The Graylyn Estate Reviews

My husband and I had the most beautiful fall wedding at Graylyn! It turned out better than we had even hoped.

The beauty of the surroundings was a source of constant comment and exhilaration from our guests. Small details that we were initially somewhat concerned about in terms of the flow of our schedule worked out beautifully. The different rooms and outdoor spaces created a sense of anticipation, wonder, and surprise at each stage of the wedding celebration.

The Graylyn staff was attentive, warm, and professional. We were so impressed by them. Cindy and Chandler in particular were extremely accommodating and helpful in bringing our vision to light, and worked closely with us to plan everything throughout the course of a year.

The food was delicious and the bartenders were great. The getting-ready rooms for the bridesmaids and groomsmen were perfect spaces. Finally, many of our guests stayed at Graylyn which was really fun and special, as people had traveled from all over. Our guests loved exploring Winston. We would do it all over again in a heartbeat!

We had a rehearsal dinner at The Graylyn Estate in late September. It really was the perfect venue for us. Dinner was held in the Atlantis Room and the after party was held right outside in the White Garden. The staff made planning a breeze; many options for food and drink and they offered several useful suggestions for how the evening would unfold. All the food was excellent, in particular the lamb. We could not have imagined a better place - a cool fall evening affair at a stone mansion, beautiful landscaping, great food and drink, lovely attentive staff, and time with family and friends (with a full moon to boot)!

Working with Graylyn for our October 2023 wedding as absolutely incredible. Every wish was accommodated, responsiveness from Graylyn coordinators was always timely and helpful, especially when working with Cindy. I cannot express enough how wonderful my wedding experience at Graylyn was. Graylyn was a stretch for our budget and not only would I pay for it over and over again, but the staff understanding of our budgetary limits truly made the experience so comfortable. The venue itself is irreplaceably beautiful, the food was INCREDIBLE we got so many compliments on this), and bartenders and waitstaff were so friendly. Graylyn provides an unforgettable experience. I cannot stress enough how magical our day was and I am so thankful we picked Graylyn.

Excellent venue to host a wedding or any other special day.
The venue supported all our request and due to COVID kept me well informed on what we could / could not do based on NC Governors guidance.
Additionally, staying at Graylyn made the experience that much more special and took a lot of stress out of that special day.

Chandler: She did an amazing job walking us around the property, showing us the layout of the manor including hotel rooms available (pet friendly), wedding ceremony, reception, cocktail hour set up, etc. Furthermore, due to COVID, we had to change the date which was a non-issue for Graylyn to include reduction of guest allow from initial contract to final contract.

Susan: She was amazing! As my daughters "Wedding Coordinator", Susan was easy to work with and facilitated the experience. Furthermore, she was very receptive to all my questions/concerns. Additionally, she was accepting of my tent layout to what I wanted, spreadsheet with table seating, meal selection, special request, and under 21 numbers. Susan and her team had the tent set up when we needed to facilitate our wedding items that we brought, managed the staff during the dinner, and even repacked our wedding items after the event, Overall - Susan handled everything and anything I requested, changed, updated, or had questions. Excellent coordinator, could have not ask for a better coordinator.

Jennifer (x2) Reservations: Both Jennifer's assisted me when it came to room reservations. Additionally, with COVID, had room cancelations, then rebooking at least 3 times and they both worked with me to insure we had the number of rooms that I needed. Additionally, they ensured we had "pet friendly" rooms.

Kathy: She was great when dealing with payment(s) and keeping track of all the transactions that I did. She was very helpful if/when I had questions and everything was kept up to date with additions and subtractions from the event.

Overall, great experience with Graylyn but based on asking my daughter if she was happy and satisfied which is all that matters.

I had my dream wedding in this beautiful venue. With castle vibes I felt like a princess, or rather like a queen. The staff was always very friendly and professional, the facilities are so elegant and with precious details. Graylyn's story spanning the years just sets the scene for a perfect wedding. I could not have chosen a better venue, Graylyn made my wedding a fairy tale. Everything looked beautiful and perfect, elegant and very fine. I love and will love Graylyn forever.

Fairytale wedding dreams come true!
After having to reschedule my dream wedding in Italy due to Covid I had no idea I could find something as beautiful so close to home in Winston Salem NC! From the very beginning , from setting foot into Graylyn I knew it was the place. So beautiful and romantic and reminiscent of a European castle. Chandler and Julia were amazing and guided me every step
Of the way. They are true professionals and felt like family right away. The grounds and buildings on the property are equally as beautiful and the perfect backdrop for
Our wedding photos. All my guests statyed in the Mews and were all speechless on how beautiful the property was. The staff are all so wonderful and friendly. Seriously make you feel like you’ve rented the entire place to yourself. If I could do my wedding all
Over again I would at Graylyn 1000 times. The food is delicious. We had the private tasting with the chef and it was so special. They really treat you like a princess from
The very beginning. If you are looking for the most romantic picturesque that your guests will be talking about for years book at Graylyn! Also a special thanks to Green Bee Florals, local to Winston, for the most amazing flowers I’ve ever seen! It’s been 2 weeks since my wedding and I’m still on a high. Thank you Graylyn and Julia for everything!

