About Avanti Mansion

We specialize in transforming your extraordinary day into an unforgettable celebration

Our Story

20 Years of Love.

Nestled in the heart of Western New York, the Avanti Mansion has been a witness to countless love stories, each one unique and special. For 20+ years, couples have chosen these enchanting wedding and reception venues in Buffalo, NY to embark on their journey of love, creating memories that will last a lifetime. The elegant architecture, picturesque gardens, and impeccable service have made it a cherished destination for weddings and celebrations. We look forward to many more years of helping couples turn their dreams into reality and celebrating their love stories in style. Here’s to the past, present, and future of love at the Avanti Mansion!

Photos: Richelle Rene Photography

Core Values

Our values create the Avanti Difference.

Service

Taking it a step further to create an exceptional experience for our clients and guests.

Teamwork

The ability to come together to work towards a common vision.

Awesomeness

With a positive attitude, any moment can become spectacular.

Respect

Acting and communicating with kindness, fairness, and understanding those around you

Efficiency

Work smarter, never harder!

Loyalty

Being part of the Avanti Mansion Family means we have your back and you have ours

Fun

Work shouldn’t suck! Have fun while still accomplishing a mutual goal.

Make a Difference

Every Avanti wedding helps save a dog

Since its inception in 2018, the Avanti Adopts program has helped local dog rescues raise over $75,000 to help offset the cost of medical treatments, transportation costs and foster care expenses. Additionally, the Avanti Mansion makes a cash donation to Open Arms Rescue for every wedding held on our estate.

So when you choose to have an Avanti wedding, you help a deserving dog find their fur-ever home.

We love when couples include their furry friends in the big day! At Avanti Mansion, your dogs are welcome. Whether it’s walking down the aisle or posing for adorable photos, your fur babies can be part of your unforgettable wedding moments. 🐾💕

Avanti History

Our Story

1892

1895

1971

1999

2004

2005

2010

2016

2017

2018

2019

2021

2025

1892

1895

1971

1999

2004

2005

2010

2016

2017

2018

2019

2021

2025

1892

Bristol Woods

Businessman Pliny McNaughton bought 20 acres known as the Bristol Woods

1895

A Summer Home

McNaughton purchased additional land to complete the 27-acre estate and built his family a summer home, known as the Glen Isabel.

1971

Sold

After years of the McNaughton family, Hubbel family, and U.S. Sugar Company owning the property, it eventually fell to foreclosure and left abandoned.

1999

Humble Beginnings

Buffalo Road Catering Inc is founded by Laurie Clark, despite being told she’d never be successful. The company began as an off-premise caterer, working out of a small facility in Orchard Park.

2004

Growing Pains

Our expanding catering company needed more space. So we took a risk and bought a 27-acre estate that allowed us plenty of room for growth.

2005

Luxurious Estate

The evolution required a name to fit our vision. The Avanti Mansion was born, hosting 13 weddings the first year.

2010

Love & Growth

After several years of successful love stories, they expanded on the property and built the Amore building to accommodate year-round events.

2016

Mansion Makeover

The original mansion was fully renovated to accommodate overnight guests once again as their new division called Wed & Breakfast

2017

Avanti Elite

Avanti Mansion joined an elite, invitation-only, group of caterers known as the Leading Caterers of America.

2018

1,000th Wedding

To celebrate our 1,000th wedding on Avanti property, we gave away a $20,000 wedding to one lucky couple. That was fun!

2019

Honored and Grateful

Our team’s performance and dedication gets recognized as Avanti receives two prestigious awards – NY State’s Wedding Venue of the Year AND Buffalo’s Best Wedding Venue

Recreated Garden Venue

After serving us well for 15 years, this venue got a new custom structure, a larger bar and a Summer Soiree to celebrate.

2021

Amore Makeover

Avanti means “moving forward, progressive” in Italian. So to live up to our name, we completely renovated the Amore building.

2024

Present

The Avanti Mansion continues to host memorable events on their private property with the same luxurious feel that the property was originally built for.

Our Team

Meet our Avanti Family

Award-winning hospitality is in our blood, and we are obsessed with creating extraordinary, fun and memorable experiences for you, and your guests.

Laurie

Founder

• Started the company in 1999
• Favorite thing about Avanti: Driving in the main entrance and seeing the property restored to its original glory, circa1892. It’s been a labor of love and I’m forever grateful for all the people who’ve helped us on this journey.
• Fun Fact: The Avanti Mansion was named after the classic car that my parents gave me as a graduation gift – a 1963 Studebaker Avanti.

