Patina Events at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Do yourself a favor and don't book this venue for your wedding. It's not worth the headache. I got married here about 2 weeks ago. When I booked this venue, I was told by my venue coordinator (William) at the time that I had a choice of 3 gardens for my ceremony location. I emailed and spoke on the phone with 4 other people at this organization in regards to choosing a ceremony location and set up throughout the months leading up to the weddingand was always told to put off making a decision about which garden I wanted until a week before the wedding. Fast forward to 1 week before my wedding at my final walkthrough when they tell me that actually, they misspoke and I could only get married in the amphitheater garden. Charlotte (my new venue coordinator?) Said she apologized and would talk to William about this. Except for the fact that William didn't even work here anymore! He'd been promoted to another position and was no longer working as a venue coordinator. Then she said: isn't it good that you're finding out now instead of on the morning of? This issue was eventually resolved with help from my day of coordinator who I hired separately, but was definitely not what I needed 1 week before the wedding. I also had no idea who to contact with questions. My first venue coordinator (William) was promoted about 6 months before my wedding. I them spoke to Jeffrey, who ended up going out on leave due to a family medical emergency. But NO ONE told me he was going out on leave. They said he was not there for the rest of the week because of a family emergency about 2 months before my wedding. Then no one reached out at all. In the meantime, I sent countless emails to him with no response. Finally, I was able to get in touch with Ashley who made an appointment for my tasting 1 month prior to my wedding. At this time, I was still told that Jeffrey would be there at the tasting to answer any questions. When I arrived at the tasting, the coordinator there introduced himself as Matthew and said Jeffrey was indefinitely out on leave and that Charlotte was taking over and to reach out to Charlotte with questions. This was my first time even hearing her name and was never given any of her contact information. There was no apology from anyone I had been in contact with and no one has reached out to me at all about this. The day of the wedding, I didn't meet my bridal attendant until 2 hours arrival. My coordinator asked if she could help me with my train while we were talking pre ceremony pictures. She said she was needed inside the venue. I don't know what she was doing because there were other staff members there setting up and it was going to be at least an hour before guests started arriving. The ceremony location in the Osbourne garden was beautiful, but the ground was muddy from rain 2 days before. There was also a very muddy crater in the pathway of the wedding aisle. No one from the venue offered to help with this issue. My coordinator and groomsmen moved all the chairs themselves so the wedding party wouldn't trip or get stuck. The food was decent, although the portions were small and very very pricey. And the outdoor locations were beautiful, although I almost didn't get to use them. All in all, I had a nice wedding, but it was incredibly expensive and way more stressful than it was supposed to be. I'm really glad I hired my own day of coordinator.

I attended a wedding at this venue in 2022. Unfortunately, my purse was stolen at the event. I was able to track the location from the venue @ 2 AM --> someone's house before the phone was shut off. I filed a report with the police who said it is the venue's responsibility. Unfortunately, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens event team, security staff, and others all were extremely unhelpful and did not take any responsibility, or offer assistance in seeing if any vendors hired that night lived at the address the phone went to. The BBG team was initially responsive then ignored my request for help. When I talked w the police again, they said this is a REPEATED issue with the venue. They had just arrested someone from BBG 1 week prior for stealing guest item(s) during an event. Take caution in using this venue - as a guest, I was wholly displeased with their professionalism and responsiveness.

We loved our wedding at the Palm House in May 2022! We knew we wanted to get married here as soon as we toured the venue, and we’re so glad it worked out. We ended up having to execute our rain plan on the day of, and it was truly just as beautiful as if we had done the ceremony + cocktail hour outdoors. Our guests thought the venue was so special and everyone loved the food! A wedding here is also easy because you don’t need to rent tables, linens, lighting, etc - and the (beautiful and delicious) wedding cake is included in the catering package, which is a nice touch. Our one issue was responsiveness leading up to the event; perhaps the team is understaffed, but we (and our planner) had a lot of trouble getting in touch with our contacts at the venue, even as close as 1-2 weeks from the wedding day. This created a fair amount of stress as we had a lot of basic - but important - questions that needed to be answered. Everyone we dealt with was very nice, but I’d expect a quicker level of responsiveness given the importance of this vendor as part of your overall wedding day, and not to mention the price!

