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Reviews for The Briars

The Briars

The Briars

Jacksons Point, Ontario
4.0 out of 5 rating, 22 reviews
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Reviews

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4.0 out of 5 rating
4.0 out of 5 rating
22 reviews
81% recommend it
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Awards

22
  • Megan
    Megan E. Sent on 17/11/2024
    4.8 out of 5 rating
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    Magical Wedding at The Briars

    We had our wedding at The Briars Resort on October 18, 2024. We had the most amazing time at our wedding and are so happy we chose this venue. The team at The Briars put in a lot of work to make the day special, and Sharmaine was a fantastic venue coordinator. The floor supervisor, David, was personable and professional and he checked in with us frequently during the reception. We absolutely loved the grounds and were able to get beautiful photos by the lake, in front of historical buildings, and with the fall colours. The food at the reception was very good, which was one of the reasons we chose the venue so we weren't surprised!
    We chose the front lawn of the manor house for our ceremony, and it felt elegant to start the processional from the front doors and down the steps. The grounds were well manicured and the venue even allowed us to park the father of the groom's old Model T car to be in the background of the ceremony. Sharmaine coordinated the timing of our ceremony well and was a very calm presence throughout the experience.
    Our reception was in the Garden Court and it was absolutely magical once we had our decor and tables set up. There is something really special about this place and you can feel the history and elegance when you're there.
    We do have a few pieces of feedback for the venue, mainly around the dinner and hotel services. Our guests were served striploin as the main, but oddly were not given steak knives - the floor supervisor did come up to us (the couple) and provided them for us, but this was not offered to the rest of our guests which left them struggling with butter knives. The bartenders were really friendly and approachable, but they did seem to have limited knowledge of mixed drink options (to be fair, they said they normally serve beer and rum & coke, so I believe they don't get a lot of cocktail requests typically). The front desk reception was lovely, but our guests did have a few issues - some rooms weren't ready at check-in time, one room wasn't cleaned (but they did get an upgraded room as a result, so in the end they were very happy). However, none of these things had much of an impact on our day overall and we found that the venue was quick to address concerns when they were notified - one table did get steak knives once they asked for them.
    We received many compliments from our guests on the atmosphere and the beauty of the venue. Again, Sharmaine did a wonderful job coordinating and was very responsive and flexible to changes or details we wanted to add to the day. Our room (the Blue Room in the manor house) was fantastic, great size, clean, and lots of windows. It was used as the bridal suite since we stayed over the night before, and it was perfect for this with all the natural light. Buffet breakfast the next morning was delicious!

    We loved our wedding day so much, and we are so thankful to The Briars for giving us such a wonderful experience.
  • Erica
    Erica M. Sent on 12/11/2024
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    Horrible experience-do not recommend

    The briars wedding coordinator Sharmaine that was assigned to the bride was the worst. She added a lot of hidden fees and stopped communicating with the bride after the final payment.

    Everything that was planned during final details meeting was not done on day off. The briars wedding coordinator did not coordinate the day off and did not provide the bride or wedding party with appetizers.

    Taking pictures the door was locked and the bride and wedding party were locked out of the reception venue after we took pictures after the wedding.

    Wedding coordinator was very unprofessional day of the wedding, had a scowl on her face the entire day, it made the bride feel very uncomfortable. Especially because the briars wedding coordinator did not speak to the bride at all day off until the end of the night when she was going home, she gave the bride a glass of wine.

    There is no bridal suite and the rooms and cottages are disgusting (bugs/hair) especially overpriced.

    The venue was beautiful outside and inside. Just get your own wedding planner!! And make sure don’t get taken advantage of over fees.

    The Briars's reply:

    Dear Erica,

    Thank you for sharing your feedback. We take all reviews seriously and strive to address any concerns promptly. However, the details you’ve provided in your review are not accurate and do not reflect our services or our commitment to our clients.

