Thornewood Castle Inn & Gardens

ttended. Kiera was a great help in planning and coordinating our time at Thornewood; staff was present, professional, and helpful. We had the best time. The gardens in August were an absolute dream.

and get a response back the same day. The venue is pretty flexible with vendors and they didn't require us to use any specific vendor. They don’t allow hard alcohol, but that wasn’t an issue for us since we were planning to go with beer and wine anyway. Con’s: the pricing structure here. The base prices seem low and fair but then you add guests or hours and the price seemed to skyrocket for us. The price we paid in the end was much more than what we initially thought it would be. We added hours, but the hourly rate was almost an extra $1k per hour after tax (they don’t give you enough hours in the base rate). The venue also doesn’t allow amplified speakers outside except for the ceremony, so speeches were a struggle for our outdoor reception.

ed getting married here, great location and beautiful venue. Highly recommend!

nly opened for me at 4. Due to a mixup with my bnb they allowed me in earlier which was nice. I did my own makeup which they aren’t set up for so we had to drag some tables and mirrors around, so either hire your makeup done or do it somewhere else haha. Overall, gorgeous setup and location, nice staff, but maybe save the getting ready part for elsewhere :)

helpful. But the castle is so strict and really is a nickel and dime venue. My husband and I had rented the castle rooms for Friday night to allow our daughter and son in law to stay with their wedding party and make it easier for getting ready in the morning. This was also necessary to do for our hair and makeup artists to be able to arrive early enough to do makeup/hair for 7 girls. If we did not have them staying there the vendor would not of been allowed on the grounds until noon. Our wedding was set for 3pm. Despite paying a large sum to rent numerous rooms we were still unable to have our planner and her team come early. To do so we had pay an extra fee for our planner to come on the grounds early. Also despite having rented the rooms for Friday and the adjacent apartments, we still could not take any of the decor, alcohol or anything out of the rooms until 11am or would risk losing our hefty deposit. This I found ridiculous as it was our wedding happening on Saturday and we just wanted to stage bins or alcohol in the respective areas to avoid running around at 11am plus trying to get ready. We also had 15 umbrellas that needed to be placed in the yard where dinner would be and these also could not be set up until 11am. We had a string quartet for guest arrival and cocktail hour but due to the fact they will not allow amplified music our guests could not hear them. We also asked if we could place tables for dinner on the lawn (lakeside) a specific way to utilize the shade of the trees and were told no. Not sure why. The castle is in a residential area and the entrance is gated. This was quite an issue. The gate was always locked and guests and vendors had to go through the directory on the call box to be rung in. It would be nice if there was a staff member at the gate, at least during the arrival of vendors and guests to let them in. If I would have known, I could have notified the vendors and guests of what they needed to do to gain access. The only truly rude person we came in contact with was I believe the security guy named Corey. He was rude to guests, wedding party, planner and myself on more than one occasion. I understand he was there to make sure things were under control but his demeanor was very off putting and unnecessary. The contract allows for 50 people and then you must pay for each additional 25 guests added. We had 138 guests. This is truly a beautiful venue but expensive and strict. You also start to feel a bit stressed knowing ALL guests, vendors and your decor must be gone by 10 pm. Therefore you can not truly enjoy the end of the night. I would say this is a venue for a small wedding 50 or less and anything over that get ready to shell some cash.

