The Cloisters Reviews
Reviews
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4.7 out of 5 rating
4.7 out of 5 rating
88 reviews
94% recommend it
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![Marnie]()
Marnie Sent on 05/09/2024✨ A magical day we’ll never forget
I stumbled on Cloisters Castle completely by accident — as I’m based in Brooklyn, I was looking up venues closer to NYC. But when I saw the website for Cloisters, my partner and I knew it was meant to be — my partner’s family is from Baltimore! We decided to visit the venue and on our first tour, we worked with Makayla and Annie, who walked us through the process and potential wedding dates. We decided on April, as the Cloisters doesn’t have air conditioning and we were having a medieval D&D fantasy themed ceremony (and armor gets a bit hot!). Makayla was truly such a kind and organized professional, always responsive and helped myself and my partner throughout the planning process. I really appreciated the whole Cloisters team and their help in making our wedding day extra special for our 93 guests. Makayla had a great packet for us with vendor recommendations, insurance details and a floor plan map. We chose Ashling catering from their list, and their team knew the castle well, so were able to jump right in. We were also able to get access to the venue a day in advance for about an hour to run through our rehearsal. The castle itself has so much charm and decor — we really focused more on the dining and experience, and let the rest of the venue shine. Guests loved exploring the castle and were wowed by the stunning garden with gorgeous flowers. It was absolutely the best venue for us and our wedding day!
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![Mackenzie]()
Mackenzie N. Sent on 07/27/2022The most magical venue!
It is impossible to step foot on this property and not immediately fall in love. My husband and I had wanted a European destination wedding but hated the thought that our family and friends wouldn’t all be able to come. The Cloisters gave us the best of both worlds in the form of a magical, authentic English castle, nestled in a perfect location central to all our guests and us. This gorgeous castle will enchant you the moment you pull up the winding wooded drive and see the gothic spires, stained glass windows, and blooming gardens. There are stunning spaces throughout the castle for ceremonies, dining, dancing, games, and pretty much anything you could ever wish for. One of my favorite features was the turreted walkway for the bride to walk across and ring a huge antique bell before coming down the aisle! Also, you could not possibly have a more atmospheric backdrop for all of your wedding photos. Our guests all commented on how they had never seen a more unique, elegant, and magical wedding venue and how much fun they had exploring the nooks and crannies of the castle all night. If you are looking to lose yourself in a fairytale on your wedding day, you’ve found your venue! -
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![Elena]()
Elena E. Sent on 10/04/2019Love this place!
The staff is very friendly, helpful, and welcoming. It was so much fun to visit we’ve already done it twice! It just feels so warm and inviting thanks to the wonderful staff. We can’t wait to get married there! -
![Sierra]()
Sierra S. Sent on 08/15/2021Loved the castle vibes and the staff :)
We are so happy that we were able to have our wedding at The Cloisters! We visited in the fall and were enchanted by the historic building, the castle/medieval feel, and the variety of spaces available to use (the outdoor garden/courtyard, the amphitheater, and the entire house inside). Walking through the building feels like going back in time or in a fairy tale. It is so nice that when you rent the space you have the entire house to work with. The staff at the Cloisters (Annie, Sarah, Victoria) were also incredibly nice, responsive, and accommodating in planning a wedding in pandemic times. Victoria really went above and beyond during our rehearsal (actually helping run the rehearsal and making sure we all knew where to stand and when to enter, which was incredibly helpful). Victoria also helped with hanging decorations and making a few last light centerpieces - I wouldn't have expected that at all and was really touched by her help. When we had some last minute rain she also was patient bearing with our indecisiveness about whether to move the ceremony inside or not and helping to get chairs upstairs at the last minute. Would highly recommend working with both the staff at the Cloisters and the beautiful venue. Thank you for such a beautiful and memorable wedding! -
![Ashley]()
Ashley W. Sent on 03/16/2019Amazing Enchanting Place
If you want a fairly tale wedding this is it. It has a charm about it that is very unique. Annie and Sarah and the best and you can literally ask them anything. They had nothing but good reviews even compared to other castles in the area. Plus I think they feel a little more like a real castle. I can't wait to share my day with them, after all if it is good enough for Will and Jada Smith, it's good enough for me! One last thing the price for this venue is pretty reasonable, of course Saturday is the highest and there peak season too but no more than what you would expect. -
![Kathleen]()
Kathleen R. Sent on 10/26/2021Just book them!
