OK, I write this with great sadness. Mostly because I feel bad for the woman who owns it. But, as a Bride wanting other future brides to have the best possible experience for their wedding, I feel I MUST share my experience. I will start with the positives: 1. From an outsiders perspective, Willow Manor was a beautiful place to have a wedding. 2. The site allowed me to have my dog, many friends stay all weekend and have no time limit for the party (both rehearsal and wedding. We were able to party well in the night. 3. There were SOME times that the owner/planner would be right on top of things, making planning very easy for us. She was accommodating to us and our needs for the house. Now, I will share the not so positive experiences: 1. When we arrived at the site for the wedding, the place was FILTHY. It has only been spot cleaned from the wedding 5 days before. The floors were not swept or mopped. There was broken glass on the floor, the kitchen was a disaster area with crusted over food particles, dirty dishes, ants, sticky floors, rotting food. There was ROTTING TRASH outside that smelled like 50 rotting animal carcasses that was not taken out until AFTER the rehearsal dinner. How embarrassing for us that our guests had to smell that!!!!!! There were NEVER cleaners the entire weekend like she said there would be. My friends and I had to scrub toilets, sinks, sweep floors, empty trash, etc before the wedding. Imagine a bride cleaning on her wedding day because the "girls" she kept talking about that were going to come in never did. 2. My brother and nephew were nearly injured when the canopy to one of the beds collapsed on them. That room had random clothes and things shoved into a corner, very haphazardly. The closet door was falling off and the closets were stuffed with dirty clothes, and random stuff left by her or other wedding parties. Another one of the rooms, the air conditioner was not working in. That room also had a HUGE ant problem. 3. One of the 3 showers was out of order. People were in and out of the bridal suite all day of the wedding taking showers and getting ready. 4. The cabinets in one of the bathrooms had rodent waste in it....YUCK. I almost threw up I was so disgusted. 5. The grounds were OK but quite overgrown. I had to weed the alter area (weeds coming up in between the bricks) because it was overgrown and unsightly. There was poison ivy growing up all around the alter area that my little nephew was walking in before I alerted my brother. 6. During the ceremony and reception, my parents had paid for 8 staff to serve at the wedding for 5 hours. Im quite certain I only saw 4 including her. And I know because I was so busy during the wedding entertaining my guests AND making sure to let them know things that caterers and planners should take care of. For the toast, there were suppose to be staff passing out champagne, but because there were only 3 other staff members, not everyone got champagne. Only a couple of tables received it. The rest were told to go to the bar (while the toasts were happening) Then the planner let all her staff go by 10pm so Instead of having a wedding planning controlling things going on, she was the only one left and was tending bar. 7. The owner/wedding planner was disorganized. She promised me one date for my wedding. Said she would hold it for us while we went to see another place that same day (because I was not living int he area at the time I have to view many places on one day) When we contacted her the next day to tell her we wanted to sign the contract and have the wedding on that date, she took 6 days to get back to us, then telling us that her "assistant" (whom we never met or saw) had rented the place and took the deposit. She offered me the only other day avaiable...which really messed with my summer plans and caused us to delay our honeymoon until 4 months after the wedding (because I teach school and had to get back to work) 2. Communication was difficult from day one on every front. She took 5 to 7 days sometimes to get back to us regarding things that we paid to her to do as our wedding planner (Book hotel rooms and get those contracts signed, secure hair dressers, nail appts, etc.) Sometimes she would be right on it, other times she would ignore emails and phone calls for over a week or more. There is more, but frankly I am exhausted from even thinking about it all. In my opinion, she is very unprofessional misrepresented her property and services. This place ONLY gets 1 star because my friends and family banned together to make the wedding awesome and fun. It was really embarrassing to me and my family to have the place so filthy. My friends who stayed there talked about it for weeks after. Everyone had a blast, but the place will forever be remembered by some as disgusting, filthy and smelly. I would not recommend this place or Willow Manor's services to anyone planning any event. read more

I should have written this months ago, for which I apologize. However, after reading the comments of Claudia M. dated 10/31/09, I felt compelled to act. I can't believe we're talking about the same place, our experience was completely different and couldn't have been better! My daughter's wedding & rehearsal dinner were held at Willow Manor the weekend of March 20-22, 2009. Margaret Snead advised us through the weeks of planning every detail of our event with great skill, professionalism and a charming manner! The building & grounds are beautiful and were in impeccable condition. The service was excellent, no detail was too small to warrant Margaret's prompt attention. The food was delicious and despite the size of our affair, everyone was served with grace & efficiency. Willow Manor combines the service of an excellent hotel & restaurant with the warmth & charm of an elegant home & a delightful hostess. All our guests are still raving about the wonderful time they had and my daughter & son-in-law have beautiful memories to last a lifetime! I would highly recommend Willow Manor and the services of Margaret Snead to anyone planning a special event, big or small, you won't be disappointed! read more

