Branford House Mansion Reviews

My husband and I got married at the Branford House in April, and it could not have been a more perfect venue choice. The scenery is second to none, year round, hands down. It can truly be decorated to fit anyone’s style, and it creates such a special, unique space for each person’s day. The option to have all parts of the wedding inside or outside was a huge draw for us, and it was so nice to be able to utilize the beautiful indoor space and the peaceful outdoor space!

I don’t even know where to begin (in the best way) about the House Manager, Bethany. Bethany was absolutely AMAZING in helping us coordinate using the space for our day. Her knowledge of what works well in the indoor and outdoor spaces and just of weddings in general was invaluable to us. Bethany was patient, accommodating, and so willing to help with anything we needed. We knew immediately after meeting Bethany that we wouldn’t be able to find a better person to work with for our day — she is truly so kind and welcoming, and it made all the difference. Bethany is truly one of the kindest, most wonderful people I’ve ever met, and we will be eternally grateful to her for helping us make our day perfect!

(Photos done by Molly Mia Photography & Film and SMS Photo).

Honestly this location was amazing I’d suggest it to all friends an family

The Branford House Mansion was a dream come true. From working w/ the SUPER nice manager (Bethany) to the gorgeous mansion on the Long Island Sound, we couldn't have asked for a better venue for our wedding.

The most amazing wedding venue! Bethany & Bailey were fabulous to work with! I am so glad we picked the Branford House for our Fall wedding in CT. The house, the lawn, the water view, the wrap around patio - everything at the Branford House is picturesque. We were able to do our ceremony on the lawn, cocktail hour on the patio, and dinner and dancing inside the Branford House. It flowed perfectly and the venue was the perfect size for our 135 person wedding. The ability to work with any vendor (beverage must be done through Uconn) and 10 hour venue rental timeframe are two of the many factors we loved. This gave us plenty of time for our first look, ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner and dancing all at the Branford House. Would highly recommend this venue!

Wonderful place! Ask easy to work with!

This is such a stunning site for a wedding. Katherine was very easy to work with--she was responsive and helpful and very accommodating. The house has everything you could hope for, from a great kitchen for the catering staff to a beautiful room for the bridal party to get dressed in, and the fireplaces are stunning. Plus, you can bring your own vendors/caterer in, which very few other sites in the area allow. This flexibility allowed us to have exactly the wedding we wanted. We had a wonderful winter wedding here and walking down the staircase to get married in front of the main fireplace was like something out of a fairytale. The views out to the ocean are stunning and you really feel as though you have stepped back in time. The woodwork is incredibly intricate too, which makes for exceptional photo opportunities. I could not be happier with the venue!

My wedding is 1/1/2016 and I have been working with the Branford House, and Katherine since last March. They have been nothing short of wonderful, flexible, nice and open. I cannot wait until my wedding and I will definitely write a review after ward. My friends and family said this was hands-down the best wedding - most elegant, most fun, gorgeous venue they had ever seen! I highly recommend it. The staff is amazing, friendly, low-key and flexible.

There was nothing like the views that the Branford House provided! The backdrop of the house and the water view made our wedding breath taking. What we enjoyed most about the Branford House was their flexibility. We could use any vendor we liked, and as the bride, we were able to get ready right at the house. Katherine was responsive, and helped us to find a spot for the huge tent we put out on the back lawn. We know it was a difficult task because there was construction going on, but she got it done!

Thank you Katherine!

We had our wedding at the Branford House Mansion on 7/17/15 and it was absolutely perfect. Everyone loved the venue and kept saying how beautiful it was. The best thing is that the place looks so good on its own that expensive/elaborate decorations are not needed :) Katherine and the day of coordinator were wonderful to work with and kept everything running smoothly. Katherine always got back to us quickly with answers to any questions we had and was very helpful when we decided last minute to put a tent up on the patio. Overall, I would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for an indoor/outdoor venue with a beautiful view of the ocean!!

Kathleen was very helpful, easy to get ahold of, and very accommodating for the many times I went with a vendor to look at the space to help map out where we're setting everything up. Beautiful place and outside area.

The Branford House is a beautiful location for a wedding. I got married a few days ago and was able to get ready on site. Our ceremony was set up for outside on the lawn facing the water, but the storm that rolled through forced us to re-evaluate our plans and we moved everything inside. The woodworking on the walls, large windows, lovely chandeliers and overall rich and glamorous interior made for a lovely ceremony and striking photos. Everyone raved over it. I am so glad that we could have a backup plan work out so well.

