Woodwinds

tire process! Not to mention that the price compared to every other venue in Connecticut that we looked at was unbeatable! Even though the price was reasonable, that didn’t take away from the quality of the food, ballroom, and quality of service! The staff made all of our wedding dreams come true and we wouldn’t have changed a thing! They made us feel comfortable and supported throughout the entire planning process!!!!

about the reception and made sure the day ran smoothly. Our bridal attendant Jackie was fantastic and took care of us throughout the evening. A few of my guests had to help pack our supplies at the end of the night because Jackie was left to do it alone. That did not make or break our evening but perhaps it’s something for Woodwinds to look at. One person cannot possibly remove and pack decorations for a group of 100 people in a timely fashion. I would recommend Woodwinds to other brides.

ng to your needs and they truly go above and beyond for YOU! To Randy, Michael, Vanessa, Sergio and Jackie, cannot forgot the amazing staff you guys are the best❤️. Brides I highly highly recommend.

and reception there and everything went incredibly smooth. We opted for a buffet and the food was delicious and everyone raved about it. On the day of we had a maître d' (Sergio) and bridal attendant (Jacky) that checked in on us constantly and kept everything on time. They took great care to have the room perfectly decorated as we wanted and at the end of the night packaged up our decorations/centerpieces carefully. We are so glad we picked The Woodwinds and we would absolutely recommend it to others!

questions and even answered some I didn’t even know I had. He guided us through the process, and it was so helpful and easy. We joked about Dr. Pepper in our planning meeting and how it was my husband’s favorite drink and how that was the only downside of woodwinds. When we entered the room and sat down after our first dance there was a bottle of Dr. Pepper in a champagne bucket. These guys really care about their jobs!!!! When we left our bridal attendant was saying how they just opened up a restaurant in Old Saybrook, and although we only will get married once, we cannot wait to go back for the food!

g process its too difficult to decide what was best. They make planning a wedding easy and fun. I went to their bridal show in 2022 and the owner was actually there (which already tells me this is a great company and the owner cares) and said in such a calm demeanor “if you book with us, you won’t have to worry about a thing, we will have everything under control” and he was so right. All we had to do was show up, and enjoy the night.

king pictures there with our wedding party. As we walked through vanessa painted such a beautiful picture of what our day would look like and how easy everything would be. We were told “all you need is a DJ, Photographer, and JP and we take care of the rest” they were not kidding. I mean we actually had someone the night of our wedding basically thinking for us. He was like a tour guide taking us step by step through our night. The entire process from booking to partying was absolutely seamless. Vanessa toured us, answered all of our questions, even my moms questions while we face timed her during our tour, and helped us with the contract so we could lock in our date for this beautiful venue. Once we had our date, Michael took over and I must say… he rocks!!!!!! He is like a floorplan guru. We explained where we wanted everything and as we spoke he was rearranging everything live. We wanted to do a memorial table, photo booth, welcome table, favor table and he just had space for everything. FYI they have this thing called the MTA…it is a lifesaver. As we got our RSVP’s in, it was so overwhelming, but Michael was to the rescue and when I called him he sent it right over and explained it and having a space to organize our RSVP’s and what meals each guest were getting was so helpful. The best part is when I started getting those calls…”oh don’t sit me with Joann”…it was so easy to drag them to another table. All the woodwinds staff was so knowledgeable about the venue and the food. I didn’t know what to write on our invitation cards for meal selections so I called them up and Kate answered and knew what every food dish was and explained it in such detail I was starving after the conversation. The planning team was impeccable…the night of our wedding was just as smooth and its almost like all the employees were sitting in our meetings and phone calls because they all knew exactly what we wanted, where all the decorations went, even down to what my favorite drink was so I never had to ask. I’m so happy we got married at woodwinds and they made our dreams come true. We could not have asked for a better experience and we may have to start doing anniversary parties just to go back!!!

