Madigan's Waterfront

Madigan's was absolutely the best choice we made for our wedding. The location of Occoquan & the space itself are charming and MAGICAL, especially for a December wedding! The best part was that we knew everything was taken care of. Madigan's talked directly to guests with dietary restrictions day-of to ensure they understood their needs; they accommodated our different desires (absolutely NO liquor served; putting out hundreds of Christmas cookies at cocktail hour); & even had some extra touches that I really appreciated--like bringing my husband and I our wine of choice when we came into the reception, and Cathy coming up to us to decide when to transition to the next part of the reception. It really is an all-inclusive place! Cathy put me at ease every time I spoke with her. The day was exactly as we hoped it would be: intimate, joyful, and fun! Madigan's was first on my radar because my sister considered it as a wedding venue, but it was too small for her guest count. My husband and I wanted 120 people maximum, so Madigan's was the perfect choice. We ended up with about 110 people total, and the space was the perfect size: enough space for everyone, but intimate at the same time. There's no elevator to the upstairs space, but we didn't have any guests who had trouble with stairs. We could have gotten married at Madigan's (we decided on my childhood church instead); but after we left the ceremony, I knew I didn't have to worry about anything because Cathy was on top of it! Cathy Madigan is truly a seasoned event professional, and it showed through how she talked to us throughout the process of booking and planning our reception. I never had any doubt in her--I have two years of experience in the catering business, so I can tell when someone knows what they are talking about as relates to event planning. She always had a specific answer to every question, took clear notes on what we wanted, and didn't push back when we had made a decision on something--even when it wasn't what she would have chosen. The few stressful moments in working with Madigan's involved not hearing back from Cathy right away a few times; but every time we did reconnect, my worries disappeared again. It's important to keep in mind that Madigan's is a family-owned, full-service restaurant, not a catering company whose sole focus is wedding planning. BUT know that you will also get a full-service wedding! I didn't have to think about the decorations besides a few personal photos that we wanted to have on a 'Heritage Table.' As for room decor, they decorate the upstairs for Christmas--greenery, gold ornaments, and twinkle lights! Madigan's also provides table linens & centerpieces--all we had to do was choose what we wanted (I opted for the simple elegance of taper candles in hurricane globes). The food & cake were excellent! For dinner we chose the 'mock surf and turf' of chicken and stuffed flounder (a guest favorite!) w/ garlic mashed potatoes. Cathy's daughter Bailey is the cake master, so even cake was included in the base guest price (which BTW includes dinner, cake, decor, & the space itself). Madigan's also offers a DJ that they partner with; we brought in our own, and he had no issues--just had to come a little early to set up. In sum, I highly recommend Madigan's as a wedding reception venue! The price is right, the service & food are excellent, and the atmosphere is inviting. Thank you Cathy, Bailey, and the team for making our day all that we hoped for!

We thought it was perfect because of location, the surrounding town is beautiful, and it's an all-inclusive reception venue at a decent price. It all started when it was difficult to book a tour of the venue. I'm planning my wedding from out of state, so I can't just pop over one day to take a look. This takes weeks of pre-planning to make a 4+ hour drive and carve out time to do venue/vendor tours/meet and greets. We finally booked a visit date, and Cathy Madigan was late! We sat around for over 30 minutes because she was "running late". It sounded like she'd double/over booked that day. Then we finally saw the space and we fell in love. It was a great value for everything that is included, and we thought it was at a fantastic location for portraits, ease of our guests accessing the venue, etc… So, my fiancé and I deliberated after the visit and decided to go ahead and book. I contacted Cathy about a week or so later by email to tell her I am ready to book. No response. This went on for the majority of the month of June (initial contact was in March). I finally was able to get her to schedule a time with me to discuss the contract. She did not call me at the scheduled time (end of June), and instead called me an hour later. Says she was running late. I was in the middle of my work day. We agreed on a wedding/reception date, and she was willing to accommodate booking more than twelve months in advance. I told her I appreciate her being willing to be flexible and she said she’d email me a contract “that evening, or tomorrow morning at the latest. It's now September, and still no contract. I’ve wasted a lot of time (and travel/gas/hauling a toddler in a car) for a lot of disappointment. I’m not in the habit of writing this type of review, but it’s probably not typical for a prospective client to have to chase a vendor down to give them money and business. They’ve lost the business this prospective bride and groom.