The Glastonbury Boathouse

This place is the perfect balance for having a combination of an outdoor and indoor wedding. The scenery is gorgeous and the staff are incredible! We had such a wonderful time! You should definitely check them out!

My husband and I got married at the Boathouse in June 2019. The ceremony location along the river is beautiful. Guests loved the deck and spent most of the night there taking in views of the river. The reception area is great and roomy. We had almost 150 guests (max) and there was plenty of room. A few cons (reason I am giving 4 stars): The boathouse representative there the night of our wedding was incredibly rude. We had the boathouse rented until midnight, paid for an extra hour so our vendors could have access to the Boathouse earlier in the day, and she turned all of the lights on at 11:30pm and made it very clear we had to exit the building by midnight. We accidentally left the arch we used for our ceremony out back of the boathouse (last thing on our mind when being rushed out) and she called my husband on our wedding night and told him we had to remove the arch immediately as there was a baby shower at 8am the following day (later found out this was a lie). My husband expressed that he was sorry and would be back within 10 minutes or less to retrieve the arch. She responded with "great I would hate for you to lose your security deposit" .. seriously? We also noticed 2-3 cop cars circling the parking lot as we and our guests were leaving. Also important to note the lights you see on your tour are not included and you will have to pay an extra fee to use them. The location and building are beautiful. Unfortunately, the boathouse staff are less than great.

The Glastonbury Boathouse was an AMAZING place to hold our wedding! So many of our guests have commented on how beautiful the location was right on the river. We live close to the shoreline of CT so I think people were surprised to have a waterfront wedding farther north near Hartford, but it was everything we wanted. We held the ceremony outside on the dock, cocktail hour upstairs on the observation deck, and reception inside. I love that the ceremony set up was a little different from the standard set up - with a grand entrance coming down the staircase and coming in from the side, not down a center aisle. I think it kept everything interesting and unique. The reception space was perfect for our 140 guests (not too big not too small). I love that the venue's decor was simple and clean so we could personalize the color scheme. I loved all of the natural light from many windows and skylights. The small details about a venue really make a difference for me, and I loved that this venue had an elevator for my older guests who needed it, plenty of stalls in the bathrooms so ladies didn't have to wait in line, easy parking without having to hire valet, sufficient AC so the dance floor didn't get overheated, etc. And having an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception all in one easy location made the day everything I hoped for! Kristen at the Boathouse was available to answer all of my questions throughout the process and stayed on top of everything. I would highly recommend The Glastonbury Boathouse to anyone!! Thank you for the perfect wedding!

Our wedding reception at The Boathouse was exactly what we wanted: a romantic and simple alternative to a ballroom with gorgeous views of the river. Our guests couldn't stop talking about how much they loved the venue! We found the Boathouse to be easy to work with and accomodating.

We fell in love with this location the minute we saw pictures online! We went to visit and knew this was the perfect location. It is perfect, lots of windows, natural light, and a beautiful view. We held our short and sweet ceremony down by the water, where our guests had plenty of room. Cocktail hour on the upper deck and had plenty of room for our guests in the dining room, along with a huge dance floor and room for our photo booth!

My husband and I got married on August 4, 2018. We looked the majority of the wedding venues in the state online before deciding to look at the boathouse and one other. We got engaged the week of Christmas in 2017 and were planning a summer 2018 wedding. When we went to see the boathouse for the first time it was the last week in December so it was freezing, snowy and icy. Even though it wasn't a beautiful summer day we knew we needed to have our wedding here. The space is so open and airy. There were lights strung on the ceiling which you can add for your day. I loved the hardwood floors throughout and that it didn't have a specific dance floor. Mainly we loved that it wasn't a banquet hall. If you've been to a wedding in CT you know that major wedding venues. They're great if that's what you want but we 100% didn't want a cookie cutter wedding. The boathouse is simple but beautiful because of that. You don't have to dress the space up, it speaks for itself. I knew that I wanted a clean, classic wedding and it was just that! The view off the deck is unreal!!! We had cocktail hour on the deck and guests were in and out during the night. I loved that! We had out ceremony right by the water. There is a dock that you can walk out to. That made for amazing pictures (especially if you get a good sunset) and there rarely is a bad sunset. We loved that we were able to use all of the space at the boathouse and weren't confined to one room. We used David Alan Catering... HIGHLY recommend them! We worked with Kristen at the boathouse. She is great! she's very responsive and does her job well. I had a ton of random questions towards the end of my planning and she answered all of my questions. I was slightly concerned about it being a public park because you can't control how busy it will be on your wedding day. Kristen reassured me that any park goers are typically respectful because there is a wedding happening. She was right. They don't let people go down to where the ceremony is or up into the boathouse itself when there is an event. They will let people watch from a far as long as they're quiet. To be honest, we had a few people watch and we didn't even notice them. We saw a bunch of people further toward the fountain as we were taking pictures and they were so kind and congratulated us. It was kind of cool. Because it is a public area we went to watch a wedding a few weeks before we got married. That was helpful because you can actually see a "trial run" before your big day. You can't do that at another venue! ( I actually took some ideas for set up from that wedding.. super helpful!) We're SO glad that we chose the boathouse! I couldn't think of a better venue! We are excited to visit in years to come. It's such a special place now. We plan on visiting and having a picnic there on our anniversaries to come!