If you're reading this review, then you're considering Cloisters Castle. Stop considering and just book the venue. The venue itself is so magical, just really breathtaking. It even rained during our ceremony and it was still such an amazing place that it didn't even matter. And the staff are great--they were always super-helpful about answering questions, no matter how small or strange. And they were very willing to work with us to make sure our day was perfect, from getting the rehearsal time just right, to getting us in a few hours early on the day. It's so worth it. -
![Song]()
Song T. Sent on 02/28/2020Wonderfully accommodating staff
Cloisters really is a beautiful location and the staff is extremely willing to help out and accommodate for anything that comes up. -
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![Jared]()
Jared W. Sent on 11/25/2019Incredibly Unique Venue
It's hard to put into words how truly incredible this venue is. From the overall first impressions of driving up through an enchanted forest that opens into an incredible view of the castle, to the tiny, intricate, medieval style details, this place has it all. The staff here is amazing, super responsive, willing to answer any and all questions, and are extremely helpful with day of coordination.
The venue itself is breathtaking. We decided to have ours outside in the cloisters behind the castle, despite it being on November 2nd. The staff does an amazing job taking care of the grounds so there were still flowers and green on the trees, which made it look even more magical. There are tons of rooms for people to explore and there's 3 levels so guests will never be bored during cocktail hour. There's also two suites for the wedding parties to get ready in.
We had a little over 120 people which fit perfectly outside and inside (if you're okay with splitting the guests up between two rooms, which wasn't an issue at all).
Everyone who attended kept commenting on how cool the venue was and how they had no idea something like this was close to the area. Overall incredible venue, staff, and location, and very reasonably priced. 10/10 would recommend to anyone looking for a truly unique venue. -
![Ashley]()
Ashley Sent on 07/27/2019Maryland's Hidden Gem
I don’t know if this venue actually needs my positive review because the photos speak for themselves. The castle is amazingly beautiful. It was the perfect setting for our perfect day. We had a themed wedding that the Cloisters Castle served as the perfect backdrop for. Other than the gorgeous look of the venue though the staff was extremely helpful and accommodating to our needs. We couldn’t recommend having your wedding at this hidden gem in the heart of Maryland more. -
![Misty]()
Misty Sent on 12/28/2018Breathtaking!
Cloisters was the perfect setting for our fairytale wedding. If you have been dreaming of your perfect, princess wedding..look no further! We found Cloisters by chance just browsing the internet and I am so grateful we did. I can't imagine having gotten married anywhere but here.
If you are having a very large wedding you may want to look elsewhere. Our guest count came to around 100 and you cannot fit much more than that inside for dinner if you want everyone in one room. We got married December 2018 so we had both our ceremony and reception inside and it was absolutely beautiful. A wonderfully intimate setting.
Annie and Sarah are amazing. Sarah was attentive, responsive, and so so kind with each and every email or phone call I sent. The day of, the staff was amazing. I could not have worked with better people.
Your guests will rave about this venue! Ours are still talking about it weeks later... most of them even used the pictures they took that night for their Christmas cards this year.