anessa really helped us with booking by spelling everything out, so it was so easy to understand. When you go on so many tours it can get so confusing, but they have it down to a science to keep it organized. Michael provided us with some tools to help with the planning. They had a way for us to organize our guests at tables and even had an event order where we just had to click and drag things in the order, we wanted them! Michael and Randy were always super prompt with our emails, even at weird hours of the night when we had to add one guest the day before our wedding. We had some pretty wild requests with some of our decorations (which they take care of setting up AND packing up at the end of the night) but they nailed it. We sent Michael a bunch of pictures and when we came for our rehearsal the day before our wedding Sergio was going through them to make sure every detail was perfect. Which leads me onto our day of crew...Sergio made our dreams come to life. He was there for every little thing we needed. We were ready to cut the cake, and when we turned around the photographer was set up, the DJ was playing the music we requested, and he had laid out the knife so that we had to smile and drop the knife onto the cake. He was flawless throughout the evening. We even had a bridal bestie who followed us around the entire night. It was a little cold, and she had a hand warmer for me! After dancing for a little and right before cake she came out with a mirror for us so we could make sure we looked great for pictures! She even made sure we ate and drank... You heard that right...WE ATE AT OUR WEDDING!!! The food was absolutely phenomenal. Michael recommended the Sunday Sauce, if they sold it in jars, we would buy it by the case! All the food was so good! We don't have a single negative thing to say about Woodwinds. Everyone there was so nice and pleasant to work with. Even when we called in payments, Kate at the main desk was super helpful and quick to respond. This is a team of true professionals, and we will be using them in the future!

commodated my weird work schedule. Their gm Randy met me after their normal operating hours which was so incredibly helpful and really set the tone for them. After we met my fiancé and I (oops husband now!) both felt good about the venue, but we had to show our parents. So, we reached out again and asked to schedule a tour for our parents the following weekend where they met with the main saleswoman Vanessa. When my parents left, they were sold. When we booked, we were so pleasantly surprised to have an entire team helping us leading up to our wedding. We worked with Michael, Randy, and Kate. Kate processed all our payments as we chipped away at our balance (they don’t require this, but it was super helpful for us.) Michael was our main planner and coordinator, and he is an absolute expert in the industry! Not only did he have answers to all our questions, but he gave us recommendations along the way and oh boy was he on point! Randy is an amazing asset to the team as well. We think he lives at work because we would email early in the morning, late at night, midday, and sometimes all the above and we would always get a response in less than 5 minutes! I cannot thank the planning crew enough! The night of our wedding we worked with Sergio, and he is such a calm person it really made us feel comfortable. We always hear “oh the day is so hectic” or “time flies” and with Sergio we never felt rushed or pressured. We always felt like everything was under control. Also, our bridal attendant was on point with the mirror. Before pictures, cake, ceremony, entrances, dances she came running out with a little mirror for me to check my hair and makeup. She must have 20000 steps a day just running around with the mirror. That doesn’t even consider bringing me signature drinks and snacks! On a side note, the bartenders are in a class of their own. We had 173 guests and I NEVER saw a line, and everyone complimented how great the drinks were and how friendly and fun the bar staff were. We absolutely love woodwinds, and we haven’t stopped hearing “YOU GUYS HAD THE BEST WEDDING EVER!” from our family and guests. We could not be happier!!!

the wedding was getting closer, working with the Woodwinds was adding more stress to my experience because they had switched our wedding coordinator to Michael after spending so much time going over all expectations with Randy all of those months. They make you fill out several forms, some meaning the same thing in different ways, and make you come in at very inconvenient times during the day. Both my husband and I work full time, and had to time time off from work or leave work early to make these meetings, which added to my stress during the wedding planning process because we had limited PTO since taking off for the wedding and honeymoon. This place will treat you like a car dealership. They promise promise and then there is absolutely no delivery, and unfortunately with weddings you find out as you are getting married that things are not happening. The day of my wedding they asked my photographer to wait to start taking photos because they had a REHEARSAL DINNER GOING ON IN THE ROOM I WAS GETTING MARRIED IN! My photographer is $1400 an hr and had to pause what he was doing to accommodate their rehearsal dinner that was happening right before my ceremony. I was so upset. Not only was that happening, but when I arrived to the venue none of the bridal party gifts I dropped off the day before with instructions were put out. We walked into a dark, empty, cold room. I had to unbox their gifts in my wedding gown, everyone was watching me. It was so awkward. Then no one opened their gifts because it was time to line up. I did not have champagne with my ladies before walking down the aisle, and we did not use the champagne flutes I spent money customizing for them. I was walking over to the groom area to put out their gifts, and the bridal attendant felt bad for me, and grabbed the box and did it for me last minute. Since the staff was busy with the rehearsal dinner, when my guests starting arriving no one knew where to go so MY MOTHER starting directing people where to go. She said to the staff "am I working this wedding or are you? Can someone please help these guests so I can be with my daughter?" On your wedding day, the most important part is marrying the love of your life. I just could not wait to see my husband. When the doors opened and I was about to walk, I noticed that more of what they promised for my setup was not done, but I tried to focus on my groom and what the day was about. The reception finally started and it felt like the staff were finally attending to us like promised. I finally got one of my signature cocktails. So for my signature cocktail, they had me pay extra for my garnish which was not on any of my drinks until I said something. They then put it on only one of my drinks, and then the rest came without it again. I would not have minded, but I paid extra to have it there for a reason and on all of those drinks. They started packing up my centerpieces before my wedding was even over. The only thing they nailed was the food. Sergio and the bridal attendants work so hard, but it seems there is no communication from the coordinator to the people that are actually there working the event. They do too many events at one time it seems and cannot handle it. I read so many great reviews, unfortunately I felt like I didn't receive any of that.

