Merriweather Lakehouse

tion with a water view. Michelle and Bebe were incredible to work with throughout the planning process. They were flexible, patient, responsive, professional, and fun. Bebe went out of her way to arrange a special tasting time because my parents and my fiancé all lived out of the area at the time. Michelle was especially calm and flexible during the final two weeks before the event, which helped put me at ease. Ashley helped us with our room block, which needed some special coordination because about 70% of our guests were from out of town. She was also accessible and great to work with. The highlight of the facility is the lakeside patio, and it made for a lovely cocktail hour location. (One issue: I arrived late to the cocktail hour due to traffic and photos. I just wanted a glass of wine and to hear the band sing my favorite song, so I stayed on the porch with a few guests even though the captain had rushed most of the guests into the dining room. The captain then stood at the door ringing a bell during the entire song to get the rest of us inside. I understand that they were on a schedule to serve the meal, but I wish she had just talked to me instead!) The ballroom is pretty standard, but it worked well for the dinner and dancing. The food that came with our package was standard hotel wedding fare (chicken, fish, beef), but it was tasty! Our guests seemed to enjoy their stay at the hotel. My husband and I and our families all came in a few days early, and had a very pleasant extended stay. The staff was incredibly helpful and friendly! There were a few small hiccups (for example - the dance floor was coming up on one corner and had to be fixed while guests were waiting for us to enter the reception, and our bar ran out of one kind of beer), and I wish the coordination with the DJ would have been better during the actual event. However, the staff was very responsive when an issue arose and took care of it efficiently. I mention the small issues because no wedding is going to be perfect, but how the staff responds is what matters most, in my experience. The five stars are for the gorgeous location and the staff, who make this a very special place to have your reception!

door ceremony is a great location and setting with the trees and lake. The staff was pleasant and great. The food is DELICIOUS and great presentation and Bebe worked with us to get the menu we want. My steak was almost rare though the day of so I didn't eat any of it. We also didn't have any hors d'oeuvres brought to us from cocktail hour while having pictures. We've heard everything was great though.

tion service - and she did everything possible to make sure things went smoothly for us and our guests. The food was excellent. If you're looking for a place to hold your reception, you should consider the Sheraton.

LOVED my wedding and everything went so well that night but I did NOT like working with the catering coordinator there. She was not very helpful and only gave information if I explicitly asked for it and she constantly messed up the paperwork. I would say try Bebe (another staff member) instead.

y could have chosen a better venue so it's not just a hotel feeling. Beyond that things went as smooth as they could they did a nice job setting up and our guest raved about their food.

ators are very busy and may forget certain details that you had discussed.

ce most of the planning for me was done long distance. Highly recommend them.

and more up to date. Banquet managers and service is outstanding.

ony location is beautiful, our guests had a wonderful view of the lake and we took many pictures outside. The coordinator here, Bebe Miller, was super helpful throughout the whole process and gave us a lot of advice. We also had a banquet manager on the day of, Sandra, who was great and very attentive to our needs. The only reason for one star less is because we didn't opt to go with the hotel's food, not enough seasoning on the food for us BUT the hotel does allow outside catering which is great! Not many hotels allow that. And our guests had some issues with booking rooms initially but the hotel was very responsive to that and it was difficult because it was a holiday weekend. All in all, if we had to do it over, we would still have our wedding at this beautiful hotel. There aren't very many options for outdoor weddings in Maryland, ESPECIALLY, venues that have on-site lodging. This was what really convinced us that it was the right option.

mpliments on the food, service, and atmosphere!