Everything was just as we'd imagined it! The venue itself is breathtaking on its own, but the staff and attention to detail truly put it over the top. We had our ceremony and reception at the Palm House and coordinated with William. The email response rate was a bit slow at time, but in the end everything turned out wonderfully. The waitstaff during the ceremony were exceptional and we received a number of compliments from our guests! William was helpful and communicative throughout the evening so we always knew what to expect though didn't feel burdened or worried at all. I wish the night hadn't gone so quickly, but it was magical nonetheless.

The food was great and the venue was beautiful. Our contact was changed in the middle of the pandemic though, and the new person (Charlotte) felt very inexperienced and was not easy to get responses from. She lost our notes from the tasting and then tried to gaslight us into thinking we didn't bring up the concerns we had at the time. They were supposed to provide day of event coordination, but Charlotte seemed to only coordinate with the vendors and did not help with getting speeches going, timing when the dances should go, or making sure that the takeaway snacks and gifts went out. If you want to book this venue getting a separate day of coordinator is essential- Charlotte will not perform up to standards.

I'm planning on getting married Spring/ Summer 2022 so I'm in the process of finding a venue. After an initial email providing basic information, I sent a reply with follow up twice and have received radio silence for 2 months now. Seems this will not be my venue.

Worst experience ever! I originally booked the venue for our Jun, 2020 wedding but decided to cancel it because I really hate their attitude. I really like the garden atmosphere that's why I picked BBG, but starting from the beginning, I noticed it was not pleasant working with them: 1) Right after we signed the contract, I noticed our contact Victoria became very irresponsive, so we reached out to her manager and requested that we want to change a new contact person. The manager just directly told Victoria our complaint and we had to continue to work with Victoria. 2) This year due to COVID, we got a new contact person Bonnie. She's responsive but not professional. When we decided to postpone our wedding, she told us wrong dates both in call and in email. After A WEEK we decided the new date and told all of our vendors, Bonnie finally realized the date was booked! She was reluctant to give us discount because of her mistake (she gave us something around $500 in value...), so eventually we decided to cancel the wedding. Such a disaster!

My daughter loved the Garden atmosphere, and wanted her wedding in Brooklyn, so we chose the Palm House at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The Patina contact, Victoria, was easy to work with, and we contracted for May 22, 2020. Unfortunately, the wedding was called off, and we had to cancel the event. When I formally informed Patina of the cancellation, October 8th (more than 6 months before the event), they refunded a portion of our deposit as per the contractual agreement. In my conversation with them, they assured me that if they were able to rebook the date, they would consider some additional refund of the remaining deposit (over $11K). At this time, the date has been rebooked, and they have informed me that since they had to "compromise" on the minimums for the venue due to the lateness of the date, there would be no additional refunds. Patina did nothing for this event for us except writing a contract, and in speaking directly to the Garden, they also refuse to refund their $5K venue rental fee, even though they are getting it from the party who has rebooked the same date. I would suggest to anyone booking with Patina to negotiate for a more equitable refund if the wedding cancels, I really feel that although they lived up to the contract, there was no real desire to go a single step beyond what they were legally bound to do. They have nearly $12K of my hard-earned money, and have done nothing to earn it

The venue itself speaks volumes, everyone there was very accommodating and friendly. They are very helpful and responsive with anything. They definitely helped my day of a dream come true. Even though it rained (unplanned) we made it work and I didn’t have one doubt.

My husband and I had a great experience working with Patina Events at Brooklyn Botanic Garden for our wedding reception. Victoria and her team were very responsive and thoughtful throughout the whole process, and we really appreciated all of their help and attention to detail. We were blown away by the food at our menu tasting, and the venue helped us to make some customizations to our final menu choices. As it turned out, the food at our reception was one of the top things our guests complimented us on. The service throughout the reception was fantastic and the staff were all exceedingly pleasant and professional. Our wedding concierge for the day, Krystal, helped my husband and me as we were getting our formal portraits taken in the garden, and at the reception she made sure we had the chance to actually eat (which we very much appreciated!). Overall our day went beautifully and we were very happy that we chose to have our wedding at such a great venue run by a fantastic team.

