Brooklyn Winery Wedding Guide (2027): Cost, Capacity & Everything Else

Brooklyn Winery is at 61 Guernsey Street, on the Greenpoint-Williamsburg border, a block from McCarren Park. Brian Leventhal and John Stires opened it in 2010 after quitting their jobs at an internet start-up. They had been making wine as a hobby in New Jersey and wanted somewhere closer to home. Customers kept asking whether the place did weddings, and weddings became the heart of the business.

After 13 years on North 8th Street the winery moved here in 2023, to a larger space. It is still theirs, alongside sister wineries in Washington, DC and Chicago. The wine is made on site from grapes shipped in from vineyards across the country, and the barrel room is in view from the dance floor.

Guests arrive through a lobby shared with the public tasting room, pass the winery and turn into rooms that are yours for the night. The Atrium has a 15-foot ceiling, skylights and a brick wall covered in living plants. The Gallery is next door. Food, wine, bar, furniture and an event manager come as one package, at $290 to $365 a person before fees and tax.

The tradeoff is easy to state. Everything happens indoors, the kitchen and the bar are the winery’s, and nobody sleeps here.

• Location: 61 Guernsey Street, Brooklyn, on the Greenpoint-Williamsburg border
• Venue type: Working urban winery with private indoor event rooms
• Packages: Classic from $290, Signature from $330, Reserve from $365 per person, before fees and tax
• Capacity: Up to 175 guests
• Sweet spot: 100 to 120 guests
• Rain plan: None needed. The whole wedding is indoors
• Rooms: None. The wedding suite is for getting ready and opens two hours before the event
• Catering and bar: In-house only. No outside alcohol
• Vendors: Your own florist, photographer and music. Extra lighting and sound go through the winery’s providers
• Planning: Event manager included. An outside planner is optional
• Typical total budget: $67,000 to $92,000 for 120 guests on Signature, before the winery’s own fees*
• Getting there: Nassau Avenue on the G, 5 to 10 minutes on foot. LaGuardia, 25 to 50 minutes by road
• Best for: A food-and-wine wedding of 100 to 120 with very little to build
• Main consideration: No outdoor space, no outside caterer and no bedrooms

*RoamRecs planning estimate. Budgets, walking times and drive times throughout this guide are ours.

Brooklyn Winery is for couples who want a long dinner with good wine and then a dance floor, without building a wedding inside an empty loft. The tables, chairs, glassware, candles and printed menus are the winery’s. So is the kitchen, under executive chef Shaun Lafountain, and the wine on the table. You choose a package, a florist, a photographer and a band or DJ, and the event manager runs the night.

The room does most of the decorating. One brick wall of the Atrium is covered in living plants, another side looks into the barrel room, and daylight comes through the skylights. Spend on food, music and a few arrangements. Leave the installations to venues that need them.

The sweet spot is 100 to 120 guests. At 100, every part of the day fits a layout the winery already runs: 100 seated for the ceremony in the Atrium, 100 for cocktails in the Gallery, then dinner back in the Atrium. At 120 the Atrium still seats everyone with a stage for the band. The winery takes up to 175, and at that size cocktail hour outgrows the Gallery and the floor plan starts making your decisions for you.

Price the Signature package first. It adds spirits and six passed hors d’oeuvres to the wine, beer and family-style dinner in Classic, and it is the one most guests will read as a full open bar. Choose Classic if your crowd drinks wine and beer anyway. Choose Reserve if you were going to add late-night food and a toast.

What you give up is control and the outdoors. There is no terrace, no outside caterer and no bringing your own wine. The front door is shared with the tasting room, and everyone goes home or to a hotel at the end of the night.

Best for: a dinner-party wedding with wine made in the building, a room that needs little decoration and one team running the food, the bar and the night.

Think twice if: you want an outdoor ceremony, your own caterer or wine, a large band with a big dance floor, or a hotel weekend under one roof.

You pay per person for one of three packages. Each covers the rooms, dinner, the bar and the staff for the night.

• Classic, from $290: a grazing table, a two-course family-style dinner, petite desserts, coffee and tea, six Brooklyn Winery wines, craft beers and artisanal sodas, with wine poured at the table
• Signature, from $330: everything in Classic, plus six passed hors d’oeuvres and top-shelf spirits with classic cocktails
• Reserve, from $365: everything in Signature, plus a late-night snack station, a sparkling toast and two signature cocktails

At 120 guests that is $34,800, $39,600 or $43,800 before fees and tax.

What gets added to the bill

Four things sit on top of the package: a ceremony or venue fee, a security fee, a management fee and New York City sales tax at 8.875%. Ask for all four in writing with your first quote. They are the difference between the per-person rate and the invoice.

The quote also carries a minimum for your date, so a guest list that shrinks does not always shrink the bill.

