The Wadsworth Homestead — Local services in Town of Geneseo

After booking the venue, I quickly realized that the owner, Will, was unresponsive and the day of coordinator that became involved afterward also did not make it a priority to respond. When we expressed concern about this, it was addressed in a condescending tone and sarcastic replies. I continued to only get replies when the event was less than a month away. On the day as guests started to arrive things went downhill quickly. There was nobody there to greet our guests or tell them where to go; and I found out that my GROOM was having to do that job. As I was waiting to walk down the aisle, I reminded the owner we needed rows open for the ceremony so that my wedding party could sit after I walked down the aisle. It wasn't until I was at the alter where I looked out and saw that there were not enough seats. I was embarrassed that my venue did not count the amount of chairs after I gave multiple counts. Unfortunately, I did not see Lorie or Will all day with the exception of Will asking about the chairs which was clearly not heard and was ignored. We were never checked on at all in the bridal suite, there is not one time that I was approached by staff during my entire reception to see how everything was going and if we needed anything. Let's discuss the reception. I had a detailed outline that I worked with the caterer on to ensure that everyone's food would be hot. This meant having my best man talk through salads to keep the speeches moving. My best man actually mentioned in his speech “the salads should be coming out any minute” and they didn't, throughout the entire speech. During the speeches we heard a large group of people talking loudly, laughing and watching videos on their phone SO LOUD that I couldn't focus on listening to my speeches. My MOH had to go to the back room during the speeches to tell the staff to stop talking. Again, Lorie and Will were both missing and clearly were not monitoring their staff. So food comes and ALL the dishes were cold. After 20+ minutes of waiting I realized that my best man and best woman did not have meals. My maid of honor was given the wrong dish 3 times before they brought her the meal she ordered. Prior to the wedding, I was told there would be two fires outside all night, and restocked wood and that the Wadsworth would be keeping them going all night. A little after 10pm, I realized that the fires had not been started outside. My sister/MOH had to run to the house to look for Will when she got to the house, Will was sitting on the porch smoking a cigar. If that wasn't troubling enough, only one fire and our best woman had to get piles of wood in formal clothing to keep the one fire going because no staff was around, again. When setting up our entire venue the previous night, I expect that because of this that the staff would be helpful with cleaning up. I entered the tent the next day and everything was still there. The staff didn't bother cleaning up anything, taking tablecloths off, nothing. That led to me tearing down the entire venue with my father who has terminal cancer - and my venue knew this- and anyone who could help us. I saw the staff nowhere, I was not offered help by anyone. If the stress of all of this wasnt enough for the morning after my wedding, my cake topper was missing for the entire morning/ early afternoon after my wedding and my mother and I had to chase staff from fridge to fridge while waiting for the wedding coordinator to answer which took 2 hours. There was no room clean-up, and no help at all. The bridal suite had a broken toilet, after Will “fixed it” it continued to not flush. In addition to the toilet being broken, there were dead flies on the windowsills in the room. To me, it wasn't worth bringing up again to Will because clearly he didn't care and was not the least bit concerned about the issue. The “face” of the business was absent when I needed them. We had to worry about bugs in windows, broken toilets, a disrespectful staff that talked through all of our speeches and cold food that was forgotten for my most...

