Bretton Woods Recreation Center

I had a mostly great experience working with Bretton Woods. The day of my wedding went off flawlessly, with many staff members going out of their way to take care of us and polite and quick services throughout the day. The venue is beautiful and the food is amazing. Unfortunately, there was tremendous turnover leading up to my wedding. While I understand that this occurs in this industry, the communication during these transitions was poor and often non-existent. I had to make several calls only to be told that whoever I was previously working with no longer worked there. My day-of coordinator at the venue was not responsive leading up to the week of my wedding, which led my own coordinator and my mother to have to track her down repeatedly over email and phone. There was also multitudes of confusion regarding my menu and bar choices, as their packages changed and the paper copy I was given did not match the PDF file I was later sent. Due to the turnover I was also not given a final quote before we were billed after the wedding. In the end, my day was smooth, and the management was extremely accommodating and understanding when I reported errors in my bill and miscommunications prior to the day. I'm hoping that after my experience they have learned a lesson on how to properly communicate during times of turnover, as the venue is beautiful and there are so many positive things that came out of it.

I wish I was writing this review on better terms. Late 2018 I booked Bretton Woods for my wedding. Our first meeting was with Megan and she was a delight to work with. She was responsive and informative. She was the reason we went with this venue. They were flexible with our option to do outside catering (this has since changed). They worked with us on pricing to have our open bar charged per person as opposed to per consumption (they used to only do per consumption). Few months later I got an email from Megan announcing her departure with the country club and the introduction of Brittany who would be our day-of-coordination. While this was a little scary for me I gave Brittany a chance. Brittany was responsive and worked with us on getting our open bar pricing and setting up another tour with our florist. Fast forward few months later (6 months before my wedding, this is where my review will go south.) I emailed Brittany twice for an updated proposal reflecting the bar price change and go no response. I called Bretton Woods to find out she no longer worked there and to contact Brian, the catering manager). I emailed him, he forwarded my email for Jessica, the new coordinator (we are now 5 months out from my wedding). I asked her to schedule my rehearsal, asked for an updated proposal and offered to attach any necessary emails to get it done, and asked for the max capacity guest count for the space. Within 3 weeks, she told me on 2 different occasions she would get back to me the same day and did not. On the 4th week (4 months out from my wedding), I called Brian to see what was going on and let him know about the lack of responsiveness. He scheduled my rehearsal, answered my questions, and assured me HE would get me an updated proposal by the end of the day. 4 days passed and I got nothing. I wrote both him and Jessica letting them know I was unhappy with how I was being treated and how they were handling business. It wasn't until that email that I got my updated proposal just for it to be completely wrong and I was being charged MORE than double my original service fee. I was fed up as I had given them the proper information several times and I have offered to attach any necessary documentation for my bar services. I called and scheduled a meeting with the general manager (Ed) to ask for my deposit back. We was very nice and very remorseful that I was treated this way and offered to fix my proposal, and while I really appreciated his offer, I no longer feel that this team can smoothly execute my day and would rather not deal with the headache. I'm not sure what's going on at this venue and it really is a shame that this is the service the event and catering team thinks is appropriate. I understand it is a very busy time of year for them but this is no excuse. This is not their first wedding or first event held in the summer. We are really sad to let go of this beautiful venue but a beautiful venue does not make up for an excessive amount of stress and a tremendous day-of-wedding headache.

We are so grateful to Bretton Woods. They really made every effort to make our wedding go as well as possible and they provided a spectacular setting and amazing service for such an affordable price compared to all the other venues we looked at. Setting: We knew Bretton Woods was a beautiful location for our wedding as soon as we saw it, but on our wedding day (Sept. 3) we were blown away by how gorgeous everything was with minimal decoration. The ceremony site (the lawn in front of the pond) was so beautiful at 5 pm and not too big for our 55 person wedding (although it could definitely hold a larger wedding comfortably). We loved that we didn't need an arch because we centered our aisle on one of the two trees. The stone patio, where we had the cocktail hour, was perfect: spacious, beautifully built, and with gorgeous views of the gardens and golf course. And the ballroom, where we had dinner, was also beautiful, with its big fireplace and floor-to-ceiling windows that provided incredible views of the grounds and the sunset at 7:30. Service: Megan and Brittney were both so professional, accommodating, and hard-working. They acted as our wedding coordinators throughout the entire process, all the way until the end of the wedding. Bretton Woods definitely knows how to host an important event. They provided awesome patio furniture and everything else we needed (except decorations) and made everything go smoothly and professionally. They also let us drop off our decorations two days before, which was a huge help, and let us arrive at the venue hours before our rental time began to get dressed, set up our decorations, and have our family portraits taken. Food: Overall, the food was amazing and the drink selection was very good. Bretton Woods allowed us to customize the menu and made a big effort to get the food to turn out the way we wanted it. In everything they were extremely flexible and accommodating. We are so happy we had our wedding at Bretton Woods!

Our wedding day (9/27/14) couldn't have been any more perfect at Bretton Woods. Clubhouse manager, Kevin Kozak, is absolutely wonderful, helpful and delightful to work with. I cannot speak highly enough of Kevin and his staff. Kevin was very professional and responsive the entire time; he offered great ideas and suggestions which made wedding planning a lot easier and less stressful. The grounds of the venue and golf course are absolutely beautiful for an outdoor wedding. There are two gorgeous backdrops that provide just the perfect setting for an outdoor ceremony. You can choose to say your “I Do’s” under a pair of gorgeous trees or in front of a pond overlooking the golf course. We decided to hold our ceremony under the trees and it was absolutely beautiful. Unlike most hotel ballrooms which are boring, simple and lack that extra oomph, the Potomac Ballroom at BWRC offers a different experience; it has cathedral ceilings, large windows overlooking the golf course, decorative ledges and a fireplace with a mantle. Not to mention, most hotels and manors are extremely overpriced. We were so glad to have found a venue that offered beautiful grounds, spectacular views, and excellent service at a reasonable price. The venue is a little tucked in but accessible to major highways. It is off 495N on River Road (190) and just about 35-40 minutes from the DC/Northern VA area. We continue to receive several compliments from our guests about how excellent everything was; from the venue, the décor, the flowers, the service, and the food. Oh yes, the food. We had a plated dinner service and hors d'oeuvre passed during cocktail hour. We served the semi-boned chicken breast with roasted potatoes and asparagus to our guests for dinner and it was delicious. All in all it was a wonderful experience. My husband and I have nothing but positive things to say about Bretton Woods and manager Kevin Kozak. Please do yourself a favor and make sure you check out Bretton Woods if you’re looking for a venue. Highly recommended!