the scenery was awesome to enjoy while wishing everyone off. It was so nice to have this spot to use the whole weekend.
Cons:
-Somewhat unorganized communication from (Airlie) coordinators/staff: so much to say here. Initially, our Airlie coordinator was very unresponsive and I was worried about this as clearly they were understaffed. Mid-way through the process, we were put with a new coordinator. She was much more responsive throughout the whole process and answered all questions and emails very quickly. Thank goodness! There definitely was a lack of communication in important, big points that easily could have been initially communicated- we had to last-second change our wedding timeline as we were not aware that the reception had to end at 11pm due to county noise ordinance. Many other similar details were communicated somewhat poorly. Either the staff is frequently turned over and unfamiliar with many of the Airlie standards, or Airlie frequently changes their standards and does not clearly communicate these to their staff...or both! We were also somewhat disappointed in our coordinator during our final walkthrough 23 days before the big day- she clearly had no idea what she was doing and our outside coordinator had to lead the show. Very little direction from her about how things would go on the day and what to keep in mind. We were also never shown the rain plan sites. Completely unorganized.
-Somewhat inflexible wedding weather plan: We had a late June wedding and there were spotty thunderstorms throughout the weekend (luckily no downpours). Airlie was great at being flexible in the weather call/plan for our rehearsal dinner and we ended up being able to have it outside as planned in the Organic Garden, which was so beautiful. However, on our wedding day, the wedding call had to be made at 11am, when the radar was changing by the minute for our 5pm ceremony time. We ended up making the call for an indoor ceremony to prevent any potential chaos in having a stormy outdoor ceremony. I do think we made the right call, but that call could have been different and changed to our originally planned garden ceremony had we been able to make that call 2 hours later. It didn't end up storming or raining during our ceremony, which was somewhat infuriating. But, it possibly ended up being a blessing in disguise for our guests being comfortable in the AC (so humid out).
-Expensive extra add-ons that should be included with their hefty fee: Airlie charges big fees for any add-ons, such as doing a signature cocktail, dinner wine service, etc. The biggest annoyances for us were having to pay multiple hundreds for a CAMPFIRE (we don't regret it since everyone really enjoyed sitting around the fire in adirondacks at night) when we easily could have set it up ourselves as well as the short bar time. The bar package only includes 4 hours of bar time. If you use this during cocktail hour, that leaves 3 hours for the reception, which is obviously not enough time. The package really should be 5 hours. We ended up having to pay a premium to extend the bar time that should have been initially included. We also paid $10/person (so high for what we got- this should have been more like $5/person) to add on a chips/guacamole/salsa package for our afterparty that definitely was meagerly portioned. We got 40 portions and it felt more like 20.
-Hit or miss recommended vendors: We ended up using some of Airlie's recommended vendors (florals, coordination, cake), but some are not ideal. One of their top recommended photographers that has a great portfolio lives in CO and was not available.
-Some areas that need updates: Most of Airlie's outside grounds and charming inside buildings are cute and up to date. However, I definitely noticed some areas that needed an update, especially for what they charge for weddings. This included the Spanish Steps- some of the white paint is chipping away, as well as some of the indoor rooms needing a refresh in flooring. For example, our plan B ceremony weather site in the Jefferson room would be so much prettier with hardwood flooring rather than the "meh" brown carpeting they have in there currently.
-Lackluster bridal and groom's suites: The bridal suite is really not a bridal suite and totally unacceptable to be used as one. There is no changing area, so it is assumed that all of the ladies will be changing in front of one another. There is also only 1 bathroom. The room totally lacks any aesthetic for "getting ready" photos and the furniture in there is totally outdated. Airlie, do better on this. Change your bridal suite to one of the many nice rooms in the Airlie house or update the Old Post. Additionally, the groom's suite (again, really can't call it that) is a totally lackluster room in the Airlie house that doesn't even have a changing area for the men. No private bathroom. So they have to meet there already changed in a boring, ugly, small room. Again, the Fox's Den needs to be thoroughly updated or move the groom's suite to one of the many nice rooms in the Airlie house. The photographer had to move all of them to a better location for "getting ready" shots.
-Unenthused bartenders: The bartenders in Harry's are so awesome. But, the bartenders at our wedding were....very unenthused. When the bride goes up to get a drink, the bartenders should put on a happy, high energy. I went up to a bartender who just kept a flat face/tone that came off as "you're bothering me" and when I asked for a very common cocktail combination, he looked annoyed and I had to explain what went into it. Airlie bartenders, you need to act like all the other amazing service/staff and exude good energy AND know your cocktails! Paying for the bar/drinks is not cheap, and my guests should not have to explain what goes into drink if all of the liquors and mixers are available!
-Confusing and very expensive brunch at Harry's: All of my guests at brunch the next day thought the brunch was on us because of the confusing operation: They went into Harry's, saw an open spread, and no one explained to them the cost or collected $ up front. Afterwards, $ was collected, which was to their surprise and awkward for us. Harry's, please have guests pay for their brunch as they come in. And please do not heckle the bride and groom for their breakfast vouchers.
My best advice to future couples is to make sure you hire an outside coordinator that is familiar with Airlie- this is absolutely the most important, vital hire in making sure your wedding weekend goes smoothly. Airlie is fantastic but the organization/small details can be missed on their end, so your coordinator should be someone that can pick up the pieces for you to prevent stress on your big day.