weddings at the Bolger Center in Potomac, MD

abbyclane

Has anyone had their wedding at the Bolger Center?

We're trying to decide (by Friday, July 29th) whether or not this is the venue for us! We're most likely going to be holding the wedding here, but I just wanted to know if anyone had attended or hosted a wedding at the Center and what their experience was like.

Thank you!

LoveMuffins

I'm having mine there this Sept.

so far my experience has been:

Pros:
-everything fits into our budget and they really do make it cheaper because of how much is included in the price
-the grounds and rooms are gorgeous
-Annette is really great at answering all my questions
-the food tasting was very nice, and there's a lot of variety
-having everything in one place has made planning much easier
-they're very accomodating with setting up a place for me to change that's separate from the HM suite, as well as giving us a room to keep the centerpieces in, and scheduling our Rehearsal for the night before the wedding

Cons:
-You have to be patient when waiting for Annette to get back to you. Sometimes she responds right away, but sometimes I'll have to send a follow-up email a week or two after an original email. However, she's always very thorough and accomodating in her responses (and I've been emailing her during one of the busieset times of the year lol. When I was emailing her in the winter I would hear back from her a lot faster)
-We're having a liiiiittle bit of trouble with the room block... People who are making reservations online have had no problem, but my grandmother called yesterday and had some major problems making a reservation. On the other hand... I'm not sure that it's not partially due to her either lol.

So far I'm really enjoying working with them, but I'm also a very easy going bride and I don't mind following up a week or two after I've sent an email., I'm very patient about it. If you need answers ASAP you might find yourself a little frustrated.

But overall, I'm thinking they're going to get a rave review from me at the end of this

TeamTarcus2011

I had my wedding there in April, it turned out beautifully!

We originally had Annette as our contact person, but she was SO unorganized and hard to connect with that we ended up switching to Debbie, who was MUCH better.  So just make sure that the person you're dealing with knows what they're doing and is accessible.

We wanted to have our ceremony outdoors and reception indoors, and they had LOTS of options for us!  We were originally going to do our ceremony in the grassy area out front (they told us we could pick ANY spot on the grounds!), but it rained for 3 days before the wedding, so it was too muddy.  We ended up having it on the brick patio with the flagpoles, and it still turned out really nicely.  The Ben Franklin ballroom is where we had our reception, and it was very nice.  It was recently renovated, so everything looked new, and they were able to give us a nice, big dance floor.

The BEST part about the Bolger Center in my opinion was the food!  Their food is AMAZING!  They have lots of options and are very accomodating of special dietary needs (we had lots of vegetarians, and were able to offer an actual vegetarian entree option that was not just the vegetables from the meat or fish dishes; they also were able to provide a kosher meal for our rabbi), including on individual plates due to allergies or whatever.  Our guests are still raving about the food we had 4 months later!

Also, they are very accomodating of your schedule.  I was planning from a distance (I live in GA), so my mom did most of the detail work with them (since she lives in MD), but we were able to do multiple food tastings and walk-throughs and never had a problem getting an appointment to meet with someone at the Bolger Center whenever we were in town.

I would definitely recommend them, overall it was a good experience.  They really want you to have the wedding day you dream of, and they work with you to make it happen!