Westbury Manor — Attraction in Town of North Hempstead

I am a nurse in Queens and my husband is a school counselor in Manhattan for children with special needs. We were originally supposed to get married at Westbury Manor on June 28th, 2020, but had to work through the pandemic instead. My husband is careful and hygienic in his work setting, but still ended up contracting COVID-19 during the pandemic. Luckily, he survived and did not make any of his students or loved ones sick.

At the end of March 2020, working as a nurse through this pandemic, I had to put aside planning our final wedding details and focus on serving my community. With the help of my closest family, my husband and I were married in my mother’s backyard with less than 20 people in attendance, while adhering to the strict COVID-19 guidelines. We debated whether or not to reschedule the wedding reception or to cancel at Westbury Manor.

Each time we contacted Westbury Manor or they contacted us during the pandemic, we asked about cancelling our event, but we were told that wasn’t an option each time. We would lose all of the money we deposited (about $13,500 altogether). In fact, upon rescheduling during the pandemic, they asked for an additional $3000 deposit, which was eventually waived.

Therefore, we rescheduled our event for June 13th 2021. However, since the beginning of the year, it was clear that about half of our guests would not be able to make it as they live in other countries, where vaccines are less available and travel policies are still changing constantly. Many of our local guests are elderly, as well. We did not feel safe or comfortable holding our rescheduled event. Many details were still uncertain, such as: number of guests allowed, precautions needed, safety procedures, and whether or not dancing would be permitted.

In March, Westbury Manor told us that we would not be getting a refund because they could not book another event during our date on such short notice. After several exchanges, and reminding them that we have been asking about cancellations since the beginning of the pandemic, they offered us an “exception” of giving a $3500 refund.

Unfortunately for us, we didn’t realize that there is no Acts of God clause or Force Majeure provision in the contract. To anyone who is getting married in the future and currently reading this, please look for this clause in your contracts! We are NOT lawyers and certainly not offering legal advice, but from what we can tell, it covers things outside of our control, such as natural disasters like the pandemic.

As of right now, we’re not really sure where we stand. As of last week, our banquet manager was on vacation. We think the event has been cancelled, but who knows? Westbury Manor is a small business, and many relief options are now available for them, not even counting losses that can be claimed when filing taxes.

As individuals, we will not be able to reclaim any of our lost deposits. As far as I know, small claims courts in Long Island will award only up to $5000 in damages. Hiring a lawyer to pursue further action may cost as much money as we’ve lost in total, and require a lot of time, as well. We understand that they are a business that has undoubtedly been affected by the pandemic, but we have been hurt, too. To date, we have not received any money back from Westbury Manor. At this point, with all of the issues listed above, I don’t think a full refund should be out of the question.

To those of you looking to get married at Westbury Manor, please be safe, and consider the information I shared above when planning ahead with our uncertain future. Please read your contracts and think twice about scheduling a venue, like...

