173 Carlyle House

Excellent

I can't say enough good things about the Carlyle House! It was perfect for our 150-person May wedding. They were, without a doubt, my favorite vendor to work with. The year leading up to the wedding, Gerise answered every single email and question I had promptly. You'll find during the wedding planning process that that kind of prompt communication is incredibly rare. They're incredibly experienced, so if you have any sort of off-the-wall idea, they've done a wedding like that before and can send you a layout and ideas around that. Weddings are expensive, and while we still spent more than we hoped originally, it's so great they don't try to price gouge you every step of the way like some places. Day of, we were treated very luxuriously, there were plates made up for the groom and I from the buffet line and cocktail hour by their staff, and our families felt well taken care of as well. We were able to be pretty minimal on the decor, too, as the venue is so beautiful, and there are beautiful photo opportunities everywhere. A lot of chairs, tables, and linens are included which will also save you money. The weather was touch and go day of our wedding, and apparently they kept moving the ceremony back and forth outdoors to indoors back to outdoors unbeknownst to me as the rain kept stopping and starting, which was incredibly nice of them, and we were ultimately able to get married outdoors! The paved terrace is wonderful for outdoor ceremonies since it dries quickly. They also allowed us to come a little early for photos without charge, because the rain was going to ruin our plans for photos at the park. We LOVED the fried chicken, and the shrimp and grits martini station in particular, and the charcuterie and hummus spreads were gorgeous during cocktail hour. Our bartenders followed our instructions perfectly for our signature cocktails and garnished them beautifully. If your friends are degenerates like mine, be sure to ask the bartenders not to allow shots--unlike a lot of other event venues, they'll allow it and it probably put a few of our guests over the edge by the end of the night! The stories were hilarious though so many thanks to the Carlyle House for helping us throw the beautiful ceremony and the raging reception I dreamed of!