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Prospect Park Picnic House Reviews

Prospect Park Picnic House

Prospect Park Picnic House

Brooklyn, NY
4.9 out of 5 rating, 36 Reviews
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Reviews

4.9 out of 5 rating
36 Reviews
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    4.9 out of 5 rating
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100% Recommended by couples

Awards

36
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2016 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2011 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2010 Winner
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    Anna G. Sent on 11/20/2022
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    Better than we could have imagined!

    We are so happy we had our wedding at the Picnic House. Before we booked, we knew it was a special place for us because we met there on our first date. We toured a few other venues, but when we saw the Picnic House, we knew immediately it was the place for us. The location situated in the middle of Prospect Park is beautiful for any season, and our fall wedding was made perfect by the changing leaves around the Picnic House. Caity and Willy were a delight to work with. They were super responsive, and everything ran smoothly and as planned. We are also happy that the fee for the venue goes to the Prospect Park Alliance, an organization we’re proud to support.

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    Rebecca D. Sent on 10/09/2022
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    Stunning venue in the heart of Brooklyn!

    In one word: Perfect!

    We initially were looking at very different venues in Brooklyn, but then the pandemic happened and Prospect Park became our refuge. So when we restarted our wedding planning, we shifted our focus. We loved that booking the venue would be giving back to the park that meant so much to us.

    But the Picnic House is more than just a do-good venue: It's an absolutely beautiful location. For a "blank space" venue, it's quite affordable. Caity was incredibly responsive and helpful throughout the entire planning process. And the updates made to the venue (air conditioning, redone bathrooms, new getting-ready space) were all really well done.

    We would absolutely recommend the Picnic House to anyone who is looking for a look-good, feel-good venue in NYC.
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    Margaret Sent on 09/06/2018
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    We had our wedding here over Labor Day weekend and it was a perfect, magical event. From the beginning of our planning process, the staff was extremely responsive and helpful. Even though Kymberle came on-staff a couple months before the wedding, she seamlessly picked up where the previous events manager left off and responded to all of our emails immediately. Picnic House staff were amazingly helpful on the day of and kept our wedding running smoothly. The space was beautiful and it looked amazing with just flowers on the tables, no extra lights, and comfortable AC. The ceiling is higher than it looks in pictures and overall, the space is very elegant with minimal decoration. We had the ceremony and reception inside because park rules say no amplified sound and you have to rent separate chairs for outside use. During the cocktail hour, post-ceremony, the Picnic House staff and Catering staff made a quick transition with chairs and tables from ceremony to dinner and dancing. We live down the street from the venue and visit the park almost every day so it felt almost like we were getting married in our backyard. Initially, having a set list of caterers felt frustrating but we actually ended up appreciating it because it seemed like all those included in the list have tons of experience working specifically with the Picnic House space and staff. The day was everything we could have hoped for and more.
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    Aliya Sent on 05/23/2018
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    We just had our wedding at the Picnic House in Prospect Park in the second week of May. Our wedding was a total dream and we had the best experience with the staff at the Picnic House. The venue is gorgeous, can accommodate a ton of guests - we had 130 people and there was a ton of room for more. It’s beautiful to look out onto the greens from every window and they have air conditioning for a hot day. Some couples choose to decorate, but you really, really don’t need to other than table decor as the venue is just gorgeous with its old school charm. My only criticism is the bathrooms aren’t the nicest, but really, who spends time in the bathroom at a wedding anyway!

    Now for the staff! From the very first open house in April 2017 when we met Stephanie, to the very last few emails between us and Stephanie and Christina, the staff at the Picnic House are just a joy to work with. Over the course of the year they received several emails with tons of questions, several requests etc. Every interaction and conversation with them was always one filled with empathy and willingness to help. They always helped ease stress by providing solutions, making recommendations and being super accommodating. They were really a total joy to work with, you won’t regret it.
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    Erin Sent on 11/25/2017
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    The Picnic House is a beautiful venue. Christina, the director of rentals, promptly responded to every email we sent and was extremely helpful leading up to the wedding. William, the house manager, was warm, helpful, and went out of his way to be so kind to everyone. Every single person who worked for the park made us feel happy and comfortable. I cannot sing the praises of this place enough.

