Commander's Mansion — Local services in Watertown

This place is an absolutely gorgeous wedding venue. It’s a historical building with beautiful grounds that you would never expect to be in Watertown. We did a hotel block right next door at the Hampton inn - some of our guests walked back to the hotel after the wedding which was super convenient!! We felt comfortable not booking a shuttle for that reason. Additionally, the shopping plaza next door provides several options for an after party location 😊

I have to agree with one of the previous reviews stating that the staff is there to protect the mansion, not to ensure you have a great wedding day. We hired a wedding planner who advocated for us throughout the planning process and was a huge help the day of the wedding. I truly do not think we would have had such an enjoyable day without her - you absolutely should budget for someone like this if you book this venue.

Despite the gorgeous vineyard-lined ceremony area, you need to expect some less than ideal weather for this location. This means coming up with a weather plan that you are excited about. We had incredible weather, but the forecast was touch and go, and I was so stressed that we would have to go with plan B, which we weren’t excited about at all. This plan requires working with your catering team (the biggest expense of all…), so you should not be afraid to tell them what you want and don’t want in the event of inclement weather.

Do I regret having our wedding here? Absolutely not Would I recommend it as a wedding venue? I’m not so sure.

Definitely do your research into the catering expenses before you book - and seek out a planner to do some vetting before you book here - this could help you anticipate expenses and understand the nuances to hosting an event at a...

As wedding venues go this place is absolutely beautiful! We had a completely rained out day and the versatility of being able to quickly change to plan B (because of rain) was amazing!!!

As bride and groom day of, Gina and Team absolutely took care of us and were great! But I HIGHLY recommend hiring a full packaged wedding planner when working with their team. The facility (like stated) is a state run facility and it is definitely run as such! It’s not very DIY friendly, their hours are flexible on their end making it hard to coordinate some times, and we heard through our other vendors they were very strict and stern to the other teams day of. We thankfully, hired a day of coordinator to help facilitate the day, the team at the mansion has the aim to take care of only the mansion (not your wedding)! With this in mind they aren’t very flexible or “go with the flow” for your wedding, they do not take the time to truly understand your wishes for your wedding, they are strictly in charge of insuring the safety of the mansion.

Keep this in mind when planning your big day! If you are will to pay to have a coordinator deal with all of this for you, this is definitely the...

That was the best experience on viewing and consulting a wedding and reception venue. I know the biggest selling point is the space and all they have to offer but honestly I think to get to be able to work with Gina makes it worth it. I think that she has the knowledge and the personality to be able to work with anyone and fulfill their wedding of their dreams, needs. If every person that showed their venue was like her it'd be hard to choose. Because you want someone to work with that truly gets what you're trying...