Morningside Inn

Looking for a wedding venue can/​is stressful. When I emailed Morningside Inn, I was hesitant at first for price reasons. I decided to give it a shot and do a tour of the venue with my fiancé and our parents. I was blown away by how great Lauren was! I also like the «no hidden fees».
We went over numerous options for food (buffet or plated), alcohol, etc. the alcohol we were worried about due to the fact that they do not offer a cash bar option. Most of our guest don’t drink and we cannot afford to pay the $ 22 per person for an open bar. We addressed this to Lauren and she told us «no worries, there is a way around it». She told us that we can do signature drink (s). It would be $ 250 per signature cocktail, $ 250 bar setup, and $ 125 for the bartender. Adding up that price definitely eased my worries.
We also fell in love with how secluded it is and the beautiful photo-​ops there are.
Price is reasonably for what is included. What really sold me was having a wedding coordinator to help with the big day.

We had my daughter’s wedding here in late December 2014. Everything was perfect. Lauren did a great job of making sure everything was moving along as my daughter and wife had planned. Being that the wedding was between Christmas and New Years day the venue was decorated with Christmas trees and other seasonal items, both inside and out. We got VERY lucky as the weather was mild (mid-50’s) so we were able to get pictures taken outside on the patios /​decks. The view of the hills was green (in December yet!) and very picturesque.)
The food was very good for wedding fare. We had a chicken and crab cake offering for most and a vegetable tortellini for those who opted for a non-​meat meal. Both were very good and well received by the guests. Neither my wife nor I heard any negative comments about the meals.
If I had to make a recommendation, it would be to put in an elevator for folks who have difficulty with stairs. The place is handicap accessible… No issue there, but the ramps to get you from the dining area to the bar /​dance floor area are all outside. We had decent weather and I suspect summer weddings/​events may be OK also with outside ramps, but what if the weather is bad?(rain, snow, too cold, etc.) As an aside, the staff WILL assist anyone who needs help on the ramps, so their service is again well above the norm…
My recommendation is by no means a deterrent to the venue. It is very nice, well decorated and well staffed. I would HIGHLY recommend the Morningside Inn for any event. (If I had more daughters, I would definitely consider this place for another wedding. As a matter of fact, my wife and I are considering having our 30^th wedding anniversary party here…)

I stopped by Morningside Inn on my weekend of wedding venue tours and within moments knew I was not interested. This was not particularly because of the venue itself but because of the tour I was given-​which made it seem like a wedding factory.
From the beginning, the person who greeted us gave me the feel of a robot. She was friendly, but it came across as very fake and memorized as she recited, word for word, the same tour she no doubt gives to countless other prospective brides, complete with «jokes» and pauses for laughter (for your own sanity, honey, switch it up!). After saying the most simple and straight forward things (dinner upstairs, dancing downstairs… guests enter and sit here… caterer sets up here… dance floor is here) she would constantly pause and ask «does that make sense??» (how could it NOT make sense, was I missing something?!) She never asked what kind of wedding I was envisioning, but simply proceeded through all the cookie-​cutter-​wedding steps that every wedding apparently has.
These event people have to remember that yes, it is their job that they do every day and yes maybe it can get repetitive, but this is a unique and exciting step of the planning journey for a bride and we want to be able to have adult give-​and-​take conversations and feel special… even if we’re really not as special as we think :)
I feel bad because I think she probably thought she was doing a good job, but I’ve never been so turned off or felt so out of touch with a sales person.
The venue grounds themselves are gorgeous. I was not a fan of the two levels (dinner/​tables upstairs and dance floor/​patio downstairs) but I can imagine a great wedding could be had there. I’m just looking for something more tailored to my own style and this place didn’t seem too unique.

This is a great private location for a wedding. I was very impressed! Would be a five star if their food was up to par (decent but not great).

Yes it is in the middle on no mans land… BUT I loved loved loved this place! I came here with my family for a wedding over the weekend and the view was amazing! Your talking to someone from Florida so this is as green as it gets. The hills and trees were so beautiful. The food at the wedding was pretty good also. We had salmon w/​ginger sauce and chicken, potatoes, roasted veggies, salad. No complaints. All in all it was a great wedding and wonderful venue. Wish we had a place like this in FL

Love this venue, recommend it often. As a wedding vendor myself, it is always wonderful to work with great professionals.

Out in the middle of nowhere. The food was ok, but not great. My knife and glass had what appeared to be green stuff on them that I can only hope was unwashed veggies. The staff was great. Excellant little deserts at the end of the meal, only wish the main courses were that good.

It felt wrong to drive all the way to Frederick and not go to Volt. But alas, my girlfriends and I were on our way to see our friends get married, not gush over Bryan Voltaggio. Morningside Inn is a beautiful setting for a cozy, intimate wedding and it suited our friends very well.
The ceremony was held outside on an open patio that is backdropped by rolling hills, woods and a lovely sunset. Inside, there is a lower room with great glass windows where cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, fauxtoboothing, cake and dancing took place. Upstairs, there is a large room gives off a cabin-​type feel with wood beams, a fireplace, exposed stone walls, hardwood floors and more windows to enjoy the view. This is where we had a buffet-​style dinner.
I always anticipate mediocre to sub-​par food at weddings, because let’s face it… that’s how mass produced food usually ends up tasting. But I was pleasantly surprised that all of the food I dined on this particular evening was really good! The hors d’oeuvres were great — dumplings, bacon wrapped scallops, mini quiches, oh my! The chicken on the buffet was stuffed with spinach and dried cherries and was not DRY. What a pleasant surprise! The garlic mashed potatoes and the asparagus were also wonderful. Wow, what a treat to have tasty wedding food. As for desserts, the bride and groom had a cake buffet but also had some chocolate fondue going on as well. Delicious and awesome.
I thought it was a bit curious, however, that the event timeline was so short! According to their website, the event space is for 4 hours. The wedding ceremony was at 6:30pm and we were ushered out of the venue by 10:45pm and were on the road back to DC before 11pm. It was a nice wedding but we felt so rushed. It just seems odd to have their standard event only be 4 hours as we rushed through cocktail hour, dinner, dancing and cake. I don’t know if it was a function of the bride and groom wanting it short and sweet or if Morningside Inn was just keeping to their 4 hr policy when they basically kicked us out at the end.
All in all, it is a nice place with great catering options and a gorgeous setting for weddings. I can see why my friends chose it and am glad I had the chance to check it out during the beautiful wedding.