    A side note about decorating, we used the Picnic House's chairs and tables. We rented linens and brought in candles and picture frames for the mantel and cake stands of cookies for the centerpieces. William lit a fire in the fireplace as it was a ridiculously cold night (though with all the dancing many guests still stepped out for a minute here or there to cool down). We were a little worried as the wedding approached that we didn't spring for special lighting, flowers, or ceiling decorations (the Picnic House has very high ceilings), but the place didn't need anything extra. It was really, really beautiful on its own. In fact, many of our guests commented on how beautiful the venue was.

    Also, Bon Soir is to thank for really making the place lovely. Besides having the best food (seriously, so good and they sent us home with the leftovers), Jeff's staff plated the cake stands with hundreds of cookies and lit all the candles and just generally were magical.
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    Kaila Sent on 04/22/2017
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    An absolutely gorgeous venue with great staff who are very helpful. Given the relatively tight time block, it does require careful planning, but it will be totally worth it. The staff were able to provide an extra parking pass when one got lost in the mail, they were instantly responsive to all our questions, and the day-off staff are really nice and work very hard to make sure things go well.
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    Aron Sent on 06/24/2016
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    Who doesn't want to get married in the middle of a beautiful park. Our wedding at the Prospect Park Picnic House was amazing. The weather was nice and we had our ceremony outside overlooking the main lawn. Everyone in the park was respectful and even cheered when the ceremony was over. The venue itself is beautiful and doesn't require any over the top decorations with its big open space and windows that overlook the park. If the weather permits, the front and back doors are opened to allow for guests to hang out outside as well. The security / maintenance personnel were super nice and reached out to see if we needed anything. My wife and I love walking through Prospect Park and our wedding guests kept telling us how beautiful the wedding was and how it embodied "us" which we took as a good thing. Just so you are aware, the venue currently does not have air conditioning (but I believe this is being added in the near future) and the men's bathroom only has one toilet, which was not an issue for our party of ~100 guests.
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    Shubha Sent on 11/13/2015
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    My partner and I love the park and it is very important to our lives - before we met and after. The great thing about the Picnic House is that you are supporting Prospect Park (I am SUPER excited to get an annual membership there now! yay!)

    We were going for a casual wedding. Our basic goal of our wedding was for everyone to really feel like themselves. We were told that the venue actually made people feel really welcome and warm. It's not a stuffy wedding venue that feels formal. It's just perfect.

    We got married on November 8 so the GIGANTIC windows gave us a backdrop of the fall trees.

    Also the venue staff that was there was so lovely. I didn't interact with them much but my parents said they were just so nice and helpful.