From the beginning of our planning a year and a half in advance, to the final hours of the wedding reception, I felt completely taken care of. I worked with Victoria Laughton and she was lovely, supportive, prompt in communication, and helpful to the last. I had no need to worry about a day of coordinator, because she took care of everything. We held our wedding at the Atrium at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, a beautiful building that was made all the more magical at night. And the food! It was AMAZING. Food, and a good cake, were some of the largest priorities for my husband and I and Patina delivered incredible offerings, including allowances for a customized cake flavor, two different cake options for dessert, and tons of gourmet selections from cocktail hour through to midnight snacks. I am so grateful for such a well run, beautiful venue, who took care of us so perfectly. I would recommend them in a heartbeat.

We had the most absolutely perfect wedding at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden! Everything was beyond beautiful, the food was incredible, and the staff ran an incredibly tight ship. A big part of why we chose BBG was Patina's expertise in event hosting - there were a lot of factors we didn't need to worry about, and we knew that it would be a seamless event. The other factor for us was the enduring nature of the Gardens, and being able to come back to this historic, unique oasis in our neighborhood. I will say that there was a hiccup the day before the event which exposed the separation between the BBG as gardeners & Patina as an events company renting space there, so I recommend asking a lot of questions about exactly what to expect the garden to look like, both when you book and in the month before your wedding. We also had some communication struggles with our designated events person, but once we were able to be in touch with the operations staff, things ran much more smoothly. If at any point, you feel you're not getting the answers you need or having a tough time getting information, ask to connect with the operations team. All that said, our day was amazing, our photos are incredible, and our guests were blown away by the beauty and elegance of the BBG, the Palm House and the Patina staff.

The wedding/events team at Brooklyn Botanic Garden (Patina) is spectacular! Victoria was our lead planner and she was organized, attentive, and professional. Throughout the planning process she rolled with the punches, accommodated our every request, and delivered above and beyond our expectations. When we walked into our bridal suite there was an unexpected huge bucket of champagne on ice - what a beautiful touch! Also, the day of, we had someone assigned to just us for food, drink, unpacking, packing up, etc. which meant we literally had nothing to worry about logistically except getting married and having a wonderful time with our guests. As for the overall guest experience, they knocked it OUT OF THE PARK! The food at cocktail hour and dinner was delicious. The waitstaff was attentive, the course roll-out was on time and on point, and the beverage selection across wine, liquor, beer was plentiful and diverse. Truly every detail was perfectly executed, organized, and seamless. Our wedding was already three weeks ago and we still have friends and family telling us how magnificent the wedding was and that was wholly due to the flawless event Patina orchestrated and executed!

We got married at the Atrium at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and had a great experience with them. They handle everything for you and provide a great staff on the day of the event. Very professional with a nice, upscale vibe. The food is WONDERFUL and the facilities are BEAUTIFUL. We loved every second of our wedding day and I would recommend getting married there as well.