s and inflexible staff proved to be the greatest source of stress in all our wedding planning, especially early on. Read on to see how Thornewood’s ridiculous policies can lead couples to throw good money after bad to make their day what they want. Planning a large wedding here, with 165 guests, turned out to be far more challenging than we anticipated. Despite the assistance of some helpful staff members like Brittany, our overall experience was marred by the castle's rigid rules and regulations. Context: The reason that Thornewood is so touchy about some of these things appears to be that they are in a residential area and they are clearly very concerned with not disturbing the neighbors who are close by. That being said, their policies they use to achieve these ends are very rigid and at times illogical. One major issue we encountered was with setting up a tent for our outdoor reception. When we initially discussed our plans with the venue ONE YEAR in advance, they assured us that hosting a reception outside with a tent would be no problem. However, when it came time to coordinate the 40' x 60' tent rental, we had a TERRIBLE time. The castle's limited rental hours clashed with the setup and takedown times required by tent rental companies, leading to additional fees and logistical headaches. Thornewood did not seem to anticipate this would be a problem, nor did they offer any helpful solutions until we were at our wit's ends. In the end, they graciously offered to let us pay them a couple extra $500/hour for Sunday morning just to accommodate the tent breakdown. Music was another area where we ran into trouble. Thornewood's policy only allowed amplified music indoors, except during the ceremony. Despite wanting to have some low-key background music during our outdoor reception, we were told that even small speakers at a conversational volume level were not allowed due to noise ordinances. This meant we had to shell out even more money for a live string quartet, only to find that their unamplified music was difficult for guests to hear during dinner. Our best man checked and was told that yes, a brass band (120 decibels) would be okay but a cell phone speaker (70 decibels) would not. Despite being told we could have speakers outside for the toasts, they made us set them up inside the castle, pointing speakers at our tent. Many could not hear our toasts. :( Another frustration was the venue's strict rules regarding children. We ended up paying for childcare for 40 kids, fearing that they needed constant supervision to comply with Thornewood. In hindsight, the kids were perfectly content dancing and playing games around the adults. Despite these challenges, the day of our wedding went relatively smoothly, thanks in large part to our amazing wedding coordinator, Chloe Hix. But I can't help but wish we had been more aware of the difficulties we would encounter at Thornewood. The additional expenses and stress caused by the venue's draconian policies sucked. Really consider the challenges and expenses associated with hosting your wedding here. While the beauty of the venue is undeniable, it may not be worth the hassle if you want a more flexible, accommodating setting for a larger group, and a more laidback wedding planning experience.

ust silly. I do think it was over priced and the rules were too rigged. (We paid an additional 275$ for a higher audience count and just lost out on it when folks didn't show. The contract had a clause where any changes to guest count of time within a 30 day window of the wedding resulted in even higher fees. We should have just gambled that more folks wouldn't show or had a vendor that wouldn't make us pay for people who weren't there.)

tal cosr. So happy with my decision to book Thronewood for my wedding.

t married.

hing about Thornewood was they provided a list of preferred vendors, these vendors were all 5 star and knew the ins and outs of working at Thornewood. 5/5 stars, if I could give it 6 stars, I would!!

shaded by 5 pm so none of the wedding party or our guests were in any kind of direct, hot sunlight. Thornewood was also excellent to work with, giving us an option A and contingent option B if the weather was not cooperative (which is a must in WA). They were very prompt in answering any questions, and assisted in a very unique setup for the ceremony. It is possible for guests not included in event guest lists to rent rooms during events, so there is the possibility of seeing others wandering around that aren't part of your guest list. However, Thornewood is very mindful of managing the two in the case this does happen. All in all, wonderful experience, and we were so happy with our choice!

. The castle's beauty and intricate details were so picturesque that the venue stood on its own, requiring minimal additional decoration. We were overjoyed to share such a stunning venue with our loved ones. The anticipation from our guests to explore the castle and its grounds added to the excitement leading up to our special day. An additional bonus of the venue is that it doubles as a hotel. Having our families stay overnight at the castle added an extra touch of magic because it extended the celebration and it also made the morning preparations on our wedding day incredibly convenient. Given that Thornewood Castle is located in Washington and because we were getting married in April, rain was a concern. We loved that Thornewood Castle has a goregous indoor and outdoor option. We didn't end up having any rain on our wedding day, but we still decided to get married inside because of how beatiful the castle's interrior is. The exceptional support and dedication of Brittany, Corey, and Kiera were invaluable in ensuring that our wedding day went flawlessly. From managing the complex aspects of the event to attending to every detail, they effortlessly orchestrated the day, which allowed us to relax and fully embrace the joy of the occasion. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the staff at Thornewood Castle for being wonderful to work with and for the role they all played in making our wedding weekend everything we hoped it would be. Their event-planning expertise and genuine passion for their venue were evident. We highly recommend Thornewood Castle and its incredible staff to anyone in search of an extraordinary wedding venue. -Hayley and Jason

f that hadn’t happened, the interior is so stunning, that would have been just as lovely. Thank you to all the staff, especially Brittany, for being so professional and helpful in the lead up to the day and on the day itself.

ore my wedding, my best friend Christina and I stayed in the castle. We were the only ones there. We had the whole place to ourselves! I didn't know until check in that there's a game room, a TV room and a copy of rose red in every room!! There's also complementary snacks and sodas!!The morning of my wedding, I was back and forth in the main areas in my pajamas. I apologized to the staff, but they assured me that the castle was my home during my booking. Tammy was awesome! Tammy really made me feel comfortable, but she also gave us enticing information and education of the castle. She REALLY turned us into return customers.