We just got married at the boathouse and it was perfect! While they only let you chose from 3 caterers, it actually made planning so much easier since they knew exactly what needed to be done. Kristen was our contact at the boathouse and was always punctual and personal in all of our correspondence. We had our ceremony on the water, the cocktail hour on the balcony and the reception inside. There is a bridal suite to hide in or store things if needed and since the caterer is always there (due to lack of options), we had the ability to drop off decor and what not a day or two in advance because they were there for other events which helped alleviate the chaos of the day of the wedding. One thing to keep in mind is that the surrounding park is still open to the public. For instance, there were motorboats that rode back and forth during our reception on the water which was loud, and the ice cream truck decided to to go the park next door as soon as I was walking down the isle (a family member had to run over to ask them to shut off the music). I expected people and boats around since it is a public park but the ice cream truck blasting music was a definite annoyance.

The Boathouse is absolutely beautiful! Kristen and Kelly were great! The outdoor ceremony was so beautiful and the fact that cocktail was just upstairs was awesome! We did our first look here and the pictures were stunning!

our wedding ws beautiful! we got so many great pictures in front of the water

This was the perfect venue for our end of June wedding. The Boathouse itself is beautiful with unique details including exposed piping inside that adds a gorgeous effect when decorated with lights. We received SO many compliments on the location, views, and outdoor patio. The river allowed for some gorgeous photographs and a "beachy" vibe without the price of being on a beach. Kristen was great to work with, quick to respond to emails, and easy to set up appointments with. We are so happy that we found the Boathouse!

Perfect in every way. The Boathouse is beautiful, clean, bright and airy. It lends itself to any kind of wedding you'd like: the outdoor balcony was wonderful for our cocktail hour and our ceremony down by the water was everything I'd hoped it would be. Because of the meticulous attention to detail both inside and outside the venue, it does not even need to be heavily decorated because its natural beauty, alone, is exquisite. Kristen was a dream to work with- very easy and responsive. And it is also extremely affordable. We had a wonderful experience in every way shape and form.

Amazing! Beautiful and affordable. We had planned a wedding reception at the New England Carousel Museum in Bristol for 12/17/17, but due to some issues with the venue, we had to move the the wedding reception to The Glastonbury Boathouse just two weeks before the event! Kristen was upfront about cost and was very accommodating to our needs as an interfaith couple. There is a beautiful covered porch/patio with water views that is usable all year round. The rental prices are very reasonable. We paid just under $1600 for a 5 hour reception in December. The venue is handicap accessible. Although they have very specific vendors, I would encourage all considering this venue to call the caterers and ask about pricing. We were able to use one of their preferred caterers for a $45/person (appetizers, buffet, and beer/wine!). We fit 160 people comfortably. Venue had beautiful bathrooms and a full kitchen. Amazing value for the price.

The Glastonbury Boathouse was the perfect venue for our July wedding! The CT river provided a beautiful and effortless backdrop for our ceremony. Our guests LOVED the outdoor patio that we used for cocktail hour, it was filled with people the entire night. When we booked the boathouse we were told many times about the incredible sunsets but still found ourselves in awe when the sky lit up like fire! The ceiling in the reception area with its exposed pipes and ducts looked amazing strung with lights. We came very near to the 150 person max and still had plenty of room for dancing the night away!

If you are looking for both outdoor and indoor options for your event then the Glastonbury Boathouse is a great venue! We had a fantastic wedding at the boathouse, and could not have asked for anything more. Our ceremony was right on the water, our reception was on the outdoor deck - overlooking the water and the reception was inside. You can really do a lot with the space. We loved having the bar outside on the deck, there was a great flow to the evening. Kristin was great to work with, so helpful and quickly responded to any questions we had.

New venue, very flexible in the planning process. Clear language and up front about costs and fees.