I must say that when I read a couple of reviews of this wedding venue earlier today, I am not sure I believe them. I had an amazing dream wedding at Willow Manor and all of my guests had a fantastic experience. It was exactly what we were looking for outside of Richmond.... a gorgeous "colonial-style" venue that speaks to Virginia's southern history, but at the same time have a place where we can relax and have fun. The location is a few minutes away from Richmond and Williamsburg, but well worth the drive. We had our guests out the entire wedding day so there was no need to drive from one location to the next between the ceremony and the reception. Our ceremony was in the front of the home with the gorgeous backdrop of a fountain and the tree-lined entry way. Our photographer shot amazing photos of the entire setting from the 2nd floor porch landing. We were able to greet our guests after the ceremony as they came through the front door instead of a traditional receiving line (as if the place was magically our own for the weekend), and then we had an awesome party in the back. There is the perfect amount of space for a professional tent, with a shaded lawn area, a swimming pool for floating candles and flowers, and you can use the entire house while you are there. We even put up our own picture frames in one of the main rooms of the house to share our personal journey as a couple. It was awesome. The owner has tons of experience planning weddings. We hired her to help with the day of coordination, and that also included her help to make sure all of my chosen vendors were where they needed to be so I didn't have to worry about a thing. She kept the day flowing for us so we could really focus on our guests and each other. It was an amazing weekend. If you are looking for a wedding venue that gives you the freedom to make it your own, have full access to the property, and get that classic Virginia Southern setting you've always imagined, then I highly recommend calling Willow Manor and setting up an appointment to see it in person. It's totally worth the visit to see for yourself if it's the right fit for your wedding day. read more

Willow Manor has so much potential, but the lack of care from the owner makes it an overwhelming disappointment and frustration. The place looks beautiful from the outside. But, there is poison ivy everywhere! In fact, the owner will recommend you have your wedding in the brick circle in front of the house, but the foliage surrounding the brick is filled with poison ivy. The house was filthy when we arrived. The carpets smelled and the whole house was dusty. Many of the beds did not have pillows (besides uncomfortable, small decorative pillows), and there was a bottom sheet and an uncomfortable thin satin covering only on the bed I stayed in. The kitchen--which was technically off limits, but there were things we needed that were not supplied--was unbelievably filthy! I have never seen a kitchen so filthy in my life. I am surprised we did not see any pests. The closets were filled with clothing and old toys and poorly stacked boxes. Most of the showers did not work, and towels were not provided. It was also awkward that with the open bar, the owner did not bring coffee and when guests asked for after-dinner coffee she seemed put out and did not have a coffee maker on-site. There was a small, dirty 2-cup coffee pot that guests had to serve themselves on. Also, please don't go wandering in the woods--the neighbor apparently has a "shoot on site" policy! I will agree with Claudia M's report--the pool was nice, beautiful flowering trees, lots of room for friends and family to stay, and pet and kid friendly. This could easily be the perfect place to have a wedding... but right now it's a disaster read more

I write this review to let you know that Willow Manor is a great place to host your private event. I held an anniversary party there last fall and the coordinator, Ms. Snead, was very attentive and took care of every detail. She went above and beyond to make sure all my needs were met. The grounds are beautiful, the atmosphere is relaxing and the food is fantastic! Also, there are many great scenic views for photos that will allow you to cherish the memories of your event for years to come! If you are looking for a facility to host your event that has that personal touch, you will definitely want to have it at Willow Manor. -BDB read more

Our wedding at Willow Manor was absolutely perfect, and the owner/wedding planner took my vision of a beautiful, relaxed, family wedding and made it a reality. The location was perfect for our families and we found it very convenient to be able to have all of our weekend events in the one location. All of my family members still tell me how much fun they had at my wedding. The owner/planner was in constant contact with us, she was organized, on the ball, and made sure everything went smoothly. I was able to tell her my ideas or show her a picture of what I wanted and she exceeded all of my expectations. She did everything...I mean everything, all I really did was show up...which was very convenient for me since I was an out-of-town bride. The staff was wonderful, the food was excellent, the cake was beautiful, we had an awesome DJ, photographer, and bartender, and the indoor and outdoor areas were decorated beautifully...like I said, everything was absolutely perfect! We have so many amazing memories of our Willow Manor wedding! read more

