Commander's Mansion

We loved our venue! Pros: -Gina and Tammy were AWESOME to work with and get 5 stars. - Beautiful space. The arbor is to die for for a ceremony and the indoor mansion is just gorgeous for pictures and getting ready -Convenient location x1000. Literally 5 minute walk to brand new hotel, restaurants and more. Our guests loved this. Also only 15 min drive to airport for out of town guests. Having ceremony, cocktail hour and reception in one spot is awesome. - Historic! There is such a cool history to the place and we loved that it didn’t feel like a cookie cutter event space. Also supporting local historical sites is cool. Things to keep in mind: -You must hire vendors and carry everything (tables, chairs, napkins, silverware, glasses, everything) in and out! We ended up with 20 or so different vendors. This was a lot of work, it adds up $, and can be stressful. -You only have 2 hours before and one hour after to get everything in and back out again. This can create quite the frenzy beforehand as your vendors have to do drop offs and all decorations must be done within that timeframe, and can cause confusion and missing items afterwards. Have a plan in place and have lots of people to help set up. Remind your friends they have to go get their things before the night is over. - This means you will NEED a day of coordinator at minimum , as you won’t have time to get ready AND set up AND get married all at once. (And your family and friends probably want to enjoy the hours leading up to the event as well) .A full wedding planner is what I would recommend. If you don’t want to do either, in my opinion, this is not your venue.

The Commander's Mansion was a wonderful choice for our venue. It's a gorgeous gem of a place, hidden away from the busyness of Arsenal street in a convenient and beautiful spot. Many of our guests were able to stay within walking distance, and were able able to experience Boston without the hassle of paying for a stay in the city while still having the opportunity to easily visit and explore it. Communication was a little difficult at first, especially as we started planning the wedding during 2020 COVID, when there was so much uncertainty and shifting regulations; I can't imagine how difficult this was to navigate for the wedding industry. However, when we had issues that mattered the staff-we worked with Gina specifically- was always quick and attentive in their replies. Communication only improved as we got closer to the wedding. She was amazing the week of the wedding and the day of- WOW. We felt so looked after, and I genuinely believe there were so many little but significant details that they attended to without any fuss that helped the day run smoothly. They were so sweet to my husband and I, as well as our wedding party, even with details such as ensuring we were well hydrated and asking how we were doing. They were eager to help from the moment we arrived from the ceremony, and so thoughtful yet non-intrusive with our guests. Nothing felt rushed or forced, which I've experienced at other weddings. I was also struck by how flexible while we were doing photos, giving us time, space and suggestions. We have so many amazing shots from that day thanks to our unique setting, both inside the mansions and on the ground. Our guests could not stop talking about how beautiful the location was. Their personalized attention and responsiveness made all the difference. They offered great advice when it came to picking caterers and other vendors as well. I am so thankful we had our reception here, and I would recommend the Mansion wholeheartedly. If you pick it, you won't regret your choice!

We loved our wedding at The Commander's Mansion! It was the perfect venue for us and allows so much variety to your day without ever leaving the location. We had our ceremony in the grape arbor (which yes, grows real grapes!), cocktails inside the house, and a tented patio reception. I worked mainly with Victoria, and she was great to work with! I always got a reply within 2-3 business days, and she was very professional and thorough in the process. Commander's is a city-owned property, so there are a few rules regarding use of the property that you should fully discuss with the staff to make sure you're okay with them (bar time limits, use of the lawn, etc.) However, being that it's city-owned, you can avoid many of the miscellaneous taxes and fees that come with other wedding venues, which saves you so much! Also they pitch the tent for the whole wedding season and only charge a use fee, which saves SO much money when looking at tented receptions. Commander's was by far one of the best valued venues I looked at in the Boston area. We loved how close it was to the city, which was perfect for our out of town guests (about 20 min from Logan), and there's a brand new Residence Inn essentially across the street. What I liked best about Commander's, was that you can pick your own vendors for almost everything. This helped us save a lot of money, while also choosing vendors that we connected more with. It does add a little more work to your plate as the bride (picking each vendor vs. having one chosen for you, such as catering), but I found it fun to meet with different vendors and sample food! Overall, we had a wonderful experience with Commander's and highly recommend them as a wedding venue.

It’s a lovely place for weddings. Our was during the winter and it was perfect.