Laurie

Founder

• Started the company in 1999
• Favorite thing about Avanti: Driving in the main entrance and seeing the property restored to its original glory, circa1892. It’s been a labor of love and I’m forever grateful for all the people who’ve helped us on this journey.
• Fun Fact: The Avanti Mansion was named after the classic car that my parents gave me as a graduation gift – a 1963 Studebaker Avanti.

Sabrina

CFO / Visionary

• Began her career with Avanti in 2008
• Favorite thing about Avanti: Watching the evolution and growth of our company over the years; seeing us become a premier wedding venue in WNY while maintaining the bond that a small family business has.
• Fun Fact: When I’m not in wedding-creative mode, you can find me getting lost in the bass at a Deadmau5 show (I’ve seen him play over 30 times).

Taylor

Director of Marketing

• Began her career at Avanti in 2008
• Favorite thing about Avanti: The food and the people! I love to eat and I love to have fun. So the environment at Avanti fulfills both those needs for me. It’s really the best work culture I’ve ever experienced. They care and want to see you thrive.
• Fun Fact: I love collecting crystals and studying Astrology. If it’s Mercury in Retrograde, I bunker down for 3 weeks!

Rachael

Event Manager

• Began her career with Avanti in 2023
• Favorite thing about Avanti: Being able to bring our couple’s vision to life and helping them create memories that will last them a lifetime.
• Fun Fact: My go-to binge tv show is Love Island UK

Colleen

Sr. Wedding Planner

• Began her career with Avanti in 2012
• Favorite thing about Avanti: I love what I do! And I absolutely love the people I get to work with everyday. They’ve truly become my second family.
• Fun Fact: I met my husband at Avant in 2013 when he worked here! For that reason, Avanti will always be very special to me.

Kelly

Wedding Planner

• Began her career with Avanti in 2016
• Favorite thing about Avanti: I love being part of such a hard working team that all genuinely want to make our couple’s dreams come true on their special day!
• Fun Fact: I love to go out & try new restaurants when they open!

Raquel

Wedding Planner

• Began her career with Avanti in 2019
• Favorite thing about Avanti: I love that I get to work with so many different people and help plan their special day. Bonus is when those couples then become friends and I get to watch them navigate married life!
• Fun Fact: My favorite board game is Clue and I own every single version out there. Every once and a while I need to take a break from wedding planning and go solve a murder.

Jessica

Jr. Wedding Planner

• Began her career with Avanti in 2022
• Favorite thing about Avanti: The team I work with. We have such a fun and loving staff that truly work hard to put on the perfect day for our couples.
• Fun Fact: I love animals. I want all of the pets possible!

Leo

Executive Chef

• Began his career with Avanti in 2013
• Favorite thing about Avanti: Being able to execute amazing experiences with a rock star culinary team who I consider family!
• Fun Fact: I am CANADIAN!

Shannon

Sous Chef

• Began her career with Avanti in 2010
• Favorite thing about Avanti: Hearing guests say we have the best wedding food they’ve ever had.
• Fun Fact: I am the longest standing employee on the staff!

Ryan

Sous Chef

• Began his career with Avanti in 2022
• Favorite thing about Avanti: Being able to make the couple’s day even more memorable with the food that we’ve created.
• Fun Fact: I love playing guitar in my free time.

Josh

Jr. Sous Chef

• Began his career with Avanti in 2018
• Favorite thing about Avanti: Unlike other companies that I’ve worked for, Avanti really feels like a family. Especially in the kitchen. Everyone pitches in and helps each other with whatever’s needed.
• Fun Fact: I enjoy playing the trumpet.

Liz

Pastry Chef

• Began her career with Avanti in 2024
• Favorite thing about Avanti: The family culture is amazing and it gives me the freedom to be myself.
• Fun Fact: I have a life goal to travel to all 50 states in the US!

Sabrina

CFO / Visionary

• Began her career with Avanti in 2008
• Favorite thing about Avanti: Watching the evolution and growth of our company over the years; seeing us become a premier wedding venue in WNY while maintaining the bond that a small family business has.
• Fun Fact: When I’m not in wedding-creative mode, you can find me getting lost in the bass at a Deadmau5 show (I’ve seen him play over 30 times).

Taylor

Director of Marketing

• Began her career at Avanti in 2008
• Favorite thing about Avanti: The food and the people! I love to eat and I love to have fun. So the environment at Avanti fulfills both those needs for me. It’s really the best work culture I’ve ever experienced. They care and want to see you thrive.
• Fun Fact: I love collecting crystals and studying Astrology. If it’s Mercury in Retrograde, I bunker down for 3 weeks!