Cloisters could not be a more perfect place!!! Unforgettable! -
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![Sarah]()
Sarah Sent on 03/31/2018After searching a few other places we came back to the one we first had our eye on, Cloisters Castle!! We had our heart set on a sort of renaissance/gothic/romantic wedding in a castle and didn't think we would actually come up with anything in the area but when we found Cloisters we fell in love! It was exactly perfect for us. On our wedding day it was calling for pouring rain, and with a stroke of luck it was the beautiful sunny autumn day in the woods that we had imagined it would be. The rain held off until way later that evening and so everything went exactly as planned and we had our ceremony in the lovely courtyard. The Cloisters staff was wonderful to work with and the property was even filled with beautiful fresh fall flowers and pumpkins. We live about an hour away in Virginia, but having our wedding here was worth the trip up to Baltimore because of just how amazing this venue is. The decor, the fireplaces, the cozy and warm glow of the candles inside, all of it made for the most romantic wedding. Our guests were impressed with just how unique the venue was. The fall foliage around the castle was at peak and driving up that little path to the castle on the day of almost made me cry. It was simply a dream come true. Thank you to everyone at Cloisters Castle for making our day wonderful! High recommend! Photo credit: Kate Ann Photography -
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User2545806 Sent on 03/02/2016I don't even know where to begin! From beginning to end, the entire experience with the Cloisters staff (especially Annie) was out of this world. They are incredibly responsive, flexible, professional and helpful in answering any questions. And I can't go without mentioning the BEAUTIFUL venue itself - there are so many intricate, unique elements in the castle that made the setting unforgettable to me and my wedding guests. I still have guests of my wedding telling me how much they loved my venue!
And right when I thought I was beyond ecstatic with my wedding experience, I was blown away again. After we received our wedding photos, we were really bummed when we realized that we didn't get a chance to capture photos in many of the rooms/areas of the castle - (the chapel, the library, etc.). The wedding day was such an exciting whirlwind that we kind of blew through our photos, not to mention we were on a time crunch. So, a few months after the wedding we reached out to Annie asking if we could possibly come back to the castle to re-take some photos. She said yes - free of charge - so we scheduled a date and time, but due to snow we had to reschedule several times. However, Annie was incredibly flexible and accommodating through the entire process. We finally set a date, pretty much had the castle to ourselves AND several hours to re-shoot our photos, and were treated with the same hospitality as we were on our wedding day itself. Not once were we rushed. And, the photos that we captured are absolutely gorgeous. (If you're concerned with decorations for your wedding, you won't need to do much, because the entire castle-inside and out-is so beautiful and decorative that any room serves as an amazing backdrop!). I feel that not many venues (especially one as busy and in demand as the Cloisters) would allow for a second chance like that.
If you are on the fence about booking the Cloisters - DO IT-you will NOT regret it! It was a perfect, amazing experience! :) -
User1674248 Sent on 06/23/2014We booked the Cloisters a year and a half before our wedding date. It was the first decision that we made, and definitely one of the two most important things (food from Zeffert and Gold was #2 - amazing!) that made our wedding so wonderful.
The Cloisters is a great change from standard big, open, event halls. The building has so much character, that guests can roam around during any part of the wedding just to take it all in. We were worried about two things once we decided on the Cloisters. One, we wanted all of our guests to sit in one area and not be split up among the rooms, and two, the Cloisters doesn't have air conditioning.
Neither of these things were an issue when the day came. We had 110 guests and used the room with the stage for all of our guests to dine, and it was plenty of room. We had our bridal party scattered with close family and us on the stage at three tables, and it worked out perfectly for speeches and the blessing and to keep those people close to us. Plus, since we were all on the stage, people could easily see for the toasts, etc. The temperature was around 83, and the Cloisters does not have air conditioning, but they do have fans. They also have the beautiful Cloister Garden (where we did our ceremony) that you can put a few high top tables in so that guests can go outside as well. The one period where it was getting warm inside, we walked outside and it was beautiful and everyone was mingling checking out the garden and the different areas outside and inside. Five minutes later we were back inside and I honestly never thought about the temperature again. We made the room in front of the dining area the dance floor, and it worked great for our guests.
I think picking the Cloisters as our venue made our wedding extra special. It was such a 'different' place that guests were really interested in it and so many of our guests took pictures of themselves in the different areas. Annie is great to work with as well! -
User1302595 Sent on 08/26/2013Annie and her staff were amazing... Our wedding was perfect in every way.. The gardens were lovely and staff was gracious during our event.. I reccomended the castle highly
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