We got married at the Graylyn estate in March this year. The day turned out perfect - the wedding in the white garden was beautiful, the food was great and the staff was incredible and very efficient and welcoming.
Courtney helped coordinate with us and did a fantastic job of helping us navigate the details of the venue and answering our many many questions throughout the 6 months of planning. She also helped coordinate with the staff on the day and worked closely with our day-of coordinator. Everything worked like clockwork (or we didn't notice otherwise!).

Graylyn was gorgeous and we loved having our wedding there! If we had to do it again, we'd pick Graylyn in a heartbeat.

We absolutely loved having our wedding and reception at Graylyn! Laurie was great to work with when we initially booked and she always took the time to answer our questions. From there, we worked with Courtney to coordinate all the details of the day and she was WONDERFUL! She took the time to answer all of our questions throughout the planning process and really listened to our ideas for how we wanted our wedding day to go. She was so responsive, thorough, and detail oriented! Throughout our whole wedding weekend we were so impressed by all of the Graylyn staff as well. Everyone we interacted with was so friendly and welcoming! We could not have imagined a more perfect venue!

I am very happy to say that I got married at the Graylyn Estate! It is such a beautiful estate inside and out with lots of history. The White Garden with the gazebo was absolutely beautiful for my spring wedding and the Atlantis Room was the perfect place for my reception. I do not believe that there could have been a more perfect place to have my wedding. Laurie Connolly and Julia Campbell were so helpful and responsive. The staff went above and beyond our expectations and our wedding would not have been the same without them. Also, I was very happy with the pricing they offer for a Sunday day wedding.

The entire staff was incredible to work with! It can be on the pricier end of things, but honestly it's worth it. If I could relive my wedding at the Graylyn Estate, I would without a doubt!

Beautiful historic venue with all the dining extras included with a fabulous meal. Quality service, decor, attention to detail exceeded expectations!

My mom hosted my bridal luncheon at Graylyn and my bridal party also got ready there the morning of the wedding. Farah and her team made this a topnotch experience. I have a gluten allergy and the chef made an impeccable menu for me and a separate menu for my bridal party, which everyone loved. Graylyn went above and beyond to make sure my wedding weekend was absolutely perfect. Farah was wonderful to work with and made planning these events from afar an ease and stress-free. If you're looking for a great team to work with and an absolutely stunning location, Graylyn is for you!

Graylyn was the perfect place for our wedding reception. We had a December wedding and the place was beautifully decorated for Christmas. You really do not have to add much (if anything) to the location with all of the poinsettias, bows, christmas trees that are throughout the home. Farah was very good to work with. She works hard, remains organized and was extremely helpful the day of the event. Also, a shoutout to the butlers and house staff who made the weekend very special with individualized service to our guests! Our guests loved the venue!

I say enough about what a wonderful rehearsal dinner Graylyns put on for my son, bride, family & friends! The place itself is so beautiful and elegant. Every detail was taken care of from the cocktail hour to the delicious dinner. Many thanks to Paula Glover "Special Events Coordinator" for making this such a special evening to remember !

We used Graylyn for our wedding ceremony and reception.
It is a bit pricey, but it's totally worth the money we paid. The venue is absolutely beautiful, and your package includes bridal portrait location, rehearsal and venue coordinator. The fact that they could provide ceremony venue, reception venue and accommodations did save us a lot of time, and made the wedding planning less painful.
Laurie, Kellen were very helpful with wedding package selection and accommodation bookings. Farah helped me to plan all the details on wedding. She worked very hard to provide solutions for our special requirement, and we were happy with how our wedding day turned out.
One thing I have to mention is, all the staff at Graylyn were so nice and warm that they made the entire quality of the service even more classy.
Overall, we were very happy with the overall services we got.

Graylyn Estate was the perfect location, an venue to hold my Wedding. They helped me achieve my fairy tale Day with all the help they provided me, by accommodating my every wish & giving me options that pleased me when we had to use a backup plan because of Rain, an there wonderful Staff is beyond pleasant an friendly. You cant go wrong with choosing this venue for whatever reason you may need it for.

Graylyn is a fairytale come true. I absolutely love this estate. My ceremony was in the White Garden and the reception indoors in the main house. The newly renovated Mews is a great addition to the property - Still looks period on the outside, but modern and comfortable on the inside - we rented one of the suites for our wedding night and it was perfect. They were very accommodating to our special meal requests - as my husband is vegan, though I feel there could be even more variety other than fried tofu and veggie burgers. I love that there is only one event per day, it made me feel like I really had the freedom to feel at home in the house and my guests felt at home as well. The food is a little pricey here, but the service is spot on.