Beautiful location but I am disappointed with Patina. In my opinion, they were stressful to deal with and did not execute aspects of my event well; and their customer service was lacking (except at the end, when they did make an effort to make things right, which I do appreciate). I found my assigned Patina contact difficult to communicate with -- she meant well, but was not very helpful over e-mail and made many errors. In addition, there were numerous last minute issues that should have been avoided. 2 months before my wedding, they told me they wanted to book another event in the Palm House that interfered with the set up timeline I thought (apparently mistakenly, they said) that I was getting. After much discussion, they did work with me to solve the problem, but the experience was very stressful for me. And in my opinion, their tone was that this miscommunication was all my fault, which upset me and seemed like bad customer service. 4 days before my wedding, they told me that they couldn't serve a wine we had chosen months before and summarily announced that a different wine would be served. They did not offer an opportunity to taste the new wine until my mom demanded it. They did accommodate our request to have the bottle messengered to us for tasting, which I really appreciated, but this meant I was tasting the white wine for my wedding the day before the event, which again felt stressful. And the fact that we had to ask to taste the wine they would serve, rather than them suggesting it, was a perfect example of how their service was just lacking in my opinion for an allegedly top-tier, sophisticated NYC wedding venue. Finally, on the day of, there was some rain at the start of the cocktail hour that had been set up outside. Instead of moving everyone into the designated rain location for cocktails in the conservatory, they moved everyone into the Palm House while it was still being set up for dinner, which felt like an incredibly inhospitable and disorganized solution to me. I was very embarrassed and apologized to my guests repeatedly. When we booked the venue, they said they had a designated rain area for cocktails - the conservatory, but then failed to open it when it rained during my event. My understanding now is that the decision to pick the rain location needed to be made very early in the day and after that point, they could never pivot, even in a full hour, to the indoor location, but that was not communicated to me until after my event was over (I had a planner, so I am not sure what they told her, but I have not seen them ever tell her in writing about these timing restrictions). When I followed up with them about it and asked for a partial refund, they were relatively responsive, professional, and did make a very nice effort to make it right, including by giving me a small refund, which I really appreciated. The servers and bartenders were very professional and competent, and the dessert was excellent. But they also did not serve some of the savory dishes in accordance with the menu descriptions they provided me (for example, they did not grill the peaches or serve mint and basil with the burrata salad (which made the menu reading "grilled" peaches" look ridiculous); and they did not serve any greens with one of my mains, which I had expressly requested, etc.). But they did make an effort to explain why these issues happened after the fact, which I also appreciated. Overall, I expected more from them.

We had our wedding reception in the Palm House of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in June 2017. It was an incredibly beautiful venue. It offered everything you can think of. The garden area is exquisite and the Palm House itself is a breathtaking glass structure. We had to use their catering service, which worked out great because the food was excellent. We worked with Emily P. throughout the planning process who was easy to work with and extremely helpful. For example, we didn’t have a lot of time for pictures in the garden because our reception took place shortly after our church ceremony. Emily helped us plan accordingly, so we could get a golf cart to take us for a quick trip to the rose garden and some other areas for pictures before the cocktail hour ended. Additionally, all the wedding day staff was outstanding. They provided excellent service. We want to thank Emily P., everyone at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Patina Restaurant Group for their great work and for helping to make our wedding reception a truly wonderful experience.

Bbg was the most perfect wedding venue for us, two weeks later I'm still hearing how amazing it was. The food was delicious, the venue was gorgeous and we got the most amazing photos. I'm beyond thrilled with the staff and conpentancy of the entire crew. There aren't enough words to describe how beautiful and easy they made it to get married there. I'd do it all again tomorrow if I could!

Loved The BBG. It is simply a beautiful venue even if the weather doesn't cooperate! We felt really at ease at the thought of The palm house being our backup ceremony space. They offered a lot of nice touches like a water bar before the ceremony, a side room for the bride with prvate bathroom, and access to additional rooms if needed. They work with Party Rental Ltd directly making set up and break down easy. THE FOOD WAS GREAT beyond exceeded expectations for a must use caterer. Were able to accommodate vegan and kosher guests (Our entrees were gluten free by default). We sprung for the cannoli filling in our cake and people are still talking about it. Although Patina advertises full service we did need to hire a coordinator because they are extremely hard to get ahold of. We used Dominique Bell events because she had done weddings there before and was able to pick up the slack in communication.

My wife and I got married here last month (July 2017). The reason why we picked the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens is because we wanted an oasis away from the city, yet with the convenience of being in the city and the gardens seemed perfect for it. Also at ~200 guests, there are only so many limited venue options in the city to begin with. We were blessed with good weather and were able to do an outdoor ceremony as planned, cocktail reception on the Lily Pool Terrace and then dinner reception at the Palm House. The wedding was amazing perfect and Patina Events (Emily and Alexis as main coordinators) were amazing from start to finish! Yes, you have to book far in advance to get the dates you want, but everything will work out just fine in the end regardless of the date (end of July was not our first pick, but we went with it anyways!). Patina knows what they are doing and will put you at ease with all of the planning, prep and coordination aspects. Their food and beverage options are top-notch (Patina operates many well known restaurants in Manhattan, so you can be assured of the quality) -- many of our guests will say its the best food they've had at a wedding. The venue is unbelievable -- we got lucky where we were the only wedding for that day, and had the entire garden to the wedding party after 6pm, with our pick of the ceremony location in the garden. On the day of, everything ran smoothly, from the day of planners, hostesses, servers, bartenders -- everyone was so professional and really made our day!! There were times where we had our doubts about the Palm House -- if it was too small/cramped compared to other venues, but after having celebrated there, I can say that the space is perfect. The all-glass Palm House + soaring high ceilings make the indoor space light, free and airy + the lily pond terrace stays open all night with a bar and chairs/tables outside so guests can go out to sit or go for a stroll if they need fresh air. We feel so lucky to have gotten married there and would recommend this venue in a heartbeat to anyone considering it!