The planning leading up to the wedding has been stress-free and smooth with Katherine, the coordinator for the House. I highly highly recommend this venue. I would like to point out that you would have to bring in everything but tables and chairs.

Beautiful setting, gorgeous building, wonderful House Manager & staff. Even better, proceeds go to the mansion upkeep & to local campus programs, which we loved. Very little decoration needed to make the interior & exterior presentable & "wedding ready". Outside patio stones are a bit uneven, but it is a very old house so that is not unlikely. Our guests enjoyed admiring the amazing architecture & strolling around to take in the serene ocean view. Despite being on grounds opened to the public, our event at The Branford House Mansion felt very private. Our event had a really nice, flexible timeframe to mold to our wedding day's needs & Katherine was lovely to work with. A little tricky for some guests to get to, but an overall convenient location for those craving pics of oceanside nuptuals (like we were). Unique, Philanthropic & Unforgettable. Our wedding there was all I had imagined & more. Guests are stillreeling over the place! I would certainly recommend this venue for those looking to have a unique wedding experience some place other than a banquet hall.

Kathryn Pollard, Director of The Branford House at Avery Point, UCONN, Groton, CT - the most helpful persons I have ever dealt with while planning an event. She was easy to get along with, flexible, accommodating and just plain nice. In fact, Kathryn went out of her way to connect me with the bride and groom who were renting the location for the next day to see if we could share the tent - once up and once down rather than the tent company having to come in and out twice - saved both us and the wedding party for the next day a lot of money! Compared to another similar location also owned by the State of Connecticut, and also located right on Long Island Sound - we absolutely hit the jackpot with The Branford House.

Beautiful location, beautiful bride, great day! Thank you, Kathryn!

We knew this was the place for us the moment we walked into the main room! The Branford House is a beautiful venue, and perfect for our unique day! Like most of the mansions, there were some restrictions on decorations and expectations on the time that we would be in and the time we'd be out, but they were more than reasonable and we never ran into any issues. It was a huge help having a caterer that had worked the venue, as the kitchen is in the basement so when making our seating arrangement, I knew in advance where there would be extra traffic coming in and out. The layout was also perfect for us - we had 125 guests, and the house is divided into three rooms. We were able to fit everyone in the main room and one of the wings, giving us another room empty for the dancing, which was perfect! With a few flowers and a couple of candles, our event was in the most beautiful of settings!

This venue is beautiful. It is right on the water. So many places to take gorgeous pictures. All my guests loved the architecture.

The Branford House is an absolutely stunning venue. We had the ceremony outside on the lawn by the water, cocktail hour on the patio, and dinner and dancing inside. It's great for a summer wedding (like hours), but we did see gorgeous photos of inside weddings during the winter holidays. It's not the cheapest of venues, but it's worth every dollar. The house manager is most helpful, and she helped ensure that the planning and big day went smoothly. The Branford House will let you select your own caterer, DJ, florist, etc. When we first saw the Branford House, we knew we wanted to get married there, and it turned out to be the most perfect day. We highly recommend the Branford House (plus, the cost of renting the mansion goes towards the university's educational programs, so that was a nice added bonus).

AMAZING LOCATION!!!!!! I was blown away the first visit out there. The wedding was beautiful and the guests were blown away by the location. All Around great day!

The Branford House is a magical setting for your wedding or celebration. Katherine, the manager, is amazingly helpful and wonderful too.

We had our wedding at the Branford House 9/21/13 and it was terrific! The venue is absolutely beautiful and we ended up with a late-summer afternoon wedding on the lawn as the sun set and sail boats quietly coasted in the water. My wife went to school in Newport, RI and wanted the Newport feel without making our guests stay in hotels for Newport prices. The Branford House has all of the beauty and elegance that you would see in Newport at a much more reasonable price.

The price of the venue has gone up slightly but is still pretty reasonable relative to other options. You have to pay to use their wooden chairs if you decide that you'd rather use those instead of the free plastic ones. Given how expensive the venue was and that they already owned the chairs, this extra charge was a little surprising. Also, if you decide that you wish to use the lawn (say you want to do a big tent on the grounds) there is another charge for that.