The PLACE itself and the WAITSTAFF are the reason to go there. If you are looking for professionalism from the planners, then forget it! Laurie, Farah, and Carol, all three need other appointments elsewhere. Laurie was pushy as to how many rooms we wanted to reserve and wasn't easy to deal with when our plans changed from attendees for the rooms, but thanks to my friends and family, we found replacements to occupy the rooms. The room we selected for ourselves, the Louie Baker Suite, was not our style at all. Farah did not attend to much of what I had asked, and the set up was all wrong! I had to change the area to accommodate for even my small party, and the tables were too close, no room to walk the "aisle" no table for gifts or the guest book or gifts. We kept calling Farah while I got ready, to get the set up complete. She was not a help and I was informed she was not scheduled to be there our day, as she was being terminated. GOOD! Carol, who supposedly hails from WFU, the accountant, cannot withdraw from your account without the agency thinking it is fraud! She made too many attempt to procure the pmt when it was fully available and is an insult to the work accountant. My friends and family helped our day to turn out grand, along with the superb waitstaff. The waitstaff really pitched in when those who should have been there to assist, were not. The home and grounds are magnificent, and comfortable. Please don't let this honest review of the planners and assistants deter from Graylyn.

Beautiful Venue. Great Food (and catering service was phenomenal). Terrible planning and communication with Susan, the wedding coordinator. I understand that I was planning a wedding during a pandemic, but they refused to give me a proper tour of the place. When it came to the wedding day, the floor plan was half done and had never been discussed in detail with me despite my multiple efforts to iron out the details. We discussed a tent option in case of rain, but I made it clear that I did not want a tent unless it was needed. When there was a 50% chance of rain on my wedding day, I reached out the day before to discuss options (like delaying the ceremony time). She refused to talk to me or my dad over the phone (my dad was paying and wanted a proper phone call) and she basically said the only option was to pay for the $3000 tent that I had already clearly declined and then she forwarded me to the billing department, and I didn't hear from her after that. Not only was it rude, it completely ruined the night before my wedding as I was going back and forth with my family about how to pay for this ridiculous tent that I didn't want. The morning of the wedding it was steadily raining, and my family was working their butts off to make sure that the tent that we were being forced to use (and pay for) looked pretty. My cousin asked the coordinator if we could get the table cloths that we were promised, and she said that they would get them when my family "got out of the way". I ended up having the ceremony and reception under the tent and guess what - it stopped raining right before I started walking down the aisle. If we had delayed it like I asked, it would have been exactly like I wanted. My advice: have your baby shower, wedding shower, business luncheon, wedding photos, etc. here. Don't get married here. If you must (it really IS SO beautiful!), hire a wedding planner to deal with the staff for you and wait until ALL of the covid restrictions are lifted. They won't compromise with you.

I don’t recommend this venue at ALL. They have an extremely shady bait and switch approach to selling their venue. During the tour we were shown the White Garden for our ceremony, the Dining Wing for our dinner and the Atlantis Room for our reception. 

We signed the contract in Oct 20 for our wedding in Oct 21. I told them I wanted a year to plan. We understood that with the unpredictability of Covid, our guest count might change a little, but at this point vaccine rollout plans were being made so we weren't too worried about anything beyond a guest cap and masks. 

In Oct they said that an event coordinator for the venue would be reaching out to introduce herself shortly. This hadn't happened by Dec, so I reached out and received a greeting. She said since our wedding was so far out she was in "no hurry to nail down details" and told us we could start planning "in the spring." I went ahead and asked about using lights in the Atlantis Room. She said yes.

Mid-March we got updated Covid guidelines for the venue saying no dancing, no more than 25 people, seated dinners, and this applies to weddings through Dec 21. They said they would be reaching out to couples in the coming weeks. We decided we didn't want to have a wedding like this. I noticed then that the contract didn’t include dancing and our reception was listed as the Dining Wing, not the Atlantis Room, despite having been told that's what we would have BEFORE we signed, and the acknowledging of our intent to use it in December AFTER. 

We had to be the ones to reach out again and ask about these guidelines in mid-April where they said our contract would work "as written", they would split our guests up to opposite sides of the building to get around their own capacity cap. This was an even worse option for us so we asked if we could schedule a call to discuss maybe some other options and received a date and time a week out. 15 minutes before our call, she asks to reschedule but the soonest she could reschedule to would be a week later. We felt brushed off, so we just emailed back that we would like to cancel the wedding. 

A week later, someone emails us and says we are within 180 days from our wedding at the date of our cancellation request that according to our contract we owe 50% of the listed contract estimate. We asked why since nothing has been planned outside the date, and we were TOLD we couldn’t begin planning until the spring despite us having previously asked (In Dec). After a week of no reply we sent a second email stating that we understand the deposit is gone, but we're unsure why we are expected to pay 50% of the contract when nothing else has been done on their part, and we only ended up within 180 days because we had been told to wait to begin planning.

After another week, we finally get a reply telling us we have three options: Keep the date (4 months to plan now), Reschedule for a year out(not an option for us), or pay to cancel. 

I feel they intentionally delayed the planning of our wedding because they sold us verbally on all the beautiful details that we didn't notice never made it into the contract. They delayed our planning as long as they could so that when we DID find out THEIR plans for our wedding we owed them money legally despite NO planning having been done AT ALL outside of holding the date. I cannot recommend people avoid this venue enough and I will absolutely be steering every engaged person I know of AWAY from this trap of a venue.