Brynwood Golf & Country Club

Writing a review for Brynwood Country Club is bitter sweet. It finally gives me the opportunity to publically recognize their stellar work, but it also means that our wedding is over, meaning my work with them is over, as well. I hope that after you read my review, you call Jennifer Andrle so that you can visit Brynwood and book your date. Since I know that brides-to-be have limited time, I organized my review into the following categories: Booking and Planning, Food, Drinks, Photos, Service, Flow of the Wedding. I know it’s long, but if you’re interested in the venue or at the beginning of your search, please read my review.

Booking & Planning:
I planned every aspect of the wedding with the help of the Catering Sales Manager, Jennifer Andrle. She is truly everything RIGHT about the wedding industry. She realizes that this is the most important day in her customer’s lives, and does everything in her power to guarantee that it’s absolute perfection. Any bride-to-be knows, selecting ‘the’ reception site is stressful. It’s ‘the’ place that guests will be talking about- and you want them to only say wonderful things! Jennifer makes you feel relaxed about your decisions and works WITH you, never against you. She let’s you know that she cares about your business but, more so, cares that this is your wedding! As far as I know, she’s always there for the wedding day to prepare things before the Bride and Groom arrive, so you have her beautiful, familiar face there to calm your nerves and know everything is the way you discussed ☺ Just so you know, Jennifer isn’t a wedding planner, she isn’t paid extra to assist you with planning the details of your day. She does it to make sure you’re happy and to be sure that your day is perfect. Working with her was such a pleasure. No doubt in my mind that she is a major reason for the day turning out as perfect as it was (and it was actually PERFECT).

Food:
My family is Italian and my husband’s is Irish. So, my family likes to eat and his wants to drink. As far as my picky family goes- the food was absolutely fantastic. From the cocktail hour to the cake, the food was a dream.

Cocktail Hour…

Pasta Station (various pastas with meat sauce, vodka sauce, and alfredo pesto sauces)- The chef, who we met at the tasting, makes all of these sauces from scratch and they’re all delicious. We had a ton of guests visiting this station, yet there was never a line. The Brynwood staff had a pulse on the entire cocktail hour and actually added an extra attendant behind the station to guarantee there was never a wait for the guests. People were going back for seconds and thirds and couldn’t compliment it enough (and we’re Italian so they love to critique pasta sauces).

Comfort Food Station- My parents were a little hesitant to allow me to select this station. I know that it doesn’t seem fancy enough for a wedding, but it’s not typical comfort food. It’s actually sophisticated. We had four food choices for the station and we selected the chicken pot pie, pulled pork sliders, BLTs and baked macaroni and cheese. The chicken pot pie is an item my dad has mentioned everyday since the wedding. He says it was so delicious, and he is a picky eater, too. We had several people go out of their way to tell us, at the wedding, that the pulled pork sliders were the best things they ever ate. The BLTs are not the typical ones, they are made with the highest quality of butter lettuce, thick bacon- they are YUM! And, the macaroni and cheese was better than what your grandmother ever made- it’s made with a truffle oil and has breadcrumbs sprinkled onto the top. The food never ran out and the organization of the station assured that there was no line for our guests. This station was an absolute HIT- I recommend it to anyone and everyone!

The passed hors d'oeuvres were delicious. Some of the notables that we selected were crab cakes, vegetable quesadillas, coconut shrimp, stuffed mushrooms, crostini with warm goat cheese, chicken skewers and fried chicken on buttermilk waffles. The wait staff rotated well and kept the food coming while it was hot. I believe that no bride has ever eaten more than I did at the cocktail hour so I can say better than anyone- food was nothing short of sophisticated and delicious!

The antipasto platter, vegetables, breads and dips were perfect, but traditional, too, so I don’t have to go into detail ☺

Reception Food…
The food in the reception was exceptional. We decided on having only a salad and entrée to make sure that our guests were on the dance floor more often than their seats. The salad was something that was really special. It was mixed greens, candied pecans, gorgonzola cheese, and granny smith apples. The ingredients were in perfect proportion and the dressing was light. Then, as if it wasn’t fancy enough, it was all placed into a flat bread ring. It was the extra distance that made everything EXTRA special.