When it costs less

Spring and fall are peak season. The winery itself points budget-minded couples to an off-peak month or a weekday. Ask for a Friday or a winter date alongside your first choice and compare the two quotes side by side.

For a very small guest list, ask for the micro-wedding packages. They are priced separately.

A 120-guest wedding on the Signature package lands at $67,000 to $92,000 before the winery’s own fees. This is a RoamRecs planning estimate for a ceremony and reception at the winery with a DJ and moderate flowers.

• Signature package, 120 guests: $39,600
• Sales tax on the package: about $3,500
• Flowers and design: $5,000 to $11,000
• Photography and video: $8,000 to $14,000
• DJ, lighting and sound: $4,000 to $8,500
• Day-of coordinator, if you want one: $3,500 to $6,000
• Transport, officiant, stationery and cake: $1,500 to $4,500

Add a 10% cushion on the outside suppliers and you arrive at the range above. Then add the venue, security and management fees from your quote.

Three things move the total. Guest count: every guest adds the package rate plus tax. Package: Classic takes $4,800 off this example and Reserve adds $4,200. Music: a band costs more than a DJ and takes more of the room.

The range leaves out hotel rooms, attire, rings and any welcome party or brunch.

• Private use of the event rooms and their restrooms
• An event manager through planning and on the night
• The wedding suite, with its own bathroom, from two hours before the event, stocked with sparkling wine and antipasti
• Dining and cocktail tables, chairs and lounge furniture
• China, stemware, flatware, linen napkins and candles
• A printed menu at each place setting
• A dedicated server for each table
• A welcome table and an escort-card table
• A group food-and-wine tasting once you have booked

Flowers, photography, music and any extra lighting are yours to arrange. So are escort cards, table numbers and ceremony programs.

The tasting is held with other booked couples in the event space, and it covers the whole menu. Go hungry and choose your dinner there.

Brooklyn Winery takes up to 175 guests and is at its most comfortable with 100 to 120.

• Atrium: Ceremony, dinner and dancing. 100 seated in rows, 120 at dinner with a stage, 200 standing.
• Gallery: Cocktail hour. 100 standing, 56 seated.
• Wedding suite: Getting ready and a quiet moment. Private, with its own bathroom.
• Harvest Room: A separate small room for a rehearsal dinner. 28 seated, 40 standing.
• Full buyout: 175 seated, 325 standing.

How the day runs

Ceremony in the Atrium, drinks in the Gallery while the staff turn the Atrium for dinner, then dinner and dancing in the room where you were married. Nobody puts a coat on between the processional and the last song.

For the ceremony, face the chairs toward the plant wall. It is the winery’s signature backdrop, and it saves the barrel-room view for the first dance.

For dinner, choose long tables. Dinner is served family style and each table has its own server pouring wine, so the tabletops fill up fast. Keep centerpieces low and narrow: bud vases and the house candles do more here than a runner of flowers.

Seating is assigned, from floor plans the winery draws for you. Speeches go after the first course or after the main. Take the earlier slot. Everyone is seated, glasses are full, and the dance floor can open as soon as the plates are cleared.

The dance floor

The floor is 300 to 400 square feet, depending on how much room the music takes. A DJ or a four- or five-piece band keeps it at the larger end. A ten-piece band takes the floor with it.

Larger weddings

At 150 or more, get the floor plans for the ceremony, cocktail hour and dinner before you sign. The ceremony layout seats 100 in rows and the Gallery holds 100 for drinks, so a bigger wedding uses the building differently.

The suite

The suite opens two hours before the event. Do hair and make-up at your hotel and arrive nearly dressed. Use the suite for the last touches, then take portraits in the Atrium and by the barrel room before guests arrive.

One small thing that helps: the staff set your favors on a table by the front entrance during dinner, so guests pick them up on the way out.

There is nothing to move. The ceremony, cocktails, dinner and dancing are indoors by design, so the forecast changes the walk from the car and little else.

Plan the edges of the day instead. Tell guests staying on Wythe Avenue to take a car if it rains. Ask the event manager where coats and wet umbrellas go.

Keep the portrait list indoor-first: the plant wall, the barrel room and the suite give you three backgrounds without leaving the building. Treat McCarren Park as a bonus for a dry day.

Nobody stays at the winery. The suite is a getting-ready room, and everyone, the couple included, sleeps elsewhere. In this part of Brooklyn that is easy.

Where should wedding guests stay?

Put the room block on the Wythe Avenue hotel strip, 10 to 15 minutes from the winery on foot. Three hotels sit within two blocks of each other, so guests can choose a price point and still share a nightcap.

The William Vale, 111 North 12th Street. The first call for a room block. It runs a wedding block program and has the most rooms of the three.

Wythe Hotel, 80 Wythe Avenue. A converted factory with a good restaurant downstairs. The right fit for the couple, and for guests who came for the Brooklyn of it.

