I am so happy we chose Gertrude’s for our wedding reception. Emily, the venue coordinator, made the planning process so easy. She was always prompt and detailed with the informat...ion she provided, and graciously tolerated my 1-million questions. Since Gertrude’s is a restaurant you don’t have to worry about table linens, place settings, votive candles, chairs, etc… They have beautiful, crisp white linens for all of the dining & cocktail tables - you are only responsible for the the banquet tables & specialty tables - which is a fun way to bring a pop of color into the decor. They also have cafe lights strung in the tented terrace where the band, dance floor, a handful of tables, and an additional bar is set up; as well as having magical strands of twinkle lights draping from the large picture window separating the restaurant from the tented terrace. These make for a great backdrop for photos (comment from my photographers) and give the space an elegant feel. There is also a beautiful fountain in the upper garden terrace, and you can rent hurricane candles to add a bit of twinkle to the ambiance. As the bride & groom, an attendant is assigned to you for the evening. Let me tell you how incredible this is - we didn't have to think. Our attendant always made sure we had a fresh cocktail, while we were taking photos during cocktail hour she made sure to bring us plates of the passed hors d’oeuvres so we could nibble, and when dinner was announced she made plates for us so by the time we got to our table we had dinner ready for us. That brings me to the food! Oh my gosh, the food! If you have never eaten at Gertrude’s you are missing out on a Baltimore gem! The food was absolutely outstanding! We got compliment after compliment - there is truly something for everyone. This is also where Emily and her expertise come in. As a couple, you go through their catering menu and pick your ideal menu selections and send it to Emily. She gives you the per/guest cost and any recommendations needed to bring it within your budget, and you tweak from there. Then the fun part, the menu tasting! The open bar option is also a great deal and reasonably priced. Emily also provides you with a list of vendors who have worked with Gertrude’s in the past. We chose Local Color Flowers (AMAZING) and used Table Toppers for the specialty linens. (Side note: our ceremony ended up being on the BMA portion of the upper sculpture garden, but you can have your ceremony at Gertrude’s as well. The rain plan for us would have been to have the ceremony in the tented terrace). If you want a beautiful unique setting and don’t want to juggle a bunch of vendors, Gertrude’s is your one-stop shop!