he place for us to celebrate our wedding. They have fitting decorations styled toward each season of the year, and we were in love with the winter décor they showed us. We were shown the various wedding packages and did not feel like they were trying to upsell us on anything. They just wanted to help us design the wedding reception of our dreams. We required a space that could hold 200+ people and their venue clearly could accommodate that wish, with room to spare. Their team checked in with us regularly in the months leading up to the wedding to ensure if we had any questions or worries, that they were addressed and resolved. Meeting in person with the staff the week prior to our wedding, we were shown through the space once again and given the chance to ask any last-minute questions. Dropping off our special wedding decorations was a breeze and having a chance to meet our Maître d’ for the wedding reception was great. The day of our wedding, we were treated like royalty. The bridal attendants made sure we were given plenty of food and drinks and helped move us through the crowds of guests when needed, which was so helpful to stay on schedule with our photographer’s plans. The food and drinks were incredible! Our guests couldn’t say enough kind words about how nice everything was and how much they enjoyed themselves. After our event, the staff packed up all our decorations to return to us in pristine condition, which was very nice of them. All in all, the Woodwinds was everything we hoped it would be and we can’t recommend them highly enough for your next event.

and and always answered promptly! The venue was beautiful and they helped make our vision come to life! The food is incredible and all our guests loved it! They day of coordinator and the bridal attendants went out of their way to make our day so special!

onderful. However, as the wedding was getting closer, it was adding more and more stress to my experience because they had switched our wedding coordinator several times, and when having to deal with a gentleman named Michael, my family and I felt very rushed by him and like he did not want to be bothered by our questions. They were not accommodating with times, as I work full time and so does my fiancé and had to take off several days of work to fit around their schedule when it should be the other way around. Something else that i felt added to my stress, was the fact that I had to write all my guests and what they wanted to eat and sit on a confusing excel format sheet in addition to table place settings. Just added stress and work that should be their job and not the brides. I read so many amazing reviews of the woodwinds and how they are so accommodating to their guests however unfortunately I felt like I didn't receive that same respected treatment from them. The day of the wedding was fine and went smoothly, however the days leading up to the day was extremely stressful and I felt like they had added to my stress as a bride instead of decreasing it and showing the support I needed.

kept saying, “They have weddings and events down to a science!” — which they do! The entire wedding planning experience to the actual day was incredibly organized and handled with the utmost care I’m a project manager and details are my thing and it was such a Godsend to be able to relax and fully trust their team to see the details like we do! Michael our event coordinator responded fast and intentionally to our questions and was so on top of it all. He made us feel relaxed in the wedding planning process and truly taken care of. Emily my bridal attendant made my now husband and I feel like celebrities on our wedding day and was so incredibly kind and comforting throughout the entire day Sergio is a master at presentation and was our tour guide throughout the day we got to enjoy our day and he handled every detail and kept watch on our timeline for us. That was such a gift to be able to be fully present on your wedding day and not have to think, “Oh the bouquet toss is coming up let me keep an eye on the clock” The general manager during our rehearsal was so funny and had my entire wedding party laughing and at ease If you are looking to be fully present on your wedding day and have your guests say, “You had a perfect wedding!” (Which I got multiple texts the next day saying so — the food, open bar, dj setup, everything was on point) then you want to go with The Woodwinds. I toured plenty of venues in Connecticut and it’s truly the best deal you’ll find in the entire state. THANK YOU!!! -Amanda & Joe

e! They make weddings such an easy to plan with the tools and resources you need! The staff are always available via email to answers angry and all questions. I was so confident in them to take our wedding vision and bring it to life. They exceeded my and my now husbands expectations!

his team went above and beyond to make our day perfect. Our guests are still talking about the delicious food and what a flawless day we had - all thanks to Woodwinds. Randy was our day of coordinator and met with us before the wedding and for the rehearsal to make sure everything went smoothly. The staff is friendly, professional, and extremely knowledgeable. We had everything we needed and wanted on our wedding day with Shea and Emily, our bridal attendants. I cannot recommend Woodwinds enough for the off-site wedding of your dreams!