Arlo Williamsburg, 96 Wythe Avenue. The former Williamsburg Hotel. A livelier, more social base for friends.

Hotel Indigo Williamsburg, 500 Metropolitan Avenue. A familiar brand, 20 to 25 minutes away on foot or one stop on the G. Good for guests who want to be on top of the subway.

Book your own room from the night before the wedding. A standard afternoon check-in is too late for hair and make-up.

Guests who prefer Manhattan can stay there. The L train reaches Bedford Avenue from Union Square in a few stops, and a car home after midnight is simple.

The food is the point

Dinner comes from the winery’s own kitchen, served family style on shared platters, with a seasonal menu and the house wines poured at the table. There is no outside caterer, and all alcohol is the winery’s.

You can bring a cake or extra desserts to add to the petite desserts in the package. Give the event manager your guests’ dietary needs at least two weeks ahead.

Choose this venue because you want that dinner. Couples who would rather pick their own caterer and wine list are happier in a loft.

Event manager or planner?

The event manager handles the winery’s side of everything: the timeline, the floor plan, your vendors’ arrivals and the night itself. For a one-venue wedding with guests in nearby hotels, that is enough.

Hire a planner when the weekend is bigger than the wedding: a ceremony at a church or synagogue first, a welcome party, hotel blocks in two boroughs or family flying in from abroad.

Your vendors

The florist, photographer and band or DJ are your choice, and the winery will suggest names. Each one needs a certificate of insurance. Extra lighting and sound go through the winery’s own providers.

Music has to come from a DJ or a live band with their own sound equipment. A phone and a playlist is not allowed, even for a small wedding.

The last hour

Vendors have one hour after the wedding ends to clear out, and nothing stays overnight. Tell your florist when you book, because a late-night strike is a line on the quote. Give one reliable friend the job of taking the gifts and your things home.

Fix the end time with the winery before you book the band. Then set the last song, the bar close and the cars around it.

Most couples marry in the Atrium and never leave the building. The winery does not rent for a ceremony alone, so the ceremony comes with a reception.

A service at a church or synagogue followed by a reception here works too. Leave real travel time between the two and tell guests where to go in the gap. McCarren Park and the bars on Bedford Avenue fill an hour easily.

For the legal side, get a New York City marriage license from the City Clerk: $35, a 24-hour wait and 60 days to use it. A friend can officiate with a one-day officiant license, which costs $25 from the same office.

Tell guests to fly into LaGuardia and take a car.

• LaGuardia (LGA): 25 to 50 minutes
• JFK: 40 to 75 minutes
• Newark (EWR): 60 to 100 minutes

By subway, Nassau Avenue on the G is 5 to 10 minutes from the door. Bedford Avenue on the L is 12 to 18 minutes away, on the far side of McCarren Park.

Put both on the wedding website with one line of advice. The G does not go into Manhattan, so guests coming from Manhattan should take the L to Bedford Avenue. Bedford Avenue has elevators. Nassau Avenue does not.

Use 61 Guernsey Street on the invitation and in every ride app. Older articles and listings still give the former address on North 8th Street.

Do wedding guests need a car?

No, and they are better off without one. From the Wythe Avenue hotels the winery is a 10 to 15 minute walk or a short ride. Heels, rain and January all argue for the ride.

Skip the shuttle if your block is in Williamsburg. Book one only if most guests are staying in Manhattan, and add a couple of pre-booked cars for grandparents either way.

Parking is on the street, and on a weekend evening it is slow to find. The winery sends a list of nearby lots and can arrange valet. Tell guests who insist on driving to use a lot.

Early October is our pick, then May, then a winter Friday.

The wedding is indoors, so the month decides the price, the daylight and how good the neighborhood is around it.

• January: average high 40°F
• May: average high 71°F
• July: average high 85°F
• September: average high 76°F
• October: average high 65°F

NOAA 1991 to 2020 averages for Central Park. Rain is spread evenly through the year, at around four inches a month.

October gives guests a mild walk from the hotels and a park worth photographing. It is also harvest, when the grapes arrive and the winery behind the glass is at work. You pay peak rates for it.

May is the spring equivalent: warm, long evenings and daylight through the skylights well past the ceremony.

Winter suits the room. Brick, candles and red wine make more sense in January than in July, and this is when the price comes down. It is dark before 5 p.m. in December and January, so take portraits before the ceremony.

Summer works because the rooms are air-conditioned. Keep outdoor portraits short and early, and expect guests who walked to arrive warm.

Whatever the month, start the ceremony at least an hour before sunset if you want daylight on the plant wall.

The winery gives you one night. The neighborhood supplies the rest of the weekend, and nearly all of it is on foot.

Friday. Hold the rehearsal dinner in the Harvest Room, which seats 28 and books separately from the wedding. Then meet everyone else for a drink. The rooftop bars at the William Vale and the Wythe both look across the East River to Manhattan, which does the welcoming for you.