    Also - in case you're where we were a while ago - you do have to pick from their caterers. That automatically means you're pricing your wedding at the cost of their caterers. BUT I will say we first wanted a venue where we could choose our own caterers and I'm so glad that didn't happen. It made it so much less stressful to just have a list of a few companies to choose from instead of literally being able to choose from every possible caterer in NYC!
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    Pat J. Sent on 12/14/2015
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    If you want a real "Brooklyn" wedding, the Picnic House in Prospect Park is the real thing. The setting on the Long Meadow is magnificent and the staff is really caring, going way above and beyond my expectations. Best of all, Christina Kuhn, the Rentals Manager, transformed what I thought would be the most stress filled day of my life into the very best day of my life!! She was able to solve all my problems and aleviate my concerns. She always seemed to make time just for me and always returned my calls. I could not have survived without her generous and graceful attention to customer service. Thank you so much, Christina!
  • User6929421 Sent on 06/26/2015
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    The evening was magical...from the ceremony facing the lake (including family of swans), cocktail hour, dinner through dancing.
    Moveable Feast (the venue caterer) did an excellent job with set up and service; food was all delicious: appetizers, 2 entrees and cake.
    Best of all was the planning ... from visiting venue, to booking, planning food and venue details, to overseeing the evening ... superbly managed by Yuriko Ueno.
    Thanks to all for making the wedding so beautiful.
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    Dora Sent on 11/03/2015
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    This venue was exactly what we wanted for our wedding. The space was beautiful and we were able to bring in exactly which vendors we were interested in working with. The whole thing with the park passes (since it is a public park) was a bit complicated at first but really easy to manage in the end. Working with them was easy and straight-forward. The ceremony outside was beautiful and the space inside was lovely.
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    Susan Sent on 01/16/2015
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    I had my wedding here in November 2014 and set it up with Christina Kuhn, who is wonderful. It was a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone. Christina is so friendly, easygoing and encouraging. We had a very serious family crisis about two months out from the wedding and Christina could not have been kinder or more accommodating at a time when my husband and I were reeling. The venue is gorgeous and you have a great deal of flexibility in customization. Being in the park is great for pictures, and the overall experience is elegant but not fussy, which I think made it a fun and comfortable experience for our guests. The Picnic House will limit you to a list of caterers, but this is for the best because you will end up with someone who is comfortable working in that space and with the other vendors who service it. I used Jeff Riley at Bon Soir, who was excellent. My DJ was Sean Marquand with 74 Events, who is a genius, and I used Universal Light & Sound for lanterns because they are well versed in decorating the Picnic House. It takes a bit of leg work to put together your team for a Picnic House event, but if you listen to Christina and use the right people, you work up a level of synergy and positivity that makes it feel like an effortless dance party with the people you love, and not one of those buttoned up weddings you dread. It could not have been more lovely, even on such a cold day. If you are considering it, you should definitely reach out to Christina, meet with her, and check it out. Some of my guests who are active in fundraising are considering the space for their events. It is as versatile as it is beautiful. You'll love it.
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    Jill Sent on 11/01/2014
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    I am so happy I picked the Prospect Park Picnic House for my Wedding!
    Christina the coordinator was completely on top of EVERYTHING. Responsive, flexible, amazing.

    The staff was fantastic, and the venue was gorgeous!

    This venue is very DIY, so it is more work than having a wedding at a place that will provide you with everything but it allows you to really create the day you imagined in your head.
    I did not want a cookie cutter wedding in anyway, and the Picnic House allowed me to really make my day feel like it fit my husband and I perfectly.

    You have to pick between a hand full of food vendors and I think that is a great idea because the vendors know all the challenges of the venue and work to make it perfect. I used Bon Soir and it was unbelievable how amazing they were. I will write a separate review on them, because i could write for hours about how they rocked it out of the park.

    The Picnic House was perfect
    Everything went exactly as I had wished and I could not recommend this venue more.
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    Risa Sent on 11/05/2014
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    This venue is simply amazing. It transformed a simple idea for a wedding into a magical one, and we had just sterling service from everyone involved. It helps that you're always the only one to have your venue for that day, and there is so much wonderful stuff you can do with the space.