as well as other things. it was refreshing have all the information up front and suggestions for other vendors. Staff was amazing the day of and helped in so many ways. We are so happy to have had our dream day at the castle.

ery professional and communicated with us during our entire wedding preparation and until our wedding day. Thank you Amber and Christian! Thornewood gave us what we were looking for in a venue, wanted a venue; history, style, and class. Thornewood Castle provided us with an endless variety of space, leisure, and photos for our wedding guests! The venue is very large with private gating. Thornewood Castle is one of the only few active castles here in the US and if you plan to stay here or even host an event, it is worth it!!! Thornewood Castle made our wedding day magical with it's majestic and scenic views of its entirety, American lake, and their secret garden! Thank you so much Thornewood Castle for making our special day a truly unforgettable event of our lifetime!!!

e runaround. It's taken me several months to be calm enough to write this review. We were supposed to get married at Thornewood on February 15. We reserved the space over a year in advance, and paid in fully up front to avoid the hassle of installments. COVID hit. Our families all live out of state, and severe restrictions to gathering sizes were in place. My mother has an autoimmune condition, so traveling was out of the question. We also did not feel we could have a gathering of any significant size given the unknown risks of the virus. We reached out to Thornewood to ask if we could bump our date back a year. We were told the date was non transferable and non refundable. We asked for a partial refund since we paid in full instead of just a deposit. They said no. After weeks and weeks of the front desk staff being friendly but unable to give me answers, I got a very terse email, which included a lot of moaning about how hard the pandemic had been on them, and stating that "as a kindness", we could move our date to another available date in 2021, but only if we paid an additional fee of half of the deposit amount for that date! After being unresponsive, this "offer" had an expiration of 48 hours. I understand that COVID was unforeseen and difficult. But every other vendor we had were understanding and worked with us to come to some sort of arrangement. And again- these folks already had our money, and we got absolutely nothing to show for it. Avoid this venue at all costs.

Castle as they have a much more appropriate refund policy; they told me they would consider a refund in the circumstances I have today. We had a military wedding planned @ Thornewood during the middle of the week (read not a weekend at all; we as military could not afford a SAT wedding; now Thornewood has taken all the money and cannot even refund a little) that was cancelled due to guest concerns over COVID-19. Thornewood told me at the time of the reservation that the only reason they would refund money is for COVID-19. So I went forward. That is EXACTLY why this wedding is being cancelled and only because 2021 is better (read we are NOT out of the woods) that should NOT impact the refund like you did for so many other people for the same reason. Why is it that since Thornewood Castle in their judgement (not based on science) that this cancellation DOES NOT warrant a refund like other COVID-19 cancellations. This is a very obtuse way of thinking of this since we did not magically all become well and COVID is solved on JAN 1, 2021. To the contrary we are as a nation and as a state STILL struggling to deal with the pandemic. Also seriously this is a mid week reservation; why not refund part of the money?? I DO NOT RECOMMEND going to Thornewood Castle as they are very obtuse and unbending when a situation like this clearly warrants some form of refund. Military do not have a lot of money but OK if you want to take more from them, then I guess that's how you treat men / women of the military.

s in a very quiet neighborhood and is perfect for a fairytale ceremony. After the friendly walk through with Christiana, we were set to book the Thornewood Castle! They provided a preferred vendor list; we ended up hiring most of our vendors from that list and very happy. They allow outside vendors as well as BYOB which is a huge plus! We postponed our wedding (due to COVID), and the owner and everyone was very accomodating. The total rent hour @ the venue was 6 hours and we had a very short and sweet ceremony; I would say to consider extending hours. While our wedding was perfect, we could have enjoyed this beautiful venue a bit more by extending an hour or two. Everyone had so much compliments to make about the venue - it was very gorgeous, peaceful, and intimate. Would highly recommend to couples thinking of dream-come-true wedding at a classic & classy venue, this is it!

don’t think our parents can make it, so we would love to transfer our contract to someone else whoever is interested in this date for a wedding. We paid over $5500 for this place. Now we would like to transfer it for a much lower rate: $3900 (negotiable). Please let me know if you are interested in this place and this date (07/25/2021). You can either text me or email me, my cell phone number is 281-624-9303, my email address: yongli.zhang520@gmail.com.