    1. Bridal Suite and Cottages: Contrary to your statement, we do have multiple bridal suites available for use, and none of your guests, including yourself, stayed in any of our cottages. We provided was a premium studio suite at a discounted cost, with a complimentary late checkout – to which you happily accepted. The cost of accommodations, including any additional fees, is communicated clearly in our contracts, and the claim about their condition and pricing is misleading. We have offered you a ‘get ready room’ that is offered to all couples and conveniently located next to your reception venue, which was also accepted by you when discussing the arrangements of your bridal suite. However, you did not use this room and stayed in your premium suite past your complimentary late checkout time.

    2. Late Checkout and Additional Fees: We make every effort to ensure our clients are aware of all fees associated with their event. We have also provided you with a complimentary late checkout by an hour. On the day of your wedding, you departed from your bridal suite after the scheduled end time of your ceremony of 3:30pm, and our coordinator along with all other staff servicing your wedding accommodated this delay by carrying out the rest of your wedding as scheduled. We did not ask you to clear out your room as there were multiple personal belongings, such as purses and clothes that were still left in the room – it is also our policy to not remove or touch a guest’s personal belongings without their permission. Being the bride-of-the-day meant that you were our priority, and therefore, we decided to prioritize your enjoyment of your wedding instead of asking you or your guests to clear out your room. Our coordinator did ask you for your expected departure time many times before your wedding, and due to not receiving a confirmation from you, this resulted in the reassignment of our guest who was scheduled to check into your bridal suite at 4pm. Both our staff and the next guest were very understanding of the delays that happened due to your wedding, however, by leaving your room after 3:30pm, we were left with no choice even if your personal belongings were removed by then.

    We believe this is the ‘hidden charge’ you are referring to. However, this charge is clearly displayed on our booking site’s policy page. Our coordinator provided a detailed PDF invoice for all charges from your wedding via email before your wedding, to which your payment was reconciled with no issues prior to your wedding day. Our team works hard to communicate any issues or additional fees as soon as they arise, and your late checkout charges were communicated to you in the form of an itemized invoice post-checkout as well. The claim that you were not informed or provided with an invoice is incorrect.

    3. Wedding Coordination: Sharmaine, our wedding coordinator and supervisor, was fully briefed on your event details and worked diligently to ensure everything ran smoothly. Any claims about a lack of communication and unprofessionalism are inaccurate. Our coordinators are trained to manage every aspect of the event to the best of their ability. We are confident that they provided the standard of service required, and went above and beyond by checking in on you and your husband from the hours before your wedding, to each course of your dinner, until the end of their night. The servicing of a glass of sparkling wine was offered during dinner, as they did not want you to interrupt your dinner by leaving your seat to visit your open bar.

    4. Cocktail Hour and Dinner Service: We have verified that appetizers were served during cocktail hour, and the service of appetizers to a couple directly during their photo session is not part of our standard services, nor your agreed upon final details by both parties. We have attempted to provide you and your wedding party with appetizers during this time, and were unfortunately unable to locate you due to your photo session schedule.

    5. Hotel Rooms: We ensure that all our accommodations meet high standards, and have received no communication regarding this during your and your guests’ stays. Once again, none of your guests stayed in the cottages as mentioned above.

    Our goal is always to provide exceptional service and clear communication. We always welcome feedback based on accurate depictions of events and our services. We would be more than happy to discuss this further to address any remaining concerns and rectify any misunderstandings.

    Thank you for your time, and should you wish to discuss your experience further, please do not hesitate to reach out to marketing@briars.ca

    Best regards,

    The Briars Management
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  • C
    Cassandra F. Sent on 01/07/2024
    1 out of 5 rating
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    Stay Away !

    Extremely disappointing experience. Would not recommend for weddings.

    We were planning our wedding for summer of 2025. We came by for a tour in the winter and met with wedding co-ordinator Nicci.

    Communication was weak. Nicci took a long time to respond to emails and made several mistakes on our wedding contract. Our wedding party was interested in staying at the cottages and it was very hard to book a tour to see them.

    Prior to making a deposit we came by for a tour of the venue. Since it was over the wintertime we were unable to see a lot of the outdoor facilities and tent. Eager to secure our date we felt confident with the pictures in the wedding brochure of the tent and outdoor areas. We put down our deposit.

