The Vineyards at Aquebogue

rience, I would not recommend this venue. 3 days before our wedding, with a major nor’easter forecast, we contacted Lessing’s because we were concerned about severe winds, flooding, dangerous roads, and whether the enclosed patio could safely protect about 120 guests. We specifically asked about postponing. We were reassured that the patio would function like an indoor space and protect us from the weather. We relied on those assurances. Instead, water was inside the reception space throughout our wedding. It came through portions of the patio structure and down the walls while guests were eating and dancing. Water covered portions of the floor and accumulated around and behind the DJ area, including near wiring while powered equipment was operating. The DJ booth itself was never raised. This created serious slip-and-fall and electrical safety concerns. Lessing’s later acknowledged in writing that the patio was wet, had to be mopped, continued experiencing water as the wind increased, and required precautions involving the DJ’s electrical connections. Our coordinator spent portions of our reception dealing with water instead of coordinating our wedding. Water also entered the bridal suite near the balcony door. We lost a significant portion of our wedding-day photographs after being moved from the ceremony area, then the reception area, and ultimately directed to the balcony during severe wind and rain. We had young children with us and would not put them on an exposed balcony in those conditions. We returned four days later and paid photographers to recreate some photos, but a nighttime reshoot could not recreate our daytime wedding or everyone who could not return. Our neurodivergent son was terrified the storm would hurt us and barely participated. Our toddler was frightened too. There were also service failures. My husband and I did not receive the passed desserts we paid for. We were told fresh food would be packed for us, but food already sitting at our table was packaged instead. The General Manager later confirmed in writing that she was onsite throughout our wedding. She never introduced herself to us as the Manager, and we were never given her direct number or direct numbers for the staff Lessing’s later identified as our contacts. Kate, our primary planning contact, was not onsite. Near the end of our reception, I tried to use the microphone to thank our guests, say goodbye, and direct them to our after-party. The sound stopped before I could do so. After 120 people traveled through that storm to celebrate with us, I could not properly close out my own wedding. What makes this so upsetting is, we tried to prevent it. We raised the storm, wind, flooding, road conditions, and safety concerns. We asked about postponing. We relied on Lessing’s assurances. This is not a 1 star review because it rained. No venue controls the weather. This is a 1 star review because we asked whether it was safe to proceed, relied on the venue’s representations, and then experienced water entering an occupied reception, wet floors where guests were dancing, water near electrical equipment, poor management communication, missing paid services, and wedding moments we can't recreate. We paid $29,000 to this venue alone. We cannot get September 26, 2026 back.

l and accommodating throughout the planning process. Kate was absolutely amazing to work with and was incredibly helpful. She was always responsive, patient, and made us feel confident that everything was going to come together perfectly. On our wedding day, Anthony, our maître d’, and Amanda, our bridal attendant, were AMAZING. They went above and beyond to make sure everything ran smoothly and that we had everything we needed throughout the entire day. They made us feel so taken care of from start to finish. The venue itself was beautiful, the food was incredible, and the entire day exceeded our expectations. We are so grateful to the entire Vineyards at Aquebogue team for helping make our wedding day so special and stress-free. We would absolutely recommend The Vineyards to anyone!!!!