The Darby House is a beautiful venue with so many amenities that made for a wonderful wedding experience. Having the entire property to yourself gives your guests a private and spacious event space. We had our ceremony outdoors on the patio, dinner in the dining room, and cocktail hour and dancing in the racing room. This allowed us to enjoy the entire space, with a quiet space away from the dance floor for anyone who needed a break!
Darby House provides a day of coordinator, who helps keep everything running smoothly, from directing vendors as they arrive and set up, to making sure the ceremony starts on time, to helping with the flow of the wedding. In the planning period, you are matched with this same coordinator, so they really get to know you and your event. We were with Nicole originally, but after our postponement we worked with Jade. We were planning from out-of-state, so most of our meetings were by phone or conversing via email. Jade was always willing to check on our requests or verify information. She was fantastic on our wedding day, helping keep the bridal parties on time, setting out place cards and decor, driving us around for photos, making sure the lights were dimmed and dinner and dessert were served... She took away the list of worries you have leading up to the day, and made sure my husband and I, and our parents, could enjoy ourselves!
The Darby House provides a GoogleDoc for planning that was very comprehensive, detailing everything we didn't know we needed to decide, but was also a bit finicky to fill out. Hopefully some of that was related to pandemic-restrictions, and it will be back to fully editable in the future!
When we wanted to postpone due to the pandemic, the Darby House was able to accommodate our request for our preferred new date. A silver lining to this was that during the slow 2020 season, Darby House underwent renovations that we were able to enjoy! The bridal suite is spacious and beautifully lit. We were able to have hair and makeup for the entire bridal party, as well as lovely bridal photos in this space. Meanwhile, the groomsmen enjoyed hanging out in their own room, complete with foosball.
As far as other vendors, there is a selection of caterers to pick from. The Darby House can provide suggestions to other vendors they've worked with (their DJ suggestion was amazing!). They were more than willing to accommodate our vendors, and the day-of coordinator handles communication the week of the wedding, which was one less thing for us to worry about!
There are a number of provided amenities and extras that you can select to personalize your experience. There are multiple bar packages to choose from (Darby House has their own liquor license, so they supply all bartenders and alcohol, but are happy to work with you on signature drinks). There is a wide assortment of linen colors available. Arbors can be borrowed for the ceremony, as well as easels and a few decor items. Chairs can be upgraded if you would like (we stuck with the standard option).
We received so many compliments on the space all night from our guests! It looked magical! The river is a lovely backdrop, and floor to ceiling windows in every room mean the indoor space feels bright and open. To take advantage of the property, the couple can be taken on the golf cart to take pictures throughout the property. If you're looking for a venue with beautiful natural setting, but an elevated interior, look no further than the Darby House. read more