    We recently went for a visit during the same time our wedding would take place. We were shocked to see the condition of the venue. Ceremony space was planned to be outside of the main house. The wood on the deck and stairs of the house is completely rotten, paint peeling and falling apart. Bird poop all over the windows and awning.

    The tent was filled with bugs, spider webs. The drapes from the ceiling were filthy. The bar in the tent was extremely unsanitary, wood rotting and paint peeling.

    Bathrooms are in the basement and not accessible for wheelchairs as you must go down a flight of stairs.

    I seriously could not believe this establishment put zero work in preparing their venue for such an important event like a wedding. From their social media I could see they are hosting weddings and other events in this venues already so they did not plan to clean up at all.

    I reached out to Nicci right away when I discovered all these issues. She took 3 days to respond and basically told me she would ask management if they can make some changes. I declined as I could not trust that they would be able to do that for us since their standards are clearly very low.

    I kindly asked for our deposit back since we were canceling so far in advance and they did not work on planning anything as of yet. They also did not miss out on any opportunity to book our date as it has always been open. Nicci let us know we would not be receiving our deposit back.

    Stay far away from this place ! They need a serious clean and renovation. The place is rotting away. Their prices are the same as many other venues that will provide more professional and clean service.

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    Corinne M. Sent on 22/01/2024
    3 out of 5 rating
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    Wedding Venue

    I’ll preface this review by saying at the end of the day, if you end up married to your person that’s all that really matters. It’s taken me some time to write this but I do think it’s important couples who are newly engaged be aware of our experience.

    Initially everything seemed to go quite well. We fell in love with the grounds and the old fashioned style. Their wedding package and what they said they offered was a bonus. Everything could be done in one place, they had a list of preferred vendors they worked with and we had a venue coordinator to support. It’s important to note, there is a difference between a venue coordinator, wedding coordinator, and wedding planner. We recognized and understood the Briars offered a “venue coordinator”.

    There were a few things we picked up on, however we are a very laid back couple and chose to roll with it. Our primary concern was the venue coordinator. They didn’t seem to know what they were doing, continuously forgot to do their job, requiring us to chase them down and remind them, and despite telling us they had what they needed ultimately fell through.

    The closer our wedding came, the worse the venue coordinator was. Ultimately it seemed they continually forgot about our wedding and were playing catch up even on the day of which made things exponentially more stressful. They neglected to do the basics of their job, were ill prepared and perhaps most egregious, doubled down and refused to take accountability. Everything from forgetting our final details meeting and needing to be reminded repeatedly, then seemingly not doing anything during the meeting? Not coordinating with our vendors, forgetting to do our timeline, forgetting who we assigned rooms to, forgetting the rehearsal ceremony, arguing with family day of about where things should go, and in general just not doing their job.

    To put it simply the venue coordinator was an absolute mess. We were incredibly disappointed. It was clear the venue coordinator’s communication with the Briar’s staff was also poor as no one seemed to be aware of what was going on. In the end, the venue coordinator hurried through the day and took off asap.

    The mess continued as we tried to pay our final bills and eventually I had enough of the rude, ignorant behaviour of the venue coordinator and demanded to speak only to the resort manager. Whether they simply were incompetent in their role, had too “high of a workload”, or any other excuse they came up with it just was not acceptable. A wedding should not be the casualty of someone else’s poor performance. We received no apology from the venue coordinator who spoke over us and insisted we were to blame for everything. After finally speaking with the manager we came to a satisfactory resolution. But our memories of our wedding day will always be somewhat tainted because of this experience.

    While the Briars is a beautiful place, and the general staff were friendly and apologetic for the lack of support we received from our venue coordinator I simply would not recommend them as a venue. I would not want another couple to go through the stress we did. If not for our other vendors and family it might have turned out quite different.
  • Abby
    Abby Sent on 31/10/2021
    5 out of 5 rating
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    Our dream wedding

    The Briars is not only a beautiful resort but also a dream venue. The rustic decor and charm is unmatched to another venues. The staff are amazing and made our weekend so much more amazing.
    Michelle is amazing and it was so nice to work with her, and Jame the chef is UNREAL! Everyone loved the food!!
    My husband and I can’t wait to go back! We have decided every year we will go back for weekend on our wedding anniversary!
    The briars gave my husband and I our dream wedding!