Saturday. Send guests to the McCarren Park Greenmarket, which has run every Saturday since 1997, from 8 a.m. From April to October, Smorgasburg sets up on the waterfront at Marsha P. Johnson State Park from 11 a.m., a few minutes from the Wythe Avenue hotels. Ceremony in the late afternoon.

Sunday. The winery’s tasting room opens at noon. Reserve a few tables and tell guests you will be there from one. A flight of three wines is $15, and it is the easiest farewell there is.

For guests with an extra day

Put these on the wedding website:

• McCarren Park. The green between Greenpoint and Williamsburg, a block from the winery. Good for a run, a coffee and people-watching.
• Frankel’s Delicatessen, 631 Manhattan Avenue. Bagels with smoked fish and a hot brisket sandwich, at the top of the park. The morning-after breakfast.
• Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop, 727 Manhattan Avenue. A Greenpoint counter that has been frying donuts for more than 60 years. Go early.
• Polish Greenpoint. The neighborhood’s older identity. Karczma on Greenpoint Avenue is the place for pierogi and a beer.
• Paulie Gee’s, 60 Greenpoint Avenue. Wood-fired pizza and a good group dinner for Thursday arrivals.
• Five Leaves, Bedford Avenue at Lorimer Street. The brunch on the corner of the park. Expect a wait at weekends.
• The Williamsburg waterfront. Walk Domino Park, then take the East River ferry from North Williamsburg to Manhattan. It is the best cheap view in the city.
• A tour of the winery itself. Brooklyn Winery runs tours and tastings, and guests who take one arrive at the wedding knowing what is in the glass.

One idea for favors: the winery will bottle its wine under your own label. It is the add-on only this venue can do.

Best for

• Weddings of 100 to 120 guests
• Couples who care most about the dinner and the wine
• A venue that needs very little decoration
• Winter and bad-weather dates
• Couples who want one team to run the food, the bar and the night
• Guests who will enjoy a weekend in Williamsburg and Greenpoint

Things to consider

• No outdoor space for a ceremony or cocktails
• In-house catering and alcohol only
• No bedrooms, and the suite opens two hours before
• The entrance and lobby are shared with the tasting room
• A 300 to 400 square foot dance floor
• Above 120 guests, the layout needs real planning
• Venue, security and management fees and tax come on top of the package rate

These are the questions a good planner would put to the winery before you sign.

1. What is the per-person rate for our date, and what are the ceremony or venue fee, the security fee and the management fee?
2. Is the management fee a gratuity for the staff, or should we plan to tip on top?
3. What is the minimum spend or guest count for our date, and what happens if our numbers drop?
4. Your website says celebrations start at $230 a person. Which dates and package does that apply to?
5. What time does the wedding end, and what does an extra hour cost?
6. At our guest count, where does everyone stand for cocktail hour, and how does the ceremony seat?
7. Which rooms are included? Is the Harvest Room extra?
8. Can we see the floor plan with our tables, the band and the dance floor drawn in?
9. When can vendors load in, and is there a rehearsal?
10. Who are your lighting and sound providers, and what does a typical band need from them?
11. Is there a fee for cutting or serving a cake we bring, and how are vendor meals and children priced?
12. How do you handle kosher meals and severe allergies?
13. What are the rules on candles, hanging installations and confetti?
14. Is the tasting room open to the public during our wedding, and can we take photographs in the lobby?
15. What is the step-free route from the curb to the Atrium, the Gallery, the restrooms and the suite?
16. Where do cars and coaches drop off, and what does valet cost?
17. What are the deposit, the payment schedule and the cancellation and postponement terms?
18. What do the micro-wedding packages include, and what is their minimum?

Wythe Hotel. Choose it if you want rooms, getting ready and the reception in one building. The Main Hall seats 150 from April to November and 120 from December to March, and the Garden Terrace gives you a seasonal outdoor ceremony.

Greenpoint Loft. Choose it if you want your own caterer and bar. The legal capacity is 185, the rental comes with basic tables and chairs, and everything else is yours to build.

MyMoon. Choose it if a courtyard matters more than a winery. This Spanish restaurant seats up to 166 and has a deck under a retractable roof. It works from a preferred vendor list, and the deck is not wheelchair-accessible.

Liberty Warehouse. Choose it if your list is past 175. The Red Hook waterfront venue seats up to 350 with catering included, and has the harbor view the winery lacks.

The RoamRecs New York City wedding venue guide maps hotels, restaurants, lofts and event spaces across the city, with cost and capacity for each. Save Brooklyn Winery, add two or three alternatives and compare them side by side.

The question to carry through your shortlist: how much do the dinner and the wine matter to you? If they are the wedding you have been picturing, the indoor rooms and the house rules are a fair price for them.