The garden is absolutely breathtaking and Patina is amazing at taking care of every last detail for you. It downpoured all day on our wedding day and they managed to move everything inside and make it seem like that was the plan the whole time! Emily is very organized and will help you through every little detail. Even if the weather doesn't go your way, the BBG is an amazing venue and they will take very good care of you on your special day!

Our Brooklyn Botanic Garden Wedding (at the Palm House) was a fairytale come true! It was stunningly beautiful! The food was delicious. The service was great! Sometimes our communications during the planning period were slow, but it all worked out in the end. We did come many times prior to the wedding to look at the venue, which was very nice and convenient. They did everything they could to make our wedding beautiful and special and super fun! They were flexible with vendors and decor too. DREAM VENUE!

This is a beautiful venue, of course, and all your guests will compliment you on its beauty & your photos will turn out great -- but you already know that. What I really want to highlight, that's not as obvious, is how professional the staff is. The waiters make sure all your guests are taken care of (we had some with unique allergies), and if you're in the bridal party, you'll never have to worry about being hungry (or sober). Last but not least, the Coordinator, Carleen was such a pleasure to work with. We got married at the height of wedding + event (i.e. annual cherry blossom festival - *thousands* show up) season at BBG. There was definitely a lot on her plate, but response time *and* accuracy are amazingly impressive. Not only are her communication skills are superb -- as someone that has worked at jobs that require high level of attention to detail, I was particularly impressed by the fact she made -0- mistakes despite my numerous changes on tables/guest list/menu selections/many others.

I knew from the first time we visited the Brooklyn Botanic Garden that it was where I wanted to get married. And while I could tell from that first visit that it would be a gorgeous, meaningful, and special place to get married, I didn't know at the time how professional and helpful Emily and her team would be. In the weeks leading up to the wedding and on the day of they seemed so on top of everything. There's so much to think about on the day of your wedding, so it was nice to know that everything would be taken care of and that I wouldn't have to worry about everything going smoothly.

We were lucky enough to have Emily Piuggi and the Patina Events team at Brooklyn Botanic Gardens to craft and execute an absolutely perfect evening. While the beauty of the Palmhouse, Lily Pond and the entirety of the Botanic Gardens is second to none, Emily and the Patina group enhance and add to that beauty with their attention to detail and support throughout the entire process. While we did not have a wedding planner, Emily certainly played the role on the day of, connecting with all of our vendors and seamlessly facilitating any of their needs. We could not have pictured a better night. Thank you Emily and thank you everyone on the Patina Events BBG team!

Working with Patina, and specifically, Emily Piuggi, at Brooklyn Botanic Garden was an incredible experience for planning our most important day. During the most stressful event you'll ever plan, you want top quality customer service and that's exactly what Emily delivered with her team. Emily was responsive, organized and courteous and juggled so many requests for months leading up to our big day. She listened, took detailed notes, was extremely attentive in face to face meetings and follow up emails, and became truly comforting in the days leading up to the wedding itself. And most importantly, she was completely unflappable on our big day and expertly coordinated so many moving parts. We recommend Emily and the Patina team without any hesitation. We are still receiving strong praise from guests on the incredible service, setting (that's a given) and accommodating staff. Patina delivered at the highest level on the day of, and we can share that a large part of the success on "day of" was because Emily expertly accompanied us for months of planning in the lead up.

I cannot say enough to amazing things about Sarah and her team at BBG. Thank you for giving us the wedding of our dreams. David and I could not have been any happier. Everything was so perfect. Our guests and family could not stop gushing over how beautiful the venue was, how great and delicious the food was and how helpful all of the staff was on the day of the wedding (and in the months ahead). We cannot imagine a better venue. Thank you!!!