We did the ceremony outside with the dancing under a tent on the patio and the meals inside which was terrific. The venue is so beautiful it is nice to be able to use as much of the space as possible which we felt like we were able to do. The only complaint we have about the facility is the bathrooms - they are okay and certainly functional but not terribly nice. The staff actually did some decorating for us ahead of time which was very nice of them.

Overall would absolutely recommend the Branford House - you and your guests will without question have a day that you will never forget.

One last item of note, if you are going to have your wedding at the Branford House, make sure you get a good photographer. There is such beautiful architectural detail that having a great photographer is really worth the cost (we hired Joshua Behan and the pictures are terrific).

We were SOOO happy that we chose the Branford House for our venue! The management was amazing and helped us plan every step of the way. They were very flexible and accommodating. Any questions we had were answered in email or over the phone right away. We had our ceremony on-site and had to be indoors due to weather, but it was so easy to make the last-minute change and we were happy there was a pretty room with a fireplace to use as our backdrop. We ended up having a ridiculously stormy day for our wedding and because of the beautiful architecture and features inside, we were still happy because it felt like we were in an old castle. All of our guests loved it and said it was so unique! The waterviews are gorgeous and would recommend this venue when you can show the beauty outisde as well!

Absolutely Beautiful!!

I had the pleasure of hosting my wedding here in May of 2024. I was initially very hesitant to book this venue as I wanted a true "wedding venue", not a venue that is able to host weddings. However, my husband was totally in love with the setting and I'm so glad we booked our event here! From the start Bethany and her team were great to work with. Their hours seem to be a bit sporadic so if we had a question for their team, we found it was best to email. Responses were not immediate, it did often take a few days to hear back which was fine, it just meant we had to plan ahead with our questions!

While Branford House isn't a "wedding venue" specifically, they are able to offer many of the items needed to host a wedding, including tables and chairs, which made planning so much easier. Additionally, they do not require the use of a specific caterer though they do provide a list of vendors that have worked the venue before. Given that the venue was built as a home and subsequently has a more challenging floor plan to accommodate, I was grateful that we elected to work with a catering company that's familiar with how Branford House operates. However, they do require that if you are serving alcohol that you contract with UConn Catering for bar services.

My husband and I held both our ceremony and reception at Branford House with the ceremony outside and the reception inside. Because the venue is on the water I did need to account for humidity and wind when planning my hair/makeup as well as ceremony decor. Additionally, because Branford House is considered state property, renting the property does not include the sidewalks behind the mansion along the Sound-- meaning that depending on how things are staged, you could have strangers in the background of the photos. My husband and I did not have this experience but it was something that we took into account when booking the venue. Overall though, this was the perfect setting and perfect venue for our day.

Bethany helped us plan our wedding at the Branford House, and we cannot say enough about her or the venue. You can see for yourself how absolutely stunning the Branford House is – from the ocean view to the romantic wood décor, we felt like royalty getting married in such a place. Bethany is the manager, and she was wonderful to us. She cheerfully fielded multiple phone calls and emails about even the tiniest of details, sending us pictures of the beautiful mantlepieces and videos of measurements she took for our floral arrangement planning. She also went above and beyond in coordinating with our caterer the day of our wedding to help set up and take down our ceremony and reception. She helped us fit a relatively large winter wedding indoors without it feeling crowded at all, and we are so grateful for all the care she took with us and our day. I know it’s something she does every weekend, but she truly made us feel like the only wedding of the year and her priority, and it was wonderful to know we were in such caring hands.

I can’t say enough good things about the Branford House. I went to a wedding there years ago and it absolutely blew my mind. When we got engaged, I knew we needed to get married there! The building itself is gorgeous, and the views are breathtaking! We lucked out with the best weather and were able to have our ceremony outside on the lawn. Katherine was great to work with from start to finish. Our guests were completely wowed. I can’t wait to see our professional pictures! If you’re having your reception inside, there are some challenges as it’s separated into three rooms and is unlike many traditional venues. Hire good vendors (especially a day-of coordinator!) who know the space and you won’t have any issues. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day!!

The Branford House was the perfect wedding venue for us. Katherine was very easy to work with, and we loved that we could work with any vendors we wanted. You can't beat the beautiful stately exterior, stunning dark woodwork inside, and those ocean views - all of our guests loved it and it had the classic romantic ambience that we were looking for.