    Everyone at the Prospect Park Alliance is great!
  • User2106757 Sent on 04/23/2015
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    My fiancé (now husband) and I knew we wanted a laid-back venue surrounded by nature in a meaningful place that was a far cry from a traditional banquet hall, and we are so glad we found The Picnic House! It was the perfect location for our mid-August wedding. We held our ceremony outside under the two tall trees overlooking the lawn, which provided a perfect backdrop that blended nature with a touch of the city feel. A few people still in the park even erupted in applause and cheers when we had our first kiss as husband and wife, which many guests said stood out as such a unique and meaningful moment. The venue was also perfect for our reception – open and airy with views of the park and access for people to wander out and enjoy the nature as they wished while taking a break from dancing. Christina was absolutely amazing at answering all of our questions and helping us to feel at ease with our event, and she was so professional. We had a beautiful day weather wise and the setting was just perfect – we couldn’t have asked for a better day. The park is one of our favorite spots in the city, and now we have some amazing memories to go with it. We highly recommend the Picnic House!
  • User6929417 Sent on 07/12/2014
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    The Prospect Park Boathouse on Lullwater Lake was such a beautiful location. We impressed people by just showing them the photo of the Boathouse! The Boathouse personnel (specifically Sarah Izzo) were so pleasant to work with, and always responded to our emails promptly. The one and only big downside to choosing this as our wedding venue was having no choice in caterers. They work with an exclusive caterer - Movable Feast. They were terrible, and the Boathouse suffers as a wedding venue because of this partnership. But that is for another review. Other than this - we highly recommend the Boathouse in Prospect Park - just look at the photos online, and you will be hooked!
  • User1709864 Sent on 07/13/2014
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    The Picnic House was the most wonderful, perfect venue for our winter wedding. The staff was tremendously nice, the venue gorgeous (brick! working fireplace! windows! light! piano! huge views of the park!) and the association with Prospect Park so great. We could not have imagined a better place to have our wedding. Sarah, Christina, Will, and their staff made sure that we had a wonderful day! Thank you so much, Picnic House--we will always treasure you for being the site of our wedding!
  • User1122038 Sent on 03/30/2013
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    We LOVED our wedding at the picnic house. Christina and Sarah were wonderful to work with and the space is so beautiful and convenient. A shame that the prices are rising, but I hear they sometimes run specials...
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    Alicia Sent on 10/30/2012
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    Our wedding on 10/22/11 was held at the Picnic House, and we couldn't have been happier! One of the most reasonably priced venues in New York City is also one of the most wonderful - beautiful, warm, welcoming. The staff was great!
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    Stephanie Sent on 11/25/2012
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    Great venue and worth every penny. Had ceremony and reception here and loved the environment.
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    Stacey Sent on 01/13/2010
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    We knew we wanted to get married in the park and, of the two venues within the park, the picnic house can accommodate more guests. In the end, we are glad we went with the picnic house for several reasons. First, the list of approved caterers for the picnic house includes caterers that can accommodate a wide range of budgets, whereas there was exclusively one (expensive!) required caterer for the other venue within the park. Second, the events coordinator for the picnic house, Christina, was great to work with. She answered all my questions promptly and made sure specific requests (i.e., lighting the fireplace, hanging signs in the park to direct guests to the picnic house, etc.) were taken care of. Finally, we got a lot of compliments about the uniqueness of our venue.
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    M Sent on 05/12/2009
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    They were AMAZING!!!
    when you book your day you can choose ANY 8 block time period you want.
    they were always pleasant, communicative, the place was GORGEOUS and JUST PERFECT.
    would recommend 100000000%!!!!!!!!
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    Colleen. Sent on 10/05/2008
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    The boathouse of prospect park is a turn of the 20th century Art Nouveau building, very dramatic and perfect for weddings. It overlooks a beautiful lake, and so you can hold your ceremony in front of the water. The weather was great, and so we could have the entire wedding processional outside, and then move inside for the dinner. I wouldn't have chosen another location--my husband and I met in prospect Park, so it was a very fitting and romantic occasion. The people who work at the Boathouse are very helpful in making sure that everything goes off without a hitch. One limitation, though, is the number of people--no more than 80, as the space is limited on the inside.
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    Stephanie Sent on 02/02/2018
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    The Picnic House was a gorgeous venue, perfect for our winter wedding. The venue provided all tables and chairs, and a great list of vendors offering a wide range of prices. There is parking available, which was a big plus for our guests coming from other boroughs. The venue itself is so beautiful that we went very minimal on decor. This was also a smart move as you only have 2 hours to set up and 1 hour for breakdown. Some of our vendors had issues getting into and out of the park. Other than that, I think this is one of the more affordable and unique venues in Brooklyn.
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