We were finally married at Westbury Manor on 1/30/22 in the afternoon. This was our 4th wedding date. Due to the pandemic and a blizzard, we went from 6/6/20 to 1/30/21 to 1/29/22 and finally landed on 1/30/22. Westbury was incredible to work with. They helped us seamlessly move the dates and were always there to answer any questions or concerns we had along the way. Ian was hugely helpful from the start of our journey with Westbury and was a big part of our decision to work with this amazing venue from the very start. After finally getting through multiple postponements throughout the pandemic to celebrate our Wedding day, a major Nor'easter was forecasted for the day of our Wedding on 1/29/22. We received a phone call from Jerry Scotto, strongly advising us to postpone again. Our hearts sank. We quickly inquired if there was any availability on Sunday 1/30/22 to which Jerry stated there was an afternoon spot available. With one day's notice, Jerry's candid honesty helped us through a very difficult and challenging situation and decision, especially after what we had been through. Westbury shifted our entire Wedding Day, the day we had been waiting so long to celebrate and it was more perfect, and more beautiful, than we could have ever possibly dreamed of! We had been working with Sandra in the weeks leading up to the Wedding and she was there with us on our Wedding Day throughout the entirety of the party. Her genuine compassion, kindness and true whole-hearted hospitality and care guided us through a seamless day. Susan was our bridal attendant. Susan's kindness, patience, attentiveness and dedication allowed us to have such a wonderful experience at Westbury Manor from start to finish. Susan graciously helped me with my dress when I needed to head up the stairs, or into the restroom, and bustled my dress up so beautifully and quickly. Susan made sure we enjoyed all of the delicious food throughout our Wedding, and we truly did. The variety, quality and amount of food served at our Wedding was unbelievable. From start to finish, from cocktail hour to dessert, even the chocolate fountain was amazing! Our guests were well fed, taken care of, happy, comfortable and never wanted for anything. The service was impeccable. The Manor made our signature drinks to perfection! We can attest to an absolutely beautiful canvas for a true Winter wonderland Wedding. Throughout the party, the room's lighting was consistently adjusted, which actually made it feel like evening time. We felt so lucky as it felt like we had the best of both worlds, a beautiful day time afternoon party, combined with the evening feeling! It was amazing! Each room in the Manor is more captivating than the next. When we entered the Manor Room before our reception began, I couldn't believe my eyes. The staff at Westbury Manor decorated the space, personalized for us with the items we brought! We worked with Gary for flowers at the Westbury Manor, and his talent for creating the most beautiful floral arrangements for every one of our tables, and for our bouquets and boutonnieres was absolutely incredible. The flowers on our Wedding cake were also so perfect and beautiful! Gary drove out in the snow the next morning, and hand delivered all of our flowers! The professionalism of this venue and every possible aspect of it is unmatched. We will never forget this day for the rest of our lives. We are so grateful to Westbury Manor! Thank you SO much...

A true gem. Do not pass up on the opportunity to have your wedding at the Westbury Manor. From the first meeting, I knew it was the place for us. The owner is very professional and honest. This is important when picking a venue as you want to work with people who care about the couple and not just the money. The staff obviously values their couples and their job. It is a warm and welcoming atmosphere with staff who have been there years, which is a good sign! I will next start with my experience visiting venues. I searched all over Jersey, Brooklyn, and Long Island. Other venues offered little, the food I could tell would not be quality, the places were cookie cutter looking, and overpriced. The WBM offers what they do not. It's all about the money with most places. When we got to the WBM, I initially was drawn by their professionalism, honesty, and the beauty of the venue. Two men dressed in butler style attire opened the doors for us. There was a live piano player at the bar to the left. The venue is a Victorian Mansion with wood and decoration and paintings. There are old school phone booths to the right. The waiters are also dressed elegantly. I truly stepped back in time! I love the Victorian era. You are not in a typical catering hall here. This might seem minor, but at other places, the bathrooms look like you're at the airport. Not here. The bathrooms were very elegant too. Your guests will be impressed with the fine quality of everything they see as soon as they enter. The manager took us into the garden. It was spectacular. Fountains, greenery, flowers, little ponds, rocks with waterfalls, peacocks, quaint bridges. You just have to see it for yourself. Now, another thing I noticed at other places was if it is raining, there is no beautiful place for cocktail hour. This is important. The WBM has a gorgeous indoor library and also a sunroom with antique, stained glass windows. So do not worry about bad weather, because the cocktail hour will be gorgeous, not in some corner room like I've seen at other weddings with everyone cramped together. One of the most important things about a wedding is the food. The guests said the food was excellent. The recipes are passed down through generations, so it isn't commercial food. Just eat at the restaurant on a day when it is open, and you'll see how excellent the food is. There was so much good food at the cocktail hour, my guests were blown away. They offer many options and stations which is hard to find now. Our wedding was outside in the garden area on a nice, warm day, which made it stunning as well. The experience was out of a movie. My niece thought she was in the Secret Garden and playing. As for the party, it was a lot of fun, the food was raved about, the service was quality, and there were many options for dinner, not just three. That is also a huge plus. Much is included. The cordial bar was fantastic; guests can get cappuccino and other drinks, not just regular coffee like at most places, and the drinks were good too. You can get different desserts. My Maitre'D Phil, and Bridal Attendant, Claudia, were professional and helped us a lot. He helped decorate the cake with my aunt and make the place look beautiful. I would not pass this place up as the quality is hard to find. Also Sandra worked with us towards the end and is the most patient, kind and helpful person. Everyone was great. Thanks Westbury Manor and Jerry...