The Cloisters

First off the best thing about the venue is that it is gorgeous place to have an event at. The problems I had was dealing with Annie and her staff. Annie is like Jekyll and Hyde. Some days were great dealing with her and other were miserable dealing with her and her staff. It costs 5,000 to 6,000 to have a wedding on Friday or Saturday. The other issue is you have to choose from one of there catering companies and only one tent company if you happen to need one. That company was Loane Bro’s which did a horrible job at my wedding. Do some research at other places before settling on this place.

Absolutely wonderful! Staff was detail oriented, the space was pristine, wonderful architecture, nice privacy, centrally located, priced fairly and on the cheaper side for places of similar uniqueness (esp. Since tables and chairs are included, three staff members are on hand during the wedding day, yours is the only wedding that day, and the wonderful customer service leading up to the big day and on the day itself.) Warning, they book out a year in advance due to the exclusivity. We had about 75 guests and were quite comfortable. Oh, and utilize their open houses when picking other vendors: big time saver and helped us know that they were familiar with such a unique venue and were of good quality!

I was able to help a friend plan a wedding here. I’ll break it down for you in pro’s and cons:
Pro’s:
–Gorgeous facility
–Helpful staff
–Kept clean and in order
–Memorable location as a wedding or party venue.
–Feels secluded, but actually well placed to major areas like Hunt Valley and Towson
Con’s:
–Can be pricey to book
–Can be very hard to get your date
–You can only use a select group of caterers because this is an historic building
–No open flames
–NO AC, BE ADVISED IF YOU PLAN A SUMMER EVENT
–And sadly, they close up shop at 10:00. So if you want your wedding to run late, this isn’t the place for you.
All in all, we felt that the Cloisters gave my friend one of the best weddings I’ve ever been to, kept everything moving smoothly so there were no snafu’s that day and fortunately it was a cooler day in June so the no AC part worked out well.

Annie is fantastic, but other staff were not very friendly or enthusiastic. One of them dared to introduce herself as I was getting my hair done for my wedding and proceeded to tell me there was an issue with the event duration time and immediately went straight into asking for payment. Last time I checked, if there is an issue, you go to the wedding party so you don’t stress out the bride! Also, my maid of honor and my mother both complained about her attitude, oh and how can I forget? My caterer complained about her as well! With that being said, the venue is absolutely beautiful, but watch out for some of the staff. If you can, speak to Annie.

The Cloisters is absolutely lovely. If you look at the photos on their website, you’ll get a good idea of the architecture and aesthetic of the place. One of the most overlooked features, I think, is the windmill out back.
I gather it was donated to Baltimore by a family that had the money and the whimsy to build themselves a castle using period-​appropriate building materials and methodology. We knew about it because my now-​husband went there as a child, when it was home to the children’s museum that has since become Port Discovery.
Aside from its beauty and convenience to the city, we decided to get married at the Cloisters because it was a fraction of the cost of most other places we considered. We paid just less than $ 3000 for a Friday evening in April, because it wasn’t a weekend and was slightly before the «wedding season» took off. Chairs and tables are there to begin with, which again helped keep costs down. You do have to work from a pre-​approved list of caterers, which can be expensive, but they all know a great deal about the venue and thus can be profoundly helpful as you plan.
Recommended to all.