Wonderful.....I have been working with Margaret Snead to plan the details of my daughter's wedding (with my ex-wife, of course). When I went to post a review about the fabulous experience that we had at Willow Manor, I was astonished to see the two other reviews on the Yelp site. I then learned, after some investigation, that a competitor of Willow Manor, posted reviews from another site and tailored them against Ms. Snead. Let me be as specific as possible on the details of our May wedding at Willow Manor: Attitude and Enthusiasm - Ms. Snead LOVES what she does and it shows in everything that she and her staff do. She is enthusiastic and excited to make the wedding weekend at the manor as perfect as possible for the families involved. Communication - Ms. Snead is very busy and yes, sometimes it does take her more than a couple of days to respond in detail to a wedding inquiry. I am an executive and I understand the pressures of pleasing lots of clients. When she does respond, it is with detail and clarity - with answers that will help make the wedding planning much easier for all. Budget - Willow Manor has a site fee - not a small, but also not a huge site fee. I loved the fact that my family (or friends) could stay at the manor house the night prior to and the night of the wedding reception. The rooms were spacious and nicely decorated. Contrary to another comment, they were very clean and ready for us the moment that we checked in. We had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on site on Friday and then the wedding ceremony and reception on Saturday. Having the entire "affair" at Willow Manor with the option of guests staying on site really helped us with our budget. Yes, there were additional charges. We decided to rent a dance floor and lights for the evening part of the reception. Ms. Snead arranged to have these items on-site for us and prepared an invoice in advance for our review. We worked with our outside caterer for table linens and other rental items. In planning a big event, there will be miscellaneous expenses. We used much more ice than we had planned on - it was a hot day! The manor house was cool for our guests when they decided to escape the heat and come inside for a beer. Ms. Snead also recommended people to help us with the other aspects of the wedding - a disc jockey, photographer and minister. They were all much more affordable than the vendors who we had met at the local wedding show and wonderful people. They knew Ms. Snead, felt comfortable at the manor house and worked well with all of us. Staff - Ms. Snead arranged for a parking attendant and bartender for the reception. These folks worked nicely with our family and the staff of the outside caterer. There were little touches that only a few people noticed - always fresh towels in the bathrooms, a cell phone for any one wanting to make a call (because cell coverage is spotty in the country) and candles, wedding cake and samples of all of the food for my daughter and new son-in-law in the bridal suite at the end of the evening. If there is anything else that could have been done for my daughter's wedding weekend, I cannot think of it. Willow Manor was a wonderful site and gave my family very, very happy memories! If I could give a 10 star review, I would. John T. (waiting for daughter #2 to be married!) read more

We had a wedding here in October, 2009. I would not recommend this venue to anyone else. It was very unclean. It lacked basic facility maintenance. The owner was extremely difficult to work with. The venue did not deliver on several commitments - both contractual as well as verbal commitments. The venue was not clean, in spite of several promises from the owner. If you tour the location, make sure you look at the kitchen - in the refrigerators, corners, and closets- it won't get any better than you see it. When we toured it in the winter, we were told that it was just cluttered because it was "off-season" and a deep cleaning would be done before wedding season. We went back during wedding season, and the venue was dirtier. We were then told that it was dirty from the last wedding, but a full cleaning crew would come do a deep clean immediately before our wedding. It never got any cleaner. The kitchen was extremely unsanitary. There was at least one dead mouse found in the home. The owner told us that she would not do any cooking in the kitchen, but this was untrue. I believe the facility is under investigation by the health department- we asked the owner about this, and she said it was because "someone saw some ants when a drink was spilled". After our experience, I do not believe that is the sole reason for the investigation. The venue lacked basic facility maintenance - things that you would expect to go without saying at an event venue. The heat was not turned on for our entire rehearsal dinner (on a 40 degree night). At the end of the evening, one of our guests had to work with the owner to find the pilot light in order to start the heat. One of the bathroom doors did not close due to water damage that expanded the wood. The doorknob on the inside of the front door fell off in guests' hands. Closet doors had fallen off their tracks, and were just leaning against the walls. Driveway lights were broken. Again, if you work with this venue, please be wary of verbal commitments. We flagged many of these issues in the weeks and days before our wedding, and the owner consistently reassured us that they would be fixed before the wedding. Several verbal commitments that the owner made were not met. The owner spoke of many "little touches" that she does for her weddings. None of these happened. These included: having a parking attendant, pre-planning drink orders for the couples' families for their wait during photos, never running out of food on the buffet, getting a discount on rental equipment that was used by the last wedding, and having "roaring fires" in all of the fireplaces. Again, I would stress "buyer-beware" - if it's not in the contract, you may not get it - despite the owner's promises. In addition to verbal commitments, we had many issues with our contracts with the owner. She was consistently late in when she responded to us, and typically it took at least 3 phone calls / emails in order to get one response. Our contracts called out the number of staff and hours they would work. We were supposed to have 5 staff for the rehearsal dinner, and we had the owner and her assistant - she said the 3 others were there earlier, but we know from our family who was there decorating that this was untrue. We were supposed to have 12 staff for the wedding, and I saw only 2 staff, in addition to the owner and the bartender. We paid extra for "wedding coordination" services. The owner is very good at planning and directing the wedding ceremony and seating. However, the other portion of the coordination contract was to coordinate with our vendors during the week of the wedding. The owner told me that she had called and confirmed with all of our vendors. I had two vendors tell me that they had never heard from her. One final caveat - like any venue, the costs will add up. If you are looking at this venue, I highly encourage you to request pro-forma invoice as soon as possible. We were a bit surprised at the bottom line. This is likely not unique to this venue, but if you are working with this owner, you will need to push hard to see the real numbers - and not be misled by the owner's promises to "save you money." In addition to the facility rental, you will have costs for catering, catering-staff, gratuities, tax, and equipment rentals. It is unfortunate that we had this experience. This location has a lot of potential to be a beautiful spot for a wedding, and the owner clearly has a passion for weddings. However, the condition of the facility and professional interactions with the owner were absolutely not in line with what we expected. read more