ve literally anyone in one of their rooms, you're apparently screwed. I called early into the pandemic after reviewing the projected numbers and determining it was unsafe for my family to travel. I wanted a date in Oct2021 (my original date was in Oct2020. After calling multiple times and over a week of waiting, they came back and offered me Jan or Feb 2021. I told them I wasnt comfortable with it, but they told me that was all they were willing to do at that time. I had to call multiple times and go through multiple people for well over a week to even get that done. After reviewing the most recent reports, the added risk of the flu as well as the prospect of a holiday spike had me calling again. This time, they told me the county says they can have up to 30 people in a room, so there's nothing I can do. Basically, pick 30 people closest to you that you're willing to put at risk. The worst part? NO REFUNDS. AT ALL. Pandemic on? Not our problem. This venue was a damn near $5000.00 mistake. I was told that I should feel better because "the wedding will be beautiful and you can send people pictures." and "we lost money because we could have booked movies or photoshoots but instead we're hosting your wedding." Seriously guilted into feeling bad because they couldn't book a date they already sold me. Gross. Be sure to read your contract, and know that if the worst happens, they will stand by contract over decency and integrity 100 percent of the time. As of now, my only option is to keep my date or be out of my money entirely. So I'm keeping my date for now. If I need to cancel, I'll be sure to call the required minimum of 3 times to have a manager call back over a week later to let them know.

tes, the outdoor garden is perfect for a ceremony. The castle recommends vendors who have worked there before. The vendors we chose were a pleasure to work with. The rental prices are on par for unique wedding ceremonies with overhead. The main reason this is not 5 stars is the way the venue is operated. The castle is family owned (not the original family), and it seems like they are trying to milk more money out of this place than they can. Trying to add an hour at the beginning was an ordeal - despite our willingness to pay the penalty rate in the contract. The staff were not consistent with info (answers depended on who you asked...). As someone who deals with large contracts as part of my career, the Thornewood contract is laughable. In general, this was one of the least pleasant interactions of the whole wedding. With that said, the venue is worth it if you go into the arrangement knowing the owners might be a pain to work with.

be back for a stay sometime!

y not be able to get ready at the castle, the staff is amazing, the venue is so gorgeous with many decorations included so you really don't need to worry much about flowers or rental pieces, and the opportunity for amazing pictures are endless! The history of the castle is such a great talking point, and my guests had fun even just exploring the grounds and taking in all the views. I'm so happy we went with Thornewood for our venue!

thornewood staff members there all night were so helpful and nice. Only downside is your event is shut down by 930 and everything & everyone has to be out by 10. They include tables and chairs, as well as linens if you choose to use them. Highly recommend using Florablume as your florist if you get married here.

cking a date to last minute changes was flawless! We loved how communicative and responsive the staff was and would highly recommend!

er thing was the unreliability of the outlets in the sunken garden. They are not GFI and our ceremony music was delayed and our recessional was not able to be played. Other than that the rooms were amazing and everything else went well! Christian is the best staff member by far.

t this was the place I wanted to get married, and my guests have not stopped talking about how amazing the venue was. The two staff members we had on site were awesome at helping my day-of coordinator get everything ready. Getting married here was one of the best choices we made in the planning process, and if I had to plan it all again I would choose Thornewood without a second thought. However, since I know the majority of people reading this will likely be people considering booking, here are some important details you may need to know. Thornewood will be expensive, so prepare yourself. When booking a wedding you start with a 6 hour time block, which has to include setup and teardown (as well as guest arrival and departure). Any additional time you may need will need to be purchased separately in one hour blocks, and it will add up fast. The same thing will happen if you want to invite more than 100 guests (we didn’t do this so I don’t remember pricing or increments). Thornewood is a historical site and is in a private neighborhood, which means you’ll have additional rules and restrictions to keep an eye on (all included and listed in your contract). There are also some restrictions with their kitchen, so make sure to talk to the staff about that BEFORE booking your caterer (or just choose from their preferred list). The venue is also a bed & breakfast, so you may see a guest or two throughout your wedding day (the staff does a great job of making sure they don’t interrupt important moments, but we definitely saw some people coming and going while we were on the dance floor). All of the information you need is in the pamphlet and contract, so make sure to read that thoroughly. I gave 4 out of 5 stars due to the time block cost as well as some issues we had with the staff the morning of. I still don’t understand only giving couples 6 hours for the whole wedding. No other venue we toured had the same time restrictions, and it meant if we wanted the photos and time with our guests post-formalities then we needed to pay a lot more. The issues the morning of: Both myself and my day-of coordinator checked with them about having the bridal party and hair & makeup artist on site early to get ready (which they gave permission to since we spent the night there), so it was a really frustrating experience to hear people were being harassed at the gate for “being early.” I had my coordinator reach out to the venue to correct the issue, but it was not the best way to start off my wedding day. They also tried to clean the room my bridal party was in while we were all getting ready, which was mildly irritating since we obviously couldn’t clear out. Overall, we would still book again no questions asked. We knew what we were getting into as far as the price went, and while there were some small issues in the morning they were overshadowed by how BEAUTIFUL the venue is as well as the two staff members who made sure our wedding was perfect.