Felt like the staff really cared about making our day special.

ions leading up to our wedding. Olivia, one of the bridal attendants, was very sweet and went above and beyond to make us comfortable on the day of. Would 100% recommend!

the reception. The food was also spectacular. We keep getting comments from our guests about how delicious the food was! We also loved being able to drop off our decorations before the day of the wedding and how the crew set them up perfectly. Everything they do is professional and perfect. I will be telling everyone to use the Woodwinds!

Woodwinds. I always knew fall would be featured prominently, so when looking for venues, we needed a place surrounded by trees. We had toured 8 venues before we toured The Woodwinds. By chance, we toured the day of a Halloween themed wedding... And I am terrified of clowns. However, that didn't deter us. We fell in love with the place. The setting was nothing short of romantic; big enough to fit all of our loved ones but also small enough to feel intimate. We booked 2 years in advance. Vanessa, Ken, and Michael were constantly keeping me in the loop of timelines and due dates, answering any and all questions I had. Finally, the big day arrives... And it rains. As someone who had one picture in my head of what the ceremony would look like for 2 years, I was a little upset about not being able to use the waterfall outside. However, Sergio came to the rescue and suggested we use the Fireplace Room for our ceremony. I'm so glad he did because it was so beautiful. The day was perfect. Everything went off without a hitch. I barely had to lift a finger thanks to the attention to detail of the entire wait staff and our bridal attendant, Marcella. If you're on the fence about the Woodwinds, I hope this steers you in the right direction. You will feel like royalty.

until our wedding day, every single person we interacted with at WoodWinds was phenomenal. Vanessa, Ken, Michael, Sergio, truly everybody went above and beyond and it was clear how highly not only they value what they do, but how highly they value you having the day of your dreams. The food was incredible, communication was fantastic every step of the way, last minute changes were never an issue for the staff; they just know what they’re doing. Everyone I know says how stressful wedding planning is, and I honestly have to say mine wasn’t bad because of the wonderful team at WoodWinds. Thank you all so much!!

ick to get me and my husband whatever we needed. Our guests said that was the most fun and best wedding they ever got to attend. They loved how everything was organized and put. It couldn't have gone better and we would like to thank the entire staff crew who helped us out through this entire process! much love, Josh and Savannah

all of the staff, but especially Sergio who ensured everything went perfectly. The food was absolutely delicious, and the staff was always making sure we were fed, happy and had something to drink! Every one of our guests mentioned how wonderful the evening was and it was one of the best weddings they have been to! We wish we could relive that day over and over again. Thank you!

recommend it! Sergio was there for everything we could have needed and kept a watchful eye on us the whole night making sure we were taken care of and making sure everything ran smoothly! Even stepped in when we had some trouble with the bustle of my dress. My bridal attendant who I unfortunately can't recall her name was an absolute gem! Carrying my dress around the grounds as we took pictures, held my shoes when I couldn't bare them anymore and brought food to our table at dinner to make sure we ate, I think I told her at one point I was leaving my husband for her! The bartenders were fabulous, I rarely saw a line at the bar, and for the small moments there was one, if they saw me coming my drink was being made and ready for me by the time I got up there. I genuinely can't say enough good things about the entire staff at woodwinds, I wish I wasn't so in love with my husband so I could do it all over again!

ge sold us immediately as it pretty much includes everything you need for such a reasonable price. I would highly recommend booking your wedding here :)

recommend.

tive and made sure our entire time went smoothly. My husband and I both cannot think of a moment our drinks got empty or our food plates weren’t filled due to the staff being so on top of everything. From start to finish not a single thing went wrong and that was completely due to the staff being absolutely wonderful to us. All our guests, almost a year later, continue to rave about the food and how great it all really was. The Woodwinds made our day so special and we cannot thank the staff enough the entire planning process all the way through the event! Hopefully soon we will be able to attend another event with there, but for now we will continue to spread the good word about The Woodwinds to all of our friends & family.

eople, everything was perfect! Sergio - thank you so much for all you did for us! he made sure everything ran smoothly, my center pieces and wedding decor were perfect and that everyone was where they needed to be; he was so attentive to us. Sergio you are fantastic at your job i can’t say it enough! Big thank you to the rest of the woodwinds staff for all their help! i wish i could relive my wedding day over and over again because of all of you! thank you again from the bottom of our hearts. if i could give more than 5 stars i would! love the newlyweds Mr. & Mrs. Salato

about the food and the bartenders. Sergio and his staff were attentive and helpful. Highly recommended!