    The Briars's reply:

    Hi Abby,

    Thank you for the kind words. We were happy to make your dream wedding come true! It was a beautiful event and we cannot wait to welcome you back next year!

    Congratulations!
  • Michelle
    Michelle B. Sent on 10/10/2021
    5 out of 5 rating
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    They saved our wedding!!

    I can't say enough good things about the Briars. We got married there in October 2nd, and the entire staff was incredible!!! First, they went above and beyond to ensure that our "COVID" wedding was just as special while still adhering to all regulations and ensuring all our guests were safe. Second, the staff was incredible!!! Our bar tender knew his stuff and was so fun; all the wait staff was kind and helpful. I can't say enough about them. Third, the food was out of this world!! Everyone of our guests talked about this being the best meal they have had!!! My hat goes off to the chef. When we realized we would be married during a pandemic, our hearts sunk, but everyone who helped us at the Briars (Dave, Michelle, the wait staff, the chefs, the bartenders, etc.) made sure that we had a wedding that far exceeded our dreams. We can't thank them enough for our lifetime of memories!!
  • Charlotte
    Charlotte T. Sent on 30/08/2019
    4.6 out of 5 rating
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    Gorgeous Venue and Excellent Staff

    Overall, the experience with the Guild Inn was wonderful. Our coordinator Cassandra was great to work with since we booked the venue in January. In the 8 months we had to plan our wedding, she was very responsive and informative. She communicated all questions and details to our planner and cc'd us along the way for transparency. Our 'Day-Of' staff was excellent. I can't remember the Hall manager, but she was super helpful and friendly. She provided any help to our guests and vendors. Meyer was AMAZING! He was great to work with and coordinated between our AV supplier, the band/DJ and our MC. The music and speeches sounded great, and the lighting was beautiful.

    The food was delicious, even though my wife and I didn't get a chance to get a lot of it as we were non-stop running around! Our guests mentioned they really enjoyed the main dining meals, hors d'oeuvres and drinks. Depending on your bar package that you select, there may be limited variety of liquors so make sure to double check with the venue before you choose your package.

    The bridal suite was great, there is a sink and plenty of natural light, coffee table and couches around. However, it would've been nice to have a bathroom stall available as well, as people had to change in the public bathroom next door. A few of us had to use the accessible restroom to change/freshen up - not a huge deal though just not so much privacy. It would also be nice to have a hook or a rack for keeping our dresses/suits/change of clothes organized and easy for changing/steaming. They gifted us chocolate dipped strawberries which was a nice touch. It would be nice if there was larger mirror (full length would be ideal) and more counter space or table to place stuff on.

    We had a wonderful time at the Guild Inn. We would highly recommend the venue to anyone looking for a beautiful space to get married or hold any special event. The space and public park behind the venue is really special and the staff was excellent and accommodating. Thank you Guild Inn all your effort this past year with helping make our special day feel perfect.
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    Alli Sent on 12/08/2019
    5 out of 5 rating
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    Amazing Wedding Venue

    We had our wedding at the Summer House. It was absolutely beautiful. Martha was outstanding to work with! The food was absolutely delicious, our guests kept raving about it!! We stayed in the Mayfair lodge which had 10 private rooms and a common area where we hosted a laid back rehearsal dinner on the Friday. Everything about the Briars was absolutely perfect. Thanks to Martha and everybody there!!
  • Yao
    Yao S. Sent on 06/06/2019
    4.6 out of 5 rating
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    Great Wedding Venue

    We had our wedding there in May 2019. Martha was very helpful, she respond our emails and inquires pretty quick, and everything was set us as planned. We had our wedding in the summer house and had BBQ Buffet. The summer house is really nice and it's the right size for our 70 guests. The food was really delicious. We had our band/dj set up at the balcony of Summer House and it worked pretty well.
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