MUST SEE!!! Do not miss the opportunity to see one of the most spectacular places in Upstate New York! The Wadsworth Homestead is an absolutely breathtaking estate! We visited for the first time this past weekend for Pictures with Santa. It was as if you stepped into a movie. The moment you pull onto the property it is a full experience. We had never been there before, but we will be returning again and again! As you get out of your car you see the large fenced grassy fields where horses are roaming. Then you look the other direction and there sits the stately historic estate. As you walk under the porte-cochere, the entry way to the estate was decorated beautifully. You enter the home and there is a convenient place to hang your coat. You enter through another door, and you are transported into the most beautiful place you could ever imagine. When you see this place, it screams Christmas in all the right ways. Everything in the home is authentic and tells a story. There is a historic home tour we are most definitely going to do next! You feel as if you are in the most incredible Christmas movie you could ever imagine. We were greeted the moment we walked in. Checking in was swift and they encourage you to look around and take pictures. You must see the staircase it is stunning! We waited in a line, but that was very quick and you walked through another room fully decked out in Christmas. Pictures with Santa is the theoretical icing on the cake. There are so many areas in the home that you can take photos that you may lose your spot in line if you aren't careful...ha! Although we will say the families in line were super nice and we all took turns taking pictures for each other. As you get closer to where Santa is the excitement grows even more. Then it happens, you are in the room where Santa and Mrs. Claus are waiting. The room is exquisitely decorated. This is a truly classy estate and how they prepared it for pictures was above and beyond anything we could have imagined. I will say it again; you expect to see movie crew everywhere.... could this place be real...and it is! The Santa is one of the most authentic I have ever seen. His suit was something that was magnificent and what you might see in a Broadway play. Santa and Mrs. Claus took time to speak to our children and treated them so kindly. Our kids did not feel rushed at all. They also gave our children time to answer their questions. It was almost like you had your own moment in time with Santa and Mrs. Claus. The photographer was patient and her work is outstanding! Never once did we feel like we needed to "hurry up". Like most experiences you feel you have to sit, smile and go....not here. As I said, it is a full family experience from start to finish. Once you leave the room that Santa is in, you enter another room where there was an array of cookies that the children could choose from (included). They were also able to select a stuffed animal (included) which was an unexpected souvenir. We were not rushed out ever. We actually walked back to the start and were able to continue to look around and snap a few more pictures. We finally pulled ourselves away from this stunning estate and walked back to the car. We were sad to leave and not ready for the experience to be over. We were in the holiday spirit before, but after that we were over the top ready for the holiday. As we pulled away from the estate, we couldn't help but keeping looking back knowing this experience will now be part of our family Christmas traditions for years to come! We did receive our pictures rather quickly (digitally). Ecstatic does not even begin to explain how we felt when we saw our pictures. She captured the moment beautifully! Our children will be talking about this experience forever.... definitely a core memory! The owners Will and Louise are two of the kindest people. Wadsworth Homestead is truly something special! You HAVE to put this on your list of places to visit and family experiences to have during...

When we chose to have our wedding at the Homestead, we could never have known how essential the venue we chose would be to our ability to have the wedding we envisioned. From the very start (months before the pandemic), working with Will and the Homestead team was easy, and a joy. The system is streamlined and they outline all the choices you need to think of. It was easy to make any given aspect of the plan our own, or, if we didn't have a strong opinion, to let the Homestead team work their magic. Will was ready with suggestions of reliable vendors and tips to make everything run smoothly.

The venue itself is far more beautiful than you can imagine before you visit it. The endless photo opportunities are fun and unique, and you'll find that photographers are thrilled to be asked to shoot there because they know how phenomenal the photos will be. The Wadsworth Homestead is rich with history, and throughout the process of planning an event there, learning that history makes your own event all the more meaningful.

When COVID hit, Will's communication was clear and reassuring. He reached out proactively long before we had begun to worry, assuring us that our deposits were safe, offering us the option to book a 2021 backup date, and opening the lines of communication. I've read horror stories from couples working with venues that took advantage of the fine print in contracts and am so grateful that we never had to doubt that we were in good hands.

Once my husband and I had decided that we definitely wanted to get married on our original date, no matter what, the creativity of Will and his team really shone. They were so clear that they would not compromise on the safety or on the quality of our event, and they delivered on that commitment. They were flexible, placing a last-minute order for some two-top tables so that we could have couples seated in "pods" at our request. They were ready with plans B, C, D, and E in the event of regulation shifts, such as preparing boxed picnics that we could pass out to our guests if a seated dinner was no longer an option or even pitching an additional tent on the property at their own expense to ensure that our tables could be distanced. While we didn't have to use any of those backup plans, we got great peace of mind from knowing that even if there were dramatic updates the week of our wedding, the event would still be fantastic.

Our wedding was better than we could have imagined. Will and his team took care of dozens of details before we even thought to ask about them, and from start to finish, their attitude was always that anything was possible. Every time I thought of something we needed, the answer was either "we've already taken care of that," or "we can source that for you, no need to think about it again." No detail fell through the cracks, and everything was beautiful. They were extremely careful about COVID safety protocols, with stocked hand sanitizing stations, masks and gloves on all staff, signage to remind our guests about the masking procedures we had outlined, generous distance between tables, a tent design optimized for safety, and more.

At the end of the night, we found that COVID had not put a damper on our day or on our celebration. Will and his team are creative, hard-working, professional, enthusiastic, and attentive to detail. We are so grateful to have trusted them with this event and cannot recommend The Homestead...