As the mother of the bride, I wanted the best for my daughter & thought I was getting it. Positives: Willow Manor is a beautiful Inn. The setting is beautiful and on the surface a huge draw for a wedding. The owner is a very vivacious person and very persuasive. Unfortunately, we did not have a close inspection of the manor; i.e., the kitchen, and all the bathrooms, prior to the wedding. I will only say that the manor was not clean. The kitchen was deplorable. It was obvious that it had not been cleaned from previous weddings. There were ants everywhere. To think that the food that was brought in by the caterer was in that kitchen is sickening. My daughter and her friends were cleaning the place and scrubbing the bathrooms before the wedding. Rodent droppings were found in the bathrooms. I paid for 8 staff members for 8 hours plus gratuity. There was no more than 4 there at best and no one was there for 8 hours. I paid the owner to be our bridal consultant/planner. My daughter had to take control of the wedding while our planner was tending bar. I believe I was scammed, but cannot prove it. I could go on, but it has already been written. It is unfortunate. Our only saving grace is that we all had a great time in spite of it all. read more

I hosted a birthday party for my husband at Willow Manor in April. We had approximately 80 guests. The party went off flawlessly. The food was great, the service excellent, and Mrs. Snead orchestrated the event perfectly. She even managed to keep my husband on schedule with all the things we wanted to do. We continue to get comments from guests about how impressed they were with Willow Manor. Several are looking forward to holding events there as well. Mrs. Snead is a very considerate and gracious event coordinator. She was always two steps ahead and willing to give her seasoned input to make the event better than we thought possible. Willow Manor is a great place to have an elegant, classy event. We felt that it was a great value as well. We give it our full endorsement. read more

My Husband and I were married at Willow Manor on 11/7/09. It truly was everything that I had dreamed it would be. Made only possible by the owner, her beautiful facility and her gracious staff. I can't say enough about the owner. She truly went out of her way to make sure we, along with our guests had everything that we needed, the house was beautiful, and all of the little "touches" she told us about, she delivered on. The cost was exactly what we expected and it was even a bit less when it was all said and done. She graciously let us use items she's collected over the years (candles, holders, other decorative items etc) to try and save us money. And because of her generosity, we donated items that we bought for our wedding to her and any future brides that could use them. We were allowed to decorate with everything, everyplace and everywhere we wanted. Willow Manor even allowed us to alter their tent outside a bit, in order for us to string up lanterns for the reception! Having the girls stay with me the night before at the manor was a memory I'll never forget. All the girls were very comfortable & slept well, and loved feeling like they "owned" a manor house for the weekend. Everything was provided for us and them, and as for the ceremony and reception, I am STILL hearing how beautiful the house and grounds were, and it was one of the most beautiful settings for a wedding they'd ever seen. One of the most touching little acts was when she (the owner) thought enough of us to leave a candle lit on our little bedside table that night in the Honeymoon suite, a fire in the fireplace and two pcs of our wedding cake on our bedside table. My husband and I never got any, aside from what we fed to each other during the cake cutting. We were so caught up in dancing!! So to come upstairs after everyone had left, just the two of us, and see that thoughtful little touch (which we had not asked for), meant the world to me! Also, bless her heart, we had an early flight out that next morning (had to be out of the manor by 7:00am to catch our flight). The owner was at the manor house an hour earlier than that, cooking breakfast for us as she promised. What a wonderful way to start the beginning of our honeymoon! So, MS, Many thanks to you and your gracious staff for making my wedding truly an event and a memory that I will cherish forever. - HBS read more

I highly recommend Willow Manor for weddings or any event. My sister was married there in September 2009. The property is beautiful and Ms. Snead was extremely attentive to all of our requests and needs. The staff was very friendly and the pool and candles were a wonderful touch. It was also very convenient for my sister and her husband to be able just to slip upstairs after the reception and spend the night. They were even served breakfast the next morning. They could not have been happier with their special day! read more