Emily Piuggi and the rest of the team at Patina Events were instrumental in creating the most joyful and fun day of our lives at our wedding in the Osborne Garden and Atrium in late June. They were incredibly easy to work with and accommodated all our quirky requests and questions with a calm and kind demeanor that made me know we were in the right hands. From the food to the setting to the professionalism, we were thrilled with every aspect of our wedding. We cannot recommend the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the team at Patina Events (and especially Emily!) highly enough. Thank you to all for helping us realize our vision for the best day of our lives!

My husband and I had our wedding at the Atrium a couple weeks ago and loved every moment. Leigh and her team are pros and wonderful to work with. After searching for a venue in Brooklyn on a budget this worked out to be our best option and most beautiful! All of our guests loved the space and the delicious food. Highly recommend to anyone for a NY style wedding especially if you have lots of family coming from out of town.

We got married last Saturday in the Atrium space. Everything was beautiful and perfect. The cherry blossoms were blooming and the garden where we had our ceremony was so scenic. It was hard to believe that we were in the middle of Brooklyn. As for the Atrium space, it was beautiful. The food and drinks were delicious, and we received so many compliments after our wedding about the great food and setting. The staff at Patina, particularly Emily, were extremely responsive and did everything to make our day special. If you want a beautiful wedding in a scenic space with little stress on your big day, then you can't go wrong with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden!

We got married last week in the Palm House at Brooklyn Botanic Garden and it was like a dream! Leigh went above and beyond helping us plan the day. We feel so lucky to have worked with her and have our wedding at this gorgeous venue!

This was the perfect venue for us. We got married at the Alfred T. White Memorial near the Japanese Garden and had our small reception inside the Atrium, all of which added up to an easy day (no travel!) in a visually stunning setting. It makes all the difference to your mental state to have your wedding reception in a bright, airy room. We booked BBG just as they were switching their catering service to The Patina Group, which initially made me anxious because the quality of the food was high priority, and communications with our cheerful manager, Sarah Duffin, occasionally went at slight angles during the transition period. But I needn't have worried - my guests raved about the food, especially the well executed Peking duck carving station. After being shocked by the rates other NYC venues will charge for their space alone, I can tell you that working with BBG was worth it. They provided a beautiful venue (including rain backup plan!) and catering and seamlessly integrated our other vendors (music, flowers, etc.). Not bad for a space in a garden in the middle of Brooklyn.

They have incredible services!!! Beautiful land filled with greenery and flowers!!! The event coordinators were amazing and they made this whole process stress free!!! I did not have to hire a wedding planner since they took charge of most things. I was definitely satisfied! Great food with an amazing wedding cake!!! Highly recommended venue for a wedding!!!

Before visiting the BBG, my fiance and I had visited several other venues and were becoming despondent about whether we would find the right one that fit both our style and budget. So I didn’t have very high hopes for our visit to the Botanic Garden. When we met Sarah, the sales manager, she was so warm and welcoming. She first started out by giving us a tour of the gardens. If you have ever visited the BBG you know that it is absolutely breathtaking. Fortunately we visited the venue in June so most of the flowers were in bloom. We only planned on inviting about 100 guests so Sarah said that the smaller, Atrium venue would be a better fit for us. After going over the packages and seeing all that we would get (open bar, Asian food cart) we were convinced that this was the right venue to host our wedding. Fortunately for us we booked with them right as there were switching over to a new catering service, The Patina Group. We were able to lock in a great price. But I have heard that they have recently raised their prices. Sarah and her team were very attentive to all our needs. We originally planned to get married outside on the Osborne Garden but on the day of the event it was raining so the ceremony had to be moved to indoors. I was really bummed at first because I really wanted to get married outside. But when I saw how they arranged everything inside the Atrium I no longer cared about getting married outside because the inside looked equally picturesque. During the reception the caterers even made a special plate of french fries and chicken fingers for our ring bearer. Our guests can’t stop talking about how beautiful everything turned out. I couldn’t have asked for a better wedding experience and we owe much of that to Sarah and her team at the BBG.