Rachael

Event Manager

• Began her career with Avanti in 2023
• Favorite thing about Avanti: Being able to bring our couple’s vision to life and helping them create memories that will last them a lifetime.
• Fun Fact: My go-to binge tv show is Love Island UK

Colleen

Sr. Wedding Planner

• Began her career with Avanti in 2012
• Favorite thing about Avanti: I love what I do! And I absolutely love the people I get to work with everyday. They’ve truly become my second family.
• Fun Fact: I met my husband at Avant in 2013 when he worked here! For that reason, Avanti will always be very special to me.

Kelly

Wedding Planner

• Began her career with Avanti in 2016
• Favorite thing about Avanti: I love being part of such a hard working team that all genuinely want to make our couple’s dreams come true on their special day!
• Fun Fact: I love to go out & try new restaurants when they open!

Raquel

Wedding Planner

• Began her career with Avanti in 2019
• Favorite thing about Avanti: I love that I get to work with so many different people and help plan their special day. Bonus is when those couples then become friends and I get to watch them navigate married life!
• Fun Fact: My favorite board game is Clue and I own every single version out there. Every once and a while I need to take a break from wedding planning and go solve a murder.

Jessica

Jr. Wedding Planner

• Began her career with Avanti in 2022
• Favorite thing about Avanti: The team I work with. We have such a fun and loving staff that truly work hard to put on the perfect day for our couples.
• Fun Fact: I love animals. I want all of the pets possible!

Leo

Executive Chef

• Began his career with Avanti in 2013
• Favorite thing about Avanti: Being able to execute amazing experiences with a rock star culinary team who I consider family!
• Fun Fact: I am CANADIAN!

Shannon

Sous Chef

• Began her career with Avanti in 2010
• Favorite thing about Avanti: Hearing guests say we have the best wedding food they’ve ever had.
• Fun Fact: I am the longest standing employee on the staff!

Ryan

Sous Chef

• Began his career with Avanti in 2022
• Favorite thing about Avanti: Being able to make the couple’s day even more memorable with the food that we’ve created.
• Fun Fact: I love playing guitar in my free time.

Josh

Jr. Sous Chef

• Began his career with Avanti in 2018
• Favorite thing about Avanti: Unlike other companies that I’ve worked for, Avanti really feels like a family. Especially in the kitchen. Everyone pitches in and helps each other with whatever’s needed.
• Fun Fact: I enjoy playing the trumpet.

Liz

Pastry Chef

• Began her career with Avanti in 2024
• Favorite thing about Avanti: The family culture is amazing and it gives me the freedom to be myself.
• Fun Fact: I have a life goal to travel to all 50 states in the US!

Careers

What's it like working for us? Here's what our team has to say...

Working for The Avanti Mansion is rewarding and my colleagues feel like family. It is fun — lots of fun!.

See our photos below

Photo 1: Eric Jahn | Photo 2: Megan Anne Photography

TESTIMONIALS

We adore our Avanti couples.

Absolutely stunning venue! Our wedding coordinator was quick to reply and extremely helpful throughout the entire planning period. The food was fantastic, and our guests had an amazing time. Hands down the best venue in Buffalo.

Getting married at the Avanti Mansion was an absolute dream come true! From the start, the entire team at Avanti Mansion has been so helpful in making wedding planning a stress free experience. I’m so thankful I put my trust in Avanti Mansion to help to create the wedding of my dreams!

The Avanti staff made our wedding process very enjoyable, from start to finish! The decor, the food, the service- 10/10!! Thank you for making our big day everything we dreamed it would be and more!

Everyone and everything at the Avanti was perfect from start to finish for my daughter’s wedding. The atmosphere, the food, the drinks, the service was spectacular! All of our guests were amazed at it all! Thank you for making my daughter’s dream wedding happen.

Barb, Mother of the Bride

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About Avanti Mansion

Our Story

Core Values

Service

Teamwork

Awesomeness

Respect

Efficiency

Loyalty

Fun

Make a Difference

Avanti History

Bristol Woods

A Summer Home

Sold

Humble Beginnings

Growing Pains

Luxurious Estate

Love & Growth

Mansion Makeover

Avanti Elite

1,000th Wedding

Honored and Grateful

Recreated Garden Venue

Amore Makeover

Present

Bristol Woods

A Summer Home

Sold

Humble Beginnings

Growing Pains

Luxurious Estate

Love & Growth

Mansion Makeover

Avanti Elite

1,000th Wedding

Honored and Grateful

Recreated Garden Venue

Amore Makeover

Present

Our Team

Laurie

Laurie

Sabrina

Taylor

Rachael

Colleen

Kelly

Raquel

Jessica

Leo

Shannon

Ryan

Josh

Liz

Sabrina

Taylor

Rachael

Colleen

Kelly

Raquel

Jessica

Leo

Shannon

Ryan

Josh

Liz

Careers

TESTIMONIALS

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Experience the wedding of your dreams at Avanti Mansion.

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