d they were willing to leave them and work with us. Ended up all working out, but I thought that was awesome. Staff the day of were super sweet and helpful. My event was a little chaotic, as I was coordinating my own. I was a little hard to pin down and needed a few helping hands, but they made it work and made us feel super welcome. They were very attentive to my needs and faded into the background when things were running smoothly. This venue is absolutely beautiful, and I can't think of one complaint about the venue or the staff. Two very large thumbs up from us!

hout having to leave WA. Thornewood Castle was stunning and fit our whimsical, sophisticated, Scottish highlands/classic garden wedding theme to a T. The grounds are stunning English garden style, beautiful statues and spectacular architecture and decor inside and out. The location on American Lake was lovely as well. Our guests are still talking about how very beautiful everything was, the garden is just to die for! Inside the beautiful wood, paintings, staircase, fireplace, stained glass windows and statues complete the feeling of being in your own classic fairytale. Plenty of room inside and out, we had a guest count of 130. Leanne was a good contact, responsive and clear and the walkthrough of the venue was helpful. I would recommend having a day of coordinator of your own to help coordinate your event though. Thornewood is very upfront about what the do and do not allow, we were willing to be ok with only having music outside during the ceremony and their strict start and end times, as the pros of hosting our wedding at this venue mattered more. Be cautious of your guest count/adding extra hours/ knowing that they do not allow you or vendors to be on the grounds before the time you’ve paid for. To others this might be something to consider. My guests had an amazing time, we are currently gushing over the photos. My husband and I stayed the night at the Castle in the Presidential Suite, the room was absolutely gorgeous with a huge bed, view of the lake, and hot tub bath. Only other note, I have Celiac Dusease, so no gluten, and I am severely allergic to dairy and eggs. For breakfast i was assured that they would make a meal especially for me, but I was served toast, eggs, and yogurt... All in all I still give Thornewood Castle five stars and would highly recommend. It was the most beautiful venue, every place I looked at afterwards completely paled in comparison.

or to the wedding, their response was always timely and thorough, and they did their best to accommodate my schedule since we had a destination wedding. On the day of the event, everything was set up on time and in the agreed upon manner, and Thornewood staff was on standby for any of our last minute needs. I would recommend this venue over and over again!

ng. The castle was magical. It was literally like a dream and I was so in love with our day. I would do it over and over again at this castle and I would 100% recommend it to anyone wanting to have the perfect wedding day.

by. We stayed the night of the wedding and they upgraded our suite so that was really nice! They provide groomsmen and bridesmaids rooms for the time you have the venue rented. They have a list of preferred/ recommended vendors, use it. It helps when your vendors are familiar with the venue, Thornewood is also a Bed and Breakfast & part of a neighborhood, so there are several rules and restrictions (nothing unreasonable).

th amazing weather for a June wedding here in Washington. The staff is so friendly and so helpful. Everything about it was perfect. Thank you Thornewood for making our dream fairytale wedding a reality!

ght before and night of your wedding to ease some scheduling headaches. Those were my only complaints the day of. We had our ceremony in the rose garden which was perfectly in bloom. The great hall and ball room were excellent locations for our reception. We were forever getting complimented on our choice of venue. If you are hoping to have a wedding that is short and sweet, with competent and involved venue workers, this is the place for you!

just head upstairs. The only thing I wish they would change is adding that you may arrive an hour before your booked time. They do not allow you to arrive before the time you have booked not even 10min early you have to wait at the gate. which makes it feel like the night/ setting up is chaotic. When we went in for our initial walk through before booking they said it would be plenty of time but we decided to pay to add another hour but even with that it wasn’t. For how much we paid it would be nice if they offered arriving early like most venues do. Other than that, it’s an amazing place our guests were amazed about how beautiful it is you don’t need very many decorations.