t time. With so much uncertainty for our special day, We were finally able to have our wedding March 27 th 2021! We had a smaller guest list, and Woodwinds made it still such a special day for us! All our family and friends raved about the food and how nice the venue was, from the set up inside, to the grounds outside. From the event planners, Vanessa, Ken, and Randy, to the chefs and wait/bar staff, they are all so invested in making your wedding day so easy going, memorable and special. We couldn’t be more happy with our wedding day! We highly recommend The Woodwinds to everyone for any event! Thank you so much for everything! - The Lombardi’s

our wedding was. Ever since our first visit with you we knew we had picked an incredible place. Our guests couldn’t say enough great things about the food and drinks, you know it’s good when people get up for seconds and thirds 😊 everything was delicious! The bar staff was so friendly and attentive. They did an amazing job making our signature drink! The bridal attendant Kaytlin was so sweet, I had an issue with the bustle of my dress and she got down on the ground and made it work. She went above and beyond all night! Sergio was our maitre d and he was amazing. He kept everything on track and made sure the night went smoothly. Our wedding day was a dream come true thanks to the entire Woodwinds team!

by it. He loves his job and it shows he takes the time to explain everything and is so helpful with the planning. The woodwinds has wonderful packages we went with one that offered a cake from a local bakery and a Venetian table first off our cake was amazing and our guests raved about the food and the extra desserts. Sergio who is our day of coordinator helped us rehearse and laid out my decor for me the exact way that I wanted it he also helped me to enjoy my wedding by letting me know when things needed to be done (cake cutting, toasts etc). The food was incredible the drinks were great the staff made you feel welcome all around an amazing time had by all.

our planning with Kenneth, to our final plans with Randy- everything went smoothly. They all made themselves available to us for anything we needed. Every question/request and accommodation was followed through. Sergio was amazing in helping my vision for decor come to life, he listened attentively in our meeting when I dropped off the items I wanted set up for the reception. The day of our wedding everything was executed perfectly, the food, decor and flow of the night was great. Sergio and Kaytlin were with us all night making sure we had everything we needed. All the staff was amazing.

heard great things and it seemed like a beautiful place where everything would be taken care of for me on the big day. And that’s the truth! I didn’t have to worry about anything because everything was taken care of. They were so easy to work with and very responsive. The night was so beautiful and my husband and I were well attended to all night. I’d always heard you never eat at your wedding but when we came back to our table there was so much food on our table it was amazing! And it was all so delicious. I wouldn’t recommend anywhere else to have a wedding or celebration. I wish I could relive the night!

ng was covered! You won’t regret choosing this incredible venue!

able, elegant and beautiful. Get married here, you won't regret it.

otos. Vanessa & Ken were amazing from the beginning very responsive & never got annoyed with my many questions. All vendors recommended were 5 star! Randy then took over and it was so smooth! Sergio was the bomb!!!! He kept us organized and he made sure the ceremony & reception was top tier! I would love to go back to my special day it was without flaw! My guests are still talking about the food didn’t miss a beat! Me & my husband did not get to eat..no worries the team packed us food to go! The bar was top tier and the waitstaff amazing! Thank you so much guys!!

ur guests have been raving ever since about how much fun it was. We are so glad we chose Woodwinds for our special day!

ve also promised to not run out of favorite alcohol beverages and it was the complete opposite. They’ve only given my bride 1 hr to get ready on site and any woman can tell you that’s not enough to have makeup done and do final touches. It seemed that the wedding next door was interfering with our own which is why I believe thing were so disorganized.I did not feel this venue made our special day worth while. I honestly can’t wait to our 5 year anniversary to renew our vows at a different location.

! He is so attentive, helpful and kind and his passion for his job really shines. The in-office coordinator was so patient in answering my many questions over the last 2 years of planning (& postponing) and we are so grateful for all of his help and the detailed notes he kept to ensure our wishes were met! Everything was exactly how we dreamed it would be. Our guests loved the food, and it was served so quickly and efficiently! The cake was amazing as well and served in the same manner. The uplighting, the tables, the decor, every little detail was done just as we had planned and discussed. My bridal attendant was amazing, kind and so helpful! She did very well with my difficult bustle and was patient even when I was not. Everyone made sure myself and my groom had not questions or needs at any point. They brought us drinks, etc. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect wedding! My only wish is that it could have lasted longer!