We gave our guests a choice between beef tenderloin and black cod. Both options were delicious. Several people made it a point to tell us that it was the best wedding food they ever ate. When it’s your wedding, you want your guests to feel spoiled and feel like it’s the best wedding they ever went to. Brynwood lives up to even the highest expectations.

Just think- your guests come to a wedding dressed nicely, giving you generous gifts, and there is nothing worse than having them leave hungry or disappointed. They were all satisfied. The chef is so talented and the food is made with so much love- it’s apparent that a trained chef is behind the scenes and not someone sticking food into an oven or microwave. The food is top-notch from start to finish.

Drinks:
The drinks ranged from martinis and margaritas to beer and wine. The guests felt spoiled that they didn’t need to settle for the traditional well drinks, and we were thrilled, too. The bartenders were always smiling and were generous with the drinks, too.

Photos:
We had a short amount of time between our ceremony and cocktail hour, so we took pictures at the country club only. We didn’t feel like we ‘settled’ because the grounds at the country club are just as beautiful, if not more beautiful, than anywhere we could have found. The grounds are perfectly manicured, from the grass and trees to the plants and flowers. We have some of the most stunning pictures we could have imagined, and not one appear to be taken in New York. Julio, the catering manager, drove around my husband and I on a golf cart, with our photographer until we were finished with photos. It was helpful to have him with us, as he was kind, patient and kept us on task so that we didn’t miss out on our cocktail hour. The places we took the photos were secluded from guests, so we were able to have a special moment together without spectators.

Service:
I truly do not think that the service could have been better. Our guests were taken care of the entire night and the professionalism was exactly what we hoped for but nothing that we could have expected because our expectations were so high. The servers were fast, accommodating and well-informed. They knew exactly where to be and when. The staff was a well-oiled machine, it seemed like they had all done it a million times before. As an extra bonus, the catering manager makes it a point to have a staff whose members could wait tables and also bartend. Julio kept an eye on the bar to add on extra bartenders, again, to always assure no guest waited in a line.

Flow of the Wedding:
One of the most perfect aspects of the evening was that there was a flow to the night. Before cocktail hour began, guests were able to enter into the country club and hang out in the restaurant downstairs where usually the members are only allowed. It was nice that they had somewhere do go and didn’t need to ‘kill time’ after the ceremony by driving around town. There were TVs and a bar with lounge furniture so guests could mingle before the actually party started. Once the wedding started, guests were greeted with wine in the lobby. This was great because it prevented the bar from backing up early. The cocktail hour stretched from the bar area and onto the patio. The guests mingled and weren’t cramped into a small area. There was enough room for EVERY guest to sit down. After cocktail hour, the wait staff was kind and patient while moving our guests into the ballroom. It was set up beautifully. From that moment, we were in Julio’s hands, as he guided us through the evening, keeping us abreast as to what would happen as the night progressed. He was SO calm and soothing, which is refreshing since both my husband and I were a bit anxious with all that was going on. He never came over to us in a panic; he is the person you would want alongside you on such an important day!!

I hear lots of brides say how sad they are when their wedding day is over but, for me, I’m not sad because there is nothing that could have been better- it was all perfect, from start to finish. From the planning to execution it was nothing but a dream come true. The people, the venue, the food, is was everything that I hoped for but nothing I ever thought that I would be able to have. Brynwood gave my husband and I a wedding that was nothing short of amazing. If you haven’t visited them yet, you must. If you just booked with them, congratulations! Although I haven’t mentioned the value of this venue, it is wonderful. Remember, you’re in Westchester County, in Armonk, but it’s so reasonable priced- every budget can be accommodated. At the end of the night my mom told me, “I kept looking around and couldn’t believe that I am having my daughter’s wedding here.” She was shocked that their money was able to stretch to afford such a high-class venue, with all the bells and whistles we hoped for.